Understanding redesign projects in Kozhikode City

ABSTRACT

The paper looks at how Kozhikode city has seen various redesign projects in the last five
years and attempts to understand the consequences of these changes on social and cultural
realms. The three major locations that are in focus are SM Street, the South Beach and the
Gujarati Street, all of which fall within the limits of the Kozhikode Corporation. The main
argument that the paper makes is that the changes that take place in the city have specific
interest group that it caters to, even though none of these locations explicitly demarcate or
restrict any particular group of people from accessing these locations. The argument is
understood against the larger background of how some of the changes are suited for a
middle-class population which is on the rise with the rapid urbanization in the city.

Introduction
City spaces and neighbourhoods undergo changes as people move in and move out, when
new infrastructure gets built and when old buildings get demolished to make way for new
development. This phenomenon is something that happens over time in most cities and
towns, as the city’s expanse grows. As any other change that happens in the society, there are
multiple ways of analysing these and putting it in perspective – political, cultural,
sociological. In this paper, I look at Kozhikode, a city in Kerala, and make an attempt to
understand how urban redesign of the city caters to the interest of different classes of city
dwellers. My major focus is on three main redesign projects that have happened in the city
over the last five years, starting from 2015.

Kozhikode is a town with a lot of heritage and historic relevance, both to the history of
Kerala as well as the history of the Indian subcontinent. From early trade relations with the
Arab world, in 14th and 15th centuries, to later becoming an important location for the
Portuguese, Kozhikode, or “Calicut”, is a city which has held a lot importance for trade and
commercial activity. Today, Kozhikode is listed as one of the fastest growing urban districts
in India, with an urban population of 20,74,778.1 In this essay, I focus on the urban redesign
projects that have happened in three main areas of the city – the South Beach, SM Street and

1
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/kozhikode-emerges-fastest-growing-urban-district/
article23581284.ece

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Gujarati Street. I argue that, while these projects are to appeal to the larger urban population,
there are ways in which each of these spaces appeal to people from a particular socio-
economic and cultural background.

Research questions and objective:

The paper largely addresses these four major research questions:

How do the new renovation projects tie in with a fast growing urban district?

What larger objectives do these projects satisfy? (Local businesses, tourism,

entertainment, leisure etc.)

Who are the people that these projects catering to?

What are the involvements from the local governments in urban development projects?

Methodology:
To attempt to answer the research questions, I’ve done interviews with people who have been
part of the redesigning project – an official from the District Town & Country Planning
department, architects who have been involved with the Gujarati Street revamping project.
These interviews have been fairly open-ended which have helped in getting a perspective
from the planners about what their views on the city are. I also make use of primary
resources, such as media articles and government reports to further elaborate my arguments
in the essay.

Background:
Before trying to understand the transformations that have happened in the city in the last five
years, it is important to look at the earlier town redesign and development projects.
Considering the history of the city, it is no surprise that the first development plan for
Kozhikode city was prepared in 1957 and was for the period 1957-1962 2. This Master Plan
was the first of its kind in Kerala, after the state formed. 3 This plan was later re-done and
became the Interim Development Plan 1967-1981. The second kind of town planning scheme
was established for the period 1981 to 2001, where the major proposals included
development of roads within and around the corporation limits. There were two more interim

2
Master Plan pp. 7.
3
Kerala state formation happened in November 1956.

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plans, Perspective Plan 2003 and City Development Plan 2006, that were put up to develop
urban services such as drinking water, sanitation facilities transportation etc.

The redesigning of the three focus areas that I have chosen – South Beach, SM Street and
Gujarati Street – is part of a larger town planning scheme that was instituted as the Master
Plan 2015-2035 by the Town & Country Planning Department, under the Government of
Kerala. The project covers an area of 177.08 sq.km.

Catering to different crowds

The three different locations, Gujarati Street, SM Street and the South Beach, have different
kinds of people that they cater to, even though those places do not mention the same in
explicit terms. The Gujarati Street was envisioned as a rendezvous for the young, urban,
middle-class population when the project was taken up by a private architect team. According
to Mr. Ajmal4, one of the architects who took over the project to revamp the Gujarati Street,
changing the city’s old street and making it a commercially accessible location is part of
reviving the city’s culture. Considering the history of the location – how people of different
cultures and backgrounds had lived there in harmony – Ajmal said that he thought it the right
thing to transform this age-old Gujarati Street into a “creative hub” or a “community centre” 5.
He believed that the “dead, old street” has to be revived, and saved, rather than letting it fall
into ruins. When he said that he envisioned the place to be so, it was implicit that he meant
the space to be an exclusive location for the middle-classes, who had the time and resources
to be part of this kind of an endeavour. Even though the intended plan of the Gujarati Street
was to be an “all-inclusive space”, in the process of remaking the street, there has taken place
a spatial divide such that an elite middle-class abound the location, making the lower middle-
classes of the area simply onlookers. With regards to how the location is designed, there are
no explicit restrictions on who can visit or who cannot. However, from the interview with the
architects, it seems evident that they envision the place to be a meeting place for a particular
crowd.

In the case of South Beach and SM Street, the development of these locations have been
directly undertaken by the local government, the Municipal Corporation in a participatory set
up where the government also brings in private players to complete the project. They aim to
renovate these locations for the locals as well as for tourists.

4
Name changed on request.
5
Terms mentioned in the interview.

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During the interview with Mr. Suresh6 from the District Planning department, he explains
about the South Beach renovation, which is seen as a part of a Cultural Zone and the
renovation in the area is in order to make the place more attractive for tourists as well as
locals. The beach is also a location where the Kerala Literary Fest is held every year and the
development of the area also means that a portion of the area is permanently set up to host the
literary festival. Thus, the development of the South Beach fall under this larger project.
However, only one part of the project is completed, which is the 500 metre promenade along
the beach, lined with short palms. 7 This project was undertaken by the Harbour Engineering
Department for Rs. 3.85 crores. The newly engineered walkway in this area has a very
Middle-Eastern feel to it, complimented by the palms and the fort-like structures, as opposed
to the vintage or traditional feel that the cafés in Gujarati Street tries to create.

In the case of both the South Beach and SM Street, these areas are renovated and redone for
larger purpose of making it more accessible to the general public as well as tourists. The SM
Street, considering it’s a centre for commercial activity, it has been maintained both as a
location for people to shop at as well as spend some leisurely time. For the same, sitting areas
are arranged at the entrance to the street. The changes in SM Street was part of a Rs. 3.64
crore project and was completed in the year 20178.

The way these three locations are organized do not showcase any formal way of adhering to
the interest of a particular class. However, there is an informal way in which ordering of these
spaces as well as organizing it that also shapes our understanding of the population that visits
these locations (Tonkis, 2014). The South Beach area, lying very close to the Gujarati Street,
has a crowd that consists of families, groups of friends or officers who spend a few minutes
by the beach before going back home9. On the other hand, the Gujarati Street and the cafés in
the area have very few visitors who arrive at the cafés more to socialize than to have the food
the place offers.

The SM Street, being a centre of activity, like shopping and business are different from both
these locations because it is a space for people to engage, more than explore. The newly
renovated SM Street, however, does have seating arrangements which also make it a location

6
Name changed on request.
7
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/renovated-south-beach-to-be-thrown-open-to-public/
article24436716.ece
8
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/sm-street-renovation-to-be-over-by-october-end/
article19646545.ece
9
From participant observation done at the South Beach, prior to the covid-19 pandemic.

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for leisure. However, as compared to the South Beach, the setup is less appealing than what it
would have aimed for.

Here, we see that the three locations serve different purposes and exhibit variant aesthetics.
For the same reasons, the crowd that it appeals to is also different from each other, even
though most of it would be city dwellers or people from nearby areas.

Limitations of the study:

While the methodology of interviews have helped in giving a holistic understanding of how
redesign and revitalization projects have been taken up around Kozhikode city, I am also
cognizant of the fact the interviewees are from only one particular group of planners. I have
not been able to elaborately include the opinions or perspectives from the residents of the
area, or the local people who are the real stakeholders when such projects materialize.
However, I have kept my conclusions and extrapolations based strictly on my reading of
primary resources as well as on the interviews conducted. Therefore, while there is a lack of
perspective from a different set of people, it does not dilute the verity of the analysis or the
strength of the argument.

Conclusion

Through this essay, I’ve tried to showcase that there are different kinds of people to whom
each of the locations appeal to, while it is not a hard and fast rule. These locations, in its own
ways, are also instrumental in creating a public culture in the city of Kozhikode, where it is
built in small ways of social interactions that happen in these spaces, between the different
kinds of people who are visitors (Zukin, 1995).

These changes in the city and its appeal to different classes of people can be seen as a change
of the city, rather than change in the city (Jackson 1985, as quoted in Jacobs 1993). For a
small city like Calicut, the core of the city spreading over only a few km squares, a change of
this kind does not go unnoticed. There has been a lot of changes that took place in the city in
the last decade, including the springing of new malls, multiplex cinema halls, better roadways
connecting one side to the other. These visible changes have always been new additions.
However, these have been changes in the city, rather than of the city. I make this distinction
to iterate the point that the locations of South Beach, Gujarati Street and SM Street have
existed for a while, and they are not new additions. However, each of these changes, while

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they add to the beauty and facilities of the city at large, also seem to create with it a
population which is divided with varied tastes and interests.

References:

Govind, B. (2018, April 18). Kozhikode emerges fastest growing urban district. Retrieved
November 16, 2020, from http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/kozhikode-
emerges-fastest-growing-urban-district/article23581284.ece.

Jacobs, J. M. (1993). The city unbound: qualitative approaches to the city. Urban

Studies, 30(4-5), 827-848

Master Plan for Kozhikode Urban Area - 2035, Town and Country Planning Department,
Government of Kerala.

Reporter, (2017, September 08). S.M. Street renovation to be over by October end. Retrieved
November 16, 2020, from http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/sm-street-
renovation-to-be-over-by-october-end/article19646545.ece

Reporter, (2018, July 16). Renovated South Beach to be thrown open to public. Retrieved
November 16, 2020, from http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/renovated-south-
beach-to-be-thrown-open-to-public/article24436716.ece.

Tonkiss, F. (2014). Cities by design: the social life of urban form. John Wiley & Sons.

Zukin, S. (1995). The cultures of cities (Vol. 150). Oxford: Blackwell.