Course:

Streets are significant to the well-being of a city and urban areas- they are important public corridors for moving people through various modes of transport and on foot. Hence, street networks are integral to urban planning, and design of street environments is a vital part of urban design.

In Mumbai, over 50% of all journeys are made on foot, every day, but walking on Mumbai’s footpaths is full of challenges - non-uniform, unlevelled surface, hindrances in the path, and lack of mobility options for physically challenged, senior citizens and women with prams amongst others. Every 50 to 100 m, the footpaths have a changing scenario with different material, width, levels, and a clutter of signage, presenting an unkempt streetscape, unfit for pedestrians.

In this studio, we have reflected on the larger picture or the larger urban plan and the city vis-à-vis street network connectivity, and have honed in on street and footpath design as one element of an urban plan. The Studio has covered socio-cultural and physical aspects of street and urban space design. The emphasis of the Studio was on the design and delivery process of good quality city-scale pedestrian infrastructure (footpaths) for a local authority i.e. BMC using principles of universal accessibility, pedestrian priority, walkability, reducing vehicular and pedestrian conflict, safe streets etc. The Studio has focused on different aspects of street design such as surface finishes, technical design, BOQs and BMC processes, crossing ramps, median refuge island, street furniture, lighting, landscaping and signage through urban design interventions. 

The Studio format comprised of lectures, site visits, photo documentation, analysis and design, understanding overarching principles, scalability and visualizations across the five weeks, culminating in a printed booklet format. The design process and book was developed through a series of group-wise review sessions and discussions on each site.

Main website: 

https://sites.google.com/sea.edu.in/street-design/home

Site location and context:

Site photos:

Kevin Lynch survey of the site:

SWOT Analysis:

Site and surrounds: Micro-analysis

Area calculation:

Sections through the site: