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The paper attempts to assess variations in basic and composite housing affordability across Kolkata Urban Agglomeration (KUA) with respect to housing price distribution, patterns of household income and expenditure, and variations in transportation cost. Composite housing affordability represents total cost of living in a house within a particular location, and is indicative of the impact of off-site infrastructure on housing price as well as household expenditure; whereas basic housing affordability projects the link between house price and household income ignoring locational characteristics. In this paper, housing affordability assessment has been carried out using Price-to-income ratio, Median Multiple method and Residual Income approach, for surveyed households residing in group housing projects for low-to-middle income groups, across KUA. The study on housing price distribution together with variations in household income and expenditure of surveyed households reveal significant differences between non-inclusive or basic housing affordability and composite housing affordability across KUA. The housing market within KUA is found to range from mild un-affordability to severe un-affordability, necessitating immediate government intervention in both ownership and rental housing development of smaller unit sizes, affordable to the low-to-middle income group population.

The images of urban spaces, at present, are manifesting dystopic imageries that are obstructing for the functioning of the public realm. Habitable space of a city should be shaped according to human purposes and to satisfy their needs. In defining urban space design, urban nodes acted as nuclei to provide access and opportunity to the people. Nodes generate out of physical traits, activities and are supported by physical spatial design and public interaction. The scale of nodes varies from large urban squares to a small park, to a partially enclosed space in front of a building, to a sidewalk. Since the cores of the cities are generally highly congested and promoted multi-layered activities, Nodes can be presented strategically to get perceptual importance. Imageability of all these spaces is dependent on the quality attributed to the physical presentation of a space that induces high probability of evoking strong images in the mind of the observer. Thus, rejuvenation of these urban nodes can act as an intervening process to regenerate habitable breathing space amongst the dystopic condition of the city.With analysis of the existing scenario of these nodes, the elements for techno-art intervention to alter the physical, tangible imageability of the nodes can possibly be identified. Thus, the paper explores the present rate of imageability of the nodes and what could be the possible art and design solutions based on the expert's opinion to intervene for the betterment of the experience of the physical space.

Children and the 'Paras' of Kolkata -Understanding the impact of Transforming Urban Neighbourhood Morphology on children Liveability.