Series of Analytical Mapping

Next in the series after the previous post is the set of Analytical mapping.. As of now i will post the first two sets that i have worked on, and that is mainly understanding the change in public/private open space from 1948 to 2010.. and the next is the built scape and the scale of the same in the hamlet. Also i will be talking about how the zone identification happened to the image Bandra and Ranwar as seen in the field.

1) Identifying the Zones: 
Core Area: This is area more than being the centre of the village is the only zone with most of the old residents and old houses. The communication bond amongst the residents here is really strong and hence the most of the old culture is seen here.

Mid Area: This area is where the demographics start seeing a change. The mix of people has started changing as there are apartment blocks around here where more people of various communities live. The communication bond starts loosening here, but still there are some ties with the core area that keep them going.

Exterior Area: This one as seen is in the extreme exteriors where it meets the main/arterial roads of Bandra in various directions. The resident mix is almost new as there are only apartment blocks around this area. The communications ties are almost nil here. They have very less connection with the core area.

this is understanding the zones with the built scape as the base map

this is understanding the zones with the popular image of Ranwar as seen in the field while on research as the base map.

 

The image seen on the right is the popular image of Bandra as seen in the field. This is in line with the post made on the 24th May, 2010, the link to the same can be found here: ‘Physical forms a city’. The image speaks of the various nodes, edges, paths, nodes and landmarks that define Bandra.

This image on the right is the popular image of Ranwar as seen in the field defining its various physical forms.

2) The Realm of Public and Private open spaces in 1948: The open spaces both public and private were in much tolerance with each other. They were very well balanced here.

It was also because of the lack of vehicular traffic that made things easier compared to today. These open spaces were nodes for various community activities and interaction between the village community. One can also see that each cluster of housing has its open areas well settled. The idea behind having more open space around their house as each community member involved themselves in community based activities. Private life was less important.

The open spaces gave more area for vegetation and plantation. Though these lands were infertile tracts of land, one could till and grow basic vegetation. It also gave way to poultry farming and each family has its own set of hens and chickens and pigs.

3) The Realm of Public and Private open spaces in 2010: The open spaces both public and private are not at all tolerant today. With times meaning attached to spaces have changed.

The change in traffic regularities to change in mind sets of people have redefined boundaries and the difference between the public and private open has become distinct. Plot line that used to be just these invisible lines of demarcation have become visible today though walls and fencing. One can see that the open space around each cluster of housing has reduced compared to 1948. The private lives have taken over community living and this is very visible through these spaces.

There are very less community activities and the interactions are dying with the spaces that gave these activities a life. 

Please view the above two maps in comparison to one another.

4) The Built Scape in 1948: The built scape in 1948 as seen in the map did not go higher than G+1 height that would be approximately 6 meters in height and not beyond that. This gave a lot of scope for ventilation and natural light as the sea was also close from two sides, one towards Bandstand and the other towards what is now reclamation. Also the various features in the house like the verandahs and windows as big as the door sometimes made a lot of sense as scale was all the same.

5) The Unchanged Built Scape since 1948: This map mainly work on the mathematics of what has not been changed yet. All the common built scape (mainly G and G+1) in the the map above and the map that will be below (the built scape in 2010) defines the unchanged properties. It is mainly to study what has remained the same while the world has changed in 2010.

6) The Built Scape in 2010: The built scape in 2010 has gone beyond G+7 in height which makes up for a lot of woos of the old residents. The old houses are getting sandwiched in between high scale apartment blocks. The Reclamation has taken most of the view and breeze of the place and the hamlet has become landlocked from all sides.

6) Understanding the Development Pattern: I would rather call it informal development pattern. One can see with the highlighted purple area the builders are moving in. It is from the main streets that these patterns move inwards towards the core of the hamlet. On the other side due to reclamation any development is rare to happen.

Also the blue highlighted area is where a lot of mixed and commercial land- use is seen. Mainly because they are the main streets. This area also makes it for most of the traffic as one is the arterial road (HILL ROAD) of Bandra while the other is the arterial road of the hamlet (Ranwar).

As for the trend in the blue area, The houses here are going to come down first giving way to high rise blocks as is the case further down Waroda road. 

6) Understanding the Essential Heritage Aspects: This Map focuses on some of the essential aspects to be understood about the village in terms of heritage subjects. Even though all blocks have been put in the categories of:

New built scape, Old built scape, Transformed built scape (the olden built scape which has transformed visibly), Significant built scape (in terms of heritage building, location in the village, and presence for a certain number of years in the case of Ranwar for more than 75 years.), Dilapidated (built scape that has lost its strength) and mixed and commercial land use, They have different stories to tell. Each built environment has its reason for being there and it definitely falls prey to its surroundings.

The information put here is based on my analysis and the interviews of the residents that I have taken. Also it has a view point which I share and am welcome to criticism for.

**The blocks that haven’t been marked for land use, are by default residential.

The essentials have been posted,, more on their way.

Organisation of a city

It is clear amidst organization of a city that its design is like a growing organism. Why it moves towards an organic format is due to the city dwellers giving it form and shape at every node of a its existence. And hence we should not hesitate in calling the inhabitants the true designers of their own city. They give life to the formulations of a city making it a living organism.

--(after reading 'Design of Cities' by Edmund N. Bacon)

Physical Forms of a City

While reading 'The Image of the City', by Kevin Lynch. Lynch in Image of a city talks about a concept of Imageabilty of a city, of how an inhabitant would break down the image of his own city into various physical forms. A great reading for everyone i must say. Some excerpts and analysis from the book on Physical forms of a city.

A city can be divided in Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes and Landmarks to make a physical form. A form that can be converted to images on the city by its own residents. Further on these 5:
1.) Paths: These are channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally or potentially moves. STREETS, WALKWAYS, TRANSIT LINES, CANALS, RAILROADS. For a lot of people these become the predominant elements in their image. People observe the city while moving through it, and along these paths where environmental elements are arranged and related.

a path in Ranwar, essential these are the winding lanes through which the observers(residents) of Ranwar move around their own space.

2.) Edges: These are not paths they are boundaries between two phases. Linear breaks. SHORES, WATEREDGE, RAILROAD, CUTS, EDGES OF DEVELOPMENT, WALLS. They are lateral references rather than co-prdinate axis. They may be barriers, more or less penetrable, which close one region from an other; or they may be seams, lines along which two regions are related and joined. These edges as elements, although probably not as dominant as paths, are for many people organising features, particularly in the role of holding together generalized areas, as in the outline of a city by walls or wall.

the waterfront in Bandra becomes the edge not only for the suburb, but also for all the inner districts.

3.) Districts: These are conceived as two-dimensional extents which has the notion of "inside of", and which are recognizable as having some common, identifying character. Most people structure their city to some extent in this way, with individual differences as to paths or districts are more important. In most case these kind of district are defined by the residents and not the authorities. And even if they are defined by the authorities they are always re-defined by the residents. The Hamlets of Bandra like Ranwar, Shirely, Rajan, Pali etc. become the districts of Bandra, they are combined by various other districts that are marked by the roads like the carter road, waterfield road or tuner road or bazaar road. It is very interesting to notice the transformation of districts while one is traveling through these. actually one would not notice them as they are very resident centric divisions.

4.) Nodes: These are points, the strategic spots in a city into which an observer can enter, and which are the intensive foci to and from which he is travelling. JUNCTIONS, PLACES OF BREAKS IN TRANSPORTATION, CROSSING OR CONVERGENCE OF PATHS, SHIFTS FROM ONE STRUCTURE TO ANOTHER, OR SIMPLY CONCENTRATIONS, STREET HANGOUT, ENCLOSED SQUARE. Some of them become very important to the district. They become symbols, points of interpersonal relationships, meeting points or points of convergence. They are relative to paths, edges, districts and could be these also at times. They are just an unanimously accepted  format of public hangout spots. They are always found in every image.

St. Agna square in Ranwar by the day, used for various purposes by the residents, like in this case to dry chillies which will become some tasty masala after a point. The square is an important node for the residents to meet, chat and play.

by the night sometimes it is used for community mass

5.) Landmarks: They are points of reference, but only external for the observer. They are rather simply defined physical objects, BUILDING, SIGN, JUNCTION, STORE, MOUNTAIN, ART WORK. Is known to single out one such object from a group around them. Interestingly most of the times Landmarks incorporate in public language and becomes a common point of reference. They are of a local/global nature. They are frequently used clues of identity and even structures, and seem to be increasingly relied upon, even at times when the structure ceases to stand there. Once a history, a sign, or a meaning attaches to an object, its value as a landmark rises.

the oratory at the entrance of Ranwar from the Waroda road on the Veronica street is a very used point of reference

All of these are mainly of two natures: 1. Individualistic, 2. Collective. Sometimes both work, sometimes only one does. These leads to cross-refrencing and overlapping of these forms making a very interesting city image. The image of a given physical reality may occasionally shift its type with different circumstances of viewing. Thus and express way may be a path for the driver, but will be an edge for a pedestrian. But the categories seem to have stability for a given observer when he is operating at a given level. 

None of the above mentioned forms exist in isolation in a real case. The city shall cease to exist if they do. Districts are structured with nodes, defined by edges, penetrated by paths and sprinkled with a landmark. Elements regularly overlap and pierce each other.

Also important to understand is that these might change with time or wear a different character. eg: nodes become landmarks, become edges, or become districts with the expansion of limits of a city, but once you break them down to core elements the image of a city becomes clearer.

Element Interrelations:
These elements are simply the raw materials of the environmental image at the city scale. They must be patterned to provide a satisfying form. At this point it gets imperative to understand that these elements which are being studied here with parts rather than wholes are a necessary feature of investigation at the primary stage. After a successful differentiation and understanding of parts, a study can move on to consideration of a total design. And hence again i mention that we cannot look at these in isolation, to the effect that if one element is disturbed in one way or another, the ripples are seen through all the elements.

A large street, with its ambiguous character of both edge and path, may penetrate and thus expose a region to view, while at the same time disrupting it. A landmark feature may be so alien to the character of a district as to dissolve the regional continuity, or it may, on the other hand stand in just the contrast that intensifies that continuity. Districts in particular, which tend to be of a larger format are thus related to various paths, nodes, and landmarks. These other elements not only structure the region internally, they also intensify the identity of the whole by enriching and deepening its character.

The identity of a window may be structured into a pattern of windows, which is the cue for the identification of a building. The buildings themselves are interrelated so as to form an identifiable space, and so on.

All these elements operate together in a context, In the context of the systems, sub-systems of a city which is inhabited by its several inhabitants who have created their own style and image of their own city.

reference: 'The Image of the City', by Kevin Lynch