Analysis of Public Spaces: The Gap between Intent and Outcome Case of Bhadra Plaza, Old City: Ahmedabad

Abstract

Urban public spaces are the identity of a city. The success of a city is determined by how successful their public spaces are. A city breathes through these spaces. When done right, these spaces bear the role of becoming the hotspot for the social life and livability of the city. Along with acting as a connective tissue between the private spaces, public spaces also hold the responsibility for numerous political gatherings and cultural festivities. The making of a public space is an extensive process. It does not revolve around the design and planning alone, but is a multi-layer process. An urban public space is a city level investment involving various stakeholders that have direct or indirect implications on the success of a public space. Many times, due to this complex system of shaping a public space, gaps are created between the intent of the design and the outcome of the public space. This research, by studies and analysis the process of making a public space in various stages and aims to identify the gaps, taking the case of, Bhadra Plaza, an urban public space, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, developed in year 1411. Through the years, Bhadra Plaza has undergone various changes that modified its character and function. In the year 2012, a redevelopment was planned to revive its past glory as a public space. The Plaza in 2019, has fallen back into the pre redevelopment scenario and worse. The research aims to identify the gaps that were created between design intent and design outcome of redevelopment by adopting the framework of the book “The hidden wealth of cities”, published in 2019 by World bank. This paper analysis the plaza under five major criteria including Context, Design and Planning, Implementation, Management and post Implementation data and impact evaluation. The research brings forth various hidden aspects in the process of design planning and implementation which at times are overlooked but can become important reasons in deciding the success of the Public space.