International Journal on Emerging Technologies 8(1): 337-343(2017) ISSN No. (Print) : 0975-8364 ISSN No. (Online) : 2249-3255 Realties and Myths of Public Spaces: Conflict and Participation in Kolkata Deepashree Choudhury Research Scholar, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. (Corresponding author: Deepashree Choudhury) (Received 28 December, 2016 accepted 18 January, 2017) (Published by Research Trend, Website: www.researchtrend.net) ABSTRACT: Built environment since the inception of mankind is coded through contest and participation, more so if it represents a public space meant for heterogeneous occupancy and multiple activities. Public space in a city transforms itself along with the ever changing social, cultural and economic realities as well as modes and mediums of interpretation and can be considered as the representation of urban dynamics and processes which are the actual lifeline of the city. This research paper proposes to interpret the public spaces of Kolkata, a bustling metropolis of Eastern India with reference to contestation and participation of its citizen and their engagement with the material spaces of public domain and various negotiations and mediations that has been at play for over 300 years of its existence. Kolkata has grown to the first imperial capital of India from a cluster of villages and surfaced as the cultural and literally capital of the country by the 19 th century .City’s public spaces also behaved in consonance by travelling from dingy lanes and small clearings of indigenous settlements to vast recreational open spaces created by colonial rulers in pre- independence era followed by present day modern landscapes dictated by changed concern at the same time maintaining unique connotations. This paper scrutinizes public spaces of Kolkata through literature study and narratives of selected sample and tries to understand the prolonged struggles and negotiated juxtaposition of public spaces with every day civic life and sentiments through the lens of time and appropriation in order to establish its importance and concludes with pointers about the future of public space interpretation which may guide the city planning visions and paradigms. I. INTRODUCTION Public spaces since the ancient times were places meant for gathering for public for political, commercial or recreational purpose though its definition is yet to be concreted. The idea behind their genesis, nature and usage has always been dependent upon the particular political, social, cultural and economic contexts in which they were situated thereby making the comprehension and perception of these public spaces unique to their locales. Public spaces reflect the citizen’s daily life rituals, as well as tourist fascinations and their nature denotes the values which the city holds close to its heart as well as shape the impression and perceptions of the city. Particularly so, in case of cities like Kolkata which has been layered through multiple reminisces, events and transformations .Since, public spaces are the marker and garb of urban form and often relays the story of genesis of urban realm by soaking up all transformation and evolution, they provide the most apt framework and tools to study the course of urban transitions the city has undergone and also help to infer the associated contextual forces. Kolkata’s public spaces apart from colonial ideals were inspired by the neighbourhood or para culture of frequent literally get- togethers and community football games among others, later on serving the cause of nationalistic movements. Post –independent Kolkata continues to derive comfort from its past evident by the continuance of public space heritage while at the same time aspires to equal the romp and pomp of global cities amidst its penury through borrowed concepts of sleazy attractions and lifestyle. II. AIM This paper looks into the path traversed by public spaces in terms of interpretation, roles and challenges when appropriated and negotiated by various forces. It then establishes the relationship between the public spaces and the urban realm and proceeds further to magnify these links by correlating them with the cultural and social contexts of Kolkata, a modern metropolis of India housing 5 million inhabitants. e t