Just about every city, town, village, and rural hamlet, every place on the globe, faces similar issues when it comes to aesthetics. I’m talking about things like utility wires, trash, and buildings in a state of disrepair or abandoned. I live in a planned community that dates from the early 1960s. All the utility wires are underground; the county picks up the trash; and the civic association works hard to enforce the building covenants. Big cities that have existed for centuries have a tougher problem, but where there’s a will, there usually is a way.
In New Delhi, the wires are underground, but in Old Delhi, it’s another story.
I never quite figured out the trash system in New Delhi, but I think there was a collection point across the street from my hotel. There certainly wasn’t any curbside collection of either trash or recycling. On the other hand, given the number of people living in the city, it wasn’t bad. Small towns and villages were another story. Gathering places like markets and bus stops were heavily littered. Heaps of garbage were commonplace.
Garbage pile in some small town on way to Agra
Dealing with structural decay isn’t an easy problem. Just think of those old abandoned barns you see along the road; the old, neglected home you wish you could afford to buy and restore to its former glory; or even the abandoned storefronts on Main Street waiting for urban renewal or just a turn in the town’s economy. In India, the problem seemed worse, perhaps because most of the buildings were made of concrete and didn’t seem to be all that old.
Just so you don’t think every building is in need of repair or lacking in style, here are a couple of new office buildings in New Delhi.
