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The great Gurgaon experiment: Has it failed?
by MulaiAzhagi Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:13 pm
http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-great-gurgaon-experiment-has-it-failed-286582.html
It is easier to get into some ministries of the government than it is to enter some of the residential complexes on Gurgaon’s MG Road. But the same MG Road is also notorious for what is now dubbed the Rape Mile, the unguarded stretch outside the glitzy neon-lit malls that has become infamous thanks to a number of rape incidents.
These irreconcilable differences between two stark realities, separated by no more than a boundary wall, have led some Gurgaon residents to rise up against the very idea of the Mall City.
“Gurgaon is a place that has pockets of privilege because it is mostly privately developed. So you live in gated colonies, get into a car and drive to a mall. You are hopping from privileged space to privileged space. What happens to women and girls who have to negotiate these spaces outside privilege?” asks Richa Dubey, a Gurgaon resident who recently launched a campaign to draw attention to the city’s apathy in dealing with crimes against women. (Read about the Girlcott campaign here.)
Gurgaon has tried to seperate its gated communities from the outside world. NYT
Crime in the city seems to be a symptom of a bigger problem created by the idea that private development can or should be a solution to public needs, be it electricity, water supply, sewage or security. One telling statistic is this: With a population of more than 15 lakh, Gurgaon has only 3,286 cops. In stark comparison, there are nearly 35,000 private security guards.
As Jim Yardley noted in the New york Times, “With its shiny buildings and galloping economy, Gurgaon is often portrayed as a symbol of a rising “new” India, yet it also represents a riddle at the heart of India’s rapid growth: how can a new city become an international economic engine without basic public services?”
Is a city that pioneered the concept of exclusive gated communities now facing a social crisis triggered by precisely its most attractive selling point?
The largely private-driven development of Gurgaon and the rapid pace at which that has happened has meant a gross neglect of its public spaces, argues Rwitee Mandal, an urban designer who lives in Gurgaon,
“If you want an evening out in Gurgaon, where will you go? You will go to a closed mall. Is that a way of life? There are no street markets, no parks. The more people walk on the streets, the more people there are on the street. People feel safe by numbers and not merely by policemen guarding them,” says Rwitee.
She explains why the streets of Gurgaon have turned into potential ‘rape zones’.
“Every street in Gurgaon has housing on one side and private commercial development on the other. Everything is walled up,” she says. This means residents in these walled-off communities cannot look out into the streets – leaving the pedestrian alone and unseen.
“As planners we refer to what are called ‘eyes on the street’, which is the natural surveillance system of every city. If you have shops, for example, they look on to the street. But because of this ‘island development,’ activity is taken out of the street.”
It is easier to get into some ministries of the government than it is to enter some of the residential complexes on Gurgaon’s MG Road. But the same MG Road is also notorious for what is now dubbed the Rape Mile, the unguarded stretch outside the glitzy neon-lit malls that has become infamous thanks to a number of rape incidents.
These irreconcilable differences between two stark realities, separated by no more than a boundary wall, have led some Gurgaon residents to rise up against the very idea of the Mall City.
“Gurgaon is a place that has pockets of privilege because it is mostly privately developed. So you live in gated colonies, get into a car and drive to a mall. You are hopping from privileged space to privileged space. What happens to women and girls who have to negotiate these spaces outside privilege?” asks Richa Dubey, a Gurgaon resident who recently launched a campaign to draw attention to the city’s apathy in dealing with crimes against women. (Read about the Girlcott campaign here.)
Gurgaon has tried to seperate its gated communities from the outside world. NYT
Crime in the city seems to be a symptom of a bigger problem created by the idea that private development can or should be a solution to public needs, be it electricity, water supply, sewage or security. One telling statistic is this: With a population of more than 15 lakh, Gurgaon has only 3,286 cops. In stark comparison, there are nearly 35,000 private security guards.
As Jim Yardley noted in the New york Times, “With its shiny buildings and galloping economy, Gurgaon is often portrayed as a symbol of a rising “new” India, yet it also represents a riddle at the heart of India’s rapid growth: how can a new city become an international economic engine without basic public services?”
Is a city that pioneered the concept of exclusive gated communities now facing a social crisis triggered by precisely its most attractive selling point?
The largely private-driven development of Gurgaon and the rapid pace at which that has happened has meant a gross neglect of its public spaces, argues Rwitee Mandal, an urban designer who lives in Gurgaon,
“If you want an evening out in Gurgaon, where will you go? You will go to a closed mall. Is that a way of life? There are no street markets, no parks. The more people walk on the streets, the more people there are on the street. People feel safe by numbers and not merely by policemen guarding them,” says Rwitee.
She explains why the streets of Gurgaon have turned into potential ‘rape zones’.
“Every street in Gurgaon has housing on one side and private commercial development on the other. Everything is walled up,” she says. This means residents in these walled-off communities cannot look out into the streets – leaving the pedestrian alone and unseen.
“As planners we refer to what are called ‘eyes on the street’, which is the natural surveillance system of every city. If you have shops, for example, they look on to the street. But because of this ‘island development,’ activity is taken out of the street.”
MulaiAzhagi- Posts : 1254
Join date : 2011-12-20
Re: The great Gurgaon experiment: Has it failed?
by MulaiAzhagi Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:19 pm
NYT article
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/asia/09gurgaon.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/world/asia/09gurgaon.html?_r=2&ref=jimyardley&pagewanted=all
MulaiAzhagi- Posts : 1254
Join date : 2011-12-20
Re: The great Gurgaon experiment: Has it failed?
by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:51 pm
These type of Gated 'cities" have started springing up even in Tier 3 cites now, bcz they want to copy what goes on in Tier 1 cities.
India is a country of rapid and random development, and rabidly chaotic.
India is a country of rapid and random development, and rabidly chaotic.
Marathadi-Saamiyaar- Posts : 17675
Join date : 2011-04-30
Age : 110
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