Quietly Subversive: How Delhi’s UrbanVillages Rethink Density

Written by Saloni Kumari

The City of Contradictions

As we delve deeper into the streets of Delhi, we start realising the layers of history, culture, and everyday life that cities carry beyond merely their identities. It makes one realise that cities are all about layers, contradictions, and interconnections. Some parts of our cities are extremely well-planned: wide roads, gated communities, planned movement, and regulated flow of traffic. These parts are understood as efficient spaces which are meticulously thought-out and controlled through considerations of convenience and accessibility - this means, the perfect example of urban space, according to the modern perspective.

But despite their efficiency, these spaces often lack an emotional connection and a sense of human warmth.

High-density luxury housing complexes - skyline of the millennium city © Gurgaon News

Every time I find myself walking through places like Possangipur reveals the layered character of Delhi’s urban landscape, where traces of the past remain visible within the rhythms of everyday life. Located in West Delhi near Janakpuri, Possangipur originated as a traditional village settlement and gradually became integrated into the city’s expanding urban fabric, creating a unique blend of historic identity and contemporary development. I am confident that movement within these spaces will not be particularly smooth. This means that I have to yield to the rickshaw driver, avoid the motorbike and bicycle moving alongside me, make way for the people conversing precisely on the roads, squeeze through those tiny but busy streets. Despite appearing chaotic and disorganised from an urban planning perspective, the space possesses a unique vibrancy.

The Comfort of Being Among People

However, the thing which fascinates me the most about urban villages is that, despite all the mess and confusion around, there lies an emotional value. Despite being an outsider in those places, you feel relaxed and comfortable. Even if it is crowded somebody will watch out for you. Everybody knows everybody else. You have a feeling of familiarity between people living here. Shopkeepers know your face and the kids play in doorsteps that are neither fully private nor public.

The emotional connect is what modern day cities are missing.

Modern urban planning stresses efficiency of processes and how to make things easy for people. Urban development in such areas makes it easier for residents to move quickly from one place to another with higher levels of independence and efficiency. Yet, at the same time, throughout all those processes, humans get neglected. This makes urban villages interesting from a research perspective not because they are perfect in some ways, but because they represent a unique case of social living within modern cities.

Where Different Worlds Meet

The next characteristic feature of urban villages that I find rather peculiar is the proximity of two types of housing which sharply contrast from each other but are located in the same territory. On the one hand, there may be an old building, full of the traces of history and heritage, its old-fashioned look, small windows, and layering of its construction. Next door, there may appear a new structure built according to the newest architectural standards with bigger windows and tiling.

The vibrant social economy and daily life of an active urban village pathway of Possangipur © Urbz

They may be different in architecture. They definitely will differ in economic status in the community. Nevertheless, they somehow become unified into a single cityscape. It is unusual, indeed, how two objects can stand next to each other and still form unity. Urbanism is not about making things harmonious. The essence of urbanism lies in relationships. Through various scales, dynamics, activities, memories, and usage of spaces, the image of the city is created not due to similarities but due to contrasts.

What Planning Cannot Draw

Contemporary city planning often attempts to eliminate contrasts in favour of creating a more organised, zoned, and methodical urban image. However, it is perhaps these very contrasts that make cities engaging and dynamic. The coexistence of formal and informal activities, old and new structures, and planned and unplanned spaces gives cities their character and vitality.

This does not suggest that disorder should replace order within planned design. Rather, it raises a larger question: can urban environments accommodate both structure and spontaneity at the same time?

In many ways, successful cities are not defined solely by efficiency or rigid planning, but by their ability to adapt, evolve, and support diverse forms of life and interaction. The challenge for contemporary urban design, therefore, lies in creating spaces that maintain functionality while still allowing for complexity, unpredictability, and human vibrancy to exist.

Designing for Connection

Instead of choosing one or the other, perhaps this is what we have learned through our past mistakes: The art of balancing order and chaos. Of course, we need order, for convenience and safety. However, we also wish for our cities to have life. We desire for our surroundings to provide spaces wherein we can momentarily stop by and hold conversation. We yearn for streets that can remind us of taking time to appreciate what is around us, and not feeling lonely while doing so.

Tangled wires, bright walls, and the rhythm of the streets of Possangipur ©Author

It is our job as architects, urban designers and urban planners not only to design functional spaces, but also to consider the emotional aspect of the space we build. We not only design spaces, but we also wish for those who occupy such spaces to have a sense of belonging. That would give a deeper purpose to our designs.

That may explain why we feel so strongly attached to urban villages.

Between Order and Belonging

The planned city tells you how to live.

The unplanned street tells you how to fit in.

But the solution is not one or the other but a middle ground, a solution which allows for both order and spontaneity, where the planning does not undermine the essence of being human. For in the end, even though there may be admiration for perfection, one should never forget connection with places.

The vibrant, chaotic, and beautiful rhythm of neighborhood lanes of Possangipur. © Author

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• Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. MIT Press.

• Whyte, W. H. (1980). The social life of small urban spaces. Project for Public Spaces. 8. Delhi Development Authority – Master Plan for Delhi 2041

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• Sim, D. (2019). Soft city: Building density for everyday life. Island Press.