Exploring the Potential of Urban Void the case of Left - Over Spaces below the Flyovers in Surat City

Abstract

Due to rapid urbanization, many cities have went through urban development issues brought on by the economic crisis, population increase, and increasing urbanization has resulted into the quality of urban living. The majority of city patterns develop from unoccupied space, which is typically discounted as trivial, as a result of the conflict between urban uniformity and natural context. These vacant urban places have numerous negative repercussions on the surrounding community and urban fabric. Different parts of a city experience varying levels of growth due to the numerous distribution and advancement networks that are active there. As a result, certain regions are commonly neglected or left undeveloped. These regions are known as urban void space or leftover space. City’s growth focuses more on physical infrastructure development instead of improving the quality of public life. Ironically, infrastructure needs are sometimes the reason for creating urban voids in the fabric of the city. “Flyover- infrastructural barrier” or having an immense potential to knit urban fabric of city. The humanity has its dependency with its surrounding- built and unbuilt. Typically, flyovers are seen exclusively as an object of mobility. To prevent congestion, flyovers being built which is effective to reduce time in travelling. Hence, creating infrastructural voids due to planning and irrespective decisions. People in the city perceive these voids as negative, empty space as there is no proper function allotted to them. Thus, this space become a possible area of research inquiry for transforming them into potential public spaces. This research aims to explore the potential of left-over spaces considering its impact on neighborhood context beneath the flyover. Observational analysis and case study approach is used in this research as a method. For the secondary sources, journals, articles from website, books are referred. The research concentrates on the term urban void, their typology by analyzing and comprehending voids which have immense potential for transforming into urban realm. Outcome of the study is to suggest possible intervention to include the infrastructural void in public realm and turning them into new opportunities. The following research can be potentially used by designers to analyze a given context keeping in mind the inferences drawn from this research. The research develops a framework to assist designers and planners in finding better methods to utilize urban voids so that they may use them more effectively from the lessons learned through theoretical and observational study