Call for ideas to build for resilience & antifragility – Collaborative initiatives

General: Call for ideas:
Covid-19 has kn(l)ocked down everyone’s life and the ways we live, like a bolt from the blue! During this need of the hour, as architects wanting to render small contributions to society. Mistry architects, addressed various issues at different scales and levels that the pandemic has caused to specific stakeholders. The competition was open for firms & students across India. Two entries were shortlisted among the top 10.
Story:
“Collaborative initiatives: Re-program and Re-imagine the Urban Neighbourhood Post Pandemic:
In this particular entry, we tried to focus on the Urban level scenario and how the pandemic has almost affected our day-to-day lives, especially in cities. Focusing on how the idea of public spaces has evolved during the pandemic, we tried to bring in solutions that could solve the resultant crisis. Addressing and recognizing the stark reality of Urban inequality became a driving point since it was essential to tackle the Covid situation, we were all going through!
The solution provided here can help cities – on all tiers (especially tier 1 and 2) build back better and be more resilient to future crises since no one knows what the future holds. Some of it are mentioned below:
1. The pedestrian zones can be enhanced where the services could run beneath the pathways and temporary restaurants be created along the sidewalks.
2. To avoid de-congestion, hawker spots can be created.
3. Public participation in plazas, enhancing the green buffer zones, that double up as seating spaces, relooking intersections at a public level, and self-sustaining neighbourhoods can be developed over a short period of time.
4. Convert unused spaces for women and children empowerment
5. More connectivity of mass transit systems and increasing dependency on local businesses.
Doing this experiment, we also realized how a change in complete Urban infrastructure was nearly impossible to be executed. Hence, we proposed a lot of minute and small additions that can be done at the neighbourhood level resulting in a larger change on specific stakeholders.