We had been thinking of working on a BOOK based on the extensive dataset we had gathered two years ago as part of the research project on the ashwath katte as a neighbourhood community space. However, a few weeks ago, we started to wonder if this was the best way forward. The last few months due to the pandemic, it has been such a reflective time for all of us. We were already thinking then - should we work on a BOOK or an ONLINE PORTAL instead?
It felt like it would be nice to just share everything under creative commons on a portal and perhaps, a bit later, work on a simpler coffee table book as well. We put up a post on LinkedIn some weeks back, asked some of our friends and a few who had worked on the project. The general feeling was that an online portal would be a good idea. That was settled.
It seemed like a two-way exchange would be nice. A platform that would facilitate a dialogue between everyone who was interested in this. Then, it went a little further. Was this going to be only about the ASHWATH KATTE? We thought the online portal could begin with sharing the data we already had on these peeepul tree shrines in Bangalore, but it could go on to become a place for exchange of ideas, thoughts, experiences and strategies for STREETS and PUBLIC SPACES in India. This had to become a citizen science project. Because how else would be able to figure out what works, what doesn't - in all the hundreds of neighbourhoods across our cities? How do people move, how do they behave and how do they act? How does the everyday routine of people in the public realm shape the neighbourhood and the city?
Our key objective is to use citizen science as a tool to understand our streets and public spaces and then, work towards people-centric URBAN DESIGN & PLANNING.
We've started work on the online portal. A little bit is shared to begin with. We've published the site. We would like to do a test run. It's meant to be a collaborative effort. Looking for help from anyone and everyone who'd like to contribute to this. Sharing the link to the portal here:
We'd love to hear from you! On the portal, there is a space YOUR THOUGHTS where you can leave your comments, your suggestions.
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