Updated On: 18 January, 2026 07:39 AM IST | Mumbai | Tanisha Banerjee
...but we want to hope for the best. That’s why we got architects and urban planners reimagine an aspirational Mumbai for the newly-elected corporators to take note of

Abha Narain Lambah’s firm took on a government project to redesign the area around the Gateway of India in 2023. For this she designed a rendering of the Gateway Plaza, as seen above. Her version of the Plaza would provide uniterrupted views of the monument. The project suddenly fell through. Lambah hopes that BMC restarts this project. ILLUSTRATION/ABHA NARAIN LAMBAH
1 Rebuild and redesign: Churchgate is one of the most important hubs of the city. We should redesign it as an urban plaza. It could have facilities for tourists: information centres, crèches, libraries, and activities that make it a multifunctional station. Azad Maidan could also be revamped to be able to see Mahapalika Marg and take back the encroached areas. My firm was also supposed to redesign the Gateway Plaza [meant to provide uninterrupted views of the Gateway of India]. It went through tender and then the project was suddenly shelved. I hope the BMC restarts that project.
2 Focus on pedestrians: We need better gradients for wheelchairs. We could have systems where a physically challenged person can push a button at a signal to cross the road — things that are internationally accepted for universal accessibility.