Urbanisation and its effects on vernacular houseform: A study of Sawantwadi, Maharashtra

Urbanisation and its effects on vernacular houseform:

A study of Sawantwadi,Maharashtra Monik Shah,UA3111 Guided by Prof.Yatin Pandya 1

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

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I want to thank my family for always supporting me. My parents always encouraged me in all my decisions. Ankit and Tulsi have always been the people whom i look upto and share all my decisions with. The little one of our family, Riaan, relaxed the stress during the difficult times.

A lovely bunch of cousins- Vidhi, Disha, Palak, Monish, Rajvi, Darshit, Nishit, Jinisha and Pooja that I am obliged to have.

They have always helped me whenever i am in need.

A very special thanks to CEPT University for gifting me lifelong memories and experiences. The academic tenure at CEPT taught me a lot. A very special thanks to all my 2011 batchmates for making this journey so beautiful.

I thank my guide Prof. Yatin Pandya for providing invaluable inputs and guiding me in my thesis. I also thank the faculties at CEPT who have guided me throughout my course.

Special credits to Shalin & Palak for the help in sketches and measure drawing on site; and Adwait for the help in drawings used in this thesis .

I am really thankful and lucky to have a very close group of friends- Nishita, Vedanti, Aman, KP, Manuni, Prasik, Dhwani, Shalin, Nirnay, Hiren, Kishan, Sagar, Nilosha with whom i have spent most of my time at CEPT. They have always helped me and been there on my side. The relation developed over the period is much more than friends, something that has no name. This deep friendship has extended further in life in form of an architecture firm named Compartment S4.

Really thankful to my seniors, Satyam, whom i have always looked upto for suggestions and discussions throughout my academics.

A very special thanks to Sona aunty, Tapan uncle, Dada, Dipti aunty, Kalpesh uncle, Vaidehi aunty and Nirav uncle for making me feel like home in Ahmdedabad. They never let me feel the absence of my parents and guided me throughout.

In this wonderful journey, I met people from different countries and multiple fields during my exchange programAndy, Michelle, Patrick, Nikky, Manan, Vaidik, Amelie especially Emily and Andrea whom i am very thankful to. We kept pushing each other and learning from each other.

A wonderful group of friends Ravi, Sadik, Arathy, Vaibhavi, Nakul, Dweeta, Vaidehi, Kajol, Karan, Monish, Shubham, Rajkumar, Kavan, Prithvi, Parth, Ajay, Kush, Chatrola who have always been the people who are up for all academic as well as non-academic help required.

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THESIS BRIEF i. ii. iii iv. v

Abstract Aim Objectives Scope and Limitations Methodology

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Abstract

Transformation in an urban fabric is the result of change in various factors like social, political, economical, cultural, built form etc. The morphology of a building changes as per the needs and demands of an individual as well as the locality.

The phenomenon of urbanisation generates a number of factors that bring upon a transformation in a house as well as a city. Impact on the smallest of the scales brings upon a change among a larger scale. The whole chain of change on the urban fabric starts right from an individual house. Villages turn into towns, towns into cities and cities into something totally unimaginable. The traditional built form of the place is changing due to which the nature of the place is slowly disappearing. Growth is inevitable hence changes are bound to happen. What needs to be pondered upon is how we want the changes to be articulated such that the nature of the place is not lost. This study is based in Sawantwadi located in South Maharashtra. Sawantwadi is a town which is undergoing changes wherein the local built form is slowly being replaced by newer forms.

Aim

To study the impact of urbanisation in Sawantwadi and changes thereafter on the houseform of Sawantwadi.

Objectives

1.To define urbanisation and discuss the main aspects defining the urbanisation of a place 2.To understand the role urbanisation plays in transforming the vernacular houseform of a place 3.To study the vernacular houseform of Konkan 4.To study Sawantwadi based on the aspects defining the urbanisation of Sawantwadi 5.To study how the houseform of Sawantwadi has changed due to urbanisation 6.To study how the changing houseform has impacted the built form

Scope and limitation

The study gives a brief idea of the transforming urban fabric of Sawantwadi. All the final case studies presented here are houses. Institutional, commercial or public buildings are portrayed only to refer certain aspects of urbanisation and its impact. The cases studies include houses which are fully occupied, partly occupied or vacant/not occupied. Schematic spatial organisation and elevations have been used to derive the house plans of the unoccupied houses.

The study of urbanisation is vast. Discussion of urbanisation and it’s aspects is majorly inclined towards the urban fabric and it’s transformation.

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The case studies are represented and analyzed based on primary or secondary sources of information depending upon the presence of the occupants. Information about social and cultural background of the case studies is derived from an amalgamation of primary and secondary sources.

Urbanisation in Sawantwadi is discussed through layers of analytical diagrams derived from the map of Sawantwadi town and a series of sketches with some showing activities while others focusing on the spatial sense of the place. The case studies have been carried out extensively through analytical diagrams on the plans and sections of the houses.

The analytical diagrams focus on the activity patterns, spatial organisations and visual interactions. Interviewing the primary and secondary sources in the town was an integral part to understand the thinking of the locals towards changes brought due to urbanisation. Primary sources are the residents of the house ranging from 22-85 years of age. The secondary sources are the neighbours, local shopkeepers in the market, the royal family of Sawantwadi, town development department of Sawantwadi municipal corporation, kids playing in the municipal school, teenagers sitting by the lake edge, builder, lawyers and a local architect friend ranging from the age group of 15-65 years. Interviews were also done to know how the spaces and households worked before the additions or modifications were made in the house to have a comparative understanding of the same place over a course of time.

Methodology

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CONTENTS

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PART I

INTRODUCTION

PART II

i. ii. iii. iv.

What is urbanisation Rural-urban linkages Effects of urbanisation on Indian villages Effects of urbanisation on vernacular houseform

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i. About Konkan ii. About Sawantwadi iii. Vernacular houseform of Konkan

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PART III

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

Economy and demography Land use and zoning pattern Movement and road network Public spaces and social character Infrastructure and amenities Built form and house type

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PART III

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

Initial brief Case study 1-Peace heaven Case study 2-Aakansha Case study 3-Chitnis wada Case study 4-Balasaheb ghar Case study 5-Cluster in Vaishyawada Case study 6-Cluster near the fish market

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INTRODUCTION TO KONKAN AND SAWANTWADI

PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF URBANISATION ON SAWANTWADI

CASE STUDY AND ANALYSIS

PART IV

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CONCLUSION

PART V

i. ii. iii. iv.

Citations Appendix Bibliography Illustration credits

140 142 146 150

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PART I:

INTRODUCTION

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i. What is urbanisation Urbanisation refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas. Urbanisation is relevant to a range of disciplines, including geography, sociology, economics, urban planning and public health. Urbanisation is not merely a modern phenomenon, but a rapid and historic transformation of human social roots on a global scale, whereby predominantly rural culture is being rapidly replaced by predominantly urban culture [1]. This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades, turning cities to sizes unthinkable. Urbanisation involves not only movement from village to city but change from agricultural occupation to business, trade, service and other professions.

Migration is defined as a movement of population involving a change of permanent residence of substantial duration.

Theoretical explanation of rural-urban migration dates back to the late 1880s when Ravenstein first proposed his laws of migration according to which migrants move from areas of low opportunity to areas of high opportunity and choice of destination is regulated by distance[2]. Migration leads to gradual or sudden increase in proportion of people living in urban areas versus rural areas. Cities and towns tend to expand to suffice the growing needs of land, employment and infrastructure due to the growth in population.

The main causes of urbanisation are: 1. Rural to urban migration is happening on a massive scale due to population pressure and lack of resources in rural areas. Fall in rural economy and agriculture forces the rural population to move to the urban areas in search of jobs. These are push factors.

2. People living in rural areas are pulled to the city. Often they believe that the standard of living in urban areas will be much better than in rural areas. People also hope for well paid jobs, the greater opportunities to find casual or informal work, better health care and education.

PUSH FACTORS

PULL FACTORS

-Declining economy in agriculture -Lack of job opportunities

-Varied job opportunities -Luxurious lifestyle -Education

CASH RURAL

URBAN FOOD

PULL FACTORS -Cheaper land -Leisure,tourism -Desire for a relaxed life

PUSH FACTORS -High cost of living -Unsatisfactory jobs

Fig I.1 Push and Pull Factors between urban and rural 15

ii. Rural-urban linkages Urbanisation is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial ones. Kingsley Davis has explained urbanisation as process of switch from spread out pattern of human settlements to one of concentration in urban centers. In evolving urban structure, the small and intermediate towns are expected to grow as a result of congestion and crowding in the large and intermediate towns. This cycle of urbanisation postulated by Geyer and Kontuly[1993] in terms of primate city, intermediate city and small city keeps on repeating[3].

A rural urban link plays a major role in urbanisation. It is not only the cities that define urban lands but also the surrounding lands that tend to urbanise as a consequence. The basic spatial types which define the rural urban region include: • Urban core: Includes the Central Business District and the site of many other civic and cultural functions and some public spaces associated with these • Inner urban area: Generally higher density built-up areas including residential, commercial and industrial purposes and some open public spaces • Suburban area: Generally lower density built-up areas, which are attached to inner urban areas with local shops and services, parks and gardens • Urban fringe: A zone along the edges of the built-up area, which comprises a scattered pattern of lower density settlement areas, together with large green open spaces, such as urban woodlands, farmland, golf courses and nature reserves •Urban periphery: A zone surrounding the main built up areas, with a lower population density, but belonging to the functional urban area, as this can include smaller settlements, industrial areas and other urban land-uses within a matrix of functional requirements •Rural hinterland: Rural areas surrounding the peri-urban area, but within the rural–urban-region and accessible within a practical commuting time and so their rural character is affected by residents with urban incomes and lifestyles [4]

Fig I.2 Mono-centric urban structure

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This is a basic model of how an urban structure of a monocentric city looks like. Urbanisation leads to these divisions so that the services and the population can be distributed over a region.

The aim is a central economic core surrounded by various services and land use requirements which help to minimize the congestion in the core. Hence the intermediate lands soon turn into towns or subordinate cities from villages. As and when the places grow ,the peripheries grow along and the process keeps on repeating.

For Lewis Mumford, a city is a “point of maximum concentration for the power and culture of a community.” Some of the fundamental premises of a city are, i. Cities come in clusters. A town never exists unaccompanied by other towns. It is therefore inevitably locked in an urban system, an urban hierarchy. Even the lowliest of townlets has its dependent villages. As Braudel puts it, “The town only exists as a town in relation to a form of life lower than its own. It has to dominate an empire, however tiny, in order to exist.” ii. Cities are places that are intimately engaged with their countryside, that have a territory that feeds them and which they protect and provide services for. Often the city form is locked into rural systems of land division [5].

Fig I.3 Poly-centric urban structure

This is an example of a poly-centric urban structure. In such a system there are multiple city centers out of which few are primary and others are subordinate. In recent decades, there have been massive developments that have been taking place in the size, extent and nature of the settlements. These developments have involved the blurring of urban-rural distinction. There is no longer a clear dividing line between town and countryside for individual settlements or their inhabitants, indeed many people reside in one but work in the other. Moreover, in more heavily populated regions, formerly separate cities and towns have merged together into much more extensive urban zones. In reality this inter-urban or regional scale agglomeration is more like a diverse territory shaped by many types of land use relationships[6].

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A place like Sawantwadi can be identified in both such urban structures, i.Poly-centric urban structure- Sawantwadi is a very small town which is dependent on cities like Kolhapur, Mumbai, Pune, Panjim, Belgaum out of which Mumbai and Pune being the primary cities. Other towns that belong between these cities and Sawantwadi are Kankavli, Ratnagiri etc. Hence in such a system the larger region considered is Maharashtra and some parts of Goa and Karnataka which have a series of primary cities like Mumbai and Pune, secondary cities like Kolhapur followed by towns and then villages which are interdependent on each other. Sawantwadi is a very small townlet in this larger system, situated in the rural regions of Maharashtra.

Amravati Akola

Nagpur

Aurangabad Nanded

Mumbai

Pune Solapur

Ratnagiri

Sawantwadi

Kolhapur

Belgaum

Panjim

Fig I.4 Poly-centric urban structure in Maharashtra

ii.Mono-centric urban structure- Sawantwadi is also identified as an urban center in the context of Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. As various villages like vengurla, Oros, Banda etc are dependent on Sawantwadi for jobs and various other urban demands. Hence for a smaller region Sawantwadi is the dominant urban center for the nearby villages.

Kankavli

Malvan

Vengurla

Oros Kudal Sawantwadi Amboli Banda

Fig I.5 Mono-centric urban structure in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra 18

The rural hinterland has different types of linkages with the urban center. Rural and urban areas should not be treated as two distinct entities as these linkages blur the physical boundaries. These linkages are, 1.Physical linkage in terms of road network, railways, air transport, telephone lines, electric lines etc.

2.Commodity linkage includes flow of commodities from rural to urban and urban to rural areas. Rural to urban is mostly food and urban to rural are products comprising the urban markets.

3.Service linkage-Many people live in the peri-urban areas and transport daily to the urban centers for work. Such population is also regarded as floating population. Majority of the labours and workers in service sector come from villages.

4.Human linkage consists of migrants. Linkage development via commuters and migrants may result from the motivations of business expansion, varied job opportunities to choose from as per preference or transporting skilled labour from specific area for specific purposes.

5.Monetary linkage is the flow of capital in exchange of commodities, services or labour. Sometimes migrants also tend to transfer their personal income to their native villages for social purposes. This flow of capital is termed as remittance.

6.Land-use linkages- Dependency on one another for land requirements for residential, commercial, industrial and recreational purposes depending upon the needs and demands[6].

These rural-urban links establish the roots of urbanisation in a region. The rate of urbanisation is guaged through the intensity of the linkages. The physical manifestations of urbanisation on a place can be discussed through the following aspects, 1.Changing demography and economy-Increase or decrease in the population or economy plays a vital role in urbanising a place. Increase in population. Rise in population leads to increase in residential and employment demands which leads to more and more congestion. Congestion also leads to densification of the built spaces in the region.

2.Change in Land use and zoning patterns-Changes in the land use requirements determine the growth of built space.

Need of more and more land use functions in the city center lead to the change in land use pattern. To take off the pressure of the urban core, decentralization of functions around the urban core is needed which leads to conversion of agricultural lands for other purposes. The diagram below shows the interdependency of land use between urban, periurban and rural areas.

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URBAN -Access to urban markets -Industrial purposes -Transport infrastructure and storage facilities like godowns for transfer of food and other commodities from rural areas to urban markets.

-Housing development -Commercial development -Health and education facilities -Transport and infrastructure -Leisure and tourism

PERI-URBAN -Leisure and tourism -Social community based functions and amenities -Land based investment for future extensions in form of infrastructure, housing schemes, recreational amenities

-Functional amenities related to farming, forestry,minerals, energy, water, wildlife -Industrial activities

RURAL Fig I.6 Land-use linkages between urban, peri-urban and rural areas

3.Evolution of public spaces and the social character- More and more demand for public spaces,open spaces, buffer zones indicate growing urban demands. Evolution of the nature of public spaces also depend on changing social character.

4.Evolution and addition of transport infrastructure and movement network- Demand for physical linkages leads to growth in transport network and transport infrastructure.

Connectivity between places leads to growth in trade and transport or sometimes it is the need of trade and transport which forces the need of enhanced connectivity.

5.Intervention of modern and recreational amenitiesModern amenities arrive from growing desires of leisure and entertainment which arise due to the urban needs. Various amenities like public parks, zoos, shopping malls, movie theaters, sports clubs, restaurants, hotels, resorts, golf courses, museums etc are being built as per the demands in the region. Such amenities are not a necessity but are an outcome of growing demands.

6.Transformation in built form and house type-Changing house typology and change in use of building materials directly affect the built form of a place. Growing scale and congestion of the built form indicates urbanisation.

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iii. Effects of urbanisation on Indian villages India is urbanizing rapidly. For more information on urbanisation in India refer to appendix.

Many villages all over India are becoming increasingly subject to the impact of urban influences. The nature of urban impact, however, varies according to the kind of relations a village has with a city or town. These eventually affect the built form of the region. Broadly, there are four different situations of urban impact on villages: 1.Firstly, there are villages in which a sizable number of people have sought employment in far-off cities. They leave their house and their family members behind in their native villages. Many such migrants invest their earnings in building houses and social amenities within their native village. In such villages, urban employment becomes a symbol of higher social prestige. Further, the migrants might also bring their family members permanently to the cities in which they are employed hence the link with their native villages is completely lost.

2.The second kind of urban impact is to be seen in villages which are situated near an industrial town. When an industrial town comes up in the midst of villages, some of the villages are totally uprooted while the land of others is partially acquired. Such villages are found to receive an influx of immigrant workers, which not only stimulates the demand for houses and a market inside the village but creates problems of ordering relationships between the native residents and the immigrants.

3.The growth of metropolitan cities accounts for the urban impact on the surrounding villages. It is normally found that, as the city expands, it sucks in the villages lying in the outskirts while a few villages are totally absorbed in the process of expansion and urban development.

4.Tourism is also an important factor which has an urban impact on villages or regions. Due to growing tourism, better places to stay and urban amenities are demanded.

The villages are completely transformed into an urban space in no time to suit the tourists. In this process the local architecture and the essence of the place is lost.

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iii. Effects of urbanisation on vernacular houseform Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is an architectural style that is designed based on local needs, availability of construction materials and reflecting local traditions. Originally, vernacular architecture did not use formally-schooled architects, but relied on the design skills and tradition of local builders. It is an architecture for the people and by the people. The vernacular architecture possessed everything that had been sought and desired like simplicity, structural suitability, natural forms, rational and practical design, rooms of agreeable shape, colour and harmonious effect that had resulted from an organic development based on local conditions.

Urbanisation has linked the world in all aspects ranging from physical connections to social connections. Urbanisation has led to exchange of ideas between far-off places. This healthy exchange has led to various desires of urban adaptations in day to day lifestyle of the people. Vernacular buildings stand as the expressions of a complex interaction of cultural norms, climatic conditions and the potentialities of natural materials. These dominant characteristics of primitive and vernacular building have lost force with the greater institutionalization and specialization of modem life. They are changing as per the demands of the modern man. These factors that drive the change in a houseform are,

Social and cultural factors

A house is a form organised to serve a set of purposes. It is the residents that visualise the organisation of the house as per their family size, economy, religion and lifestyle.

Most of these aspects are variables. Due to urbanisation people are exposed to new cultures, lifestyles and societies and they tend to adapt.

a. Family structure

People tend to replicate those lifestyles which demand changes or modifications in their existing houses. For example, the city life is dominated by nuclear families as the families tend to stay in separate apartments due to difference in preferences. The families migrating to cities from villages which are all about joint family living tend to get inspired by the idea of an apartment and independent living. Then they demand a separation in the house back home or the old house is re-constructed into an apartment building with the apartments being divide amongst the families.

b. Family size

The family size also keeps on fluctuating due to the general family growth over time or migration for education or work. Hence changing family size might demand either expansion of the house or renting out some rooms in the house.

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Witnessing different lifestyles and luxuries, people tend to add those lifestyle elements in their houses like a modular kitchen, balconies, sliding glass windows, a separate dining room, study room etc.

b. Aspiration

Religion is constant hence it plays no role in changing their house or houseform. But if the neighbouring residents change and the newer residents are of the religion that they do not prefer then you can see many changes coming in like a higher compound wall, closing of the openings on that specific side, reduced usage of the common spaces or even shifting to a new house in some cases.

c. Religion

Sometimes it is also the concern of increasing security which lead to changes in the houseform. Due to growing migration there is increase of foreign population which leads to the need of higher security measures. The compound walls will be made higher or the semi open verandah might get a metal grill in the front etc.

e. Security

Economic growth and lack of understanding of cultural heritage, influence the dweller to transform or replace their traditional houses with modern design approaches. In most of the cases, the new acceptance of modern approaches are totally strange and different from traditional living.

Most common is to build a bungalow with all the facilities and luxuries, which is completely different from the old houses.

f. Economy

Vernacular architecture was a direct result of the locally available materials and local construction techniques keeping the environmental impacts in mind. Materials decided the houseforms.

Building technology

Today the building materials as well as the construction techniques have changed considerably. Various stages of construction which were earlier hand done are replaced by machines. Building materials have seen a huge range of variety over the recent years. New materials like cement and steel have dominated the major urban markets. Cement gave way to RCC frame structure, flat slabs, ferrocement roofs and much more. Structures made up of RCC or steel do not take into consideration the context or the climate of the place. As most of the quick constructions do not consider the local climatic conditions in their design, modern amenities like air conditioners, coolers, exhaust fans, heaters etc are later on added to reciprocate the climate.

a. Building materials and techniques

As the old houses were made up of natural materials they demanded high maintenance due to natural weathering of materials. Whereas these RCC structures are comparatively easy and quick to build, and demand very low maintenance.

b. Maintenance

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c. Cost

The wooden columns and sloping roof made out of clay tiles is increasingly being replaced by steel columns and GI sheets or flat RCC slab. The cost of the newer materials and techniques is also quite lower than the natural materials which encourage the people to go for the cheaper options.

Climatic condition

Due to urbanisation, the sourcing of natural materials has become difficult. Due to extensive deforestation, mining, quarrying for urban demands pressure of local and natural resources has increased. There are instances where places with wooden houses need to order wood from outside due to extensive deforestation hence the unavailability of wood in that area. Even if something is left, it is of a bad quality. Due to shortage of these natural materials, the private excavators or agencies sourcing these materials need to pay heavy dues to the government hence adding up the cost. Hence low availability and high cost force the people to go for cheaper materials like concrete or steel which are widely available even in the remotest of areas.

a. Design considerations

Climate of the place has a major role to play in deriving the houseform of a place. Amount of rainfall and snowfall determines the angle of the roof, The plinth heights are derived from rainfall. The summer temperatures determine the thickness and material of the wall.

b. Development in technology

Urbanisation has led to global warming and climate change. The frequency of natural calamities like floods, thunderstorms have increased which had led to various additions in a house and it’s houseform. High temperatures have given way to cavity walls. More and more research is done in making insulation materials which are heat resistant.

Neighbourhood

A vernacular house cannot be seen in isolation from the settlement, but is always viewed as part of a total social and spatial system which relates the house, way of life, settlement, and even landscape of the place. Man lives in the whole settlement of which the house is only a part, and the way in which he uses the settlement affects house form, as, for example, in some areas the meeting place is the house whereas somewhere the meeting place is a part of the settlement, such as a street or plaza. The common classification into dispersed and concentrated settlements will affect house form because activities which need to take place in the house in a dispersed settlement possibly occur within the settlement in a concentrated settlement.

a.Level of porosity

Hence neighbourhood is a very important aspect for a house.

But today the settlements do not mean much because earlier, the neighbours were a larger family but today mix and match of people has reduced the neighbourhood bond. Not seeing the larger context of a settlement but the

direct neighbourhood of the house say the adjacent street, neighbouring house sharing a common wall, an adjacent open space sharing a compound wall, these do affect the changes being bought in the form and functioning of the house. Residents decide the level of porosity they want to their boundaries. Various factors like noise pollution, social barriers or visual connections drive the changes carried out in the house. For example if an adjacent street got wider due to increased vehicular activity, the residents convert the open balconies of their house into a closed space with sliding windows which cuts the noise as well as provides a visual connection with the street .

As discussed earlier in social factors, a new neighbour of not a preferred religion or culture might bring about changes in the house accordingly.

b. Religion of the neighbours

Increasing need of security can also bring about changes in the house.

c. Security

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PART II:

INTRODUCTION TO KONKAN AND SAWANTWADI

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iii. About Konkan Konkan is a region of criss-crossing rivers, plunging valleys and mountains that soar into the clouds. The Konkan is a coastal strip of land bounded by the Sahayadri hills on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. It is a land where mythology breathes side by side with economic growth, a land with rich mineral resources, dense forest cover and a landscape fringed with paddy, coconut and mango trees.

Konkan is west coastline of India. It stretches from Raigad to Manglore. Konkan offers tremendous variety in history, culture, wildlife.

Fig II.1 Physical map of Konkan

Fig II.2 Geographical map of Konkan

The Konkan region has shown several signs of development since 1990s. The major reasons for these development are, 1.Konkan Railways: It acts as a connecting link between villages, towns and market places, and thereby helps in bringing together remote and developing regions closer to one another which in this case are the whole of rural konkan area, Mumbai, Margoa, Manglore, Cochin. Konkan railway has opened new vistas in the economic and urban development of the coastal region. The Konkan Railway was the missing link between India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, and Mangalore. The 741-kilometre line connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka States. It also helped a lot in decreasing the production time and hence lowering the production costs. Transport for both freight and passenger become easier. Hence foreign investments in the rural part of Konkan became easier as the resources became more easily accessible.

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2.Potentials for Industry: The present resources of Konkan have many potentials for industries, both small scale as well as large scale. The following industries are attracting foreign as well as local investors, i. The production of firewood as a small scale industry. ii. Grass trade is developing ,mainly for fodder production. iii. Cashewnuts and match industries are catching pace. iv. Many products are being prepared with the help of fruits like mango, jackfruit, cashews, kokum, etc apart from the trade of these fruits themselves. v. Quarrying activities have grown drastically.

3.Horticultural Resources: With the large quantity of production of different fruits, Konkan region is developing a potential horticultural base. i. Main fruits grown in this area are mango, banana, cashewnut, chickoo, coconut, betelnuts, pineapple, jackfruit and kokam. ii. The canning industry has good scope in this region. iii. The coconut coir is used in the coir industry and many by-products are put to use through the development of the supporting industries.

This is an important industry from the point of view of exports.

4.Migration and Remittance: Due to under-development in Konkan there is unemployment, poverty, lack of prospects, lack of good educational facilities etc. Hence the people of Konkan have migrated to the urban centers around it. Moreover, the destination (which in most cases is greater Bombay), has many pull factors to attract the migrants. People from Konkan go to Bombay mainly to seek employment. They are also attracted by “the lure of the city life�. This continuous and increasing migration from Konkan region to greater Bombay and other urban, peri-urban areas has affected the former in many ways. People migrating out of Konkan, after earning satisfactory amount of money, invest back in their native place in terms of house extension, institutional development, making housing schemes etc. Most common example of remittance is by investing in replacing the old vernacular house with a typical 4-5 storey apartment block with the ground level kept for themselves and the apartments above sold to other residents.

5.Tourism: Tourism plays a catalytic role in the development process. The landscape and greenery of Konkan has seen a rapid rise in tourism. It has varied experiences ranging from beaches to hill stations. To cope up with the growing tourism, various urban interventions have been done and proposed along the lines of tourism, experiences and leisure.

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ii. About Sawantwadi Amidst the land rich in mineral resources,long stretches of clean, sandy beaches, overflowing lakes, dense forests, simple people, old temples, curvy roads, and bustling seaside towns is Sawantwadi. This is a small and picturesque town in Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra. Historical background, royal splendor, educational, cultural, spiritual, land of brave warriors, Sawantwadi is a combination of all of these. Marathi is the most common language, though it is spoken with a different dialect. Konkani is also spoken by a few. Most of the town’s population is Hindu, followed by a minority Muslim population.

Sawantwadi once was the princely state established in 1580 CE

by Khem Sawant Bhosale. Sawantwadi is a heritage town with several ancient heritage spots including Lester gate (1895), the Great Royal Palace (1790s), Chitnis wada (1836), Mathi , Atmeshwar Tali (1891), Vithal Mandir, Raghunath market and 200 years old Kolgaon darwaja.

History

Sawantwadi is about 29kms off the sea coast and 35kms away from the foot of the Sahayadris. The general terrain of the town is hilly. Central part of the town is fairly flat. The town is 112m above sea level. In Sawantwadi, there are five major rivers, four of which are found in the Sahayadri Mountains passing from the Western edge towards the Arabian Sea. The geology is characterized by hard laterite in hilly tracts and sandy soil along the seashore.

Geography

Sawantwadi has tropical climate with temperatures ranging from 270c to 340c. The maximum average humidity is 93% in July and the minimum average humidity is 56% in January. 90% of it’s total annual rainfall is from May to October. Annual rainfall is about 3000mm[7].

Climate

There are many places to visit in Sawantwadi. Moti Talav, a water reservoir located in the centre of the city, is so named because it glitters under starlight. People generally visit this place during evening and stroll around the banks of it for fresh air. The royal palace adjacent to the Moti talav is an ancestral residence of the royal Sawant family even today. The palace boasts of Sawantwadi and is a testimony to political life. Dindi Darwaja, Kolgaon Darwaja are some of the palace gates worth seeing. Mathewada is where the tombs of the royal family are located. There is a garden named after veteran freedom fighter Jagannathrao Bhonsale which is spread over an area of 5 acres.

There are 2 major libraries. One is known as ‘Shriram Vachan Mandir” and other one is situated near Samaj mandir which is maintained by municipal corporation.

Places to visit

Sawantwadi is constantly undergoing change due to urbanisation. It is one of the many towns in India that has been impacted due to various urban influences.

29

iii. Vernacular houseform of Konkan Konkan region has variation in topography ranging from open beaches to area surrounded by hills. Journey through this region is interesting because of variation in land. After descending some miles from zig zag mountain road one comes across a paddy field or a small settlement generally known as Wadi/Wada. Some of the villages are hidden in folds of hills.

Often the name of the wadi or village indicates it geographical position, such as Khalchiwadi (Khalchi means it is placed on lower plateau), varchi wadi (Upper plateau).Konkan vernacular architecture is also one influenced by nature. It is sustainable and cost effective. Nowadays, slowly it is going away from it’s root. Some alien trends are influencing it.

Journey through the house

The spatial organisation of a vernacular konkan house is linear .The houses typically has an aangan in front of their houses or a courtyard in case of a huge wada and thick plantations and coconut trees in the backyard. A tulsivrindavan is placed in the aangan as a symbol of goodwill to the house and it’s members.

A semi open space or an open verandah called सोपा or पडवी facing the aangan welcomes you inside the house. You enter the house into a big living room called मासघर meaning a central space. Living room is mostly higher then the verandah. Men of the house open the main door when a guest knocks on the door, so the women standing inside can see the face of the guest knocking the door whereas the outsider can’t see the face of the women standing inside. From here one can proceed towards the private spaces like bedrooms situated after the living room or situated on the upper level. The spaces on the upper level have openings facing the aangan and the backyard so that there is a view of things happening in the common spaces from a private space like a bedroom. Another door leads to the kitchen. Kitchens have windows opening towards the backyards seeing the green. Generally another tulsivrindavan is placed right outside the window of the kitchen as the women were not supposed to come out during the earlier times. The toilets are mostly situated outside the house as they are considered as inferior spaces. But nowadays people attach the toilets to the back end of the house for convenience.

Building elements and materials

The materials used are laterite stone and mud. Walls are atleast 2ft thick made up of laterite stone or mud with a timber frame in some cases. The floors are made up of wooden logs and wooden planks. The roofs are built with timber understructure and mangalore or country tiles. It’s interesting to see different patterns and configuration of laterite stone and mud. If you overview, you will find a similarity yet a unique individual identity. Each of the house has its own touch, it’s own unique combination of colour and customized space allotment. The doors and windows are also made from timber. The window size in most cases is 900x1200.

The window grill and shutters are articulated as per the nature of the space inside and the exterior space to be viewed.

30

Fig II.3 Schematic plan of a Konkan house

Fig II.4 Schematic section of a Konkan house

Fig II.5 A typical Konkan houseform 31

The vernacular houses were planned as a house owned by an individual family at the same time also belonging to the village.

Site context of a Konkan house a. Amidst the fields

A typical konkan house is generally found in these contexts,

b. Individual plot

Houses are made on an individual plot. These plots are bordered with a compound wall. A vehicular entry is also provided to such houses as these kind of houses belong to the richer section of the society in the village. Such houses are more introvert and the neighbourhood relations are not that strong.

c. Along the road edge

These houses are situated right on the road edge. Sometimes these houses are used for commercial purposes on the ground level and the upper level is used for household functions. The neighbouring house either shares a wall or has a narrow path in between which leads to a common backyard. Most common occupation of inhabitants residing in this context is trading and business.

Typical expansion of a Konkan house

Architecture of the Konkan is not monumental or iconic. One can always see clusters of houses standing adjacent to each other as if they are integrated. Even though abundant space is available to build upon, most of the houses form irregular cluster. There are social as well as geographical reasons behind it. Generally these houses are not separate entities but extensions. Typical scenario of an ancestral house is somewhat like this. It is build by the great grandparents of the family made up of almost 2ft thick mud wall. It is most probably an extension of an existing house nearby, owned by a relative in most cases. Then the next generation extends it or builds small houses either made up of laterite stone or mud around it or just divides- the existing house amongst each other as per the size of the family. These houses share some common amenities such as aangan, Tulsivrindavan, well, backyard etc. Generally these clusters are designed and build by people belonging to same caste. Usually the land is owned by one family, which gets subdivided within family members. Generation after generation as per the need they keep on extending the house.

For social security it is generally beside or along its origin.

Konkan is blessed with heavy rainfall, humidity. During these seasons, closely packed form facilitates direct connection within each other without exposure to the outer environment.

32

Houses in rural areas are nestled amidst the paddy fields surrounded with a few trees. There is abundant land available to build upon. The main occupation for inhabitants of such houses is agriculture.

Fig II.6 Konkan house situated in the middle of farmlands

Fig II.7 Konkan house situated in a private property with compound walls

Fig II.8 Konkan house situated right on the road edge.

A konkan house placed in a piece of land

Extension begins from the backyard

Then comes the need of a servant’s house, built separate from the existing one

Family expansion demands a separate block. A well is added as well

Courtyard is formed as the need for a common gathering space arises

Further extensions are done around the courtyard

Fig II.9 Diagrams showing schematic extension of a Konkan house

33

PART III:

PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF URBANISATION ON SAWANTWADI

34

i. Demography and economy Year

1961

1971

1981

1991

2001

2011

Population

15120

16873

18671

21305

22901

23851

Population change

Table III.1 Growth of population in Sawantwadi over the recent decades

From 1961 to 1991 Sawantwadi population had steadily increased but from 2001 onwards people started migrating towards major cities in search of job due to which population has not increased as expected. The town of sawantwadi covers an area of 6.78 sq kms and population as per 2011 census is 23851 souls. This gives a town density of 3518 souls per sq km. Out of the total population 11903 are males and 11948 are females. Literacy rate is 85% hence the people are quite upto date of the modern trends and the awareness programs propagated by the government. It just emphasises on the fact that even in a rural corner in Konkan region, people are quite literate and aware of the day to day happenings in the country.

Major pull factor for people migrating to Sawantwadi are retirement, education, ayurvedic institutes and government jobs.

Sr.No

Occupation

Male

Female Total

1

Agricultural

35

3

38

2

Cultivator

42

7

49

3

Other than agriculture

5112

1517

6649

5209

1527

6736

61

250

Total primary sector 4

Manufacturing, processing, servicing, 189 repairs, household industry

Total secondary sector

189

61

250

6

716

302

1018

Total territory sector

716

302

1018

Total main workers

6114

1890

8004

Total non workers

5789

10058

15847

a. Trade and commerce b. Transport and communication

Present occupational pattern

Table III.2 Table showing the occupational pattern in sawantwadi

From the above table, it is observed that in the primary sector predominant activity is agriculture and agricultural labour. 74% of total land holding in the district is held by small and marginal farmers. Orchards of coconut, walnut, cashew nut, mango and jackfruit tree are the main vegetation in Sawantwadi. The main crop is paddy. The town is the administrative head quarter of the district with agriculture and household industry as the main economic activity. Many other government offices governing the nearby talukas are located in Sawantwadi hence government jobs are also a major share of economy of Sawantwadi. Other major professions in the secondary and the tertiary sector are car garages, fabrication works, trading, general stores, wooden furniture etc. Most of these occupations are the ones carried out since the elder generations.

Present occupations

35

Loss of local craft

The predominant industrial activity in the town is the manufacturing of handicraft articles. An art of making toys out of wood is something that the community of Sawantwadi specializes in and though there may not be too many takers for this craftsmanship among the younger generation, there are the Chitari and the Kanekar clans who have continued to be engaged in this profession, keeping alive the hope that the skills will not totally fade away. There are not many incentives for artists to continue their occupation. Traders and brokers who export these commodities exploit the craftsmen. In addition, trees such as Pangara and Fanas whose timber is used for making wooden toys are no longer available locally due to indiscriminate and unsustainable extraction. They are now brought in from neighbouring states making it nearly impossible for self-employed artisans to afford them.

Lack of employment and employment opportunists

It is seen that the employment opportunities or new business directions in the town are very meagre. 66% of population consists of dependents i.e. women, children, senior citizens.

The businesses thriving are of average economies and apart from that there are salary based government jobs. Able bodied people go to other places like Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Panaji etc. for more employment opportunities leaving their families behind. Hence as such the economy of Sawantwadi is very poor. Some of the local residents also say that Sawantwadi has zero economy as all the money used for development is through foreign investments.

Population migration in search of, -Employment opportunities -Desire of a luxurious city life -Education mainly higher secondary, graduation, post-graduation -Trade and business mainly hardware

Mumbai, Pune Kolhapur

Sawantwadi

Income flow and investments -Real estate -Tourism -Small scale cashew, kokam and mango industries -Automation of agriculture Fig III.1 Linkage between Sawantwadi and major cities

Pull factors empowering foreign investments

36

Sawantwadi has certain economic potentials which are being discovered slowly. The location of the town and better connectivity through road and rail provides investment opportunity to the people foreign to Sawantwadi. In addition to this heritage and tourism adds to the economic potential of the town. It has great potential for tourism development due to its inherent characteristic, location and close proximity to Goa. It also possesses potential for industrial development due to its favourable climatic and soil condition for growing alphonso

mango, cashew,kokam and other products. People are also reverting back to agriculture and investing in automation of various hand done processes in agriculture. These are some of the pull factors for outsiders to come and invest in Sawantwadi.

Real estate markets are playing the most important role in transforming Sawantwadi. This transformation is mainly driven by heavy foreign investments and remittances in building more and more residences. For example, a person either a migrant of Sawantwadi or a foreign entity wants to invest Rs.5Cr in land development in a city like Mumbai or Pune has no value whereas with the same amount in Sawantwadi he can buy a piece of land and build a bungalow or an apartment building and sell the apartments. Due to it’s location and character of the town, Sawantwadi once became a major spot of investments for people in Konkan during the year 2008-2010. This is when maximum investment in real estate started. People thought Sawantwadi to be the right choice to invest in buying a second home away from the city. Demand for apartments increased which led to new apartment constructions. This has played a major role in changing the built form of Sawantwadi today.

Rise of real estate

Recently, the real estate industry has suffered a major setback which has led to heavy built area but hardly any residents.

There are about 500-700 2-3BHK ready apartments to be sold in Sawantwadi today. The reasons are,

Fall in real estate

i. Earlier only certain individuals from the family migrated to cities but nowadays whole families have shifted to the cities. ii. Recently happened demonetisation has led to a major setback in real estate markets. Many local builders have lost a huge amount of money due to it, at the same time, buyers are left with no excess or liquid money to buy the properties due to demonetisation.

Builders have reduced the apartment prices by half to recover as much loss as possible which is happening slowly. iii. Many places along the Konkan coast in Maharashtra have picked up attention for investment in a second home namely Malvan, Vengurla, Ganpatipule, Alibag. These places have developed as famous tourist locations along the coast. These have taken off the focus from Sawantwadi.

Hence we can say that foreign investments are driving change in Sawantwadi rather than the locals. Economy is playing an important role in changing the built form through real estate investments as well as the occupancy status of this built form.

Inference

37

ii. Land use and zoning patterns It is very important to study the existing land use patterns to plot the spatial needs of the society, factors responsible for the growth and various growth trends. Land use patterns derive the direction of growth.

Existing land use

Sr.no

Land use

Area in hectare

% of total area

1

Residential

231.990

34.22

2

Commercial

10.010

1.48

3

Industrial

0

0

4

Public, semi public

36.180

5.34

5

Public utilities

7.940

1.17

6

Transport and communication

38.150

5.63

7

Recreational gardens,playground

8.560

1.26

Total developed area

332.830

49.09

8

Agricultural

168.320

24.83

9

Orchards

36.840

5.43

10

Vacant and barren land

102.710

15.15

11

Hilly land

19.930

2.94

12

Water bodies

17.370

2.56

345.170

50.91

Total non developed area

Total area 678 Table III.3 Table showing the areas under various functions

The above table reveals that, -Majority of the area is under residential use. Most of the users have migrated to the cities or have invested in property in Sawantwadi.

- 1/3rd of the entire town is covered with orchards and agricultural land. Orchards consist of palm, cashew nut, coconut, mango trees and jack fruit trees etc.

-Publicandsemi-publiczoneincludesprimaryschools,highschools, hospitals and dispensaries, govt. & semi govt. offices, religious places, community centers. Sawantwadi is the headquarter of taluka so various state government offices like tehsildar office, municipal office, panchayat samiti, M.S.E.B, post offices etc. are functioning in the town.

-The commercial development is mostly in the form of shops along the roads. Commercial activity is concentrated in the center part of the town, Ubha bazaar, along old Mumbai - Goa road and around Moti lake.

-The lower percentage of road area is due to inadequate and narrow communication system which is not at all capable to cope up with the future demand. The number of 4-wheelers and 2-wheelers have considerably increased in Sawantwadi which has put a lot of pressure on the roads at present in Sawantwadi[8].

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Fig III.2 Present land use and zoning chart

Fig III.3 Map of Sawantwadi showing the land use and zoning in 2008 39

Proposed land use

The proposed development of Sawantwadi is along the following lines, -The development of the outer area is noted in the form of ribbon development, major portion of the land in the outer areas is under residential use. The residential development is noted along the Sawantwadi-Goa state highway and national highway.

-The areas under public park and gardens is increasing. Due to continuous to and fro migration of locals to the cities, desire and needs for various public spaces and amenities like gardens, malls, community halls, banquets, shopping complex, tourist amenities etc have increased -Commercial areas are increasingly urbanizing in forms of market sheds and shopping centers. The old markets are slowly being replaced by bigger complexes.

-Land under industrial use is slowly increasing because of the increasing scope of products like cashew, kokam etc.

Development pattern

-The population density in the town is low hence the development is very sporadic. From the plan it is visible that the town is expanding in a radial pattern around the lake.

-The main markets and the focus of the town is situated at Gandhi Chowk near the lake.

-Due to government restrictions, developments towards the mountain ranges is bare minimum.

-Main functions that are responsible for the growth are residential, parks and public spaces. The residences have taken over the agricultural land.

-A new road enveloping the town is already under construction.

This road will mark the beginning of growth of the peripheries of Sawantwadi. It will soon become a major connectivity between the town center and the fringes.

-The industrial functions have come up along the Goa highway.

-The commercial functions are increasing along the MumbaiGoa highway. Hence many residences and public services are placed along this road. The growth along this road is very random as it can be seen in the map.

-A very important town level initiative taken is providing a public park and open/semi-open public spaces at regular intervals in the town.

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Fig III.4 Proposed land use and zoning chart

Fig III.5 Map of a developing Sawantwadi showing the changing land use and zoning 41

Growth pattern over the years

The following Google maps show the transformation of Sawantwadi and it’s context over the years. The images are taken at time intervals of 4-6 years.

1.In 1996, Sawantwadi was yet to receive external influences.

It was a small village with old houses and local population.

The cover of agricultural lands was quite high. Each house generally had their individual agricultural plot. Migration to the cities was a very new concept then.

2.In 2001, Sawantwadi slowly got recognised by the external forces. Konkan railway was launched in 1998 which connected major cities like Mumbai and Kochi passing through Sawantwadi. Migration of population as well as commodities to and from the cities became more convenient and faster generating ideas amongst the young blood to search for new jobs in the cities or expand their business outside Sawantwadi.

Outward migration was on the rise.

3.In 2004 and 2007, the outward migration to the cities was very high due to which many houses were either unoccupied or partly occupied by the elder members of the family. The major changes in the built form were additions of certain centralized functions like municipal corporation, a few government offices and hospitals. The exposure to the urban got the need for addition of public functions. So the major developments were in the public sector and not the residential sector.

4.2013, shows a sudden growth in the built up area. This time was dominated by major foreign investments in residential sector. By this time, Sawantwadi was recognised for tourism and a major stop point between Mumbai and Goa. Laid back life and the closeness to nature attracted the people to invest for a second home in Sawantwadi . Also by this time, migrated residents had started to invest back in real estate.

5.Today in 2017, Sawantwadi has a growing residential sector due to real estate. To suffice the residential blocks, public spaces are expanding as well.

Inference

42

At present, Sawantwadi has grown considerably compared to 1996. Growth in Sawantwadi is sporadic yet growing radially around the lake . Prominent growth along the Mumbai-Goa highway is observed. Residential growth is seen maximum rather then industrial or commercial sector. Growing residences and urban exposure has eventually led to growth in demands for public spaces.

Fig III.6 Map of Sawantwadi,1996

Fig III.7 Map of Sawantwadi,2001

Fig III.8 Map of Sawantwadi,2004

Fig III.9 Map of Sawantwadi,2007

Fig III.10 Map of Sawantwadi,2013

Fig III.11 Map of Sawantwadi,2017

Growth of Sawantwadi town over a period of 21 years from 1996-2017 43

iii. Movement and road network Road connection

Sawantwadi is located near the National Highway[NH-17] connecting Mumbai and Goa. The road connects Sawantwadi to Ratnagiri 177kms, 460kms Panvel and 518kms Mumbai in the north and 63 kms Panaji in the south. SH-123 is another important road which provides westward connectivity to the town and traverses NH-17 to SH-122 which connects to Vengurla, the nearest port which is 28kms away. The eastern linkage to the town is taken care by SH-121 to Kolhapur and Belgaum.

Mumbai

518kms [via NH48]

Pune

374kms [via NH48]

Ratnagiri

177kms [via NH48]

Kolhapur

149kms [via SH121]

Kankavli

55kms [via NH66]

Sawantwadi Vengurla

25kms [via SH123]

Belgaum

149kms [via SH121]

Panjim

63kms [via NH66]

Fig III.12 Sawantwadi and it’s location from major cities

Railway and air connection

44

Sawantwadi railway station is on Mumbai – Manglore broad gauge railway line of konkan railways. This rail route starts from diva,Mumbai via Sawantwadi further running through Goa state to Manglore in Karnataka state. The sawantwadi railway station is situated at a distance of about 7.5 Km from sawantwadi town in south – west direction on SH-123. The town does not have any airport facility. The nearest passenger airport is Goa international airport more commonly known as Dabolim airport in Goa which is about 85 km from Sawantwadi town.

Sawantwadi was a major point of halt for commuters travelling between Mumbai and Goa due to it’s location along the Mumbai-Goa highway. The quietness and closeness to the nature, attracted tourists for a day or a night halt at Sawntwadi.

The local production of wooden toys attracted commuters along Mumbai -Goa highway. Fresh cashew and kokam products also attracted the tourists. Due to this convenient road and rail connectivity along a very active line of commute, investments from various foreign migrants in real estate sector and industrial sector were on a rise.

Changing road connections

Now, a bypass road has been constructed directly connecting Mumbai and Goa via NH48. This road passes through Pune, Kolhapur and Belgaum which are bigger cities compared to Sawantwadi. Hence commuters started to prefer this road as it also took lesser time then the road passing through Sawantwadi. This has led to lower passage of commuters passing by Sawantwadi. As other places are also growing in economy and popularity, people prefer the route which is faster and has better halt points in between.

Mumbai

Pune

Panjim Ratnagiri Kolhapur

Travel time-12 hrs 560kms-via NH66

Sawantwadi

Travel time-10hrs 30mins

Belgaum

590kms-via NH48

Fig III.13 Map showing roads between Mumbai and Panjim,Goa 45

Road network

The road network in Sawantwadi is heavily congested because of lower width of roads, bypass traffic and concentration of various commercial and activities in the town along the road network. There are regular bus services to Pune, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Panaji, Vengurla etc. Sawantwadi is a traditional tourist place and a transit for tourists heading towards Goa from Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur etc. A number of hotels are established in Sawantwadi at various locations on old Mumbai Goa road and main market area.

Sawantwadi’s internal road traffic comprises of a homogeneous mix of motorized and non-motorized vehicles. There are very limited pedestrian walkways and parking facilities on the street which contribute to slow movement of traffic thereby increasing sound and air pollution. The internal roads do not have similar road widths

46

Internal transport

The distribution of goods is done mainly through paratransit[tractor, motorized three wheelers]. Easy access, high frequencies, low fare structure, less journey time are the factors for the preference of the para-transit transport modes by people.

Road widths

The fig III.15 shows the road pattern from the center of the town till the foothills. The road surrounding the Moti lake is a 12M wide road which then narrows to 9M in the main market area. The streets going inwards narrow down to 6m and sometimes even 4m where only 1 vehicle can pass at a time.

The internal roads were never planned to accommodate such heavy vehicular transport.

Inference

Seeing the current condition, it is visible that the road network is under pressure due to increasing vehicles. Major transport infrastructure has not been built inside the town but around the town. Due to congestion it is very difficult to add transport infrastructure like bridges, wider streets inside the town. But commute between other towns and cities has become easier due to additions of National highways, bridges and wider roads.

Fig III.14 Road network in Sawantwadi

Fig III.15 Road network and density of buildings from the Moti Talav to the foothills of Narendra Dongar

47

iv. Public spaces and social character Public spaces are the points of attraction in any town or a city. Public spaces are responsible for a lot of social activity happening in a place. These spaces are developed upon the need of functions like leisure, markets, community gatherings etc. Public spaces are also points of relief in a city where in people come to relax after or before a long day at work.

Earlier idea of a public space

Earlier in Sawantwadi, the public spaces were much informal then what they are today. Earlier the social connection between the residents was very strong. People lived a simple life wherein demands of public parks or recreation hardly arrived.

The whole town which was then a village was a huge family with elders respected dearly as “Wadeel�.People did not need to find peace and leisure at a public park, it was done through socialising with the people around. The place of gatherings were as casual as a corner of the street,the otlas of the house or the common aangans shared by a cluster. Women and the elders were the integral members of these places. As they stayed back home, they used these gathering spaces the most.

Men generally used to gather in the evenings. Youngsters are found sitting and chatting during all times of the day. Kids are seen playing during the afternoons and evenings.

Fig III.16 Sketch showing the corner of a street. In this case,the temple otla forms the corner. Due to narrow streets the cars or 2-wheelers do not rush in hence making it safe for kids to play or people to gather.

Fig III.17 Sketch showing a typical aangan or a courtyard. Clusters were built around an aangan and courtyards were an integral part of a wada.

48

Fig III.18 Sketch showing the otlas of the houses forming the edge of a street. Used by the residents as well as the passerby’s to stop and have a chat with the residents

The markets were completely extrovert. The whole place gets lively with healthy conversions being shared from shop to shop due to it’s open and welcoming approach. There are about 713 shops in the town which meet the day to day needs of the town and also villages in the proximity. The welcoming otlas, fully side folding shutters of the shop and narrow street make it a very cozy space for healthy socialising amongst the shopkeepers and youngsters during the day and the local residents around during the night.

Earlier idea of market as a public space

Fig III.19 Sketch showing the old market street decorated during a festival 49

Character of a public space today

Due to migration the time spent in the native home is very less.

The social gatherings of families happen only during occasions or festivals mainly Ganesh Chaturthi. The older traditional houses which have been maintained to date, have their spaces completely activated during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival when the whole family migrates back to the native town for celebrations. Rest of the year it is just occupied by a couple of family members in most cases the grandparents with one or two siblings with their families. At this time, most of the spaces remain closed hence the actual social character of the places is lost. The places of social interest like Masghar, verandah, courtyard, Tulsivandan lose their actual motive of gathering.

People migrating see a variety of public spaces made to serve various purposes like food, entertainment, shopping,leisure, ceremony etc. The range of such public spaces vary from an air conditioned complex to an open air green park. These desires have started to come up in Sawantwadi today. The development of gardens and hard paved sitting areas has increased due to the growing urban demands. A very urban concept of a mall is also being proposed along the Goa highway.

Development of Sawantwadi is also driven by the glitter of a city. People migrating to cities intend to replicate the building typologies of the cities to Sawantwadi. this leads to demands in various public parks, leisure etc.

Fig III.20 A public garden-Jagannathrao Bhonsale Park with a semiopen pavilion in the center

Many functions and activities have been made in and around the lake to fulfill these needs. A walkway passing through the lake, multiple decks, a podium for sitting and relaxing in the center of the lake and many more such facilities have been added to magnify the spatial character of the place. A footpath with a parapet shaded by trees run all around the lake with many benches and smaller gathering pockets in between. Fun activities like boating are also carried out for the tourists.

Fig III.21 Sketch showing a promenade passing though the lake 50

Fig III.22 A deck in the lake for boating and a garden along the lake edge

The lake edge has various restaurants and ice-cream parlours which extends out on a very wide pavement. The lake edge has a parapet to sit, trees such that the foliage is perfectly maintained till the height of a standard person and round street lamps. The parapet on one side and the restaurants on the other side make it a vibrant pubic space. Lake edge is also active because it houses major public institutions.

Fig III.23 A complex placed opposite to the lake edge

Fig III.24 View of the footpath along the lake and the complex 51

Idea of shopping and commercial complexes as a public space

The municipality has leased out its land along the bazaar road, for various shopkeepers & they have constructed their own sheds for shopping purpose. The market roads which had healthy social interactions are being influenced due to the upcoming trend of making complexes. Complexes are getting another picture of a public space as it houses commercial as well as entertainment purposes.

Fig III.25 A commercial complex opposite to the Sawantwadi bus stand

Fig III.26 A shopping complex with a promenade passing through it located at Gandhi chowk

Inference

52

In terms of urban public spaces, Sawantwadi is soon coping up with other cities of the similar scale. Growing to and fro migration has led to increasing desires and demands for urban public spaces which can be seen in the built form.

v. Infrastructure and Amenities Sawantwadi, like any other town has various public spaces, educational institutions, temples, commercial buildings, markets, hospitals etc. The services and their locations are as follows, -Temples and religious institutions are spread across the town.

Most of these form the corners of a street. They are spread across the town at regular intervals.

-Educational facilities are evenly spread across the town. At present there are 17 primary schools and 7 secondary schools.

There is an arts and science college known as Shri. Pancham Khemraj College, which at present meets the need of higher education in the town as well as of all the surrounding villages.

There is one technical school and industrial training institution in the town[9].

-Sawantwadi town is one of the head quarter place of Sawantwadi taluka in Sindhudurg district therefore all Taluka level Government offices are situated on government land mostly around the lake. There are nationalized and cooperative banking facilities available in the city.

-The Sub-District hospital located along the lake is the major center for medical treatment in the town. Other major hospital in the town is Rani Jankibai Maternity Hospital run by private institution. In addition to this there are 2 general hospitals, 2 heart hospital,3 maternity hospital, 1child hospital, 6 pathological laboratories and 1 child and maternity home to serve the patients of Sawantwadi and nearby towns/villages[10].

-Various hotels and guest houses are built around the lake and near the Sawantwadi bus stand so that the accessibility for the tourists is easier.

-Commercial and shopping complexes are coming up in the main market area, around the lake and near the bus stand so that there is easy access for people coming to buy from neighbouring villages.

Various recreational amenities have been added and many more are proposed. Desire of getting an urban lifestyle in Sawantwadi has led to these additions. The types of functions, use of materials in the buildings, facades, display outlets are seen to be inspired from various urban buildings in city. The various urban typologies that are implemented or being implemented in Sawantwadi are shopping complexes, urban gardens, market sheds, gymnasium, residential schemes, building society, hotels, grocery stores like big bazaar, malls, resort etc. Glimpses of some of the existing amenities in Sawantwadi are given ahead [the photographs are mainly to see the nature and form of the buildings], 53

Hospitals

Educational institutions

Fish market

Commercial complex

Forest park

Temples

Hotels/guest houses

Gymkhana

Public park

Shilpgram

Commercial complexes

Municipal corporation

Municipal school

Water sports center

Sawantwadi palace

Government offices

Vegetable market

Shri Sai private hospital

Hotel Mango

Bus stand

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Fig III.27 Map of Sawantwadi showing locations of various amenities around the town

A typical RCC structure for the municipal corporation along the edge of the lake with an upward protruding tower.

Fig III.28 Sawantwadi municipal corporation

The municipal council has constructed a market shed near present municipal office building where vegetables are sold. In addition to the above, the municipality has leased out its land along the bazaar road, for various shopkeeper & they have constructed their own sheds for shopping purpose Fig III.29 Vegetable Market

A centralized fish market is made where one can get fishes from various places around konkan. As the fishes are transported from further distances,it has facilities like cold storage units.

Fig III.30 Sawantwadi fish market

Some amenities like the gymnasium and sports grounds areconstructedandarefunctioning well. Other amenities like the swimming pool, health clubs, auditoriums and amphitheaters are proposed.

Fig III.31 Gymnasium 55

Newer educational facilities as well as extensions for these are already existing.

Fig III.32 Municipal school and its extension

As Sawantwadi is emerging to become a developed town in Sindhudurg district, it is planned to house some advance medical and health facilities. It has one public hospital along the lake and some private hospitals spread across town.

Fig III.33 Shri Sai Private hospital

Many showrooms dealing in goods like tiles, automobiles, sanitary-fixtures and other essential lifestyle products are coming up along the Mumbai-Goa highway. Shopping complexes are being constructed at various important junctions of the city.

Fig III.34 Commercial complex and showroom

There is an existing public park consisting of a musical fountain, garden restaurant and a small amusement park.

Fig III.35 Public park

A water sports center is created adjacent to the Moti Talav lake that provides seasonal boating facilities. Other public amenities existing along the lake are discussed in detail in the previous section.

Fig III.36 Water sports center 56

Heritage tourism and ecotourism are essential contributors to the exponential growth of economy in Sawantwadi. With settlements prevailing radially around the lake, the town boasts of dense vegetation cover and a panoramic view of Narendra hill in its background. It houses characteristic vegetation found only along the green belt of Konkan, trailing along the Western ghats of India. It is replete with ecological wonders and unique biodiversity. With scenic locations such as Kesari River, Nageshwar falls & Ragheshwar point in close proximity, Sawantwadi also falls adjacent to the quaint village of Amboli leading to heavy influx of local tourists. As a result of such influx, Sawantwadi experiences a rapid construction of tourist facilities.

A tourist reception center, which will cater to the needs of tourists arriving in Sawantwadi and seeking information about various tourist spots, is nearing its completion of construction process

Fig III.37 Tourist Reception Center

A forest park is created on Narendra Hill, situated at an approximate distance of 2 kms from Sawantwadi. It was created to preserve and relish the biodiversity of the forest.

Fig III.38 Forest Park

An artisan’s village, Shilpagram, was created to serve as a platform for interactions between the tourists and artisans.

It was created to give the tourists an experience of the old sawantwadi. Developed on a lush green plot of 5 acres, it was built while consciously preserving the natural contours and causing minimal damage to the existing ecosystem. It consists of working areas for artisans to manufacture wood, clay & bamboo handicrafts, pottery and a very rare leather-craft known as Pinguli art. It is an attempt to capture the essence of traditional built-form and activate a public space in the town, but is currently under-utilized.

Fig III.39 Shilpgram: Artisan’s Village 57

vi. Built form and house type Initial town planning of Sawantwadi

Sawantwadi was envisioned by king Khem Sawant ll as an ‘ideal capital city’ instrumental in strengthening the political stability of the region, secured by the various fortifications around, proximity to the western coast and the vast hinterland around to strengthen the interrelationship between the rural and urban. Sawantwadi town was known as an important center of trade and commerce during the period of political agent of British rule (1838-1924). The management and restoration of natural resources set the basic design strategy for planning of various political, educational and socio-cultural institutions.

Sawantwadi town is planned at the foothills of the Narendra hill. It was known as the ‘Sundarwadi’ which was later named after the princely family. The moti talav was planned on the natural springs originating from the Narendra hill and received a drainage of 550 acres of the hill measures about 31 acres. The administrative set up of the town was developed further into 7 clusters, planned organically with the narrow streets along the natural contour lines. The drainage of the storm water from the hill and the lake was reconstructed in stone. The nallahs and the road network formed the peripheral boundaries to the developing wadas.

Division of wadas

Clusters of wada were made considering the following aspects, 1.The administrative set up of 7 divisions was perceived as a separate cluster called ‘wada’.

2.Clustering of ‘wadas’ concentrated around the lake and the palace.

3.Sub division of land parcels for each wada was based on the users and its activities.

4.Placement of public institutions was such that it promotes exchange between individual wada.

5.Wada was represented by the typical elaborate typology owned by its head member[11].

The land was divided into various wadas with the palace and lake as a focal point. The divisions were as follows, i. Administrative division at Sabniswada ii. Servants at the Khaskilwada iii. Priests at the Bhatwadi iv. Lower cast at Baherchawada v. Traders at Vaishyawada vi. Burial ground at Mathewada vii. Market place at Ubha bazar,Juna bazar viii. Salaiwada along the line of commerce.

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Fig III.40 Land division of Sawantwadi

The figure ground planning is predominantly governed by the landscape which has close knit relation with the built form and the way of living. Figure ground relation was planned considering the following aspects, 1.Each side was governed by its subdivision of land parcels.

2.Typologies of the wada responded to the conditions like edge of the wadas, the activity pattern, geographical location and proximity to the public institutions.

3.Inter-relationship between two land parcels is governed by the topography, users and the activities.

4.Variations in the landscape pattern are based on its proximity to the hill, nallah or the street[12].

Figure ground relation

The traditional houseform was derived due to availability of local materials. Laterite stone and clayey mud were the easily available materials in the area. Wood was extracted from locally available trees of teak, jackfruit, jamun and mango, out of which teak wood was of the best quality. These materials used available within a very approachable distance sometimes right from the site of construction. As the materials were sourced locally, they were very cheap. If found in nearby vicinity, the only cost incurred would be the transportation cost. Laterite stone and mud walls gave way to a load bearing structure.

And a wooden frame structure within the mud walls was used to build taller structures. Heavy rainfall, gave way to sloping roofs with an angle of atleast 250. Wooden understructure with manglore or country tiles made the roof of the houses.

Manglore and country tiles were locally manufactured.

Vernacular houseform

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Changing built form

The built form of Sawantwadi has changed considerably over the years. Changing houseforms and building technology depict the change in the built form of a place.

a. Migration

Now, the wadas are no longer user oriented. Due to outflow of locals and inflow of alien migrants, majorly service based migrants, the whole community ethos of Sawantwadi has been lost. Discrimination in the land division based on occupation, religion or wealth no longer exists. The nature of built has intensified due to more and more congestion in the central area around Gandhi chowk. The houses used to be G or G+1 depending on the size and the economy of the family which are now getting transformed into 3-4 multi-storey apartment buildings.

b. Social structure

People migrating to the cities intend to replicate the building typologies of the cities to Sawantwadi. The division of the families also played an important role in shifting from a unified house to an apartment building which has multiple flats and decentralized entries. Loss of social character and neighbourhood made the aangans inactive. Joint families hardly prevail in Sawantwadi. The strength of older houses were the common courtyards and aangans. Due to migration and family divisions, the community living made no sense which compelled the individual houses to get stacked upon each other hence forming a vertical apartment block. The families build apartments either with their self-economy or with the help of builders in which they keep some flats to themselves and sell the rest to others. Many old houses are unoccupied today as some migrants have shifted to the cities and some stay in rented apartments within Sawantwadi itself. They stay in rented apartments to save up on the maintenance of the old houses. Many a times the families wait for the economy to build up before they can bring the old house down and build a new bungalow or an apartment block.

Building material and building technology

Another important factor driving the change in the house form is the change in building material and building technology.

1.Increase in deforestation, mining, quarrying activities and growing transport network has led to cutting down of forests and mountains which has further led to the shortage in availability of laterite stone, mud and wood in the nearby vicinity. These materials now need to be ordered from private vendors which make it expensive. Government also plays a vital role here.

Due to pressure on the availability of the natural resources and increase in privatization of land mining, digging and deforestation activities, government have taken some strict measures to limit such activities to some agencies only. These agencies need to a pay a heavy royalty to the government to excavate the natural materials as a compensation for harming the nature which make laterite stone and wood expensive

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Fig III.41 Gandhi chowk and it’s changing built form

Fig III.42 A corner of the street showing the old and new houseform

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2.Building materials like cement and steel have become easily available. There are a few cement factories available within a distance of 100kms around Sawantwadi. Abundance of cement and steel has led to on-site RCC construction. This is comparatively easy, cheap and quick to build. Stone and mud walls need skilled labours whereas unskilled labours with some skilled labours are enough for RCC construction.

3.There are many brick kilns around the town which has led to use of bricks as a filling material for the walls.

4.There is an increase in mining and quarrying activities around hence there is natural availability of fly ash which comes out as a by-product of mining. Fly-ash is used to make bricks which make it cheaper than the laterite stone due to it’s natural availability. The quarry stone dust is also used to replace sand for in the making concrete as sand is not easily available.

5.Use of hollow cement blocks is also done extensively. Cement blocks are also customized as per the need.

6.Manglore tiles needed to be replaced regularly as they break because of heavy rainfall and monkeys. Cheaper GI sheets are used in place of manglore tiles.

7.Stone and mud walls with mud plaster are very difficult to maintain. Insects and spider webs are a regular phenomenon.

The plastering needed to be done frequently as the cracks developed very easily. Addition of electrical points and plumbing pipes became very difficult due to the thickness of the walls. These maintenance issues made it easier for the local residents to accept walls made of bricks or concrete blocks with cement plaster and paint on top.

8..Cost comparisons are as follows, Older Materials Material Laterite stone

Cost Rs.25 /piece

Newer Materials Material Bricks

Cost Rs.4-10 /piece

Hollow concrete Rs.16-18 /piece blocks Fly-ash bricks

Rs.10-15 /piece

Cement

Rs.9000/cum

Mud/Earth

Rs.14000/cum +transportation

Wood

Rs.300-700/cu.ft Steel

Rs.80/cu.ft

Manglore tiles

Rs.24/piece

Rs.20-30 [same

GI sheet

size as a manglore tile]

Table III.4 Table comparing costs of older materials and newer

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All these factors gave rise to an RCC structure with flat slabs and a flat roof. Infill materials mainly being bricks, fly-ash bricks, concrete hollow blocks with cement plaster and paint finishes on top. These made the construction very quick and cheaper.

The maintenance required is also very low. The only problem is for the top level because the flat slabs tend to leak during the rainy months. Hence regular water-proofing needs to be done.

Earlier the houses were built mostly by the family members with some help from the labours. But due to urbanisation, the labour has become cheap and easily available. Labour is mostly from UP and Bihar. Advancement in technology has made the building techniques easier and increased the use of machinery.

Excavation now happens with the help of a JCB in Sawantwadi.

Vertical structures got various features like a winding staircase and elevators which are new to Sawantwadi. FSI for residences is 1.5 in the town center which allows a building height to go upto 3-4 storeys.

The photographs given below show the difference between the old and the new built form. They also display the use of materials and building techniques. Older one is mud walls,wooden columns, wooden floors and sloping roofs. The newer one is mainly RCC structure with laterite stones as infill.

Fig III.43 Old mud structure and wooden floors

Fig III.44 New RCC structure with laterite stone infill

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Changing nature of the openings

A typical opening in a vernacular house was built out of wooden frame and double wooden shutters. Most standard size is 900mmx1200mm. One could also see balconies but they were narrow as the wooden structure did not allow larger spans that RCC allows. The windows were mostly places 450mm above the floor because earlier,the users used the floor actively for various household purposes.

Fig III.45 Proportions of a typical opening in a vernacular house in Sawantwadi

Fig III.46 Typical elevation showing openings, verandah and balcony in a vernacular house in Sawantwadi

In a new apartment building, windows are mainly made of aluminium frame and a metal grill. The interfaces of the openings change as per the function in the house. Most of the windows are placed at 750mm or 900mm comfortable for users sitting on chairs, sofa, bed or standing. One can also see introduction of wider balconies

Fig III.47 An elevation of a newly build apartment building showing different types of openings and balconies

Fig III.48 Windows in an apartment block Left: In the living room Top: Above the platform of a kitchen 64

Earlier, the construction along the foothills of Narendra Dongar was along the lines of natural contours and social interactions. The steps and levels were created organically as per the slope. The houses were amidst the thick trees and green cover.

Changing built form at the foothills of Narendra hill

Fig III.49 Old vernacular houses on the foothills of Narendra Dongar

Now, the construction on the foothills of Narendra Dongar is done without considering the natural contours. The trees are cleared to create a free and flat ground which is eventually paved. The built form dominates the green cover. Staircases are forced into the context.

Fig III.50 New residential developments on the foothills of Narendra Dongar

Fig III.51 View of the newer developments along the foothills from the top 65

Typical example of a township

Most of the construction in the exteriors has taken place in the form of farm houses, row houses, bungalows etc. They comprise mainly of repetitive houses, intermediate streets and a few common facilities

Fig III.52 Township on the outskirts of Sawantwadi

Changing built form in institutional buildings

One of the pull factors for Sawantwadi is education for nearby villages which puts a pressure on existing educational facilities.

Extensions are done by cheaper and quicker construction materials and techniques.

Fig III.53 Plan of the municipal school showing the earlier built form and the extension

Fig III.54 Sketch showing the old and new in the municipal school 66

Built form of the older markets had a ground relation with the street. Scale of the street to the built was similar whereas in the newer form of the commercial complexes, the scale of the built to the street is large. Older markets are being clubbed to form bigger complexes.

Changing built form of shopping and commercial complexes

Fig III.55 A commercial complex along the lake

Fig III.56 A commercial complex in Gandhi chowk

Fig III.57 A commercial complex opposite to the Sawantwadi Bus stand 67

Fig III.58 Built form of the older markets

Fig III.59 Built form of the new complexes coming up in the market

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Local residents have a mixed view towards the changing built form of Sawantwadi. The older section of the society prefers older houses with thick mud and stone walls which are much cooler from inside and have openings which compliment the functions in the house. The ground relations of the house with the aangan and the otlas were very strong which generated strong social relationships amongst the households. These socializing spaces kept the elders involved. Since the newer typology of apartments have come in, the ground contact has been lost and the feeling of loneliness has increased. But on the other hand, some elders also feel that the apartment typology is more convenient due to their central form rather than the linear form of the older houses. It makes the movement inside the house much easier and relaxed. The newer RCC structures require less maintenance which add to the ease of the elders living alone.

Opinions of the locals over the changing built form

The younger generation which is focusing more into financial earnings are more inclined towards demolishing the older houses to form a new RCC frame structure with a ground floor apartment to themselves and the rest sold to others because such apartments demand very less maintenance compared to the older mud houses.

At present there are 5641 residential houses in the town. Out of these about 500-700 flats are ready for possession but there are no takers. This is a clear indication of how rapidly the congestion has happened. Value of the flats is decreasing.

Due to out-migration, number of permanent residents has decreased and the major part of the occupancy are the tenants who come to Sawantwadi for short term purposes.

The real estate investments are playing a major role in rapid construction in Sawantwadi.

Inference

From the above discussion, we can see how the built form has changed due to change in building materials, building techniques and social reasons. This has in turn affected the urban fabric of Sawantwadi due to changing interfaces with the streets, horizontal living changing to vertical living, changing character of common spaces and change in spatial organisation.

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PART IV:

CASE STUDY

70

These factors give an overall picture of urbanisation in Sawantwadi. The town has undergone various changes due to urbanisation. The houses and the houseform of Sawantwadi have also been challenged due to urbanisation. Major changes in housing and the houseform are seen in sawantwadi.

The case studies are certain examples in the town which are pointing out the transition in the vernacular houses due to various impacts of urbanisation. The study also involves how the spatial and the social quality of the space is changing.

Major factors driving this change are, 1.Social and cultural factors 2.Building technology 3.Neighbourhood Impact of each factor can differ from case study to case study.

Another factor which plays a role in changing houseform is climate. Climate of sawantwadi has always been moderate with heavy rainfalls for 5-6 months of the year. This climate hasn’t changed over the years hence for Sawantwadi, the factor of climate is eliminated to study the changing houseforms.

The case studies selected have been categorized as per the typologies of the houses existing in Sawantwadi,

Fig IV.i.1 Categorization of the houses taken as case study

1.Individual houses- These are generally houses built on a private property with a compound wall around it. Such kind of houses have a nuclear or a joint family. The scale of the such houses can be compared to modern day bungalow typology.

2.Wada- This is the term used for a traditional residence in Maharashtra. A wada typically is a single or a double storey structure which has multiple rooms arranged around an open courtyard. They house multiple number of families either of the same ancestral chain or same community or same profession.

The courtyard is the common gathering space. The scale can be compared to a modern day low rise vertical apartments or chawls.

3.Clusters- These are generally formed due to extension of the house on the piece of land owned by the individual or a community over a period of time due to increase in the number of family members. Or the clusters are also formed amongst families of same communities or profession. Formation of a common aangan or courtyard is kept in mind while expanding.

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CASE STUDY 1:

PEACE HEAVEN

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Fig IV.ii.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.ii.2 Site plan

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Location and context

About the house

The house is located in Juna Bazaar, Sawantwadi. It is situated on the road which leads to the Narendra dongar. The slope in this area is gradually rising up towards the Narendra dongar.

The house is situated about 1.5kms from the town centerGandhi chowk. Considering the size of the main town, the central market is comparatively far, making the land here cheaper compared to the land around Moti lake. There is no major infrastructure development in this area due to the proximity from main market. Only development in this area is residential as you can see a growing demand for cheaper apartments to buy as well as rent.

House name

Peace Heaven

Location in Sawantwadi

Ubha Bazaar

Owner

Mr.Pravin Dattatray Vanjari

Number of residents

3

Occupation

Builder, Advocate

Annual income

Rs.15-20 Lakhs

Table IV.ii.1 Basic details of the household

The house is set up in a private plot with a number of coconut trees around owned by Mr.Pravin Dattatray. A family of 3, Mr.Pravin Dattatray,his wife and their son are the residents of the house. It is a property with compound wall on 3 sides and a small parapet wall on the back side which looks into the basement of the new construction coming up. They have been living here since 50 years. The house was built about 80-90 years ago. It always used to be an individual house sharing smaller compound walls with neighbouring houses.

All the neighbouring houses were also built on private lands.

They used to be of the same built form and scale as peace heaven but now, these have either been replaced or are being replaced. The residents here never had an active social life. The house is entered through a small porch. It has a large masghar, 2 bedroom, a kitchen room, a separate toilet and a bathing room, a small pantry and a room for rent or guests and a small room at the back for their pet dog.

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A

A’ Fig IV.ii.3 Ground floor plan

Section AA’

North Elevation Fig IV.ii.4 Sections 75

Social aspects

The residents of the house never had an active social life due to an inactive neighbourhood. Mr.Dattatray leaves for work at 9am and returns in the evening by 7pm. Son of Mr.Dattatray leaves for his law studies to Kudal everyday during the day time. So Mrs. Dattatray was left alone in the house. Due to this, Mrs Dattatray felt lonely and lack of security during the day. Hence they started to rent out a part of their house to tenants. They mainly used that part for their guests earlier. Also need of money forced them to give a part of the house on rent as it was not needed for a family of 3. The entry for the tenants was from the backdoor of the house. The rented part of the house consisted of a small pantry and a small bedroom. The toliets were shared. Since a last few months, they haven’t found any tenants due to its distance from the main market and various options coming up near the market. The only social interaction that Mr.Dattatray’s family had has been lost due to unoccupancy of tenants.

Circulation Unoccupied tenancy / guest room

Fig IV.ii.5 Circulation and occupancy status of the house

Due to irregularity in tenancy status, loneliness during the day and lack of security during the day, Mr.Dattatray had 2 dogs who ensured the security of the house during the day. They built an extension in the back for the dogs. This space was also needed to store the coconut shells that they collected from the trees on their plot. These shells were later on sold. This extension was a clear indication of an undesigned addition.

Due to lack of clear height , the roof junction created lead to a lot of leakage issues due to which a tarpaulin sheet had to be put on the tin sheet,used for the roofing, of this extension. To save on cost, very thin RCC walls were made with a tin sheet roof and ready metal jali windows.

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Fig IV.ii.6 Plan and section showing the extension at the back of the house

The additions brought upon in the house due to change in building technology and increase in availability of building materials,

Building materials and technology

-Cement plastering and fresh coat of paint has been done in all the interior walls and the exterior front facade. This has been done in order to avoid spider webs and dust on the wall, also giving a sense of new. Half of the labour cost for plastering and painting was saved as Mr.dattatray’s family provided self labour for a month in carrying out these refurbishments.

Fig IV.ii.7 Images showing the change in plaster and paint in the house

-Recently, the kitchen and the bathroom were tiled with vitrified tiles till the dado level.

-Quicker cheaper RCC walls and tin roof were used to make the extension at the back.

-The foundation of the existing house was made out of stone which has been tested to be very strong for atleast a 2-3 storey apartment building. Redevelopment plan had been approved but due to demonetisation, Mr.Dattatray suffered a major economic setback and fall in real estate business. Hence the redevelopment plans are put on hold at the moment.

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Changing neighbourhood

Changes brought upon in peace heaven are very less compared to the changes happening in the neighbourhood.

-A four-storey residential apartment building has almost completed construction looking into the backside of peace heaven. There are supposed to be 5 flats on each floor making it 20 flats in all out of which only 6-7 are sold as of now. There are about 4-5 balconies looking over peace heaven from each floor. This building has a basement for car parking. The dense growth of coconut trees on Mr.Dattatray’s plot has maintained the privacy of the house to some extent.

-A 3-storey residential apartment building is coming up on the west side of Peace Heaven. This has lead to construction of a higher compound wall by the builder blocking the visual connection for the residents of Peace Heaven. The balconies of this building are going to open on all it’s 4 sides, one side looking directly onto Peace heaven.

These have changed the visual connections of Peace heaven with the neighbourhood completely. Once the buildings are functional the use of outside verandah by Mrs.Dattatray during the day will be reduced to a great extent as there will be neighbouring residents peeping into the plot.

Inference

A family like Mr.Dattatray’s has strong ground relations. Use of verandah is maximum as a welcoming space for guests and family gatherings. The plantations and gardening are an important part of their daily routine.

Due to minimum social interactions, the social factors have least affected the house.

Newer building technology and materials have brought about some much needed aesthetic and functional changes in the house.

Minimum changes are seen in the house also due to low economy. Even Mr.Dattatray aims to make an apartment building on his plot by keeping the ground floor for himself so that their ground connections are intact. He aims to do bare minimum of digging and cutting of trees and vegetation.

Hence it is a matter of time till Mr.Dattatray builds enough economy for the old house to be taken down for an apartment building.

Major changes in the use of space is due to the changing neighbourhood. The balcony views have minimised the use of open spaces like verandah by Mrs.Dattatray who is the lone person staying in the house during the day. Also incoming of outer migrants in these apartments, issues of security have arised.

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Fig IV.ii.8 Sections showing physical and visual connections with the new constructions in the neighbourhood

Fig IV.ii.9 Panaromic image showing peace heaven and it’s neighbourhood

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CASE STUDY 2:

AAKANSHA

80

Fig IV.iii.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.iii.2 Site plan

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Location and context

About the house

The house is situated in Mathewada, Sawantwadi. It is situated close to the tomb of 3rd Khemsawant Maharaj.

It is placed in the interiors of the town near the Narendra dongar. The site is placed within in a cluster of other houses with narrow streets running inside the cluster yet it has it’s own individuality. The main market and the Moti talav are comparatively far. The streets in this area are as narrow as 3-4m. A very narrow street leads to an aangan in front of the house. This area has no major infrastructure developments in terms of accessibility, drainage etc since the last 25-30 years. This area hasn’t seen as much congestion as the areas around the lake and Ubha bazaar.

House name

Aakansha

Location in Sawantwadi

Mathewada

Owner

Mr.Ashok Talgaonkar

Number of residents

Permanent

Tenants

6 Occupation Annual income

None at the moment Bank manager, government employee Rs.20-25 Lakhs

Table IV.iii.1 Basic details of the household

The house is about 100-150 years old. The house and the land originally belonged to an elderly man whose wife had died. All his children had shifted to the city with their families. This house was too difficult for him to maintain alone. Hence he sold the house to Mr.Talgaonkar in 1990 and shifted to the city where his children were placed. Since then Mr.Talgaonkar owns the house and the majority of the land.

The house is placed on a very high plinth due to the rainwater flow. There is an aangan in front of the house with an open vernadah looking over it. House has a huge living room, mandir room, 3 bedrooms,a multipurpose room, toilet and cleaning room, a kitchen and a dining room. The setting of the backyard is quite rural with a narrow street leading to a well which used to be shared by the households located along the street. Though nowadays the well is not functional and the women don’t need to go to fetch water. The purpose of the small building on the side was of a servant’s quarter which was later rented out to different tenants as no servants were needed by the family. At present, the block is not in a shape to live in due to poor maintenance.

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B

A

A’

C

C’

B’ Fig IV.iii.3 Ground floor plan

Section AA’

Section BB’

Section CC’ Fig IV.iii.4 Sections 83

Fig IV.iii.5 Family tree of Mr.Talgaonkar’s family

Social aspects

The ancestral home of Mr.Talgaonkar is in Kankavli. As they are migrants to Sawantwadi due to government duties, for major festivals and social gatherings, they travel to Kankavli. There are hardly any occasions or social gatherings celebrated in their aangan.

Mr.Talgaonkar’s parents keep on shifting between their ancestral home in Kankavli and Sawantwadi. Lack of social life at their home in Sawantwadi forced them to go and live in Kankavli regularly. Mr.Talgaonkar leaves for work at a government office. His daughter, Ms.Amruta works as bank manager and his son is pursuing higher secondary education in Sawantwadi. Hence the only member left in the house is Mrs. Talgaonkar and sometimes Mr.Talgaonkar’s parents. As the house is situated in the interiors and the neighbourhood has local population, security concerns are comparatively less. Mr.Talgaonkar and Mrs.Amruta come home for lunch which reduces the lone time of Mrs.Talgaonkar.

To get an added economy, they had started to rent out the block at the back. Due to lack of maintenance and heavy wear and tear, the block is not fit to be lived in at the moment hence there are no tenants.

Mr.Talgaonkar’s family lacked a social life due to absence of neighbours before a family of 2 brothers built a residential block next to them. Since these families have moved in, the usage of aangan and the verandahs has increased. The aangan leads the entry to all the households on site. The entries are articulated in such a way that the verandahs open towards the aangan. Social interactions between the women of the houses who stay back during the day has increased. The verandahs have become a very active space for chit-chatting while cutting vegetables and doing other household activities.

84

Circulation Unoccupied tenancy

Fig IV.iii.6 Circulation and occupancy status of the house

The additions brought upon in the house due to change in building technology and increase in availability of building materials,

Building materials and technology

-Applying cement plaster and paint. Changing the local koba floors into a tiled floor for easier cleaning and maintenance.

Fig IV.iii.7 Newly done cement plaster and paint in the house

Adding a stone kitchen platform. Tiling the kitchen walls till the dado level.

Adding a vitrified tile floor.

All these changes have been done for easier cleaning of kitchen walls and floors.

Fig IV.iii.8 Physical changes made in the kitchen 85

-The windows earlier had two layers,one was double wooden shutters and other was a fixed metal rod jali. They were designed this way so that it is difficult to see inside and easier to see outside. This was done to keep the privacy of the interior spaces of the house. They have changed the jali into openable shutters so that they get a flexibility in what kind of interface they want with the aangan. Also these readymade metal jali shutters are cheaper.

Fig IV.iii.9 Older windows made of wooden frame and metal rod jali with double wooden shutter

Changing neighbourhood

Fig IV.iii.10 Iron rod jali replaced by metal jali shutters in the upper room

The major addition on site is the house built by a family of 2 brothers. Due to economic crisis, Mr.Talgaonkar sold a part of their land to these 2 brothers who built an RCC G+1 and G+2 structure respectively for their families. This new building blocks the main facade of Aakansha. The linear entry to Aakansha has also been altered due to this addition.

One of the 2 brothers also has a welcoming porch facing the aangan and the other part directly has an entry door. Both the parts have balconies looking into the aangan. As this building is not too high or huge in size it does not dominate or alter the usage of spaces in Aakansha. It is of the same scale as any other mud house.

Fig IV.iii.11 Land division of the site 86

Fig IV.iii.12 Sections showing physical and visual connections with the neighbourhood

The desire of all generations in the family to live in a vernacular house made out of mud and sloping roof has led to minimum changes in the house and maintaining the house very well.

Mrs.Amruta and his brother also prefer living in a mud house against the likes of most youngsters in Sawantwadi who imagine an apartment or a well equipped bungalow requiring less maintenance.

Inference

Newer building technology and materials have brought about alterations which help in enhanced maintenance of the house.

Very systematic changes have been made which increase the aesthetic and functional quality of the house.

An addition of a neighbourhood building cut through the aangan, blocked the facade of Aakansha and altered the entry to Aakansha. Losing the visual effect of a vernacular house, it did maintain the social quality of a vernacular house by adding verandahs and activating the aangan.

87

CASE STUDY 3:

CHITNIS WADA

88

Fig IV.iv.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.iv.2 Site plan

89

Location and context

About the house

The wada is situated in Mathewada, Sawantwadi. This wada is situated along a road leading to narendra dongar on one side and tomb of 3rd Khemsawant Maharaj on the other side. The wada is situated exactly on a T-junction of the road with an autogarage shop on one corner and a small house on the other corner. While approaching from the street leading from the market, you can directly see the elevation of the wada with openings looking onto the street. The neighbouring house is of a similar built form and scale owned by a lawyer.

Both of these structures have been declared as heritage architecture hence cannot be taken down. A stream of water marks the back boundary of this wada.

House name

Chitnis wada

Location in Sawantwadi

Mathewada

Number of residents

Permanent

Tenants

14

11

Occupation

Hardware shop, Government service, Bank manager, Engineer

Annual income

Rs.75-85 Lakhs

Table IV.iv.1 Basic details of the household

This wada is atleast 300 years old with the oldest resident living in the house since last 40 years. The wada was built during the kingship of Sawant Bhonsale. The king built such wadas across the cities for his top councilmen who were termed as “Sardars� during that time. There were 4 such sardars namely Lele, Chitnis, Patankar and Nimbalkar. Such wadas had a grand entrance with a security room watching over the street as well as the courtyard. The wada has multiple rooms with two huge courtyards and verandahs running around them. Most prominent are the two linear rooms connecting the courtyards which function as masghar. A narrow alley takes you to the back entry for the wada which opens into the second courtyard. The shorter side of the wada is the one having direct interface with the street. There are no compound walls but a verandah shaded by a tin roof directly touching the road.

90

B C A

B’ C’ A’

Fig IV.iv.3 Ground floor plan

Northwest Elevation

Section AA’

Section BB’

Section CC’ Fig IV.iv.4 Sections 91

Social aspects a. House division and tenancy

Fig IV.iv.5 Plan showing division of the ground floor of the wada and their owners

Fig IV.iv.6 Plan showing division of the first floor of the wada and their owners

92

Fig IV.iv.7 Family chart of the owners showing number of present residents from each family and their tenants 93

The wada is mainly divided amongst Chitnis family. The division has been going on since past 2-3 generations. The division is amongst the kids and their kids.

The 1st generation family members of Chitnis family as shown in family chart have died Mr.Neelkanth Chitnis and Mrs.Usha Chitnis. Due to this the family bond amongst the family has reduced. Expansion of the family is also a factor leading to a weaker family bond. These are the natural reasons for a weak family bond.

Due to urbanisation, most of the 2nd-3rd generation of the Chitnis family have migrated to cities like Mumbai, Pune and some have also migrated to other countries like UK, USA and Canada in search of better employment opportunities and education. After migration, their families have also migrated or settled in the same cities. Hence leaving Sawantwadi with hardly any permanents residents. As the generation grow, the need to return to Sawantwadi has decreased except the major festive seasons od Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali.

This has led to tenancy so that the economy of the family keeps on ticking and the tenants also keep the part of the house they are living in maintained. Some of the Chitnis family members never return to Sawantwadi hence they have sold their part of the house to completely unrelated families. Due to this it is observed that total strangers inhabit the wada whose sole purpose is joint living of the family generation after generation. The houseform of wada and entries to and from the courtyards enable tenancy of smaller parts of the house with an uninterrupted circulation of all residents. As most of the migrants to Sawantwadi are low earning people due to poor economy of Sawantwadi, they can only afford a small part of the house.

Fig IV.iv.8 Diagram showing multiple entries for different owners of the house

b. Occupancy status

94

Occupancy of the wada plays an important role in deciding how the private and common spaces in the wada will work.

Inhabited by a tenant family of 3. A storage space for wood and coconut shells attached to the house. The living room looks onto the common passage

Inhabited by a tenant couple.

Only active users of the verandah and the courtyard.

The linear rooms are Masghars. They are being used as a circulation space connecting the two courtyards. The small room is a mandir room which is actively used by all residents

Inhabited by a family of 4. A narrow verandah and a narrow street in front are actively used by them during the all hours of the day.

The passage is sometimes also used for family gatherings.

Staircase and the courtyard actively used by the bank employees and their customers Inhabited by 3.

Entry is from the street as well as the courtyard. But use of the porch towards the street is more then the use of the courtyard. Porch towards the street is also used for vehicle parking. The porch is enclosed by metal jali

Inhabited by a family of 4.

This built up is a later addition leaving it with no semi-open or common space Inhabited by tenants mostly doing household cleaning and security. A common plinth in front of their rooms are actively used by the women for household purposes.

Inhabited by a family of 4. Entry is from the verandah as well as the street. But the main entry is from the street. A metal jali enclosed porch is used as the verandah and also vehicle parking

A private balcony is used actively to watch over the courtyard and relax.

Space rented out for commercial use to a bank used actively by it’s employees and customers

Fig IV.iv.9 Ground and first level plan showing the occupancy status 95

c. Usage of common spaces

The common spaces in a wada play a very important role because these were the spaces used most actively during earlier times when the house was filled with it’s residents.

Today due to unoccupancy in many rooms, the common spaces are not used the way they are designed to be used.

Two large sized masghars just play the role of a circulation space at the moment. The courtyards and verandahs are left with no activity except circulation at the moment. The only time the wada is filled with people is during the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi. Two of the owners customised their entry is such a way that the street became the entry point rather then the courtyard. This was done due to the house division and convenience of entering directly from the street leaving the courtyards inactive. Other two resident families have their entries at the back end and they have no connections to the courtyard either. This makes the spaces around the wada active and the courtyards inside inactive.

Private spaces Present residents Residents during festivals or social gatherings

Fig IV.iv.10 Plan section showing the permanent and temporary residents and activities happening in the common space 96

The additions brought upon in the house due to change in building technology and increase in availability of building materials,

Building materials and technology

-An addition at the back done using thin RCC walls and tin roof -Various windows in the actively used part of the wada have been replaced by aluminium shutters and metal jalis.

Fig IV.iv.11 A structure with RCC walls and a sloping tin roof added at the back end of the wada

Fig IV.iv.12 Addition of a verandah enclosed in a metal jali and a tin roof

-One can see additions of false ceilings, ceiling lights, cement plaster. paint and use of marble in the flooring in the newly renovated part of the house owned by Mr.Dhuri. Exterior walls are cladded with ceramic stone finish tiles. This is done for pure aesthetic purpose and a status symbol.

Fig IV.iv.13 Photo showing the newly done false ceiling

Fig IV.iv.1Photo showing the wall cladding and the tin roof

The wada is surrounded by a high compound wall on the north side, street on the east, a raised 2m plinth on the south and backyard with trees on the west. Hardly any changes are observed in the neighbourhood that have affected the wada.

Neighbourhood

The social factors have affected this wada the most. The house division amongst the families and migration of the families have led to distribution of space, tenancy to foreign migrants and selling the ownership to totally unrelated families. Due to this, the environment of living as one whole has been harmed.

If the division continues the same way, various land right conflicts amongst the owners will arrive.

Inference

Due to lack in sense of ownership of the wada, no attention has been put into maintenance of the structure or adding major elements to strengthen the structure in major portion of the wada. But a few owners residing there have made aesthetic changes due to urban desires of a modern flat and a style and status statement for the society indicating higher economy.

Neighbourhood has hardly played a role.

97

CASE STUDY 4:

BALASAHEB GHAR

98

Fig IV.v.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.v.2 Site plan

99

Location and context

About the house

This wada is situated in Mathewada, Sawantwadi. It is placed beside the Bhagirathi Mandir and right opposite to the tomb of 3rd Khemsawant Maharaj. These buildings are the essential elements forming a cross road. This cross junction is the entry gateway to Mathewada from the town center. 3rd Khemsawant Maharaj tomb is built out of mud and laterite stone with a large dome. Most of the building is now a ruin except a certain part which is restored and used as a government office. The Bhagirathi temple is placed such that it opens right at the junction of the street.

Hence it is visited regularly by people passing by either on foot or vehicle. Hence these buildings add a vernacular feel to the place with most of the construction out of mud and laterite stone surrounded by lush green bushes and trees with a small stream flowing nearby.

House name

Balasaheb Ghar

Location in Sawantwadi

Mathewada

Number of residents

Permanent

Tenants

10

4

Occupation

Doctor,Advocate, Hotel management, government job

Annual income

Rs.50-60 Lakhs

Table IV.v.1 Basic details of the household

This wada is atleast 300 years old with the oldest resident living in the house since last 40 years. The wada was built during the kingship of Sawant Bhonsale. The king built such wadas across the cities for his top councilmen who were termed as “Sardars� during that time. There were 4 such sardars namely Lele, Chitnis, Patankar and Nimbalkar.

Such wadas had a grand entrance with a security room watching over the street as well as the courtyard.

This wada is entered through a wide puncture into a courtyard. You enter another very small courtyard after passing a series of rooms. This courtyard is mainly providing light to the verandah surrounding it. This wada has 2 linear masghars, series of rooms, 2 mandir rooms, 2 active kitchens, dining room and toilets.

100

B

A’

A B’

Fig IV.v.3 Ground floor plan

Section AA’

Section BB’

North Elevation

West Elevation Fig IV.v.4 Sections 101

Social factors a.House division

This house majorly belongs to Dr.Lele. The house is divided in three parts mainly. Dr.Lele sold some part of the house to his cousin brother. The third part of the house was gifted by forefathers of Dr.Lele to the family in which their daughter got married. And now it is owned by Mr.Phatak. Dual entries to the wada allowed for division into two such that each side has a central courtyard.

Fig IV.v.5 Axis of division and separate entries

Mr.Phatak and his family lives in Pune. This part of the house has a separate entry and an aangan. The house in divided amongst 3 brothers, such that two have an entry from the courtyard and the common corridor. The 3rd one who owns the upper part has made a new steel staircase in the outer verandah to go up as the staircase in the courtyard is not in good shape. The tenant has the entry from the verandah itself without entering the main premises of the house.

Fig IV.v.6 Diagram showing multiple entries for different owners of the house 102

Fig IV.v.7 Plan showing division of the ground floor of the wada and their owners

Fig IV.v.8 Plan showing division of the first floor of the wada and their owners

Fig IV.v.9 Family chart of the owners showing number of present residents from each family and their tenants 103

Due to migration there are no residents in house at the moment. The walls and the roof structure are damaged as there is no usage hence no maintenance. The only places that are maintained at the moment are Masghar and the mandir room. Whenever the family visits Sawantwadi for social occasions, they stop by to visit the mandir. None of the three brothers owning the house want to invest in maintaining it or reconstructing it as none live in Sawantwadi. They are waiting as to which of them will take the initiative to maintain it or re-build it.Some part of the house is rented out to a family of 4,parents and 2 kids who own a shop in the market. Due to a long period of tenancy, they built their own extension using RCC walls and GI sheet roof with the permission of Mr.Phatak.

They have also made separate toilets for themselves. Except of the outer verandah where the tenants stay, this part of the house looks quite dull and dead.

Fig IV.v.10 Physical extension made to accommodate tenant’s family

Fig IV.v.11 Physical extension made on the upper level by the 3rd brother

The second part which is the major portion belongs to Mr.Lele and his sons. This part of house is very well maintained because the family lives here and works in Sawantwadi. This house is one of the very few examples of a joint family living together in Sawantwadi. Mr.Lele has held the family tightly and not let the family divide due to petty issues related to money,land etc which is a very common trend in Sawantwadi today. The verandah is used very actively by Mrs.Lele and her grandchildren. They have added a toilet block at the back. Some of the rooms not used are kept closed or used for storage. Lack of usage eventually leaves it in a bad condition.

The 3rd part of the house that belongs to the cousin of brother of Mr.Lele is being taken down make an apartment building. Half of the courtyard land will also be taken into the plot. This means that the privacy of the courtyard will be lost with a compound wall passing right through the center of the courtyard. And the balconies of the new building will be peeping into Mr.Lele’s courtyard which will already be cut down to half. b.Occupancy status

104

Occupancy of the wada plays an important role in deciding how the private and common spaces in the wada will work.

Inhabited by a tenant family of 4. The verandah is the most commonly used space for sitting by the kids and mother. A common passage leads to separate toilets. A door also opens towards the verandah facing the backyard full of trees.

Inhabited by a family of 10. It is completely functional house with the verandahs and courtyards used actively by the residents. The courtyard is also used to park vehicles

The upper level has two long balconies. One looking onto the courtyard and other one looking onto the street.

Fig IV.v.12 Ground and first level plan showing the occupancy status 105

c.Usage of common spaces

The activity pattern happening in the common spaces has changed considerably. The courtyards and the verandahs are not used as they should be used. A completely active courtyard or a verandah is only during the social gatherings or festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi. Had the house been filled with residents the common spaces would be used very actively with kids playing and women chatting.

The lack of residents is due to lack of maintenance of one side of the house and redevelopment plan of the other part of the house. The one is between owned by Mr.Lele is most active at the moment. But most of them are working people which leaves Mrs.Lele and her grandkids at home.

Other active part is on the other side with tenants living in it. But there is no physical connection in the wada between these two parts due to which even this interaction does not happen. Finding tenants is also a problem because of increasing range of tenancy near the market area.

Private spaces Present residents Residents during festivals or social gatherings

Fig IV.v.13 Plan section showing the permanent and temporary residents and activities happening in the common space

106

The major interventions done due to changing building materials and technology are,

Building materials and technology

1.The toilets are added separately with an RCC structure and a flat slab. Flat slab makes it easier to house the sintex water tank on top. Thinner RCC walls and cement plaster make it very easy for the plumbing pipes to pass and to conceal them unlike thick laterite stone walls.

2.Extension done by the tenants is also made of RCC walls. As the space to build was very narrow and concise, they decided to use RCC walls which can be very thin with bigger openings.

Fig IV.v.14 Plan showing addition of toilet, tenant’s extension, parking shed, steel staircase

Fig IV.v.15 Section showing the addition of toilet

3.Use of vitrified tiles and granites has been done.

4.The verandah on Mr.Pathak’s side of the house is shaded by a tin roof supported by steel columns. As there are no permanent residents and the verandah is the most used space every time they come to Sawantwadi, they opted for a cheaper and low maintenance structure. The tin sheets can easily replaced compared to the manglore tiles.

Fig IV.v.16 Section showing the verandah and the changing elevation 107

5.In Mr.Lele’s house, false ceiling made out of cement boards has been added at multiple places. Due to the breaking of manglore tiles due to rainfall or monkeys, sometimes they fall into the house causing danger to someone. Hence such false ceilings have been added.

6.All the kitchen walls are plastered and painted or tiled so that they can be easily cleaned compared to mud plastered walls.

Neighbourhood

Wadas are meant to be introvert from the outside world but opening into a whole big world of it’s own. Earlier, the cousin of Mr.Lele had rented out the rooms in the house to various tenants. Mrs.Lele is the only person who stays in the house the whole day as all other members of the family are working.

She shared a very healthy social life with the tenants. She never used to feel lonely during the day. Her grandchildren had other kids of the tenants to play with. But once the decision of constructing a new building came up, the tenants were asked to move out. Due to this Mrs.Lele got completely lonely during the day and she started to feel scared.

Fig IV.v.17 Plan showing the future addition of an apartment block

Fig IV.v.18 Conceptual section showing the future addition of an apartment block 108

The wada has no such neighbourhood except the connection to the street. From the sections you can see earlier the natural slopes were considered while building but today, the land is excavated and paved. The visual nature towards the neighbourhood is also changing.

Fig IV.v.19 The original street section

Fig IV.v.20 Changing street section

The social factors have affected this wada the most. The house division amongst families, occupancy due to migration, poor maintenance and part redevelopment plan has changed the physical form of the wada. Due to this the wada is divided into zones of occupancy, non-occupancy and redevelopment.

Inferences

Due to lack in sense of ownership of the owners of one part of the wada, no attention has been put into maintenance of the structure or adding major elements to strengthen the structure in major portion of the wada.

Whereas in the other part, due to the wholeness of the family and a connecting hand of the eldest member of the house, Mr.Ganesh Lele, that part of the wada is maintained really well and used actively. Elders play a very important role in binding the family together which keeps the house connected and alive.

Changes in the neighbourhood have hardly affected this wada but a new addition within the wada will hinder the courtyards and privacy of the wada.

109

CASE STUDY 5:

CLUSTER IN VAISHYAWADA

110

Fig IV.vi.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.vi.2 Site plan

111

Location and context

About the house

These are a set of houses situated in Vaishyawada, Sawantwadi. ‘Vaishya’ in Marathi stands for businessman.

Vaishyawada is an area comprising mainly of traders hence it is placed adjacent to Ubha bazaar which is the main market place of Sawantwadi. The street selected is a tributary originating from the Ubha bazaar and steeply sloping downwards. This street displays an example of houses having shared walls and the street being used as common space for social interaction. There is a temple which marks the T-junction from which this specific street originates. The is very near to the Gandhi chowk and the lake.

House No. 1

House Name

Parshuram Sadan

Number of residents 9 apartments with 5-6 people each 2

3

4

5

Number of residents 4 Occupation

Business

Annual income

Rs.7-8 Lakhs

Number of residents 2 Occupation

Job

Annual income

Rs.4-5Lakhs

Number of residents 8 Occupation

Retail shop

Annual income

Rs.18-20 lakhs

House Name

Bhauteli

Number of residents 5

6

7

8

112

Occupation

Hardware shop

Annual income

Rs.7-8 Lakhs

Number of residents 4 Occupation

Business

Annual income

Rs.6-7 Lakhs

Number of residents 3 Occupation

Job in nagarpalika

Annual income

Rs.5-6 Lakhs

Number of residents 7 Occupation

Household industry

Annual income

Rs.6-7 Lakhs

9

Number of residents

None at the moment

10

Number of residents

8

Occupation

Lawyer

Annual income

Rs.18-20 Lakhs

Number of residents

House Name

12 apartments with 4-5 people each Retail shops, business, jobs Sarita Smriti

Number of residents

3

Occupation Annual income

Tailor, Hotel management Rs.8-9 Lakhs

House Name

Rajaram bhuvan

Number of residents

14

Occupation

Catering, Construction, Transport Services Rs.25-30 Lakhs

11

Occupation 12

13

Annual income 14 15

Empty plot Number of residents

5

Occupation

General store

Annual income

Rs.9-10 Lakhs

Table IV.vi.1 Basic details of all the households in the cluster

The houses are mainly linear placed on the edge of the street. Most of these houses have sharing walls. The houses open out to the street and a backyard shared commonly.

The backyard comprises of vegetation and trees which are used to extract wood and other agricultural products on a very small scale. A typical house has an otla followed by a closed verandah, followed by a ‘Masghar’. One can see different street interface of the houses with the street.

Some with otla, some with a compound wall and some with an aangan.

These set of houses have almost full occupancy except one, house no.9. The population of young generation is maximum in this area. Due to their family businesses very few have migrated out in search of jobs or education. This is a cluster which a healthy ratio of old and young residents

113

A

A’ Fig IV.vi.3 Ground floor plan

Section AA’

East Elevation

West Elevation Fig IV.vi.4 Sections 114

This cluster is divided amongst individual owners whose past can be traced as a group of traders. Standard typology of this cluster are the mud houses with sharing walls and sloping roofs. These are supposed to be the oldest ones existing on site. After that a few modifications, additions and replacements have been made depending upon the family size and economic strength.

Division of the cluster and house types

Another type of old houses are of similar built form and structure but they have an addition of compound walls and individual aangans. These are the only houses on site which are observed to have an extension made up of RCC structure and flat slab on the backside of the house. These are the houses to have the maximum family size hence the residents. One such house, Rajaram Bhuvan, also has a house converted into a commercial space for storing their equipments for catering business.

Newer forms of built form have also emerged. These are typically RCC structures with flat slabs. They either have a compound wall or a paved plinth as the direct interface with the street. These have balconies or bigger openings looking onto the street. These are mainly because the owner sold the plot to a builder who plans a new construction on site or the owner decided to build an apartment building pertaining to a satisfactory economic condition, keeping the ground floor for himself and selling the remaining apartments or renting them out. By doing so the owner does not intend to lose the ground contact with the street.

Fig IV.vi.5 Plan showing types of houses in the cluster 115

a. Old houses with shared walls

The built form and the spatial organisation of such houses is the same yet each of them have their own modifications, adjustments and articulations in terms of opening pattern, otla size, heights and the levels. The plan below shows the activity pattern which is more concentrated in the Masghar, verandah and the otla of the street. Sections below show, i. A typical physical and visual relationship between 2 G+1 mud houses and the street. ii. The opening on upper level replaced by a balcony with a wooden deck to get a wider view of the activities happening on the street. iii. A house with G+2 storeys having a straight facade with the street and a steep downward slope towards the backside.

Thick vegetation and a close ground contact is common in all.

Fig IV.vi.6[Top] Plan showing activity in houses with shared walls Fig IV.vi.7[Bottom] Section showing physical and visual connections of houses with shared walls with each other and the street 116

Such houses have an individual aangan rather then otlas.

Street connection happens through the aangan. As it is an individual plot, extensions and additions are carried out at own will. The back of the plots have thick vegetation. Such houses are also a mark of higher economic strength of the residents than others in the cluster. These houses generally have joint families hence a large family size due to which extensions were necessary. Also they have a desire to live with lavish interiors hence you can see additions of smooth plasters, vitrified tiles and neat false ceilings in these houses.

b. Old houses with individual aangans and compound wall

Fig IV.vi.8[Top] Plan showing activity in houses with compound walls Fig IV.vi.9[Bottom] Section showing physical and visual connections of a houses with compound wall and the street

Such type of building has no physical relation with the street except a narrow path leading to the central circulation core of the block which leads to the upper levels. The only human activity is of circulation. Only connection with the street is visual connection through the windows which are articulated as the need of the user.

c. Linear apartment building

Fig IV.vi.10[Top] Plan showing activity in a linearly stretched apartment building Fig IV.vi.11[Bottom] Section showing physical and visual connection of such an apartment building with the street 117

d. Apartment building with balconies and free ground

Free ground

This building has the owner of the plot living on the ground floor.

The owner has a porch at a raised plinth facing the street. This is how the expression of an otla changed. To get some additional income, the owner added a few commercial spaces to be rented out which open directly onto the street. The ground floor of the house is kept free for parking, kids playing and small social gatherings. Street was supposed to be the place of gathering and interaction which changed into a concept of free ground which is totally detached from the street. The added balconies directly peep onto the street. Physical ground connection with the street got converted into just an aerial visual connection for all the residents except the owner living on the ground floor.

Fig IV.vi.12[Top] Plan showing activity in an apartment building with free ground Fig IV.vi.13[Bottom] Section showing physical and visual connection of such an apartment building with the street

The following diagram shows the series of activities that can happen in a free ground like a small family function, kids playing, elders or women chit-chatting under shade and parking as well. Free ground creates a social interaction within itself. Actually a need of social interaction within itself derived the concept of a free ground.

Fig IV.vi.14 Sketch showing concept of a free ground and activities happening in it 118

Earlier when strangers knock the door, women here generally did not open the door. It was the male members opening the door and the women waited in the masghar was always placed on a higher plinth so that the women can see the face of the strangers easily but it would really difficult for the stranger to see the women clearly due to the darkness and raised platform. Even today it is the elder women mostly who stay home the whole day. They answer the strangers from the masghar itself with closed doors.

Change in the entry pattern

Fig IV.vi.15 A typical expression of entry in the older houses

Now the street interface and entry patterns have changed. The otlas are replaced by porches with metal railings placed on high plinths. The semi-open verandahs have disappeared. the porch directly opens into a living room. Due to less space on the street the direction of the staircase is also changed so that a longer distance can be achieved for comfortable tread sizes.

Other entry approach is one of the typical apartment building.

A central circulation staircase takes you to a common space on each floor which has doors that open into individual apartments.

Fig IV.vi.16 New expressions of entry evolved over time.

The elevation has changed considerably. The additions and modifications range from a whole new structure to the nature and physical form of the openings. The addition of smaller structures and sheds also change the elevation and the visual relations.

Changing elevation

119

Fig IV.vi.17 Images showing the physical form and the fenestrations of the openings in the older houses.

A terrace shaded with a tin sheet roof. The added shade makes it usable even during summers.

Aluminium sliding windows with a metal grill jali.

Wooden door replaced by a cheap PVC door

A mud house with sharing walls re-built using a RCC structure. Addition of a porch which marks its entry. The material of windows is changed to aluminium sliding ones but nature of windows with the street did not change.

Image showing the balconies, entry porch and the commercial spaces looking onto the street

A single storey apartment block built with a small porch and extruding columns on the upper level which show intentions of expanding vertically in the future.

A G+2 storey apartment building. The elevation showing balconies with parapet railings and commercial spaces and a porch on the ground floor. The apartments also have a window peeping into the balcony.

Addition of a parking shed Large gallery windows with customisations with steel columns and tin done in the metal grills and jalis installed. sheet roof Replacing manglore Addition of a parking shed with tiled roof with tin steel columns and tin sheet roof sheet for easier and convenient commercial use.

A G+2 storey apartment building. The elevation showing the change in opening sizes. And various customisations done by the owners as per the need. A compound wall is also prominently seen.

Fig IV.vi.18 Elevations showing the newer built forms and physical changes made in the houses 120

Street is the most actively used space in this cluster. During the mornings and evenings the otlas are totally used up by the older members of the family, mostly female. Evenings are also the time when the kids are seen playing or cycling along the street. During the day times you can see the females sitting indoors and peeping out on the streets through the semi-open verandah enveloped by a wooden or a metal jali. The jali is also a necessity for security reasons of the lone females in the house as well as protection from monkeys. The street activity get blocked due to additions of newer typology buildings in between which break the active usage of the street.

Activity pattern

Fig IV.vi.19 Plan showing the activity pattern on the street

Changing building technology and newer materials is a major factor affecting the cluster. Availability of cheaper doors and windows, quicker and cheaper RCC constructions and cheap tin sheets are forcing the residents to go for those options.

Inference

Again the presence of elders in almost all the unchanged households is a major social factor for least changes happening in the houseform. As elders prefer the same mud houses which keep their earlier social relations and a strong street and ground connection intact.

Even the youngsters here do take a pride in living in the old mud houses. They do desire urban interiors hence bringing upon small interior changes in the house.

Due to newer buildings, more and more unknown residents started to move in most of them being tenants. This led to more security concerns and social life of the houses turning more introvert and personal. Sense of a known community is slowly disappearing .

121

CASE STUDY 6:

CLUSTER NEAR THE FISH MARKET

122

Fig IV.vii.1 Location in Sawantwadi

Fig IV.vii.2 Site plan

123

Location and context

About the cluster

The cluster is situated in Juna bazaar, Sawantwadi. The cluster is placed right next to the Sawantwadi fish market which is another urban structure with RCC structure and tin roof. The main market street is very nearby. The approach from the market is through a semi-pedestrian road cutting through a commercial complex. Hence the cluster is situated in a very urban set up of the town with growing market complexes and increasing demand of residencies due to proximity from the market. The cluster is accessible from 2 streets.

House No. 1

2

3

4

5

Number of residents 4 Occupation

Government service

Annual income

Rs.7-8 Lakhs

Number of residents None Occupation

Hardware shop

Annual income

Rs.12-13 Lakhs

Number of residents 6 Occupation

Shop

Annual income

Rs.7-8 Lakhs

Number of residents 4 Occupation

Job in a shop

Annual income

Rs.4-5 Lakhs

Number of residents 8 tenants Occupation Annual income

Household services, security services Rs.2-3 Lakhs

6

Number of residents None

7

Number of residents 6

8

Occupation

Mane Supermarket

Annual income

Rs.70-80 Lakhs

Under construction Table IV.vii.1 Basic details of all the households in the cluster

This cluster is a mix of narrow circulation spaces and open aangans. The owners of the site are have a great range in their economic status can be observed visibly through the houseform. The cluster has houses of different scales.

124

B

A’ A

B’

Fig IV.vii.3 Ground floor plan

South Elevation

Section AA’

Section BB’ Fig IV.vii.4 Sections 125

Social factors a. Site division and tenancy

The site is mainly divided amongst three owners. The three owner are Mr.Mane, Mr.Prabhu and owner of house no.5. Out of these Mr.Mane and his family are the only permanent residents on site.

Mr.Mane has G+1 mud house with an extension of G+1 storey at the back. The number of residents in this scale of a house are just 6 which gives an overview of Mr.Mane’s financial status. They use the first level of the house for storing the goods of their shop Mane supermarket located near the Moti Talav. A separate staircase leads to a lockable door which enters the verandah on the upper level. The huge size of the house is due to the desire of lavish living with huge bedrooms, study room, a huge living room, a separate dining room and a spacious kitchen. The old house is desired to be maintained as it is as Mr.Mane has been staying in this house since his childhood hence he and his family has an attachment with the old house.

Though a number of changes have been carried out in the interiors like polished stone flooring, addition of separate toilets with vitrified tiles and wall finishes.

Mr.Mane started construction of house no.8 on his plot as an added investment. He wishes to keep half of the ground free where he can have his family gatherings and a total of 10 apartments. He wishes to give all these apartments on rent. Due to the close proximity to the market area it is easy to get tenants.

The owner of house 5 does not live in Sawantwadi. The main spaces of the house are unoccupied due to which the maintenance is poor. The part of the house maintained is only done because of the occupancy by the tenants. The cluster revolves around the aangan but now the houses have been divided amongst the family members. One of the family stays here and the other two families have shifted from Sawantwadi to the cities. The most parts of the house are given for tenancy. The masghar is maintained and cleaned regularly as the family owing the house visits regularly.

Mr. Prabhu and his family have shifted to a 3BHK apartment near the main market area. Father of Mr.Prabhu preferred an apartment as their old house was in a very bad condition and it took lots of efforts to keep it clean and maintain it.

Hence for more convenience and ease, Mr.Prabhu shifted with family to an apartment block in which the functions are more centrally bound and circulation is easier.

Other owners own smaller houses or house parts compared to these 3.

126

Fig IV.vii.5 Plan showing division of the site and their owners

Fig IV.vii.6 Family chart of the owners showing number of present residents from each family and their tenants 127

Due to unoccupancy of many houses, various parts of the houses are given on rent to the tenants. As the site is located very close to the main markets, the tenancy status is mostly occupied. It is very easy to find tenants. Entry from both the streets and various intermediate narrow lanes facilitate easy circulation on site for the tenants without hindering the private spaces of the permanent residents. The narrow paths also allow easy 2-wheeler passage. Some of the lanes are meant for circulation whereas some of the tenancy rooms have weird entries through very narrow lanes and changing plinths. But the rooms with such entry have no tenants at the moment.

Fig IV.vii.7 Diagram showing multiple entries for different owners of the house and the tenants

b. Occupancy status

128

Occupancy of the houses in this cluster play an important role in deciding how the private and common spaces in the of this cluster will work. Due to economic difference, the actual social connections were never there but a high occupancy of tenants created an active social life in the common spaces as the number of tenants would be more then the permanent residents.

A family of 4 stay here.

They have their own open space within their plot and they use the back entry. Due to this they hardly engage with the rest of the cluster

Inhabited by a family of 4.A porch is the only open space used actively by them. North street used as entry

Inhabited by a family of 3. The only physical users on the verandah. The kid is seen cycling in and around the verandah

Inhabited by an individual tenant. He uses entries from both the street depending on his convenience.

Inhabited by a family of 6.No open spaces on ground used but the balcony on top is used actively. The windows on the ground are the places where women sit during most times of the day

Inhabited by two tenant couples. The outer otla is very actively used by the couple especially the women individual. They also use the entries from both the streets depending on their convenience.

Inhabited by a family of 6.A porch enveloped in metal jali, balconies and the verandah on the upper level are used actively

Fig IV.vii.8 Plan showing the occupancy status 129

c. Changing activity pattern

This cluster filled with its residents, activates lots of small pockets of spaces and the main central aangan and the verandah. The parapets surrounding the houses, parapets of the verandah and otlas of the houses are used actively to sit and share conversations. Such a situation occurs only during major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali.

During their absence the same space is totally dull and is hardly being used. The same spaces just act as a circulation during these times. Fig IV.vii.9 shows the activity plans and sections.

Building materials and technology

The additions brought upon in the house due to change in building technology and increase in availability of building materials, -A half of house no. 3 being taken down and replaced by an RCC structure with a sloping tin roof. It is very visibly seen that the roof of the other half of the house is left incomplete.

-Building no. 8 being constructed using RCC column beam structure. The balconies are cantilevered on all sides. A doglegged staircase has been added in the center.

-Addition of vitrified tiles and wall cladding tiles in the houses of various owners as per the need.

-Older windows are being replaced by metal jalis and aluminium sliding windows.

-An addition done in the back side of house no. 7. A G+1 structure with an added terrace room. Each of the newly added rooms have balconies.

-Otla in the house no. 1 being replaced by a porch made of a concrete plinth.

-The broken manglore tiles are being replaced by the strips of G.I.sheets all over the site.

Fig IV.vii.10 on the following page shows the plan highlighting the extensions supported by photographs.

130

Private spaces Present residents Residents during festivals or social gatherings

Fig IV.vii.9 Plan section showing the permanent and temporary residents and activities happening in the common space 131

Addition of a metal jali in front of the verandah Addition of a back porch. Left-over laterite stone used to make columns by Mr.Mane. It was added to maintain the security and privacy of the house and left-over wood for the roof

Addition of a porch with concrete parapet and metal rods. This is also made to change the direction of entry

Redevelopment of half part of house no. 3

Back extension to Mr.Mane’s house

Under-construction stage of building no. 8. RCC structure in place.

Fig IV.vii.10 Plan and images showing physical changes made in the cluster by individual owners 132

The site visited in December,2016 had a parking shed, random vegetation and 2 wells on the same site where building no.8 is coming. The elevation of the cluster was directly seen from the street. The directions of the slope and the mix match in the orientation of the houses was very visibly seen.

Changing elevation

The same site when visited in October,2017 the vegetation was cleared, parking shed was removed and the two wells were left awkwardly as they did not come in the land owned

by Mr.Mane. The plan of the building was worked out such that the building ran around the well, enveloping one of the well with its staircase and the other one landing in a very narrow space between the compound walls and the wall of the building.

This shows how rapidly the transformations are happening in Sawantwadi at the moment.

Fig IV.vii.11 Image showing the south elevation in December,2016

A two-storey residence with a free ground looking into the cluster and onto the street

Redevelopment of house no. 3 with RCC walls and a sloping tin roof.

Structure of the building no.8 which is already ready.

It will have a part free ground with 10 apartments. Projected time to finish the project is March,2018.

All apartments are to be rented out

Extension to Mr.Mane’s house. It has balconies and an additional room on terrace.

Fig IV.vii.12 South elevation in October,2017 133

Changing visual and figure ground relations

Due to changing physical forms of the houses, the visual connections and the ground relations are also changing greatly.

The cluster is enveloped by the newer constructions coming around. The ground relations of the houses with each other, aangan and the parapets is completely lost due to very narrow alleys being formed. The protruding balconies also take away the privacy of the residents.

The physical ground connections are being replaced by aerial visual connections through balconies.

Fig IV.vii.13 Section showing physical and visual connection amongst the houses in the cluster

134

Changing building technology and newer materials is a major factor affecting the cluster. Changing built forms have changed the physical connections of the houses with each other and the ground. This cluster is a mix match of old and new houseforms and completely changing the visual and physical connections that existed earlier.

Inference

Residents like Ms.Mane do take a pride in living in the old mud houses. They do desire urban interiors hence bringing upon small interior changes in the house.

Due to high tenancy more and more unknown residents are moving in. Newer constructions around has also brought more people. This led to more security concerns and social life of the houses turning more introvert and personal. Sense of a known community is slowly disappearing .

The family division and lack of sense of ownership has led to deterioration of the structure of the biggest mud house on site. The owner is not willing to take out funds in maintaining the quality of the old house and making some necessary changes.

135

PART IV:

CONCLUSION

136

Urbanisation has been transforming places rapidly. Effects of urbanisation vary from place to place. Urbanisation brings about various changes in the lifestyle of the people and the society. It affects the whole phenomenon of the life of an individual. This in turn affects the larger context of a village, town or a city.

Urbanisation effects various aspects like change in the social behavior of the society, economy of a place, land use of a place, built form of a place, health infrastructure, educational infrastructure , transport infrastructure, change in building technology, availability of building materials, climate of a place etc.

The change in these aspects give us a measure of urbanisation in a place. Urbanisation brings about a change in almost every aspect because they are all interrelated. It is the intensity of the change of a specific aspect that determine the trend and measure of urbanisation in a specific place. The physical manifestations on a place are perceived as a consequence of change in the above mentioned aspects.

Most of the cities and towns in India have been under the influence of urbanisation. Sawantwadi town placed in South Maharshtra is an example of a such a town. Sawantwadi is a town which in a mediocre stage of development. One can see a mix of old vernacular houses and the new urban building forms. It is at a stage where people have started to take down the old houses and replace them with newer technology and newer materials. The earlier migrated population has started to invest back in Sawantwadi leading to a display of urban influence.

The major urban influences seen in Sawantwadi are not only physical but also socio-cultural. It is the mindset of the people and society which has changed due to migration to the urban cities. It is the urban exposure of the individual that is being reflected in the changing lifestyle and built form of Sawantwadi.

The major urban influences seen in Sawantwadi are the growing residencies in form of vertical housing, townships, bungalows and societies, growing desires for modern amenities like gymnasium, public parks etc, changing nature of public spaces from informal community gathering spaces to a formal contained aesthetic space, increasing commodity demand, drop in agricultural practices, pressure on the transport network, increasing need of centralised commercial spaces and increasing need of educational facilities for the neighbouring villages. Major reasons driving these changes are foreign investments and urban exposure through various mediums.

137

The case studies have been examined with relation to urbanisation and its effects on vernacular houseform. The aspects on which the effects have been examined are, i. Social aspects-Family expansion and family divisions are playing an important role in dividing the house into multiple users and owners. Migration of the residents to the cities leads to tenancy, selling of ownership to other families or unoccupancy and natural deterioration of the house. These factors harm the community living of the household. Economic constraints also decide the level of change in the house. ii. Changes in building technology and building materialsEasy accessibility to cement and steel and increase in cost of local materials like laterite stone and mud, gave way to RCC structures and flat slabs which is much easier to build and more convenient to maintain. This brought upon the major houseform change. But other then that desire of urban interior elements like vitrified tiles, fancy false ceilings, wall murals, anti-dust and textured paints, external wall finishes are implemented in the households as per the user. The new cladding materials with variety of finishes are also used as a style and status statement in the society trying to show one’s higher economic status. iii. Changes in the neighborhood-Changes in the scale of the neighbouring households has led to decrease in the privacy of the households. Changing houseform is not an issue until the social relations are kept intact or hindered minimum.

Densification of neighbourhood with foreign migrants and tenants has led to preventive security measures in form of metal jalis and higher compound walls. Notion of living in the community has changed due to which the neighbourhood context has become an important factor to consider.

Urbanisation is indeed a multi-layered process. Urbanisation and its effects on houseform are a two way process in which the effects and changes on the houseform bring about a change in the overall built form as well as the changes in the built form lead to changes in the individual houseform.

This research focuses only on the one way phenomenon out of all the multi-layered process through a set of specific factors. These factors are interdependent on each other. the overall change generated is through a series of changes linked to each other. Social changes enforce a change on the houseform which is inspired by the new technology or newer building materials considering the neighbourhood context in mind. This is how the interdependency of the factors work. Thus urbanisation is an evolving process.

138

Fig V.1 Illustrations showing the growth of Sawantwadi from 2003 to 2017 and how Sawantwadi will look in the coming times considering it grows in the similar fashion as today. In 2003, brown roofs. open spaces and green cover are most prominent. In 2017, brown is replaced by grey flat slabs and the green cover has depleted. The next illustration shows the growth in residences in form of townships and societies radially around the lake and reducing the green cover even further.

139

PART V:

CITATIONS

140

[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization, 2017

[2]

Chaoudhuri, Jayashri Ray. Migration & Remittances [Inter-Urban & Rural-Urban Linkages]. New Delhi, Newbury Park : Sage Publications, 1993.

[3]

Khanna, Anoop. Urbanizing India: Challenges & response. Jaipur: Shruti Publications, 2010, Pg no.1,2.

[4]

Ravetz J., Fertner C., Nielsen T.S. (2013) The Dynamics of Peri-Urbanization.. In: Nilsson K., Pauleit S., Bell S., Aalbers C., Sick Nielsen T. (eds) Peri-urban futures: Scenarios and models for land use change in Europe.

Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, Pg no.18.

[5]

Kostof, Spiro. The City shaped : urban patterns and meanings through history. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991, Pg no.37-38

[6]

Chaoudhuri, Jayashri Ray. Migration & Remittances [Inter-Urban & Rural-Urban Linkages]. New Dehli, Newbury Park : Sage Publications, 1993,Pg no.18-19

[7]

Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016, Pg no.11

[8]

Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016, Pg no.28

[9]

Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016, Pg no.36

[10]

Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016, Pg no.37

[11]

Dalvi, Sunita . Urban Design Summer Study . Cept University, 2007,Pg no.13

[12]

Dalvi, Sunita . Urban Design Summer Study . Cept University, 2007,Pg no.15

141

PART V:

APPENDIX

142

The questionnaire for the research was as follows,

Questionnaire

This questionnaire was to obtain opinions and views of the local residents on the developments in Sawantwadi.

1. How is the scale of buildings in Sawantwadi changing?

2. How has the building technology changed? Why? 3. How has the social structure changed in Sawantwadi?

Family size? Nuclear family?

4. How has the economy changed? What impact does the economy have on the newer built form?

5. What are the changes experienced by the households which are indicators of the urbanization?

This questionnaire was specifically based for the residents of the households selected as case studies.

1. How many people are staying in the house?

2. How is the house divided?

3. What are occupations pursued by the inhabitants of the house?

4. Are there any migrating inhabitants in the house?

5. How has the house changed or been extended over the period of 10-15 years?

6. Their perspective on development in Sawantwadi.

7. How have the urban parameters like economy, modern lifestyle, nearby cities, migration influenced their house?

What are the major changes brought in the house due to that.

8. What is the daily routine of the inhabitants of the house?

9. Which are the common gathering spaces? What are the specific times of the day or activities that define these spaces?

10. How are the activities spread across different times of the day 11. How has the social character of the house changed due to various urban pressures? Are the common spaces being used the same way as earlier?

143

12. What are the features that they like of the existing vernacular house? What are the features that they like about an apartment building? What do they prefer- same existing vernacular house or an apartment in 3-4 storey concrete frame structure building? Why? 13. How they imagine they house to evolve in future due to the growing urbanisation trend in Sawantwadi?

Urbanisation in India

India is urbanizing rapidly. Urban population has gone up from about 23% in 1981 to 28% in 2001 and is projected to climb to 41% by 2030. While agriculture continues to be predominantly rural-based, 70 per cent of incomes in industry and trade/hotels are generated in urban areas; in banking and insurance, the urban share is 90 per cent.

As Indian cities swell, the challenge of improving urban infrastructure has been magnified. Urban development represents one of the greatest challenges for India over the next two decades. Land use changes may be either within agriculture or from agriculture to non-agricultural uses. There are changes in rural areas as well as in urban areas. Following the standard land use classification applied in India “land is put to non-agricultural uses” especially construction of buildings. Other land use categories have seen a decline e.g. barren and uncultivated land, permanent pastures, grazing lands, cultivable waste, fallow land etc. Large cities are experiencing modest to high rates of growth and are absorbing a large part of the incremental migration in their peripheries and neighboring towns. There is a lack in number of policies relating to land regulation, zoning and development. Urbanization in India has actually taken place in a largely unplanned manner.

This is because spatial planning has not been an integral part of socio-economic planning. The consequence of this has been the state of Indian cities, both with respect to the building and maintenance of urban infrastructure as well as delivery of public services is highly unsatisfactory and is for short of what is required to sustain faster and more inclusive growth of economy. As far as rural-urban migration in India is concerned, it is observed mainly due to structural factors like inequality in land ownership, poverty, agricultural backwardness and pure motivations of maximizing the family’s income and employment.

India is a land of villages: in 1961, out of 439 million population, 361 million (i.e. 82 per cent) was living in 566,878 villages. These figures substantiate Gandhiji’s remark: “The real India is in the villages.” India’s development has no meaning, if her vast rural masses are not taken into consideration. India needs to closely monitor the impact of urban influences in the villages.

144

145

A

B

146

Ground floor plan, Peace Heaven

A

B’

A’

147

Roof plan, Peace Heaven 148

149

South Elevation

Section AA’

150

Section BB’

151

A

C

B

A’

152

Ground floor plan, Aakansha

C’

B’

153

First Floor plan, Aakansha

154

Roof plan, Aakansha

155

East Elevation

Section AA’

Section BB’

156

Section CC’

157

B A

C’

Ground floor plan, Chitnis wada 158

C

D

B’ A’ D’

159

First oor plan, Chitnis wada 160

161

Roof plan, Chitnis wada 162

163

Section AA’

Section BB’

Section CC’

Section DD’

East Elevation 164

165

E C

D

A

B C’

166

Ground floor plan, Balasaheb Ghar

D’ E’

A

B’

A’

167

First oor plan, Balasaheb Ghar

168

Roof plan, Balasaheb Ghar

169

West Elevation

North Elevation

Section AA’

170

171

Section BB’

Section CC’

Section DD’

Section EE’ 172

173

D

D’

Roof plan, cluster in Vaishyawada 174

B

C

D

A

E

C’

B’

A’

175

Roof plan, cluster in Vaishyawada 176

177

East Elevation

West Elevation

178

179

Section AA’

Section BB’

Section CC’

Section DD’ 180

181

C

A B

C

Ground floor plan, cluster near the fish market 182

C’

E

D

A’

B’

D’

E’

183

Roof plan, cluster near the ďŹ sh market 184

185

North Elevation

Section AA’

Section BB’

Section CC’

Section DD’

Section EE’ 186

187

PART V:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Ravetz J., Fertner C., Nielsen T.S. (2013) The Dynamics of Peri-Urbanization.. In: Nilsson K., Pauleit S., Bell S., Aalbers C., Sick Nielsen T. (eds) Peri-urban futures: Scenarios and models for land use change in Europe. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation.

Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II). Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016.

Dalvi, Sunita, An Alternate Development Perspective For Sindhudurg District , Konkan Region Demontrastion Site : Sawantwadi Town , Sawantwadi Taluka, 2008 Dalvi, Sunita, Urban Design Summer Study . Cept University, 2007. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization, 2017 Google maps https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/

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PART V:

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

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Fig I.2 , Fig I.3

Ravetz J., Fertner C., Nielsen T.S. (2013) The Dynamics of Peri-Urbanization.. In: Nilsson K., Pauleit S., Bell S., Aalbers C., Sick Nielsen T. (eds) Peri-urban futures: Scenarios and models for land use change in Europe. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

Fig II.1 , Fig II.2

Google Maps

Fig III.2 , Fig III.4 , Fig III.5

Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016.

Fig III.3 , Fig III.14

Dalvi, Sunita, An Alternate Development Perspective For Sindhudurg District , Konkan Region Demontrastion Site : Sawantwadi Town, Sawantwadi Taluka, 2008

Fig III.6 , Fig III.7 , Fig III.8 , Fig III.9 , Fig III.10 , Fig III.11

https://earthengine.google.com/timelapse/

Table III.1 , Sawantwadi Municipal New Co-orporation. Draft Table III.2 , Development Plan Of Sawantwadi (Revised-II).

Table III.3 Sawantwadi Municicpal Co-orporation, 2016.

All other figures and tables have been made by the author.

All the photographs used have been clicked by the author.

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