published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 24, 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Archaeology (Prehistoric & Historical), Faculty of Arts. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2001. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

As developing India faces rapid urbanization, the provision of sufficient infrastructure facilities to the informal settlers remains a major challenge. Pune is a second tier city in the state of Maharashtra which is transforming itself into a metropolitan city. The research is an attempt to better understand the existence of slums, explore and suggest empowerment opportunities to improve the living conditions of an informal settlement dweller. It questions the scope and limitations of the architectural profession specific to the responsibilities of architects towards the impoverished people within the society. This study argues and advocates the need to understand and respond accordingly to the needs of the people who lack access to resources. As an attempt to better understand this perspective, the study takes a closer look at the works and philosophies of Dr. Wes Janz, Dr. Nihal Perera, Prof. Hector LaSala, Lebbeus Woods, Ar. Pratima Joshi, Prof. Nabeel Hamdi, and Robert Neuwirth. Also the research explains the efforts of several non profit organizations like School on Wheels (Indianapolis), Second Helpings (Indianapolis), Hamara Footpath (Mumbai, India), and MicroPlace which work towards providing better living conditions to disadvantaged people. The study concludes with a proposal for a Non Governmental Organization in Pune, India that will provide the slum dwellers access to education, the internet, and monetary resources which will lead towards their enablement. / Paradigm shift -- The naked truth -- Generations of social exile -- Do we really know slums? -- Existence of Pune slums -- Architectural education in India -- Implications of development -- Agents of change -- Are we well equipped as professionals? -- Exploring various forms of empowerment -- Proposal for an NGO. / Department of Architecture

This thesis explores the use of collective memory in the practice of landscape architecture, specifically the use of 'memory mapping' as an imaging technique. The specific site chosen is Shaniwarwada, a fortified royal complex dating from the eighteenth century, in the city of Pune, India. In order to gain an insider's perspective of the site, written questionnaires were distributed and interviews were given. The findings of these inquiries coupled with an understanding of contemporary theories concerning memory mapping guided the development of programs and physical interventions. It is hoped that these undertakings will enhance the role of Shaniwarwada as an historical site and a community place in the future.

This thesis explores the use of collective memory in the practice of landscape architecture, specifically the use of 'memory mapping' as an imaging technique. The specific site chosen is Shaniwarwada, a fortified royal complex dating from the eighteenth century, in the city of Pune, India. In order to gain an insider's perspective of the site, written questionnaires were distributed and interviews were given. The findings of these inquiries coupled with an understanding of contemporary theories concerning memory mapping guided the development of programs and physical interventions. It is hoped that these undertakings will enhance the role of Shaniwarwada as an historical site and a community place in the future. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

Construction workers are an important resource in a country where housing is a desperate need and an unaffordable proposition for millions and where housing built by the organized sector serves only a marginal population. Much therefore depends on the workers' know how and skills to produce affordable and quality housing. In a country like India, where traditional home building technology is being fast replaced by building technology from the west, it is essential to know how and to what extent is this change imbibed by these producers of housing---the construction workers. How do people become construction workers? How and where do they learn and train? What are their sources of new technology? What are their systems and conditions of operation? These questions become significant if this resource has to be trained and deployed not only for improving quality of construction but also to actively involve them in the alleviation of the state of technology, diffusion of much needed technology innovations and development of a powerful and effective grass root level resource to upgrade the housing conditions of the country's poor. This dissertation pursues these issues with the aid of a study of skilled construction workers in the Pune region of India. It ends with a conceptual model to help overcome some drawbacks of the present system and points to other related issues that need immediate consideration in the interest of overall development of the home building industry.

No description available.

The focus of this study is the design of a public open space on the Mutha River corridor at Pune in India. Like any other river in India, the Mutha River has religious significance to the region. The river has influenced the location and development of the city and featured prominently in the history of the region. Most of the historic heritage values of the city are along the river and are located in the study area. Though the river has been abused by damming of the catchment, removal of vegetation for urbanization, polluted by human and industrial waste and channelization, it still provides opportunities to be developed as a recreational resource. Insights from a study of water bodies in Canberra, Australia, where the design of the water bodies for urban recreation encompass ideas of sustainable design, combined with an appreciation of the heritage of Indian design, are used for the river corridor development at Pune. The proposed development of the river corridor to include parkland is designed to provide a recreational open space for the community as well as improve the overall health and management of the Mutha River corridor. The proposal will also try and achieve long-term sustainability of the river. The design considers hydrological, morphological, ecological, water quality, aesthetic, vegetation, recreation and cultural issues. A more naturalistic channel as an alternative to a hard engineering solution is proposed. It provides protection from flood and erosion hazards, addresses social concerns like environment and health, and provides a more attractive landscape in the high-density section of the city

This dissertation is concerned with the everyday lives of transnational Indian call center workers when situated within the global politics of voice-based outsourcing. The call center economy gained impetus in early 2000-2001, when multinational corporations began to train young men and women in India to mask their spatial and temporal location, in order that they could serve customers in the US and the UK. Taking calls through the night to serve the work day of Western consumers, these customer service agents were asked to assume a different name, location, and cultural and language markers, as part of the requirements of work. I explore the ways in which these young, middle-class workers located themselves within practices, contentious representations, and material outcomes of this transnational outsourcing economy. Through ethnographic research in Pune, a prominent university town and call center hub in western India, I investigate (1) everyday life in and out of the call center, (2) labor management practices within call centers, and (3) the socio-economic and cultural transformations that accompanied and framed the development of the urban Indian call center economy. This research engages with the machinations of multinational corporations as they incorporate large number of labor forces worldwide into transnational work. It builds on three main bodies of theory - flexible or late capital and flexibility, the South Asian postcolonial nation-state, and affective labor. Through these, I provide a thick description of the history, construction, maintenance and disruption of this site, as also the ways in which this particular story of capital was stabilized. I engage with questions such as, what complex negotiations underlie the ostensible success of new service economies in India? What are its cultural, political and economic determinants and ramifications? What grounds are the claims of state, capital and culture being contested or reified upon, and what do such negotiations mean for service workers within the landscape of urban India? This dissertation shows how the practice of everyday life in this transnational milieu is best explained as the collusion and tension between the contested socio-economic spaces of the new Indian middle-classes and middle-class-ness, and an ungrounded discourse of mobile and flexible capital. The stories of call center workers in this analysis are the stories of particular subjects called upon and striving to be constantly flexible in order to successfully become middle-class and global in the same breath, one often seamlessly overlapping the other. / text

Over the centuries, cities have gained limelight and have significantly grown powerful with an increased level of importance. The rapid growth and urbanization posing a fatally critical threat to the future as the population is growing with each day. The development from the rural to urban life and the journey to an urban civilization has left the city in tatters. It has had adverse impacts on both social and environmental frontiers. Such rapid growth has led to the uncontrolled growth of population in countries that are in the process of development, and this growth is interpreted by means of concrete structuring with no apparent thought given to fundamentals such as feasibility, aesthetics, health, safety, road network or transportation. This leaves a very small window for even accommodating places for recreation in unplanned cities. Such spaces use shared spaces for recreation. Spaces like markets or public squares or streets. The cultural heritage of India lies solely in its old cities, towns and ancient settlements. Due to globalization and groundbreaking pace of urbanization in the recent times, the historic fabric has been radically altered. As cities have evolved through aspirations and ideas only, with no functional thought whatsoever, it is vital for a developing country like India to recognize that without regard for its heritage it cannot build a future, or that a development without its heritage would be only unsustainable. / Master of Science