By Shveta Mathur – “This area used to be a dump yard with mounds of waste, unkempt parking and was a haven for gamblers. Today it has transformed into a ‘Parda Bagh’ [Literally, a veiled garden, or women’s park], which all of us women can use while our children are in school. We now have a space where we can breathe fresh air in the open.”—Sayeeda Begum, Nizamuddin Basti
-Excerpt- The project, begun in 2007, by the Aga Khan Development Network in partnership with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Archaeological Survey of India and the Central Public Works Department, aims to improve the quality of life of the local residents. The work includes efforts to improve local schools and sanitation, provide better health care and create work opportunities, in party by leveraging the area’s medieval heritage.
The biggest challenge we have faced from the beginning is engaging with the community and addressing their needs of physical open space not just by defining how a space should be used, but by identifying and collaborating with the users of that space.
via Urban Journal: Putting the ‘Public’ in Public Spaces – India Real Time – WSJ.
Ismailimail 