There are many connections that architects make — between bricks and mortar, foundations and roof, between the insides of the buildings and outside. But, some connections, they forget to make.

Whenever housing societies are built, campuses are created or new townships are established, architects forget to leave some plots of land with native biodiversity intact as a means of in situ conservation of soil, faunal and floral biodiversity. Just 0.01 or .001 per cent area left for conserving diversity as it existed at that site could make enormous difference to future generation who might look for solutions for a wide range of problems at the conserved sites. The more uncertain the climate becomes, the higher will be the need for sourcing diversity from such sites.

The native trees, shrubs and grasses will also be the habitats for insects, butterflies, birds and micro-organisms evolving in their own way in these fragmented plots.  Studies have shown that fragmented patches of biodiversity may harbour more diversity of secondary and tertiary organisms. In many campuses, spikes have been installed to prevent birds from perching over the window air conditioners.  But in old city of Ahmedabad and hundreds of other villages of north Gujarat and Saurashtra, communities make bird feeding platforms or Chabutaras.  Some bring birds in while some others stave them off.  Which campuses do you think will keep children happier?

There is an annual ritual in Sikkim when people have to collect nine grains from nine neighbours. The probability of getting nine unique grains from just nine neighbours is very low. One will have to visit many more neighbours.  Housing societies would do well to learn from the essence behind such rituals. Very seldom do large housing projects ever consider networking minds. So much of knowledge is distributed among different inmates of a housing complex and yet we don’t pool this precious resource. 

Avenue plantation, as it is practiced in our cities, often offers little diversity — the trees are of the same species in most such cases.  May be that is the way social aesthetics has evolved. Wouldn’t our aesthetic evolve better, reconciling itself with diversity in beliefs, races, orientation and other social traits, if our avenues proffered a better diversity of trees? Why don’t architects and urban planners do that? 

Many private and public buildings have art on display, but except for a token mural here and there, there’s little presence of folk art. In Karnataka, and later in Ahmedabad, the art students have been given opportunities to express themselves on the walls by roads. This is a good idea. But there is no encouragement of entrepreneurial opportunities for our rural artisans and folk artists who could have been roped in to showcase and preserve these art forms. Imagine, if every school could have at least one wall dedicated for the promotion of folk art. How much more creativity we could have and how many more artists could find patrons! Biodiversity and cultural diversity are closely linked. We cannot promote one without the other. Food is another example where diversity of tastes and preferences have ensured the preservation of many cuisines. Sattvik — the Traditional Food Festival at IIM-A, is a showcase of the diversity that exists in our food which spurs a healthy diet. Housing societies can and should organize food festivals to promote cultural identities of communities so that respect for pluralism grows and we become not only tolerant but also appreciative of cultural diversity.

The challenge before every architect is to rethink the built environment as an opportunity for expanding biological, cultural and institutional diversity.  Different ways of organising and managing common spaces, particularly for nature and for young children have to be thought about.  Shouldn’t there be a wall where graffiti is encouraged, new ideas and innovations are discussed and new partnerships and networks are forged?  The BRTS bus stops, metro rail stations and other such places must be visualised as places triggering knowledge networks, celebrating open innovations and discovering newer dimensions of human imagination.  There is a need for conservation of energy, water and biodiversity in every human settlement.  Without creating new role models of frugal and nature-friendly designs, we may not notice the transition of our urban spaces into cultural deserts.  Yatin Pandya, Nimesh Patel and a few other architects are indeed trying to blend the cultural, ecological and social wisdom with modern architecture.  We need many more. There is still time to reverse the desertification and bring diversity back.