What is Placemaking?
Placemaking is an approach to urban design that prioritizes people over infrastructure.
It aims to create public spaces that are more than just utilitarian, but rather places that inspire and promote social interaction and cultural exchange.
Placemaking recognizes that public spaces play an essential role in the social and cultural life of communities, and that they are critical to creating a sense of place and identity.
Placemaking also emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices in urban design.
This involves incorporating green infrastructure, active transportation, and energy-efficient design principles into the design of public spaces.
Vacant, unused or underused spaces are being reclaimed for the benefit of communities.
The initiative is part of a special project of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under its Smart Cities Mission.
It is mostly implemented through urban local bodies, communities and MLAs and corporators.
Placemaking in India
Over 200 projects, covering approximately 2.75 lakh sq m, have been completed so far in more than 55 Indian cities.
The first placemaking marathon was launched in October 2021, with cities asked to suggest places that could be repurposed.
Trial projects were identified in 14 cities and the turnaround time was as less as 75 hours.
They involved upgradation of parks, restoration of water bodies, construction of plazas and creation of outdoor spaces in primary health centres and anganwadis.
In a primary health centre for child vaccination in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, an outdoor play and sitting area was created.
In Odisha’s Rourkela, a local pond was revived and the area around it was turned into a picnic spot.
Funding for the projects comes from various sources, including municipalities, the Smart Cities Mission corpus, NGOs, the Women and Child Development Department, and even local politicians.
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