Social interaction in the time of social distancing
By: Hambarde, Anubandh
.
Publisher: Mumbai Indian Institute of Architects 2021Edition: Vol.86(4), April.Description: 12-16p.Subject(s): ARCHITECTURE GENERAL (AR-GEN)Online resources: Click here
In:
Journal of the Indian institute of architects :(JIIA)Summary: The pandemic induced by COVID-19 virus has triggered the debate
on reasons of rapid virus spread in cities. Since personal contact was the
primary reason for virus spread, many countries in the first half of 2020 im-
posed a complete lockdown of cities and closed all public places. This paper
looks critically at the relationship between housing form, social interaction
and informality at the time of such lockdown and social distancing. The paper
has collected data in Pune city between April to August 2020 by applying
the qualitative method of structured interviews and public observation. The
data collected is analysed from the framework of exchange, trust and locality
knowledge to reveal how residents of four diverse housing forms received
their daily supplies from informal businesses. During lockdown, Indian cities
faced challenges of economic crises and residents struggled to obtain daily
supplies. The plight of informal workers was epitomised by the exodus of
labours from many large cities of India. The paper refers to the theory of
D-System, economy of cities and informality to discuss the important yet
forgotten contribution of informal workforce in building, running and help-
ing the cities to survive a catastrophic pandemic. The paper concludes by
establishing the relation of formality of housing form with formality of social
interaction. The data also indicates that informality is the critical knowledge
for urban planning of Indian cities and the housing form which promotes
informality leads to more sustainable urban form and builds a cohesive soci-
ety. These conclusions are expected to be a critical contribution for further
research to build epistemological concepts on informality in city planning
and housing form to survive any such future catastrophe.
| Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Articles Abstract Database
|
School of Architecture Archieval Section | Not for loan | 2022-0583 |
The pandemic induced by COVID-19 virus has triggered the debate
on reasons of rapid virus spread in cities. Since personal contact was the
primary reason for virus spread, many countries in the first half of 2020 im-
posed a complete lockdown of cities and closed all public places. This paper
looks critically at the relationship between housing form, social interaction
and informality at the time of such lockdown and social distancing. The paper
has collected data in Pune city between April to August 2020 by applying
the qualitative method of structured interviews and public observation. The
data collected is analysed from the framework of exchange, trust and locality
knowledge to reveal how residents of four diverse housing forms received
their daily supplies from informal businesses. During lockdown, Indian cities
faced challenges of economic crises and residents struggled to obtain daily
supplies. The plight of informal workers was epitomised by the exodus of
labours from many large cities of India. The paper refers to the theory of
D-System, economy of cities and informality to discuss the important yet
forgotten contribution of informal workforce in building, running and help-
ing the cities to survive a catastrophic pandemic. The paper concludes by
establishing the relation of formality of housing form with formality of social
interaction. The data also indicates that informality is the critical knowledge
for urban planning of Indian cities and the housing form which promotes
informality leads to more sustainable urban form and builds a cohesive soci-
ety. These conclusions are expected to be a critical contribution for further
research to build epistemological concepts on informality in city planning
and housing form to survive any such future catastrophe.
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