What Will Delhi Look Like in 2050?
A swelling population, high crime rates, and increasing pressure on resources like water are likely to evoke doomsday scenarios in people’s minds when they picture Delhi in 2050. But a group of Delhi-based architects decided to look at the brighter side–and at how the city could improve between now and then if it embraces one of several models they came up with.
“While others have already given up on the city and its river, we thought as optimists,” said Dutch architect Anne Feenstra, who led archi – i, the team behind the “Delhi 2050” project. After two-and-a-half years of extensive research the project came up with four ideal models developed around different priorities: culture, trade, the environment and public safety. This week the models are touring Delhi on a push-cart.
The organizers didn’t just bring together a team of architects and urban planners: Experts on areas ranging from healthcare to water management also offered their input, as did many of the city’s inhabitants. Through workshops and public discussions, housewives, school children and autorickshaw drivers were among the stakeholders who shared their priorities for the future of their city with the archi-i team. The most eco-friendly of the four scenarios is called “Urban Harvest.” Be it sun, water, energy or agricultural products, this vision aims to break Delhi’s dependence on its rural surroundings for resources. Water harvesting is one of this model’s top concerns. Although water management is already a problem, Mr. Feenstra said that water scarcity and rising water prices are likely to mean that “by 2050 we won’t be washing our cars any more.” This model recommends harvesting water during the monsoon to store and use year-round for things like drip-irrigation within the city.