Aaditya Thackeray calls for unified urban design vision for Mumbai

Referring to the proposed redevelopment of Dharavi, he said, “This is also what we want for Dharavi. Besides the fact that the residents remain within Dharavi, there needs to be a certain texture and design sense when planning the pocket,” adding that the housing department issues random permissions for building constructions.

He also suggested that even infrastructure such as flyovers should follow a uniform visual approach, saying they must be painted with a certain colour scheme aesthetic.

The exhibition, held over the weekend, mapped everyday design decisions in the H West ward comprising Bandra, Santacruz and Khar West.

According to Bombay Greenway, the ward has only 0.87 square metres of open space per person, far below the nine square metres recommended by the World Health Organization. The study pointed to the privatisation of play areas and time restrictions in public gardens as key barriers to access.

The exhibition proposed several interventions, including increasing green cover around Bandra railway station and developing an 8.7 kilometre pedestrian and cycling greenway from Carter Road to the Mahim waterfront, along with improvements along Linking Road.

On the proposed transformation of Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Thackeray said, “Mahalaxmi racecourse should remain as is. Our suggestion was racecourse is a beautiful place. Our design was to landscape it without digging a single inch. What do we need an underground sports complex for? I hope that it can be stopped.”

Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who also attended the closing event, acknowledged that cycling tracks and footpaths were not historically integrated into Mumbai’s planning.

“Like cycling tracks, even footpaths were not planned except in South Mumbai which continues to have good footpaths. For us, the challenge is to maintain the existing footpaths. We are trying to bridge this gap with the new infrastructure projects where we are making efforts to carve cycle tracks and walking space,” he added.