ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a placemaking initiative that The Urban Vision, a social venture focusing on solutions-driven research, executed in three localities in Mumbai, India. The Urban Vision experimented with the creation of social spaces as a tactic to revive the human scale and social interaction at a neighbourhood level. This was a co-created action research project across three sites that used art as a methodology to investigate the impact of an addition of social spaces. The place activation programme was designed to allow for flexibility of use in an attempt to create ownership amongst the citizens. The projects are discussed as an iterative approach to introducing social spaces or ‘pause points’ in a busy crowded city. The chapter will present the three projects through an examination of the space characteristics, the processes involved, and post-implementation observations. The chapter will conclude with a reflection on the the necessary adaptations to arts-led interventional placemaking required for a South Asian mega-city, such as Mumbai.
