Billion Dollar Idea! City Design.

Who Did? We Built This City! - City Design, Series of drawings, sketches.

This is a series of drawings or sketches for the design of a city or a town somewhere in India, and yes, anywhere in the world. This is theoretical and is being attempted for some reason only. It's called the C-Design, and I can change the name later. I have actually been toying with this over the past several years, maybe 2004 onwards (don’t exactly recall as yet). It starts with Housing. We can call it Community Housing or Collective Housing. It starts with a Mini Cluster. The name ‘Mini Cluster’ can be changed to something else later. This Mini Cluster has some houses. The houses are all arranged so that they open out into or face a common green space. The idea is that there is a green space for indulgence the moment you step out of your house or 'anywhere'. That’s one. The other idea or governing parameter is that the National Building Code or the PWD lays down guidelines about the facilities required for a set of population, meaning these minimum facilities or services required for this much population. Ok? Now on the basis of these two guiding principles, I began many years ago. I made some sketches on AutoCAD. The idea reveals itself ‘progressively clearer’ as more nos. of people or more population are expected to be accommodated. The alphabet ‘C’ is used or utilised or exploited (though I would not use that last term). Or let’s just say that the idea expands. So it expands. And it expands further.
Ok, so two guiding principles have been mentioned above. Now of course as professionals, as Architects we need to know for whom we are designing, the class I mean. So I have focussed on the Middle Income Group. This starts with Community Housing, ok? The following is in my mind when I think about the various economic groupings around us. It is very easy to say that there is the following:-
Low Income Group
Middle Income Group
High Income Group
However, it’s not that simplistic, and you realise on your own, I am sure, without me having to elaborate further. So I am thinking of the following:-
Low Low Income Group
Middle Low Income Group
High Low Income Group
Low Middle Income Group
Middle Middle Income Group (our target)
High Middle Income Group
Low High Income Group
Middle High Income Group
High High Income Group
Understood? And this design is for the Middle Middle Income Group. Ok? That is our focus segment or population economic class. Middle Middle Income Group selection is deliberate. This determines the areas. Remember, or should I say consider, that I am saying “town” or “city” and then I am also specifying the income groups for which this is intended. Urban Planners, Urban Designers, and of course Architects will immediately understand the rationalle for specifying the target clientelle. Perhaps they will understand later. Me is saying that I know that of course a city has to accommodate all classes and all disparities. Me is aware of that! But we have to give ourselves some experimental evolved design with some strictures so that we can always refer to it later that ok we can do this here or ok we can do that there. It is for better understanding of whatever else we do. I mean we have some standard formulae or some standard reference. You will see gradually what I mean when I restrict in the beginning to Middle Middle Income Group and thereby those areas.
Plus, the Low Low Income Group may or may not be the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) in your opinion. So there may be another income level before the Low Low one called the EWS. Plus, the BPL (Below Poverty Line) is probably (yes, I should know better or should be sure, I realise) lower than the Low Low Income Group and should have been mentioned in the List. We can deliberate upon this but that doesn’t affect or change our decision to consider the Middle Middle Income Group segment as the target segment. I mean that we can add BPL but that doesn’t affect our decision. I am saying also that ok we may add EWS also to the List but again that doesn’t affect our decision about the target segment. I’d love to provide insights about the actual incomes of all these segments. Let’s see what is learnt. Brushing up is in order.
Now I also thought or considered that in a small town a square metre of real estate has lesser value than in a big town or a city. Therefore, what is standard area for Middle Middle Income in a big town may actually be a standard area for Low Middle Income in a smaller town. Reason is that smaller towns may have more areas at their disposal, and we are presuming that income disparities are not there. So if you are a Manager here then you have the same income level there. Simple. This assumption right at the beginning is important. We have to fix something, and that doesn’t make us rigid. I am saying that ‘that much’ flexibility or difference is still there despite being stiff or specific here. Hope this is understood. Please read again if not! :-) So I will further specify that this is for a Middle Middle Income Group of a small to big town. The Middle Class is the driving class in our times and for any time you pick, agreed? The Middle Class is burgeoning in numbers, agreed? The design for the Middle Middle Class can be a convenient Standard.
The audience viewing or privy to this is the entire world in general, and specifically the presentation is targeted for an audience including and not limited to planners in all departments of all governments, urban planners (working for the State Departments or private), policy makers in not only the Housing Departments but other Departments, urban designers (State Departments or private), architects, all allied professionals, think tanks anywhere.
Now of course the extensions of this C-Design can be replicated in any part of the world for any income group. The Designs (areas) may be altered slightly depending upon so many factors. Ok? So we give ourselves a base. Understood? In order to create something we have to sometimes give ourselves limitations or guiding parameters. We have to assume that. All Architects understand that, don’t we? There. So let’s begin, shall we? AND THIS WILL GO REALLY LONG. It’s City Planning, dude, dudette! And I am not an Urban Designer or Urban Planner by qualification, by the way. That doesn’t deter this Architect with some head at least.

Preface To City Design

Quick recap (guiding principles or strictures):-

No.1: We step out of the house and we see a Green Space. We ‘step out of “anywhere” ’ and we see a green space. This ‘step out of anywhere’ you will understand by and by. Central Green.
No. 2: The NBC or/and the PWD specify the utilities or facilities for any given population set. That will be adhered to.
No. 3: The Alphabet C is used.
No. 4: The Middle Middle Income Group is the target client.
No. 5: It’s a small town or a big town and maybe perhaps a city.
Developers, Colonisers, Builders may be interested in this. It's free for consumption! Or is it really? Of course I will expect that if you (reader anywhere in the World) implement any of the ideas straightaway or by modifying slightly or majorly, you possess the decency and the honesty and the honour to pay a mutually agreed sum. If you don't and use my designs or ideas, well really I am not going around checking but it's all about ethics, I guess. (Personal Note: It's very messy and murky in the Construction Sector here in North India. So without elaborating any further on this perhaps you will understand many things on your own. This is apart from the fact that there are many grey areas.) I had thought of the following to begin with: You adopt or adapt the Mini Cluster Design of Population 240 in dwelling units 48, you pay me Rs. 5,000. And then I send you something more also. That would be the 'Plan Only' 'To Scale AutoCAD Drawing Hard Copy' with more dimensions and some 'general' specifications. It is as economical as that. That's not a big deal at all. You are anywhere in the World. My. no. is +91 9716082650 . This pricing and more on the same will come in the next post, the first post, so to say, and in the posts after that the Pricings for those population sets shall be revealed. I would expect that you don't go around distributing those further designs or working drawings to your clan or anybody else. We can take that further still beyond the To Scale Drawings. (Of course the drawing in the image here itself along this post is To Scale.) And if we go further than that, the same applies. Once again, I am not going around checking.
In fact I would be looking for folks who possess some understanding of Architecture, Town Planning, Urban Design, Urban Planning, Urban Development to work together with, meaning that I would love to be commissioned by discernible folks from all over, from North India, South India, East India, West India. Building Cities? Of course that is not the only sphere. I am an Architect, base is Architecture. Small Projects are a big yes.