Infrastructural Urbanism

in relation with the public realm

Maitreyee Amale
1702
Thesis Intent
This thesis intends to reclaim the sense of public realm with the upcoming smart city development of the
Nashik city. To explore potential adaptation of our infrastructures while prioritizing human inhabitation of the
site once designed. The public spaces, formed out from the infrastructure will be looked at inclusively. The
people from different communities will be incorporated depending on what type group inhibits such places
based on their ownership either it is legitimate or just association.

Objectives and questions

• What are the Smart city developments?

• How can one conceive the significance of the city?

• Development as an overall idea? or just specific development?

• Whole idea of infrastructure, how can it get integrated in urban?

• Who all are associated with the development? The ownership of the place? legitimate or association.
Users of the place and stake holders.

• Studying the existing data and research on Infrastructural urbanism.

• Studying the upcoming development in accordance to the cities where the similar development has taken
place.

• Integrating created spaces due to upcoming infrastructure back to the city.

Existing Smart City Development
• Concretization of river bank in the name of ‘Goda Park’.
• The Nashik Kumbh Mela in 2015, the civic body concretized the river's banks and bed, thus transforming
it into a bathtub and severing its connections with groundwater and small springs on which the river
depended for its flow.
• This project has been a failure on multiple grounds. The stretch of the walkway lined up with paved
concrete blocks is severely underutilized as a result of less dense population. The walkway has also
become a platform for host of illegal activities.
Nashik Metro line Map
Kowloon Station, Hongkong

• How architecture and infrastructure

interweave in this dense city.
• A piece of infrastructure that interfaces with
other infrastructure.
• The complex identities, activities and
experiences of contemporary life.
• Adapting the station to its context and
making it as easy as possible to reach.
• A human traffic that connects to shops,
buses, city streets, etc.
• The fusion of infrastructure and public space.
Atlanta Belt Line, Georgia
• Connecting 45 neighborhoods by
pedestrian friendly trails, parks and
public art.
• Connecting existing infrastructure to
further benefit of the city, residents
and economy.
• The corridors act as linear parkway
with multi use trails linking existing
neighborhood and park together and
creating greater accessibility.
• The multi use trails and plans increase
walkability and quality of life.
Goldman Alley, New York
• Fairly modest structure, an angular canopy over an
obscure but busy pedestrian street.
• It has redefined the in between or interstitial space
per say.
• It filters light gracefully through enameled panes,
the light shifting with the passing day.
• The arcade belongs to an informal network of
pedestrian circulation.
• Perceptions shift as you move through the space.
• These in between space designs take a new face in
the term of architecture thinking deep into public
enhancing designs.
Highline, New York
• Highline has drawn millions of people visiting
the elevated park appreciating the
transformation in the urban fabric.
• Opportunities exist to transform infrastructure
through urban renewal projects.
• Strategies to suburban sprawl and reinvigorate
languishing and forgotten inner city areas which
are made inaccessible to people.
• The new space will offer greening opportunities,
alternative transportation options, and social
benefits to meet changing needs in urban
environments.
“The lesson from New York over past six
years is that you can restore, reclaim and
remake this asset; success requires
looking at our infrastructure through a
different lens.”
Current Research

• Mapping out various strategies, how and what are the ways that infrastructure can be made
into public spaces.
- What are the various strategies/tendencies?
- Categorizing them by subtopics
- Analyzing them on basis of
▪ Location
▪ What's the context?
▪ What is the function?
▪ What's the success?
▪ Where are they used?

• How infrastructure can be turned into infrastructural urbanism?

• Whole idea of infrastructure, how can it get integrated in urban?

• How infrastructure is a pre dominant aspect of the 21st century and has invaded our cities in
southeast Asia?

• How are people using existing infrastructure, is it misused, what are the pros and cons?
Semester Plan

SR.NO TENTATIVE DATES WORK

Case study analysis, Studying the development in the cities
01.08.2021 - 10.08.2021
1. where the similar development has taken place, Different
strategies
Site selection, Mapping the site and extents, Different ways
2. 11.08.2021 – 20.08.2021 of approach, Interviewing the people. Studying all of the
upcoming smart city developments.

3. 21.08.2021 – 31.08.2021 Site analysis, Collecting existing data of the site.

Analysing potential spaces for intervention, Collecting on

4. 01.09.2021 – 10.09.2021
site data, Interviewing people for the same.

Segregating the collected data, Preparing final study and

5. 11.09.2021 – 17.09.2021
analysis of the Site.

6. 18.09.2021 – 30.09.2021

7. 01.10.2021 – 08.10.2021