San Francisco can show Bangalore the way

“It took 17 years of planning, 72 hours to install,” said San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom in May this year while dedicating the first public plaza (a pedestrian refuge). The plaza was an underutilised street and the movement is known as Pavement to Parks.
Newsom told officials and residents of his city that “it’s not that complex. We can be doing a lot more of this and in a quicker way if you adopt and embrace this proposal.  We are counting on all of you. If we’re successful here...if the community all agrees that this works... if the transit riders and the activists all agree that this works, then we look forward to bringing this to other parts of the city.”

Now, have you heard any of our politicians or officials speak like that? They have systematically destroyed Bangalore in the name of public good. How many of us have been involved in the planning process of any civic project?

A community’s needs and problems are hardly part of a Development Project Report (DPR). The DPR will be full of official jargon, shaky figures and unrealistic promises.
A democratic country is one which involves people in many aspects of civil society and governance.

In India, people are remembered only during elections. Has anybody lent an ear to the residents of Rajajinagar, who have been impacted by the Metro works? Has anybody paid attention to Banashankari’s residents, whose area is being bulldozed by the BBMP. Rajajinagar’s residents, too, do not want a signal-free corridor. But since no civic authority listened to their concerns, they moved court. Why should we always seek the judiciary’s help?

Shouldn’t we empower the communities and even involve them in, say, road works. At least let’s make a start.

But where do we meet? Unlike Delhi, there are no community halls in Bangalore. So why not create public places, parks, and plazas? An interaction is a must; it creates vibrant, empowered communities.

Here’s what one San Francisco civic official had to say: “We’ve needed more places to have a commons, more places to be together and enjoy each other in these busy days.” Mayor Newsom is in Bangalore. We hope we make Bangalore better by looking at San Francisco, a city that believes in reinventing itself for public good.