Child as the storyteller of urbanitY : Case of Gurugram, Haryana

Abstract

Gurugram, Haryana, is the melting pot of different social and cultural stratas of the Indian population. The instant urbanization phenomenon of Gurugram, post the IT boom has resulted in a global, shimmering city with no heart. As the city endeavours to tackle the pressing ‘adult’ concerns such as transport, infrastructure, economic sustainability and development boasting of global standards, ‘the child in the city’ becomes minor issue. The effect of the environment on the development of children has been well documented but the voice of the child as a stakeholder of the city is absent from the dialogue of planning process in Indian urban settlements. As the city matches the aspirations of the parents, the association of the children with the city is under duress. Urban space envisaged by adults varies tremendously from what the children perceive. The paper attempts to explore possibilities of experiencing/envisaging the cityscapes through the eyes of the child and providing some broad guidelines for integrating child-friendly spaces within the gargantuan sprawl. The author follows and tries to comprehend the said cityscapes through the experiences of the children from the slums of Ghatagaon and the upscale Malibu Township, Gurugram, Haryana. The paper concludes on the possibility of the approach resulting in safe and interactive urban spaces for not just the child but all inhabitants of the city. This could further translate into a socially and economically sustainable city form which is the utmost need for today. While the importance of sustainable development is an important topic in academic and political discourse, the social impact of rapid urbanization on our future generation is an even more critical subject that requires immediate attention.