IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

The robust and vibrant socio-cultural identity of India is manifested in its urban morphology from the ancient times. India, a tropical country, has a culture of warmth, which is also reflected through the interactive design of urban spaces. Several tangible and intangible factors governed the designing of Indian cities in the past. Today, Indian cities are evolving and getting redesigned, following the city design modules of the western world discarding the authenticity of the cultural pasts from Indian urban structure. As a result of this, the urban spaces of India are losing their identity, thereby hampering the urban future of the country. The ‘spirit of a place’ is eventually getting deteriorated day by day. This paper enquires if the deterioration of urban structure of Indian cities is a result of adoption of western city design theories. Whether the western city design theories provide inclusive urban spaces as required for Indian society or the Indian city design theories as prescribed in the Vaastu-Shilpa-Shastra source texts (ancient Indian treatises on architecture and city design), provide so. To investigate this, ‘Space Syntax’ approach is applied to quantitatively analyse and compare the spatial layouts proposed by different western city design theories and those prescribed in Vaastu-Shilpa-Shastras. Different parameters of ‘Space Syntax’ – a digitized scientific tool, shall be considered to evaluate the inclusiveness, warmth, and vibrancy that city design impart to the culture of the city. This will give a direction and comprehensive justification for the urban future of India, keeping intact its cultural pasts. (250 words)