Journal of Civil Engineering and Environmental Technology p-ISSN: 2349-8404; e-ISSN: 2349-879X; Volume 3, Issue 4; January-March, 2016, pp. 297-302 © Krishi Sanskriti Publications http://www.krishisanskriti.org/Publication.html Reclaiming the Streets: A Vision of a Happier and Healthier Cities Arundhati Pravin Wategave 1 and Sheeba Valsson 2 1 Appasaheb Birnale College of Architecture, Sangli 2 Prof. Smt. Manoramabai Mundle College of Architecture, LAD College, Nagpur E-mail: 1 apwategave@yahoo.com, 2 sheebavalsson@gmail.com Abstract—Streets must be ranked amongst the most valuable assets in any city. They must not only ensure residents mobility, allowing them to travel from one place to another, but must be a place for people to meet, interact, do business and have fun; thus making city livable. Visualizing the street as a network of connected public open space translates into rethinking the political, social, economic and environmental issues in cities. Twenty years ago, a housewife would walk to the grocery store. Now she drives to the super market, thus confining all interactions to the market itself. Up to first half of the twentieth century entertainment was once a public event, it is now dominated by that singularly private mode of communication, television. In many towns children are driven to school by their parents or taken by bus. Telephone calls, whatsapp etc. have largely replaced the neighborly chat. Pedestrian promenade has in many environments, been replaced by automobile promenade. Traditionally, streets functioned as places as well as links. They incorporated various social and operational activities into an integrated. In Contemporary streets, the functions of place and link have been separated. India is urbanizing at a very rapid pace and many of our cities are struggling to keep up with this pace. Urban streets play an important role in how this increasing number of people in our cities move about, interact, conduct business, etc. Streets occupy approximately twenty percent of the total land area in a typical city, and they are the most important and ubiquitous form of public space. This research tries to emphasize that as urban designers we must understand that streets are the powerful tool of urban design and must take step towards redefining the street as an important public space rather than as a mere channel for movement. Keywords: --Streets, Social space, movement channel, happy and healthy city 1. INTRODUCTION Street Street is the largest assemblage of public space in any and every city. It is meant to be available to all the people. It served as the center for commerce, information and recreation within cities. (On streets, towards an evaluation of transportation potentials for the urban street, peter wolf, pg. no 189) . Street provides an easy and efficient access and connectivity, light and air, utilities and services. The morphology of the streets has the ability to be both an immediate and intimate public space for dwelling as well as a network of public spaces throughout the settlement that can link activities in both space and time. (Moudon, 1987 --- The Street A Quintessential Social Public Space) According to Guttmann, the street --- Is a social entity and its design reflects some social and cultural motives; Is three dimensional such that the buildings containing and defining the street space are as important as the two dimensional surface of the street. Provides a link between buildings but also provides a link between people and facilitates communication and interaction Has two parts, one for the movement of people and the other for vehicles. The Street has two social functions. Instrumental –  To provide a link between buildings,  Over which the goods and people necessary to sustain the agricultural, marketing, manufacturing, administrative and military activities of the settlement can pass. Expressive ----  As a link between people ,facilities, communication and interaction, thus serving to bind together the social order of polis.  Includes its use as a site for casual social interaction, including recreation, conversation and entertainment,  Its use as a site for ritual observances, such as processions. All streets, whether predominantly in residential, commercial or in civic uses where public access is unrestricted. (at least during day time) Streets are dynamic spaces (there is a sense of movement). Streets is the main urban space, where all people have free access at any day and time. Pedestrian movement is complete with the notion of streets as social space. There is a symbiotic relationship between pedestrian movement and economic, social and cultural exchange and transactions.