Investigating Transformations Of Public Places In Planned Urban Developments: Inter-relationship between Related Parameters & Sub-Parameters

Abstract

Transformations are critical indicators of developmental direction & growth pattern of an urban area. Public Places (PP) are democratic spaces, where the common citizen has free access. Planned Urban Developments (PUD) are designed & developed to help direct uncontrolled growth or over-densification of cities. Transformations of PPs in PUDs are a neglected area of scrutiny due various factors including lack of temporal data and assumptions that PUDs follow a pre-decided trajectory of development without any resistance to original master plans. As is evident from existing literature, Transformations of PPs in PUDs are an important area of study in the current scenario. Therefore, a research work has been initiated to understand such Transformations and help direct them in desired directions. It is established that parametric studies are effective methods for analysing such Transformations. Following this, in this paper, an attempt is made to establish the inter-relationship between the identified Parameters & Sub-Parameters, through the process of Systematic Literature Review (SLR), and prioritization with Expert Opinion Survey (EOS). Parameters and Sub-Parameters is identified using SLR. Thereafter, an EOS was conducted to ratify & prioritize the Parameters and Sub-Parameters to arrive at a final set. The paper ultimately arrives at a set of three Parameters (Accessibility, Activity & Amenities) and six related Sub-Parameters which affect the Transformations PPs in PUDs. The final set of Parameters & Sub-Parameters can become a spring-board for future researchers aiming to study similar Transformations. Understanding these developmental directions, especially for PUDs can be critical to driving development along intended lines. The forthcoming part of the overall study will focus on testing the final set of Parameters and Sub Parameters through selected case studies in the state of West Bengal, India, where at least five new PUDs have been developed by the State Government, which are in various stages of its developmental journey.