kharghar
life within the grid urban design neighbourhood report
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Table of Contents The City Introduction to Kharghar Sectors of Kharghar Planning methodology Timeline of evolution
The Neighbourhood Selection of the Neighbourhood Amenities Site Study
The Sectors Sectors 20 and 21
Introduction and Typology Sector 13, 19
Introduction and typology Evolution of Neighbourhood Sector 13
Introduction and Typologies Degradation of Kharghar Creek
13 14 15
16 17
22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30
Open spaces Park Typology
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Inferences
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City as a Grid of Functions
Bibliography
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Introduction and Typologies Sector 19
05 06 08 10
Introduction and Typologies 18 Plans and Aspirations for Navi Mumbai 20 Sector 12
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Nishanti Srinivasan / Snigdha Gopalakrishnan Parth Koli / Vishaka Sawant / Nachiketa Chavan KRVIA Urban Design Semester VII / 2021
Intent
The intent of this report is to analyse Kharghar as a planned city. therefore analysing, the planning ideals behind Kharghar and Navi Mumbai as a whole, within this context of the organic and unplanned. The report was part of the Urban design Studio which spanned across 16 weeks where we did a thorough mapping and research on the neighbourhood through site visits, interviews, books and online sources. Later part of the studio was utilized in structuring the report, developing maps and ways of representing the collected information to communicate the research done.
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01. the city
location
(Map of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai)
The subject of the report is the township of Kharghar, which is located in Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai, intended as a satellite city to Mumbai is a planned city to the east of Mumbai. Kharghar, a planned residential node, sits between the foothills of the Parsik Hill range and the Kharghar Creek.
(Positioning of Kharghar within Navi Mumbai)
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the city
introduction to kharghar The subject of this report, Kharghar, is a node of Navi Mumbai. The Kharghar Node is located almost at the centre of the city. It is flanked on the East by Taloja Industrial Estate, touching part of CBD Belapur on South, and is connected to the rest of the city via railway, metro, and road. Kharghar was intended as the futuristic residential node for Navi Mumbai. Planned by CIDCO and constructed in 1995, a number of residential schemes were launched and developed here. This node is still maintained and managed by CIDCO. Like the rest of Navi Mumbai, it follows a sectoral planning arrangement, and is divided into 35 sectors. A surge of jobs in and around Kharghar has led to relocations from Mumbai. The idea of planned development, lower commute time, lesser pollution, reduced stress and travel expenses, along with better work-life balance and flexibility is very attractive to someone living in Mumbai.
(Map of New Bombay, CIDCO, 1998)
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introduction to Kharghar (Map of Kharghar Node)
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the city
planning methodology
Overhead view of Sectors 20, 21 (Kharghar) We see the history of the planning of Navi Mumbai through the fabric of Kharghar. Navi Mumbai was planned as a solution to the problems facing Mumbai, hence the city needed to be the antithesis of the overcrowded, un-planned Bombay. Hence, great emphasis was laid on having spaced out, organized settlements. On studying the form of Kharghar, we see wide highways separating the sectors, spaced out residential highrises interspersed with sprawling parks, all laid out in a symmetrical grid.
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On looking into the history of this type of planning, along with the idea of self sufficient sectors, we come across the planning ideals of modernists like Le Corbusier, who said “The plan is based on the main features of 7V rule determining an essential function : the creation of sectors. The sector is the container of family life.” (1961). We can also see this reflected in the Spanish Cuadras, 100m long blocks, forming self-sufficient units, having schools, residential areas, community centres, shopping centres, etc.(6)
Le Corbusier proposal for building residential towers in Paris city center (1920)
planning methodology
(Ludwig Hilberseimer, Une ville verticale, 1924) Many of the Modernist planning ideals were used in the planning of Navi Mumbai. These were: A) decentralization by the design of self-sufficient townships (nodes) B) residential neighbourhoods within these nodes (sector) C) single-use zoning as opposed to the traditional multiple-use zoning, such as residential, industrial, commercial, etc. The result was distinct areas for specific types of activities.
The total land of Navi Mumbai was divided into thirteen townships. Each township had several sectors. Many of the sectors were residential in character. The neighbourhoods were self-sufficient and had their grocery store and primary school. A sector centrally located within each node took on commercial activities. (Source: The Urban Social Pattern of Navi Mumbai, India Malathi Ananthakrishnan)(7)
(Superblock Sectoral plan of Kharghar node)
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the city
timeline decongestion of Mumbai 1958
1948 Modak and Mayer Committee set up
The first post-independence development plan for Bombay, formulated by the Mayer-Modak Committee in 1948, suggested satellite towns north of Bombay.
Barve Committee set up
Appointed to find a remedy for the problems of Mumbai,Industries to be banned in main Mumbai, a new business complex should be built in the suburbs at Bandra– Kurla
1960
1965
Gadgil State of MaharashCommittee tra is formed on the 1st of May, 1960 Recommended that the mainland across the Thane Creek should be opened up for multi-nucleated development.
Pre - Cultivation Ecosystem of Parsik Hills emptying out into the creek, creating rivulets
Gaothans Towns formed along the rivulets, using the same as irrigation channels to practice agriculture
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1968 Municipal corporation accepts the proposal of New Bombay
Navi Mumbai 1970 CIDCO is set up State Government publishes a notification on 4th February 1970 for acquisition of land measuring 159.54 sq km. covering 86 villages of Thane, Uran and Panvel Talukas.
Development for the node of Kharghar began, the original inhabitants being compensated for lost agricultural land
Kharghar 1975 Development Draft Plan (DDP) submitted to State Government
1995
2012
Construction of Kharghar node begins
Golf course and Central Park inaugurated
2017
2021
Kharghar Metro Line introducted to improve connectivity within the node
Kharghar has since developed into the home of 2.44 lakh people, having a metro line running through, and an airport scheduled for development in close proximity
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02. the neighbourhood
Parsik Hills
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low rise, high density (Sector 12)
selection of the transect
(Neighbourhood Map)
In order to properly study the city, a small test neighbourhood was selected. Since this neighbourhood was to be representative of the node, the diversity present in the test neighbourhood was of great importance. The above transect was selected, consisting of sectors 12, 13, 19, 20 and 21. It features the spaced out, residential high rises of Sectors 20 and 21, the high density, low rise, low cost housing of Sector 12, and the two gaothans of Kharghar Gaothan and Murbi Village, from Sectors 13 and 19 respectively. Additionally, this transect begins from the foothills of the Parsik Hill Range to the West, ending in the Kharghar Creek.
High rise residential (Sector 13 , 19)
(Kharghar Node with neighbourhood highlighted) Kharghar Creek
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the neighbourhood
amenities and infrastructure The ideas behind the planning of Kharghar dealt heavily with the superblock structure where the areas were divided into sectors and each sector was planned to be self-sufficient with adequate infrastructure. This ties back to the modernist ideas of looking at cities as an efficient place to live which fulfills every function in the least possible time. Through surveys, interviews and online research, the map below is a compilation of the neighbourhood’s access to basic amenities and infrastructure such as education, healthcare, transport and recreation. The map shows adequate distribution of most of these amenities across the sectors.\ The transport in this neighbourhood is mainly through private vehicles, but public transport includes the bus stops, metro, and Yulu cycle renting stands. We can see through the roads of the neighbourhood that the development of the movement was done primarily with cars in mind.
(Amenities Map)
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site study
The site study was done over the course of several visits, where a total of 70 people were interviewed in person on site. Due to the COVID - 19 pandemic, many interviews were conducted virtually as well. The overall consensus from this study was that the basic amenities and infrastructure were accessible to all, however transport in the gaothans is slightly lacking as compared to the rest of the neighbourhood. The access to the open recreational infrastructure such as parks is also limited from the goathans, as well as Sector 12, due to the distance, and ticketing charges for entry.
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03. the sectors 16
sectors 20, 21
(Map of Sector 20, 21) These sectors consist mostly of high rise cooperative housing societies and the most amenities to support these middle/upper middle class residential areas. These sectors, in their planning, are most emblematic of the planning ideals behind Kharghar, as well as Navi Mumbai at large.
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the sectors
typology Concrete retaining walls drainage (towards the creek) Plants on both sides of the drain Compound walls for each building Tree on edges sides of the compound wall Internal roads 10m wide
Eight laned roads between sectors Footpaths
Internal gardens in some buildings Buildings on the main road with shop fronts Additional plinth extends in front of the shop before the footpath Lawned gardens with compounded walls
(Zoomed in Plan) The general typology of Sectors 20 and 21 is that of high-rise residential buildings, with shops and commercial spaces on the ground floor, accessible by the main road, with each tower featuring allied amenities.
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sector 20, 21
The typology of Sectors 20 and 21 features many ideas that were the driving force of the development of Navi Mumbai, such as the de-congested layout, grid pattern, large highways, spaced out residential high-rises. The planning of Kharghar, and all of Navi Mumbai, was done this way for several reasons, outline in the following pages.
RCC cooperative housing societies
Plinths in front of shop
Foot path
10-15m wide road internal
Foot path
Plinths in RCC cooperative front of housing societies shop
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the sectors
planning of Navi Mumbai
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Why did Mumbai need to be de-congested?
How was Navi Mumbai born?
The growth patterns for Bombay in the 20s and 30s was very sporadic, and the planning and development was done as a patchwork, to tackle specific issues spread out over the city. It’s population jumped from 1.5 million in the years leading up to the Second World War to 4.5 million in 1964, and was predicted to double by 1984. By 1965, municipal limits had already reached the northern end of Salsette Island – today’s suburb of Mira Bhayandar – meaning that the city sprawled over a continuous 45-kilometre stretch from the south to the north.(1) As a whole, the city was facing issues of congestion, overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure for the number of people. An attempt to decongest the city was seen in the ill-fated Back Bay Reclamation Scheme, an extensive reclamation project from Chowpatty beach to Colaba Point. Due to the failure of the various schemes, and proximity of a virgin location across the creek, the idea of a Magnet City or a Satellite City was born.
Due to the proximity of this area to the city, and the ability to have larger, more spaced out growth, the Satellite City was born. The aspirations for Navi Mumbai were to allow for the residents to commute to Mumbai, while residing in Navi Mumbai. This area was also occupied only by the agricultural and fishing communities, hence the cost to procure the land was also left. “Charles Correa, Shirish Patel and Pravina Mehta proposed the idea of a much needed ‘pressure valve’, to be located right across the bay, just to the east of island city, with unlimited scope of expansion, towards the mainland. It was to be called ‘Navi Mumbai’ - A regional plan based on the idea of a twin city, a counter magnet of equal size and prominence to Greater Mumbai. This alternate plan came as a refreshing approach and was supported by the business class over the MCGB’s original development plan.” (2)
sector 20, 21 “The innovative quality of New Bombay’s planning was underpinned by a focus on public transport, low-income housing, rainwater harvesting, and responsive urban form typologies, including high-density, low-rise typologies. Originally planned as a “twin city” to Bombay, New Bombay, now called Navi Mumbai, has the potential to become a locus in a network of other cities and towns within the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that includes around 21 urban centres and 1,090 villages on an area of 4,355 square kilometres, with a total metropolitan population of around 21.9 million” Mainland shift : Charles Correa and the Making of Navi Mumbai - Julian Jain (Uncube Magazine) Development plan for Navi Mumbai from the Charles Correa Archive
Navi Mumbai was planned using the idea of single-use zoning, where one type of use is assigned for a zone. Hence, we see large areas of Navi Mumbai zoned as a single function, such as residential, industrial, business, dockyard, as shown in the map below.
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the sectors
sector 12
(Map of Sector 12) This sector predominantly consists of Low cost housing which was proposed as a part of the initial development schemes. These are high density low rise buildings with shared walls and shared open courtyards.
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sector 20, 21 Front road
Buildings facing the main street have shop fronts on the ground floor G + 2 storey buildings with shared walls Internal courtyard
Internal Lanes between buildings (Back of the building (Zoomed in Plan)
(Street Elevation)
(Street Section - Internal Courtyard)
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the sectors
sector 13, 19
(Map of Sector 13, 19) Sectors 13 and 19 have gaothans at the centre of othan and the Murbi Village specifically. These sectors ing these gaothans, the only remaining settlements opment. The city evolved around these gaothans as
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them, being the Kharghar Gaconsist of the highrises flankfrom before Kharghar’s develshown in the upcoming maps.
sector 13, 19 RCC 3-4 storey houses on previously what was ground storey buildings Main spine along which buildings are arranged (typical Koliwada arrangements) Internal lanes are very small (one person at a time) Overhangs of buildings almost touch each other (Consequence of newer RCC settlements ) Main markets, stores on the main spine (Zoomed in Plan)
(Street Sections)
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the sectors
pre - 1995 Kharghar Gaothan and Murbi Gaothan in 1995 before development. Major occupation at this time was Agriculture and Fishing.
2002 Start of development in the early 2000s. Monetary compensation for the agricultural lands + Low cost housing as part of the compensation.
2008 Central park construction begins.Housing societies and allied buildings to support the new residential buildings
2014 Central park and the golf course inaugurated was inaugurated(2012), Navi Mumbai airport got all clearances in 2012: Real estate Boom Encroaching wetlands on the right to support the development
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sector 13, 19
neighbourhood evolution The neighbourhood has been developed recently as compared to other nodes in Navi Mumbai. The initial development started in the early 2000s. The initial plan had plots demarcated for development around the existing settlements. Development and growth happened quickly from 2002 and has been growing and plots are being demarked on the natural ecology to support this.
2021 Metro line has come up to account for the lack of connectivity to other parts above Kharghar Inauguration of Seawoods Grand central increased real estate prices
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the sectors
sector 13
(Map of Sector 13) This sector has the Kharghar Gaothan flanked by high rise apartments on all sides. It also has the new metro line, having a new station under construction .
(Map of Kharghar Gaothan)
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sector 13, 19
sector 19
(Map of Sector 19) This sector borders the creek and has Murbi gaothan in the middle of it, surrounded by high rises. This sector also has the most schools in the neighbourhood.
(Map of Murbi Village)
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the sectors
kharghar creek Kharghar is situated at the foothills of the Parsik Hill range and the Kharghar creek. During the monsoons, the natural landscapes would act as seasonal wetlands, slowly distributing the water from the Hills into the Creek. These water channels formed rivulets in the landscape. Initially the creek had channels were diverted to the agricultural fields, which served as irrigation channels. These fields were owned by native Agri and Koli communities. Successive development plans have seen the taking over these regions, getting built over for the township of Kharghar. As development was proposed in this area, the initial part of the plan was to acquire these agricultural lands for which the native people were compensated (12.5% scheme.) After the initial proposal the need for development has increased which has pushed the government authorities to flatten out and quarry the mountain ranges on the west side and reclaim the creek on the east side. Study of successive development plans show that areas denoted as protected land (mangrove forests etc) get assigned for development in the next plan. This unchecked development has led to immense pollution in the area particularly the creek. Due to the setting up of Taloja Industrial plant and the neglected dumping of garbage into the creek, the creek has been polluted beyond being able to support biodiversity, especially fish and birds. The native Agri and Koli communities used to depend on the creek for fishing, and they have lost their livelihoods due to this degradation of the creek, and have been forced to develop their old settlements to have extra rooms which can be rented out to migrant workers, forming the primary form of income for many.
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(Natural wetlands of Kharghar formed during the monsoons / Image
(Map of proposed future extensions of Central Park, a m over landscapes like the one pictured above)
(Creek highlighted in green)
(1995)
(2003) Source : Tarang Sarin)
(2010)
manicured garden which is to be built
(2015)
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the sectors
Open Spaces
(Map of Open Spaces) The neighbourhood has several public parks, ticketed and open. The central park to the north of the neighbourhood is one of Asia’s largest parks, having a proposed extension. While the golf course was proposed as a nodal public space, a large percentage of the population cannot access it. Although there are several public parks, festivals and cultural activities does not take place in these areas, instead taking place in individual housing societies. Apart from the large open space to the South-East, along the new metro station (under construction), which is used for larger festivals. Most of the spaces in Kharghar are consumer oriented. Through the site study and interviews, we can gather that the overall recreational activities involve largely consumer oriented spaces, such as shopping malls, cafeterias, restaurants, etc, which an exception of the Central Park.
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Open Spaces
Park Typology The parks of Kharghar follow a similar typology throughout, featuring a similar kind of planting palette and structure. In the grid plan, the parks were intended to provide a brief respite from the high rises. There are a mix of ticketed and non ticketed parks throughout the neighbourhood, with the non-ticketed ones positioned in Sectors 19, 20, and 21, and the more dense Sector 12 having one large ticketed park, shown below. The natural landscapes of Kharghar act as seasonal wetlands, acting as sponges to soak up the water that accumulates due to the monsoons, coming from the Parsik Hills, and acting as a natural method of alleviating flooding. Large landscapes of this nature, while providing a green space of recreation for the residents, do not allow such seasonal percolation of water. Additionally, the non-native planting palette drives away the local fauna, such as birds, butterflies, insects, that serve as crucial parts of this ecosystem. Non-native vegetation, using the standard planting palette of CIDCO
(Map of Sector 12 Park)
Minimal tree cover
Large sprawling lawns
Winding paved pathways, shaded by trees
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04. inferences 34
(Overhead view of Sectors 12, 13, 19, and 20)
the city as a grid of functions In the development of Navi Mumbai, Kharghar was referred to as the ‘futuristic node’. There have been many positive impacts to this development, such as access to crucial infrastructure like schools and hospitals. The aim of dispersal and de-congestion with which this township was planned has been achieved, with traffic jams we see in Mumbai a rare sight here. These large roads that alleviate traffic also cut through neighbourhoods, dividing up what could be more walkable, intimate communities. This is emblematic of many issues with the planning of Kharghar. In focusing on catering to the needs of infrastructure, the city becomes an ordered grid of functions. At this point, we must ask ourselves if it is enough for a city to be merely a grid of functions. The relationship this development had with the existing ecosystems, both natural and man-made, also must be examined. This development has come at a significant cost to the mountains to the west and the creek to the east. Entire ecosystems are being lost to this, with a large part of the natural landscape of the mountains being stripped away to make way for manicured gardens and water guzzling golf courses. The objectives of the planners, to create a satellite to Mumbai, were left unfulfilled, when the initial plans to move crucial industries and offices to Navi Mumbai were not realized. The team behind the developing of the magnet city saw a decentralized city as a whole, solving the problem of the very low standards of living in Mumbai. In a leap of imagination from prevailing wisdom, Correa envisaged a large, independent New Bombay, not a satellite town. He knew that nothing less would do to save a metropolis that was growing at a lethal pace(2). This vision was never brought to reality. The city of Kharghar has allowed many to live in much higher standards of living than they would have in the city of Mumbai. There is no doubt that the objectives of the planners in terms of infrastructure and amenities have been fulfilled. However, in treating the city as merely functional, it leads to a sterile environment. In the absence of the informal, the hustle and bustle of a city, and the intimacy of more human scaled roads (all of which come with their own fair share of problems), we are left with a city devoid of all of these.
“The ideal city, from the planner’s perspective, consisted of a closely coordinated mechanism of life, work, recreation, education, shopping, business, industry, and transportation -- an efficiently functioning organism” “The idea was to reengineer an organic urban space to meet the needs of capitalist industrialization. Naturally, such a project of planning was a dream of the city as a grid of functions ; efficiency, need, function, and order were it’s watchwords.” source : Prakash, Gyan. Mumbai Fables. Princeton University Press, 2010. JSTOR,
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Bibliography 1. Mainland shift : Charles Correa and the Making of Navi Mumbai - Julian Jain (Uncube Magazine) 2. Charles Correa wanted to design a better Mumbai – but the city let him down - Bachi Karkaria (The Guardian) 3. Profile study of Navi Mumbai - CHAPTER - III PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA 4. CIDCO : http://cidco.maharashtra.gov.in 5. Navi Mumbai Municipal : https://www.nmmc.gov.in/town-planning 6. Le corbusier’s principles of city planning and thelr application in virtual environments by Amit Tungare 7. The Urban Social Pattern of Navi Mumbai, India - Malathi Ananthakrishnan 8. Navi Mumbai, the city of the 21st century - Aparna Vedula 9. Urban development process in Bombay : Planning for Whom? -Swapna Banerjee-Guha 10. The Making of Navi Mumbai - Annapurna Shaw 11. The story of Taloja Hill: Determination can move mountains and grow forests, Mumbai Citizen Matters 12. P hoto essay: threats to Kharghar’s ecosystem, Tarang Sarin, Mumbai Citizen Matters 13. Birth of a city - Shaban Abdul 14. Planning and Dreaming, Mumbai fables - Gyan prakash
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