MASSACHUCETTS, USA, April 4, 2013 (archinect.com, by Rahul Mehrotra): HPI Note: This is a report given April 1 at Harvard’s South Asia Institute entitled “Kumbha Mela, Mapping the Ephemeral City.” The project specifically did not include any religious aspects of the Mela.
The introduction reads:
The research analyzes this ephemeral city from different perspectives. Being the biggest public gathering in the world , the Kumbh Mela deploys a pop-up city comprising of roads, pontoon bridges, tents of different sizes and an array of social infrastructure like clinics, hospitals, and social centers – all replicating the functioning of an actual city. The disposition of the city seamlessly articulates various layers of infrastructure and urban flows, serving apron 3 million people who gather for fifty five days and an additional 10 to 20 million people who come for cycles of twenty four hours on the main bathing dates. From the Kumbh we can learn about planning and design, reflect on flow management and infrastructural deployment but also about cultural identity and adjustment or elasticity in an urban condition of flux.
Click source above for this fascinating overview of an important study.