What is a Street?
In simplest of terms, spaces created for all the stakeholders residing in a place and being used by one and all in harmony can be termed as democratic spaces.
Which spaces are designed as democratic spaces? Are they utilized as such? What role does architecture play in creating these spaces? These questions about the people and the state and its expression in architecture raises concern about these structures and its disclosure within our context. Even a simple compound wall can be termed as a political statement.
Do the city’s public institutions function as democratic spaces? The formal government buildings (both legislative and administrative) like the parliament building or the municipal ward office or courthouses, these institutions stand for democracy. Ironically, they are seen as authoritative, chaotic and private spaces. Lethargy and bribery are the first thoughts that come in mind when we talk about BMC or Mantralaya (Legislative Assembly). Moreover, they are seen as red-tape zones wherein the people are not comfortable and the entry is restricted to a few for most of the areas within the building.
Public buildings are impervious in terms of its form, authoritative in terms of approach and dull and dingy spatially. The image of these buildings is a chaotic, tiresome and monotonous one. The scale of public and private organizational hierarchy just adds on to the confusion and inaccessibility. These spaces are just tagged as symbols of democracy.
In contrast to these so-called institutes of democracy, we have the street which is open and accessible to everyone. It houses people, their lives and their activities. It has multitudinous uses; it’s a connector between two places, an informal ‘hang out’ space for college kids, a marketplace and a place where people can grab a quick refreshment at the nearby tapri (tea stall). It houses a playroom for kids and at the same time a platform for morchas (protest marches). Functionally and physically, the street is a truly democratic institution. The idea of the street is not a utopian one. Beggars, cows animals, pets defecating on streets, graffiti are not uncommon. One doesn’t have to look too hard to find people arguing or a bunch of college kids smoking. But, it functions at the eye level. It is a place for celebration, for the wanted and the unwanted, the rich and the poor, the old and the young. This is what makes it a democratic – everyone has a right to the street.
Acknowledging this difference between institutes of democracy and democratic institutes, it is important to design formal buildings such that they are democratic in nature both spatially and symbolically for better functioning and governance. The aim of every government buildings should be to create a space that houses the stakes of the people at the same time acts like a venue for meeting, exchanging and learning just like a street.
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