Shirish Patel, an eternal optimist with an unwavering commitment to equitable cities

“Urban density,” Shirish Patel once explained, “is like a pressure cooker. Too much pressure without proper vents leads to an explosion.”

That simple comparison fundamentally changed our approach to social infrastructure spaces and amenities with dense neighborhoods and how the urban form of buildings defines the urban fabric.

The visionary urban planner’s 93rd birth anniversary on March 7 is the opportunity for us to express our gratitude for having had front-row seats for a decade to Shirish Patel’s innovative thinking and unwavering commitment to equitable urban growth .

Our journey with Shirish Patel began serendipitously through a competition called Reinventing Dharavi. Our proposal concerned a Dharavi Community Land Trust, aiming to look at the redevelopment of the informal settlement from the point of view of residents instead of as a “real estate opportunity”. What started as a professional collaboration quickly blossomed into a profound mentorship that changed the course of our careers.

At our first meeting in 2014 – Mr Patel, as we always referred to him – offered insights and an opportunity for collaborative thinking that gave birth to Plural, a think tank on urban research, policy advocacy and urban design.

We often reminisced about his monumental contributions to urban planning – how in 1965, alongside Charles Correa and...

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