Photo: Raj K. Raj/Hindustan TimesAs the sun came out by midday on a chilly New Year’s Day in Delhi, hordes of people started descending on the city’s few large open public spaces. And the crowds are rising every year, clearly indicating the distressing lack of adequate safe, enjoyable open spaces in India’s cities where people can spend a day away from work. Several neighbourhoods in Gurugram were up in arms in the middle of 2018 over allowing namaz gatherings in open spaces. Public spaces are defined by UN-Habitat as “all places, publicly owned or of public use, accessible and enjoyable by all for free and without a profit motive”. By installing public art, quirkier signage or performance spaces, the act of navigating the city could become akin to play.

Source: Mint January 06, 2019 18:11 UTC