Bengaluru Design Jam

Date: July 06, 2024

Building byelaws provide a legal framework to regulate building coverage, height, area of construction, and architectural design to maintain growth and orderly development of a city. These standards also consider necessary regulations required to protect buildings against noise, fire, earthquakes and structural failure. This was a response to the devastating 2001 Bhuj earthquakes- the Ministry of Urban Development decided to prepare the model building byelaws in 2003.  

These byelaws were provided to all states, out of which 22 states have adopted the comprehensive revision of Model Building Bye- Laws 2004. Further revisions have been incorporated to spatially address execution of national schemes, ease of doing business, adaptation to technological advancements, incorporation of environmental factors and promotion of safety and security.  

Apart from byelaws, there are also other guidelines, laid down by other statutory bodies:  

1. National Building Codes (NBC) –  focusing on providing guidelines for regulating building construction activities across the country. 

1. The National Green Tribunal (NGT)- addressing specific spatial problems concerning environmental protection areas such as forests, lakes, storm water canals, etc.  

1. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)- to develop, maintain and manage the National Highways entrusted to it by the Government of India.  

1. National Insititute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)- a guidebook for local governments to design and implement green building policies prepared by WRI India.  

1. Airport Authority of India- outlining rules for infrastructure in and around airport regions.   

However, for the design jam, BBMP/BDA byelaws served as starting points to inquire their relationship with design. While planners, architects, urban/ spatial designers aim to cater to social practices and concerns of the city, are byelaws responsive to these needs? Are they respected?  Is the agency of design limited because of them?  Can byelaws be reimagined to enable a sustainable transformation of our cities?  

OpenCity, Oorvani Foundation and Biome Environmental Solutions were partners for the design jam. The event was held at Vasant Nagar, Bengaluru.

The idea of the design jam was to get practitioners from various disciplines together and facilitate their engagement with these byelaws. Our participants responded to these provocations by raising critical questions. A few problem statements identified included: 

OUTPUTS FROM DATA JAM

TEAM 1

Sharad, Vivek, Abhay, Daksh, Nitish and Nidhi took the case of a gated community in Bangalore and problematized low stock of affordable housing, ghettoization, cutting off large swathes of land and severe access restriction to transportation networks. Their analysis advocated for integrating open data into the planning process for informed decision– actively involving citizens in shaping bye-law reforms through workshops, discussions, and public hearings.  

TEAM 2

Kaushik, Lakshmi, Devika, Adarsh and Sujit pointed out the disconnect between global livability standards and the lack of recognition of the same in  building byelaws by assessing the accessibility to civic amenities in three wards. Their analyses provided insights on good examples of cities that exhibit quality access to civic amenities, allowing us to frame recommendations that can be adopted in India.  

Yashaswini, Namoshi, Nemo, Druid and Umang attempted to relook at dwelling conditions of the city through the lens of mental and physical health. They assessed if byelaws inform the open space index, need for recreation and community space through the lens of built form.  

Amogh, Anshu, Arobindo, Dhruvin, Shanthala and Sudeep assed how the existing regulations aid/ deter city growth. They tried to respond to the unique character of Indian cities by questioning the blanket regulations that may not be relevant for diverse contexts. Their analysis advocated for Local Area Planning that is economy-responsive and accommodates dynamic changes through stakeholder participation.  

CONCLUSION

The Design Jam aimed at calling in enthusiasts to discuss the city’s built environment through the lens of building byelaws. The teams identified points of intervention by analyzing the gaps between existing byelaws and their coherence with prescribed living standards. The larger discussion pivoted around how the byelaws must go beyond regulating development and must keep with the city’s conversations and needs around inclusivity, unique nature of Indian cities, mental wellbeing and many other concerns that enable positive transformations.