Abstract . i Acknowledgements . iii CONTENTS v List of tables . vii List of figures viii List of abbreviations . x Part 1 xii 1. Place, Space and Democracy xii 1.1. Spaces for Contestaion: The World 1 Landsgemeinde: Swiss Cantonal Assembly 1 Free Speech Zone (FSZ): The United States of America . 2 1.2. Speaker’s Corners from around the world . 3 Speaker’s Corner at Hyde Park, London: 1855 3 Speaker’s Corner at the Domain, Sydney: 1878 3 Speaker’s Corner at Splash Point, West Sussex, United Kingdom 4 Speaker’s Corner at Wascana Park, Regina, Canada: 1966 . 5 De Spreeksteen at Oosterpark, Amsterdam: 2005 5 Speaker’s Corner at Lichfield Cathedral Square, Lichfield: 2009 . 6 Speaker’s Square at George Town, Little India, Penang: 2010 . 7 1.3. The Indian Context . 9 1.3.1 Spaces for Contestation: India 9 Freedom Grounds: India . 9 Azad Maidan at Mumbai: 1931 9 Shivaji Park at Mumbai: 1927 10 Ramlila Maidan at Ajmeri Gate, New Delhi: 1961 11 1.3.2 Urban Spaces for Contestation: India . 11 Puttanna Chetty Town Hall at Bengaluru: 1935 12 Central Park at Connaught Place, New Delhi: 1933 12 Jantar Mantar at Connaught Place, New Delhi: 1724 13 1.4. Urban Governance and the Virtual Space 16 Expanding Electronic Government, United States of America: 2002 . 16 Transformational Government, United Kingdom: 2005 17 E-Government Unit, New Zealand: 2001 17 National E-governance Plan (NeGP), India: 2006 . 18 1.5. Inferences . 19 2. Participatory Governance Models : India 20 2.1. 74th Amendment Act of 1992: Decentralising Municipal Governance 20 2.1.1. Ward Committee Structures: Case Studies in India . 22 2.2. Nagar Raj Bill Act, 2006 : JNNURM Community Participation Law. 23 2.2.1. Community Participation Models: Case Study in India . 24 2.3. Framework of Governance : Case of Ahmedabad, Gujarat . 25 The Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation, 1950 . 25 2.4. Inferences . 28 Part 2 30 3. The City, Civic Institution and Civic Space 30 3.1. Civic Space-Culture Concept . 30 3.2. Civic Institutions in History and Modern Interpretations: World 32 3.2.1. Interpretation of the Athenian Assembly: Kara-za, a movable theater 35 3.3. Civic Institution as a derivative of city type: Case of Ahmedabad 39 3.3.1. The city as a derivative of a socio-political order 41 3.3.2. The city as a derivative of a socio-cultural order . 42 3.3.3. Inferences: The civic space and institution as a derivative of city type . 43 4. Design Development 45 4.1. Situating the Design in the context of Ahmedabad City 45 4.1.1. The process of identifying potential sites in the city of Ahmadabad . 45 4.1.2. The process of evolving a new typology of institution 50 4.1.2.1. Screening Process: Ward Level Study . 51 Part 3 55 5. Drafting of a Design Process Brief 55 5.1. Framing of a Methodology 56 5.2. Framing of Scenarios 58 5.3. Framing Guidelines 60 5.3.1. Guidance Summary 61 References 62