SPACES ARE BEING UNDERUTILIZED
Final Design Project
Title
Spaces are being underutilized
Student
Prachi Jain
Mentor
Ipsita Rajak
Year
2022
Bachelors in
Design
Mentor Declaration
I, the undersigned, approve the following study as
creditable work on the above subject carried out and
presented in the manner, sufficiently satisfactorily to
warrant its acceptance as a pre-requisite to the
evaluation of the final design project. The student has
satisfactorily worked in tandern with the mentoring
provided for the same.
It is to be understood, that by this approval, the
undersigned does not endorse or approve the
staternents made, opinions expressed or conclusion
drawn therein, but approves the study only for the
purpose for which it has been submitted and satisfies
them to the requirements laid down in the acadernic
programme.
Mentor Name
Signature
Originality Statement
I hereby declare that this submission is my own work
and it contains no full or substantial copy of
previously published material, or it does not even
contain substantial proportions of material which
have been accepted for the award of any other
degree or final graduation project. Moreover I also
declare that none of the concepts are borrowed or
copied without acknowledgement. I further declare
that the intellectual content of this graduation
project is the product of my own work, except to the
extent that assistance from others in the project's
design and conception or in style, presentation and
linguistic expression is acknowledged. This
graduation project (or part of it) was not and will not
be submitted as assessed work in any other
academic course
Student Name
Signature
Acknowledgement
Firstly, I thank my parents for supporting me through out my journey.
I would like to give my warmest thanks to Ipsita , my mentor for the guidence, constant support, and
pushing my limits. Thank my college The Design village for giving this opportunity to work on this design
project and my batchmates for supporting me throughout the journey.
Content
Glossery
Introduction
From observations to Insight
Case study
Physical elements that lead to the failure of public spaces?
How people perceive space strongly shapes its use
The State of Public Space in 2025
Understanding why public spaces fail ?
Major factors which make a public place
Transformative Spaces A Solution for Accessible Urban Life
Case Study on Accessible Public Spaces
Eyes on the Street
How It Lives On in Indian Urbanism
Categorizing public spaces
Streets for everyone & anyone
Typology
Relevant Case Studies
Neighborhood Street
Conservancy Lanes
Understanding Conservancy lanes as transformable urban assets
Glossery
Space is location, physical space and physical geography.
Place is what gives a space meaning, “personality” and a connection to a cultural or personal identity. It
is the culturally ascribed meaning given to a space. It is the “vibe” that you get from a certain space, and
it exists for a reason.
A “non-place” is a to describe spaces that are not significant in themselves and don’t create strong
personal or cultural connections for people.
Misuse- The inappropriate or unintended use of a space or element, often leading to safety, hygiene, or
functional issues. In conservancy lanes, misuse may include dumping waste, encroaching, blocking
access, or any activity that contradicts the intended purpose of the space.
Disuse- The condition in which a space is rarely used or entirely abandoned, resulting in neglect,
deterioration, and loss of purpose. Disuse often contributes to unsafe conditions, poor maintenance,
and negative perceptions of the space.
A shared, accessible environment that is open to all people regardless of age, gender, or background.
Public spaces include streets, parks, plazas, and community facilities that support social interaction,
movement, recreation, and collective life.
Introduction
Public spaces hold the potential to shape social experiences, yet many urban environments today are filled
with neglected and underutilized areas. These non-places lack identity, purpose, and emotional
connection, resulting in environments that feel unsafe, disconnected, and socially empty. Their failure raises
a question: how can design intervene to restore meaning and life to these forgotten spaces?
Spatial design plays a crucial role in influencing how people interact with their surroundings. Elements such
as accessibility, visibility, comfort, and opportunities for social engagement determine whether a space
becomes vibrant and inclusive or remains abandoned and overlooked.
This project explores the potential of transforming non-places into active forms of social infrastructure.
The aim is to create safer, more engaging and meaningful public environments.
From Observation to Insight
It all started with one observation. Public spaces around us are not being utilized to their full potential or
for their primary purpose. Few of the examples are below-
Type of Spaces Reason why they are being misused or disused
Parks Lack of proper lighting, entrance, a layout that creates unsupervised corners
Parking lots Lack of proper lighting, security
Streets Lack of sidewalk, uneven pavement, hub for loitering
Public restroom Hidden away from a main path, public view can feel unsafe.
Case Study
Public Space Initiatives
New Delhi Municipal Council had requested the Delhi
Urban Art Commission (DUAC) to undertake studies on
“Landscape initiatives” for 10 public spaces in Delhi, to
develop viable solutions for improving the quality and
reclaiming the enjoyment of public spaces by various
innovative design interventions.
Physical elements that lead to the
failure of public spaces?
Through case studies and secondary research, major elements were identified that lead to the failure of a
public space.
Poor
Dead zones
Lack of entrances Inconvenien
around the
places to and visually tly located
edges of a
sit inaccessibl transit stop
place
e spaces
Paths that
Lack of Dysfunction don' t go
al features Domination
gathering where of a space
points people want by vehicles
to go
How people perceive space
strongly shapes its use
Perceptual Factors are as following-
Accesibility Visual Emotional
Safety Comfort
& proximity perception Bond
The State of Public Space in 2025
By intentionally designing spaces where people can bond, interact
across different backgrounds, and casually engage with one
another, we can create environments that combat isolation and
promote social health.
Public space can break
the vicious cycle of
loneliness.
Disconnected public spaces often fail to support broader urban functions, such as
facilitating mobility, fostering economic activities, or enhancing environmental resilience.
Physical, financial, and cultural
barriers prevent many from
benefiting from public spaces.
Understanding why
public spaces fail ?
Many public spaces are designed more as visual showpieces than as places for people to live, gather, or
interact. They appear neat, clean, and perfectly organized, yet remain empty and disconnected from
everyday life. These spaces are meant to be looked at but not touched—polished environments that
prioritize aesthetic control over human experience. When people feel unwelcome, restricted, or unable to
participate, public spaces lose their purpose and become lifeless. This design mindset ultimately
contributes to the failure of public spaces.
How do we turn a space into a place ?
MAJOR FACTORS WHICH
MAKE A PUBLIC PLACE
ACCESS & LINKAGES You can judge the accessibility of a place by its connections to its surroundings, both
visual and physical. A successful public space is easy to get to and get through; it is visible both from a
distance and up close.
COMFORT & IMAGE Whether a space is comfortable and presents itself well - has a good image - is key to its
success. Comfort includes perceptions about safety, cleanliness, and the availability of places to sit.
USES & ACTIVITIES Activities are the basic building blocks of great places: They are the reasons why people
visit in the first place, and why they continue to return. They are also what makes a place special or unique.
When there is nothing to do in a place, it will sit empty and unused.
SOCIABILITY When people see friends, meet and greet their neighbors, and feel comfortable interacting
with strangers, they tend to feel a stronger sense of place or attachment to their community and to the
place that fosters these types of social activities.
How can public spaces be designed to promote social
connection?
A variety of physical aspects of different public spaces was found to potentially encourage social
interaction and cohesion, i.e., accessibility, mixed land use, presence of street furniture.
Transformative Spaces A Solution for
Accessible Urban Life
T0 PROVIDE A TEMPORARY SOLUTION FOR A PERMANENT PROBLEM
Many urban areas, particularly in developing countries, suffer from a shortage of well-designed, permanent
public spaces like parks, community centers, and plazas.
TO ACTIVATE UNDERUTILIZED SPACES
They activate underutilized spaces. Many cities have underused or "dead" spaces like vacant lots, street
corridors, or forgotten alleyways. By temporarily transforming these areas into vibrant public spaces
Case Study on Accessible Public Spaces
Enhancing Urban Social Experience
One Green Mile
Turning an overbearing element of concrete infrastructure into a public space for the entire local
community, the design adds much-needed amenities and greenery, improves mobility, and creates a strong
visual identity for the area. On a broader scale, the design offers a repeatable approach to sustainable urban
development that asserts a new benchmark for underused public spaces in the intense Indian metropolis.
Raahgiri
This is a weekly event that aims to reclaim the streets of our cities as social hubs. It became a day for people
of all ages to come together and reconnect with their community and the outdoors in a meaningful way.
Markets
Sarafa Market in Indore is a renowned market A weekly market is a temporary marketplace, set up
famous for its dual nature: it serves as a traditional on a specific day of the week in a fixed location,
jewelry market during the day and transforms into a offering a wide variety of goods. These markets are
vibrant street food hub at night. adaptive because they are temporary and flexible.
Eyes on the Street
How to make a space look safe
Eyes on the Street concept argues that streets
become safer and more socially alive when there are
people, residents, shopkeepers, pedestrians are
constantly observing the public realm.
Rather than policing or surveillance systems, Jacobs
proposed that designing for social visibility,
walkability, and interaction is what truly keeps
neighborhoods alive and safe.
How It Lives On in Indian Urbanism
Case Study
Aranya Low-Cost Housing
Each narrow street in Aranya is an extension of the house.
children play, women sit in doorways, and neighbors watch out
for one another. These lived-in edges create a layer of informal
surveillance.
Pol Houses of Ahmedabad
What makes Pols unique is their layered public-private
transition-doorsteps, raised platforms, windows, and thresholds
are all activated spaces. Residents spend time here, creating a
constant human presence along the street.
Setting up the Context
Categorizing public spaces
based on it’s use
Parks &
Squares & Public
Open Green
Plazas Buildings
Spaces
Playground Market &
Streets &
& Commercial
Transit
Recreationa Public
Spaces
l Areas Spaces
Streets for everyone & anyone
The Indian street's inherent character is not just a mode of transit, but a
multi-layered social construct.
A cultural window
From children Temporal nature of
playing outside to Indian streets
adults catching up promotes
over chai at their community bonding
favourite roadside and instills
stall. secularism.
The boundary They are also the
between the meeting spots
private and the where several
public begins to stories are shared
blur on the streets among the
neighborhood.
Stage for societal evolution
Streets serve as a powerful platform for
communities to express their collective voice. They
become vibrant arenas for political and cultural
statements, allowing individuals to share their
opinions and engage in public discourse.
From the days of the freedom struggle, marked by
the Dandi March and the Swadeshi movements, to
recent protests demanding change, streets have
always been the stage for societal evolution.
Typology
Transit Streets are mostly arterial or Market & Commercial streets are Neighbourhood streets are mostly
sub-arterial streets connecting major streets that serve as destinations collector or local streets within or
parts of the city. with mostly commercial activity connecting neighbourhoods.
along both sides.
Relevant Case Studies
Activating Local Streets into Socially vibrant public spaces
Designing for Inclusive, Multifunctional, and Livable Streets in Indian Neighborhoods
Site Considered but Not Selected
Neighborhood Street
The site is a neighborhood street in a residential area located in Sector 13, Rohini, North West Delhi. This
location was chosen because it is largely disused, despite having good physical conditions and being
situated in a prime location that could serve as a convenient shortcut to nearby amenities. However,
users typically avoid it. Through observations and conversations with nearby residents, it was found that the
street has become a spot for loitering, perceived as unsafe, and suffers from poor lighting.
Selected Site
Conservancy Lanes
The site is a conservancy lane located within an MIG DDA colony ( Deepali enclave ) in Pitampura, Delhi. This
location was chosen because it often functions as an ignored and neglected space. Through observation, it
became evident that these lanes were not being utilized, even though they have the potential to serve as
convenient routes for movement. The lanes are 4-6 m wide.
Understanding Conservancy lanes
as transformable urban assets
What
are Conservancy Lanes
Conservancy lane means a lane intended to be used mainly for scavenging purposes and not for providing primary
access to any road, street, dwelling, house, hut or building.
Permitted (govt. regulations) Prohibited (govt. regulations)
Improved cleaning & waste-management interventions Permanent construction or structural alterations
Surface repair, drainage & lighting upgrades Encroaching public passage
Non-permanent, reversable & temporary interventions Blocking for emergency access
Signage Unregulated commercial use
Why
Conservancy Lanes
Conservancy lanes form a substantial yet overlooked part of Delhi’s urban landscape, often remaining unsafe, unused,
and poorly maintained. Problems such as dim lighting, damaged surfaces, waste dumping, and encroachments have
turned them into neglected spaces that residents avoid.
However, these continuous corridors present a valuable opportunity. In a city where land is limited and density is rising,
conservancy lanes can be reclaimed and transformed into safer routes, improved connectivity, and practical community
spaces, all without requiring new land.
Issues
Impacting Conservancy Lanes Today
have turned very
Encroachme
unsafe into blind minimum
nt
spots foot fall
Social Maintenanc not taking Sanitation
perception e ownership issue
Narrative
By reimagining unused conservancy lanes as continuous, safe pathways for everyday, the intervention activates these
forgotten back-of-house spaces through movement and turning them into functional connectors that improve safety,
accessibility, and neighborhood cohesion.
Social and Cultural
Transformation
Transforming conservancy lanes into safe, continuous corridors can create meaningful improvement in
everyday neighborhood life. By introducing regular movement, these lanes gain visibility and passive
surveillance “eyes on the street” which naturally enhances safety and reduces misuse. Increased daily flow
also encourages residents to use the lanes as reliable shortcuts and mobility routes, integrating them into
routine life without requiring programmed activities or community-driven events.
Over time, the consistent presence of movement helps shift the lanes from neglected back spaces to
functional, valued parts of the [Link] simple but effective activation challenges the traditional
front-back divide in residential planning and supports a more connected, accessible, and people-oriented
urban environment.
Next Step
The idea behind the iterations is to activate the conservancy lanes through spatial design interventions. This phase of
development was carried out with the help six residents and four regular workers from the colony. They gave their
comments and feedback on the ideas.
Person 1 Person 4 Person 7 Person 10
Amit - Male Naman - Male Pramod - Male Poonam - Female
32 years old 22 years old 34 years old 22 years old
Businessman Businessman Guard House help
Person 2 Person 5 Person 8
Seema - Female Anju - Female Balveer - Male
49 years old 54 years old 28 years old
Houswife Houswife House help
Person 3 Person 6 Person 9
Divya - Female Reyaansh - Male Shella - Female
19 years old 11 years old 25 years old
Student Student House help
Iteration 1
Iteration 2
Iteration 3
Why they do not work
Although each iteration enhances the lane, they all fall short in delivering a truly activated or self-sustaining public space.
Iteration 1, despite adding greenery and benches, lacks a clear functional program, beyond preventing encroachment, it
does not create meaningful or daily-use value for residents.
Across all three iterations, the core issue remains: these designs beautify but do not establish a secondary purpose
strong enough to change how people use the lanes daily.
Concept
The intervention reframes conservancy lanes as dual-purpose corridors that support both service access and everyday
non-motorized movement. By partially converting the lanes into pedestrian and cycling paths and embedding intuitive
floor-based wayfinding that leads to major community nodes that is temples, markets, parks, and schools. The idea
transforms these overlooked linear spaces into functional mobility spines within the colony.
Stakeholders
PWD
Security
guards
DJL
RWA DDA
Residents
MCD
Colony Visitors
Association
Local
shopekeeper
Neighbouring
colonies
Possible Flow for Approval
Rwa / colony DDA ( primary MCD ( sanitation &
association approval ) drainage clearance)
DJB/ PWD/
RWA / COLONY ASS.
ELECTRICITY DEPT.
( EXECUTION)
(NOCs)
Funding
No heavy construction → fits MLA/MCD budget norms
Pedestrian & cycling upgrades match national priorities (NMT, Smart Mobility)
Wayfinding & identity elements suit CSR funding
Lighting + safety upgrades are commonly approved under MLA projects
This mixed model keeps the intervention affordable, scalable, and realistic, especially because it builds on
existing infrastructure rather than replacing it.
Materials
Colored Asphalt for flooring
₹350–₹650 per sq ft
handles cycling loads,
handles weather
handles drainage
Less maintenance
Wall-mounted IP65 LED bulkhead fixtures
₹800–₹900 each
ensuring durable
low-glare
uniform illumination suitable for narrow pedestrian, cycling corridors
minimal maintenance