Aao, Jagah Banaaye!
Places for Khirkee
Objectives
To program public place with the residents of Khirkee Extension, a dense, urban village in South Delhi
To further integrate the existing Satpula Park and Jamun Park with the local communities of Khirki Extension, Sheikh Sarai, and Chirag Dilli
Left: Khirkee Extension faces an acute shortage of open space as most parks and streets within the community have turned into parking lots.
Why a Pop-Up?
Satpula Park is a 40-acre open space shared by residents of Khirkee Extension, Sheikh Sarai, and Chirag Dilli. We planned to ‘activate’ a portion of the Park with focused programs that would appeal to city residents across socio-economic classes. The pop-up was scheduled for March 2020 and was cancelled due to Covid-19.
We wanted to experiment with quick, easy-to-implement participatory design and planning tools that are impactful enough to activate public space, at least for a day. Our pop-up included a roster of creative individuals and organisations to engage in productive activities. We aim to include local street vendors in the ecosystem of this pop-up, in order to integrate different economies.
Satellite images of Satpula Park and Jamun Park in 2014
Satellite Images of Satpula Park and Jamun Park in 2017
Phase 1: Public Engagement, Jamun Park
Jamun Park, located at the street edge of Khirki Extension, opposite private shopping malls, has been developed from a garbage disposal site into an infrastructurally sound recreational area through a CSR initiative by Select CityWalk in 2017. The park area contains an open gymnasium, children’s play area, an open library, surveillance systems, and more.
In December 2019, we carried out a short public engagement exercise to ask park users about their experiences with the space, to assess how effectively it was really functioning as a public place. While Jamun Park acts as a strong node for residents of Khirki Village, the responses we collected pointed out a few failings:
Entry and exit is highly regulated by Select Citywalk (private) security personnel, with gates remaining closed for most of the day.
A strip of un-programmed, locked-up green land and three layers of fencing between the park and pavement isolates the park from passers-by, impeding the footfall of regular visitors to the area
The park is well-equipped with service infrastructure (lights, water, seating), but is still disconnected from the context in which it operates.
Public engagement exercise at Jamun Park
1 of 3 entrance gates, usually locked
Perimeter fencing at pavement, 7 ft. high
Infrastructure breakdown at Khirki Village node
Currently, Satpula has been adopted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to
carry out restoration work aiming to conserve, by highlighting its structural elegance and
enhancing its environmental aesthetics. The associated 40-acre park is controlled by the
Delhi Development Authority (DDA)..
While there is some collection of water during the monsoon, the lake primarily acts as a
cricket ground for local children for the rest of the year..
This large green area serves as the lungs for three neighbourhood communities of South
Delhi, namely, Khirkee Extension, Sheikh Serai and Chirag Dilli. Satpula co-exists in the
midst of historical monuments, residences, offices, cafes and street-art murals. From
the perspective of urbanism, it is an amalgamation of many different user-groups and
cultures.
Historically, socially and geographically significant, Satpula Park has the potential to
attract people from across the city, serving diverse residents with its multiple functions.
Left: Satpula Park and the urban sprawl of Khirkee Ext
Phase 2: Pop-Up Intervention at Satpula
In light of the pandemic, the public place activation at Satpula Park stands cancelled till further notice.
We will be back!
Project Details
Location: Public Spaces of Khirkee ie, Satpula Park and Jamun Park Type: Pop-Up Intervention Timeline: Upcoming in 2021 Original Partners: Khoj, Khirkee Voice, Swechha, Studio Otherworlds (Khel Khet Kahani) Intersections: Guerilla Urbanism, Placemaking, Community Engagement