11. 1 2
3 4
each portrait is a different eco-soci0-cultural household from Delhi
12. Observation # 3
people are generally
nice, hospitable,
caring - it is human
nature to find
emotional connection
13. How do we get people
to think about /care
for others too?
14. is
empathy… an alternative
1. Cognitive
The drive to identify another persons thoughts
and feelings
2. Affective
The drive to respond appropriately to another
persons thoughts and feelings
15. low high
Empathy Empathy
High Testosterone Release of Oxytocin
(women empathize better) (love hormone)
Stressed Shared culture
Tired
Fear Family
Threatened Friends
Propaganda Peers
Nations
As a designer living and practicing in this inscrutable, infuriating, incredible city, I’ve come to depend on Delhi to provide inspiration for my works. This presentation is really my journey as a designer over the years and how living in this city has shaped my perspective on design and life.
as a child one of my fondest memories are around playing the streets of Delhi and where the hawker’s carts were an eagerly anticipated everyday ritual. Every evening, on nominated days different hawkers would come into the street. It was a reason for the neighbours to interact, whether over the price of vegetables or the tangy-ness of Bers. It brought out people from their homes into the street, they were a vehicle for social interactionsThen in 2010, during the very badly designed common wealth games, for a while the plan was to ban the street vendors from plying on the street. The idea was sacrilege, my nostalgia ruined. So I decided to bring the carts into our home and that became
I’ve also seen the way this city has morphed over the years, from a city where one could run freely in its streets to necessitating the need to learn self-defense. From the minimalist raised eyebrow hearing the news of road kill in the papers.. It’s a harsh city, a rude, prude, aggressive, anxious, agitated state.We have all experienced the same sense of exasperations and have insulated ourselves for the sake of self preservation. Today it me and mine Vs you and yours.Story delite
This led me to search for a means to question various ways to do this….we are asking to people to change the way they react i.e. it requires a psychological re-wiring, so…
But this won’t be very popular and we aren’t in the middle ages nor do I want be seen as following in the steps to mamtabanerjee;
perhaps a less severe alternative is required
I’ve do a lot of design research in the field and that often involves going to people’s homes, meeting them in their environments and over the years I’ve realised that unlike what we see in the street all day people are generally nice, especially on one-on-one interactions, so then what happens to the same people on the street? Why do we turn offensive? Is it psychosomatic of the many sordid stories and experiences in Delhi and our first reaction is of suspicion and aggression?Here they are in the comfort of what is familiar and they don’t have to engage with what isn’t? They are happy within those boundaries. While the only condition for defiant interaction is the street. Here, the demographic poles of Delhi intersect, even if unintentionally.
How do we get them to care for others too?
Give examples: for cognitive + associative Mehrauli gurgaon crossingAttachment is the key to forming empathy
We connect with people when we have a shared interest, even if it is fleeting, so how do find and establish those emotional connects in a city?
I want every city policy maker, architect, urban planner, the MCD to do this exercise when they are conspiring for Delhi. It is a tool to synthesize observations and draw out unexpected insights, to really understand the people that one is planning and designing for
So when I feel empowered as a citizen in city I will respond with a sense of commitment and ownership towards my city and its people.