Re-establishing the Relationship between Urban Structure & Humanizing Aspects of Indian Cities After the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Delhi, India

Abstract

Cities are dynamic and liveable places where people experience the phenomenon of life. The essence of Indian cities lies in the interrelationships between urban structure and human aspirations. Urban structure is not just the sum of development blocks, built entities, open spaces, streets and landscapes. It is a set of socio-cultural integration the inhabitants develop. COVID-19 affected urban structures by eliminating humanizing aspects to sustain life. The fundamentals of social integration: place making, flexibility and character, which together shape up the city are under stress. The pandemic has undermined the roots of humanizing aspects in shaping the urban structure as the key urban form determinant. Depending upon urban ways of life, during the pandemic, people have carved their own ways to sustain life. It has sparked a concern about how urban structure will remain humanized by tackling the contradicting values like social disconnection and community disintegration to enrich and enliven the new normal. This paper examines the case of capital of India, Delhi which has undergone a major shift during the pandemic. It deciphers the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on humanizing aspects of Delhi by doing a comparative analysis between the compact and standard prototype of urban structure. First, the study adopts an investigative approach to record, document and analyse the impact on existing urban structure by examining their prototype. Then through physical observations, photographs and documentary evidences, it provides a toolkit useful for re-establishing and shaping the urban structures as humanized urban structures in making a resilient future.