The Perfect City Square
‘Churchgate could be an urban plaza’
Abha Narain Lambah /// heritage conservation architect 

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.