4.4 Affects of housing choices on travel

CONCLUSION

PART 7

Sabarmati precinct is an old establishment and static in terms of its inhabitability. From row houses and semi detached houses which were present earlier, the precinct has not seen a lot of high-rise apartments. The older 2 storied row houses are not being redeveloped. Yet, people have made a choice to continue to settle in the neighbourhood. Nevertheless, this does not hinder the change in socio-economic essence of the precinct, as the changes in income groups settled here and their choices in the market portray a dynamic scenario.

Rapid increase in middle income groups is bringing the change in the in the related fields such as commerce. The precinct presently consists of open vegetable markets as well as several small commercial units along the road on the ground floor. This is a typical character of lower middle income neighbourhood. Few old complexes have been redeveloped and other concentrated commercial activities springing up which cater to the upcoming middle income group. We can thus infer that the social economic fabric of the precinct is changing, although still it remains affordable.

Mentioned are a few key figures which explain the precinct in brief.

BUILT vs OPEN 26% Public Open Space (Parks + Roads) 34% Private Open Space (vacant plots + margins) 40% Ground coverage 22% Under streets

LAND USE 40% Residential, 3% commercial, 6% industrial, 8% vacant land 0.32 Entropy Index

STREETS 451m Average block perimeter 0.2 km/Ha Road density 1.5 No/Ha Node density

PUBLIC TRANSPORT 27 buses/Hr Accessibility index 42min Excess time by PT Rs. 87 Lesser cost by PT

INFRASTRUCTURE 8.8 tonnes solid waste is generated (2003kg Max, 6kg min, 136kg average)

TYPOLOGY AND DWELLING UNIT 36.28 DU/Ha Net residential density

BUILT DENSITY 1.13 Average FSI consumed 170 People per hectare 68% Slums - dominating structures

LAND DEVELOPMENT 1390 INR/Sqft Average Jantri rate 4 – 60 Sqm Average per capita floor space consumed (slums and bungalows respectively) 125 Sqft Median dwelling Unit size 50 years Average age of structure

JOBS AND AFFORDABILITY Rs. 30000 Median income 32% Jobs in casual sector 4.12m Average trip length

Author’s Note

As time passes by, people form attachments to places, reasons that make them continue to live in a particular area or fashion. It becomes their accustomed habitat. Place attachment is the emotional bond between person and place. It is highly influenced by an individual and his or her personal experiences. They continue to occupy these spaces for generations based on convenience. There is perhaps the feeling of mutual affinity, community, fraternity among persons, whether formal or informal, institutionalised or not – nor feeling of diversity, aversion, hostility.

People have lived in Sabarmati for generations together. Environmental factors influence perceptions of inhabitability such as climate, landforms, natural resources. Human factors influence perceptions of inhabitability, for example culture, income, employment, crime and safety. Services and facilities considered important to people’s wellbeing, variations in access to services and facilities between urban, rural and remote places, access to services and facilities affects the inhabitability of one place for different groups of people example young people, people with disabilities, the aged and remote communities.