ARTICLE -9 Difference between Plotted Development (PD) and Flatted Development (FD)

Difference between Plotted Development (PD) and Flatted Development (FD)

Difference between Plotted Development (PD) and Flatted Development (FD)

Housing, because of its magnitude and quantity, remains the major and important component of any city. Occupying largest proportion of urban land, housing is also known to be the definer of the personality of the city. Urban housing comes in number of variants. However, these variants can be divided into two broad categories. These categories are generally defined as plotted development and flatted development. These categories have their own advantages, disadvantages, limitations and implications. Debate has been going on to understand the implication of these typologies in terms of physical, social, economical and environmental implications including cost-effectiveness and utilization of land. Accordingly attempt has been made to understand the context of these typologies in the parlance of economy, cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency, utilization of land, creating housing stock, pattern of development, land ownership etc

i. Pattern of Development

PD- Involves development based on and comprising of number of plots having variable size- both smaller and larger size FD- Involves development based on plots having much larger area as compared to plotted development

ii. Pattern of Land Ownership

PD- Land generally owned individually or jointly in the name of few family/friends to promote individual housing

FD- Land held in joint ownership of all stakeholders comprising of all the flat owners.

iii. Pattern of development- Height

PD- Low rise-- going generally up to 3/4 stories FD- High rise --generally going 4 or more stories.

iv. Land Utilisation

PD-Low level of land utilisation -with larger area going under roads, opens spaces and community facilities FD- High land utilisation--with smaller area going under roads, opens spaces and community facilities

v. Population/Housing Density

PD—Low density and low population-- due to individual ownership, depending on size of plots carved. Smaller the size of plots,higher will be the density and population. Population also depending upon individual capacity, resources or willingness to construct entire or part of building FD- High density-- due to joint ownership depending upon combined resources and combined effort to provide dwelling to all land owners, developed to full capacity using full density and floor area ratio.

vi. Open Spaces

PD- Small in area - Open spaces available within plots and held in private ownership with limited use only by the owners- Increases need for provision of large common open spaces at the neighbourhood/sub-sector/sector level for the community. FD- Large in area- jointly held in ownership to be used widely for the benefit of all the owners. Reduces making provision of large open spaces at the sector level

vii. Cost of Construction

PD- Generally high—due to independent construction and being low rise buildings FD- Generally low-- due to multiple and repetitive design of dwelling units and sharing of the foundation, walls and open spaces etc

viii. Social Sustainability

PD- Low social sustainability-- due to lower social interaction promote by individual living FD- High social sustainability-- due to higher social interaction based on community living

ix. Safety and Security

PD—Low order of safety and security - due to individual living FD- High degree of safety and security--due to community living

x. Pattern of Living

PD- Promotes individual living leading to anonymity and exclusion FD- Promotes community living leading to higher social interaction

xi. Design of Unit

PD- More flexibility in design--due to single unit and limited ownership FD- Low design flexibility --due to multiple units and joint ownership leading to repetitive nature of design of dwelling units

xii. Cost of Maintenance of Services

PD- Higher cost-- due to individual maintenance. Expensive considering life-cycle cost of building. FD- Low maintenance cost- due to collective maintenance done by society created by the flat owners . Monthly maintenance charges are paid by each flat owner. Cost- effective considering life –cycle cost

xiii. Creation of Housing Stock

PD- Low housing stock- due to non-construction on plot in one go leading to lower land utilisation FD- High housing stock- due to construction of all flats in one go – leading to higher land utilisation

xiv. Affordable Housing

PD- Makes cost of housing high and unaffordable-- due to land cost and cost of construction--. Inefficient method to create large affordable housing stock FD- Makes housing cost-effective and affordable-- due to shared land cost and lower cost of construction, best method to create large housing stock

xv. Sustainability

PD- Low sustainability-due to large dependence on common facilities and services provided in the sector FD- High sustainability- due to provision of common facilities and basic services as part of group housing

xvi. Technologies

PD- Offers limited options for using state of art construction technologies and minimising cost FD- Offers large options for using state of art construction technologies to promote cost and material efficiency

xvii Green & Energy Efficient Buildings

PD- Offers limited effective /efficient and cost-effective options-- for promoting energy efficiency, rain water harvesting, ground water recharging and solid waste management FD- Offers large effective/efficient and cost-effective options--for promoting energy efficiency, rain water harvesting , ground water recharging and solid waste management- based on community living

xviii Ground Coverage

PD- Ground coverage generally higher-- as compared to flatted development Ground coverage and FAR varies and gets lower with increase in plot area. Number of development units and population density not defined for plotted development FD- Ground coverage generally low as compared to plotted development . Ground coverage and FAR donot change even with increase/decrease in plot area. Development largely governed by pre-defined density, floor area ratio and size of dwelling units.

xix Parking Norms

PD- Parking norms are generally not defined for plotted development. FD- Parking norms are clearly and precisely defined--for flatted development, depending on the size and category/number of dwelling units

xx Rate of Return

PD-- Offers better internal rate of return for developers/owners due to higher demand from investors, clear land ownership and faster disposal FD - Offers comparatively lower internal rate of return for developers/owners – generally due to lower demand from investors, no defined title to land and slow disposal

xxi Completion of Project

PD— Faster Completion of projects as compared to built up flats FD—Takes large time for completion of project- due to scale of project and large numbers of houses to be constructed and problem of co-ordination and co-operation among members of society

xxii Risk .

PD—Lower risk- due to quick approval and faster disposal, with low risk due to minimum construction involved and faster exit from project FD— High risk- due to multiple approvals and slow disposal, with higher risk due to large scale construction involved and slow exit from project.

xxii Affordability

PD— Plots are more affordable and cater to wider segments of society by offering numerous options to buyers due to varying sizes of plots FD— Flats generally become unaffordable and offer limited options to buyers due to their built up nature , predefined design and area.

xxiii Acceptability

PD— Plots are always acceptable and liked by buyers even in adverse market conditions due to human psyche of owning land. Plots are universally accepted both in large and small towns. FD—Flats have low level of acceptability particularly in the adverse market conditions. Flats have least acceptability in small towns and are generally favoured in the large towns.

xxiv Developer’s Preference

PD- Plotted development --has always been preferred by developers having large chunk of land and resources-due to early exit and making large profit with minimal effort FD—- Flatted development-- has generally been preferred by small developers having smaller chunk of land with limited resources .

xxv Land Cost

PD- Low land cost in majority of cases promotes plotted development with large plot area. Plot size and Land Cost are negatively correlated with plot size reducing with increase in land prices.. FD- High land cost discourages plotted development but leverages flatted development. Land Cost and building footprints are negatively co-related with flat size - reducing with increase in land prices.

xxvi Housing Stock

PD- Plotted development –worst and most inefficient option for creating large housing stock FD—- Flatted development—best and most cost-effective option to create large housing stock at most affordable price

xxvii Living

PD- Plotted development –best option for individual based/ family living FD—- Flatted development—best option for living in case of individuals, working/old age couples etc

xxviii Safety

PD- Plotted development –low level of safety and security FD- Flatted development-- High level of safety and security

xxxix Self- sufficiency

PD- Plotted development –less self-sufficiency-high dependence of neighbourhood level faciliies FD—- Flatted development—More self-sufficiency- due to provision of common facilities- parks, shops, community spaces, crèche, school etc within the society complex

• The strategic components of the Smart Cities Mission are city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (Greenfield development) plus a Pan-city initiative in which Smart Solutions are applied covering larger parts of the city. Area-based development will transform existing areas (retrofit and redevelop), including slums, into better planned human settlements, thereby, improving liveability of the whole cities. Development of well-planned and fully serviced new areas (green field) will be encouraged around cities in order to accommodate the rapidly expanding population in urban areas. Application of Smart Solutions will enable cities to use technology to improve infrastructure and services.. Comprehensive development in this way will improve quality of life, create employment and enhance incomes for all, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, leading to inclusive cities- MoHUA