Struggling for the use of urban streets: preliminary (historical) comparison between European and Indian cities

Abstract

Urban streets – as part of public space – can be defined as limited and valuable resources dedicated to public use. Using speed and scale as major spatial categories, and history as a methodological approach, we argue that the physical use and representation of urban streets reflect the array of uses and users and their understanding of governing the resource. We argue that by analysing the spatial subdivisions of urban streets it is possible to draw conclusions about the type of societal governance applied to them: a highly formalized and regulated or a less formalized and ad hoc type of governance. In this respect, space matters, and so do culture and geography: a comparative analysis among German and Indian cities shows how a similar urban model – mixed use, short distances and growing motor-vehicle dominance – can drive different outcomes. Due to different urban scales, speeds of urbanisation as well as institutional and cultural backgrounds, those two examples show remarkable divergences, especially when we discuss issues of inclusion and exclusion.