Redevelopment has replaced the word “development” in popular discourse on Indian Cities. Our cities are being transformed through this process. When we examine redevelopment from various perspectives, one notices paradoxes and conflicts. This makes it even more important to see redevelopment from these varied viewpoints so that the approach to redevelopment is not simplistic and short-sighted. The context itself needs introspection as it changes and is time, space and culture-bound. “Context” in the case of redevelopment is seen through two lenses. One is of the “Site” and is its surroundings, physical and social. The other being “Redevelopment” itself and the possibilities it holds. The paper starts with a broader theoretical discussion on “Redevelopment” and its “context”. From there, it narrows down to the redevelopment of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA), New Delhi and its various contextual potentials. One of the contexts deliberated is the green network around the site and the responsibility of increasing green cover and biodiversity for the city. Such case scenarios and many others conclude that a deliberation on the context opens up multiple possibilities that can make the exercise of redevelopment sensitive and fruitful, not only for the site but also for the city.

Keywords: Context, GPRA, green networks, redevelopment, urban connections

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Brézillon P. Modeling and using context: Past, present and future (Doctoral dissertation, LIP6).
2. Fang C, Liu H, Wang S. The coupling curve between urbanization and the eco-environment: China’s urban agglomeration as a case study. Ecol Indic. 2021;130:108107. doi: 1016/j.ecolind.2021.108107.
3. NBCC (India) Limited. NBCC official website. [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://nbccindia.in/index.
4. Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC). Strategies of redevelopment. New Delhi: DUAC; 2020.
5. Singh KK. Probing the context of green spaces in urban planning framework in India. 2019;39.
6. Shochat E, Warren PS, Faeth SH. Future directions in urban ecology. Trends Ecol Evol. 2006;21. doi: 1016/j.tree.2006.09.007.
7. Pandey K. Road traffic deaths declined overall, but those of cyclists and pedestrians rose in last decade: WHO report. Down To Earth. 2023 [cited 2026 Mar 31]. Available from: https://www.downtoearth.org. in/health/road-traffic-deaths-declined-overall-but-those-of-cyclists-and-pedestrians-rose-in-last-decade-who-report-93421.
8. Jha A, Tiwari G, Mohan D, Mukherjee S, Banerjee S. Analysis of pedestrian movement on Delhi roads by using naturalistic observation techniques. Transp Res Rec. 2017;2634:95–100. doi: 3141/2634-14.
9. Rohilla SK, Jainer S, Matto M. Green infrastructure: A practitioner’s guide. New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment; 2017 Jan 9:1–11.
10. Tiwari G. The Kidwai Nagar redevelopment project: Traffic impact assessment. New Delhi: Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre; 2018.
11. Shmaryahu-Yeshurun Y. Retheorizing state-led gentrification and minority displacement in the Global South-East. Cities. 2022;130:103881. doi: 1016/j.cities.2022.103881.
12. Central Public Works Department (CPWD). Compendium for central government housing. New Delhi: CPWD; 2012.

Redevelopment has replaced the word “development” in popular discourse on Indian Cities. Our cities are being transformed through this process. When we examine redevelopment from various perspectives, one notices paradoxes and conflicts. This makes it even more important to see redevelopment from these varied viewpoints so that the approach to redevelopment is not simplistic and short-sighted. The context itself needs introspection as it changes and is time, space and culture-bound. “Context” in the case of redevelopment is seen through two lenses. One is of the “Site” and is its surroundings, physical and social. The other being “Redevelopment” itself and the possibilities it holds. The paper starts with a broader theoretical discussion on “Redevelopment” and its “context”. From there, it narrows down to the redevelopment of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA), New Delhi and its various contextual potentials. One of the contexts deliberated is the green network around the site and the responsibility of increasing green cover and biodiversity for the city. Such case scenarios and many others conclude that a deliberation on the context opens up multiple possibilities that can make the exercise of redevelopment sensitive and fruitful, not only for the site but also for the city.

Keywords: Context, GPRA, green networks, redevelopment, urban connections

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Brézillon P. Modeling and using context: Past, present and future (Doctoral dissertation, LIP6).
2. Fang C, Liu H, Wang S. The coupling curve between urbanization and the eco-environment: China’s urban agglomeration as a case study. Ecol Indic. 2021;130:108107. doi: 1016/j.ecolind.2021.108107.
3. NBCC (India) Limited. NBCC official website. [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://nbccindia.in/index.
4. Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC). Strategies of redevelopment. New Delhi: DUAC; 2020.
5. Singh KK. Probing the context of green spaces in urban planning framework in India. 2019;39.
6. Shochat E, Warren PS, Faeth SH. Future directions in urban ecology. Trends Ecol Evol. 2006;21. doi: 1016/j.tree.2006.09.007.
7. Pandey K. Road traffic deaths declined overall, but those of cyclists and pedestrians rose in last decade: WHO report. Down To Earth. 2023 [cited 2026 Mar 31]. Available from: https://www.downtoearth.org. in/health/road-traffic-deaths-declined-overall-but-those-of-cyclists-and-pedestrians-rose-in-last-decade-who-report-93421.
8. Jha A, Tiwari G, Mohan D, Mukherjee S, Banerjee S. Analysis of pedestrian movement on Delhi roads by using naturalistic observation techniques. Transp Res Rec. 2017;2634:95–100. doi: 3141/2634-14.
9. Rohilla SK, Jainer S, Matto M. Green infrastructure: A practitioner’s guide. New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment; 2017 Jan 9:1–11.
10. Tiwari G. The Kidwai Nagar redevelopment project: Traffic impact assessment. New Delhi: Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre; 2018.
11. Shmaryahu-Yeshurun Y. Retheorizing state-led gentrification and minority displacement in the Global South-East. Cities. 2022;130:103881. doi: 1016/j.cities.2022.103881.
12. Central Public Works Department (CPWD). Compendium for central government housing. New Delhi: CPWD; 2012.