The interviews conducted under this segment focus on grasping on how the streets and public spaces have changed due to the pandemic. We talked to people residing in different housing typologies across neighbourhoods in Ahmedabad. While a few interviews include residents belonging to high-rise apartments, others to row houses, bungalows and low or medium-rise apartments, other interviews have focused on stakeholders such as chai vendors or vegetable vendors who have witnessed first-hand, the impact of pandemic on the streets.

Through conducting these oral history interviews, we gained a few insights. Firstly, we found that since access to indoor recreational spaces has been restricted during the pandemic and also because people have become more health conscious, a greater number of people are seen on the streets for morning and evening walks. The number of senior citizens seen in the parks and on the streets have reduced after the pandemic. Secondly, there have been changes in the informal vending activities. In some locations, there is a rise in the vegetable vendors and the emergence of mobile vendors who sell masks and sanitizers on the streets. At a few places, food vendors have reduced, while in other neighbourhoods, they have increased. The average time spent around the chai stalls have reduced significantly while in the case of vegetable vendors, they have started home deliveries of fruits and vegetables which has significantly reduced the pedestrian traffic in some areas.