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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Central Vista to Gymkhana Club — Delhi must improve liveability for all, not just elites

Gymkhana Club debate misses the point. Redevelopment is now a necessity for climate resilience, green spaces, and liveability.

I spent an evening under the stars and a ‘blue moon’ at Sunder Nursery, reminiscing about my childhood and torrid Delhi summers when my father introduced us to local and exotic plants at the government nursery. This was followed by picnics on the sprawling lawns, feeling the chatai rub my back as I lay looking up, desperately trying to identify the constellations twinkling above me.

Nostalgia for those scrubby and scraggly lawns was replaced by a grudging admiration for the architects who had painstakingly designed a space where city dwellers could escape their oven-like homes to a haven of stepwells, baolis, and chhatris inspired by traditional Indian architecture. As part of the Humayun’s Tomb redevelopment project, the Archaeological Survey of India, along with the Aga Khan Trust and its team of urban planners, created a space that made me think: Is redevelopment of a city really bad for urban dwelling?

In the last 5-10 years, the skyline in my city has rapidly changed. From Kidwai Nagar and New Moti Bagh to Sarojini Nagar and Ring Road, extensive redevelopment projects have been carried out in the heart of New Delhi. Where dilapidated government residential quarters dating back to the colonial era once stood with their crumbling facades, glorious modern skyscrapers now tower above the neighbourhood. When development calls, the city needs to catch up.

Yet, the proposed redevelopment of the Delhi Gymkhana Club, another colonial relic, has sparked outrage among a section of people.

Also Read: Modi’s austerity call revives India’s forgotten culture of sacrifice and survival

The question of redevelopment becomes urgent given the pressures on growing cities.

According to a UN-Habitat report on the state of Asian cities, the economy in Asia-Pacific is the most dynamic in the world. However, it notes that in seeking rapid economic growth, the urban environment and fallout from climate change have been neglected. Constantly expanding cities have pushed the limits of facilities and infrastructure to a point where many are literally bursting at the seams.

By contrast, better developed cities in countries such as Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and Singapore are planned, comfortable, and safe spaces to inhabit. A 2018 UN report projected that 68 per cent of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050. It says that urbanisation — “the gradual shift in residence of the human population from rural to urban areas” — combined with the overall growth of the world’s population will result in 2.5 billion people being added to urban areas by 2050. About 90 per cent of this increase is likely to........

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