Introduction

Disrupted and disconnected urban ecosystems (water, agriculture, flora and fauna) resulting from rapid urbanization have detrimental impacts on the health and wellbeing of urban citizens; particularly disadvantaged social groups. This studio developed an appreciation for design skills in landscape architecture within the city-scale context of Bangalore, one of the most rapidly urbanizing cities in India. Greater Bangalore is the administrative, cultural, commercial, industrial, and knowledge capital of the state of Karnataka. It is currently the fifth largest metropolis in India with a population of about 7 million, with a population density that increased from 10,732 to 13,392 persons per sq. km between 2001 and 2011. Rapid urbanization pushes urban infrastructure to its limits and often causes increased social inequity, but there is also increasing pressure on rural landscapes to supply the city with resources and food. This studio focused on designing productive urban landscapes—multifunctional landscapes that grow food in the city. Bangalore is increasingly food insecure. Despite the history as a “Garden City”, few crops are grown within the urban boundary— most are grown in the surrounding hinterlands of Karnataka or imported from long distances. Historically, Karnataka has been a productive agricultural state, but changing climate patterns are causing longer and more severe drought conditions. Students will design food producing landscapes in north Bangalore. The key issues are: food accessibility and quality; associated environmental issues (e.g. water quality, waste recycling, environmental pollution); consumption patterns and food culture; participatory design and landscape stewardship. The site selected for the design intervention was a typical, unplanned formal settlement in Yelahanka district. A residential and mixed-use neighborhood, Yelahanka supports a diverse population in terms of income, education, and religion. The physical environment lacks adequate waste treatment, is severly water-scarce but is in the process of upgrading to a piped water system, and has little tree cover. Students travelled to the site 26 January to 4 February 2019 to conduct fieldwork. Through a community-engaged process, new design strategies were developed that integrate productive landscapes into the built, ecological and social urban systems with the aim of envisioning better work, live, and play environments. The students considered interdisciplinary requirements from planning guidelines, architecture design, engineering limitations; and developed an understanding of existing natural land and urban systems. Through the project site, they faced complex urban design issues in order to derive innovative design solutions using principles of ecology and sustainability.

Productive Landscapes:

“the growing ofplantsand the raisingofanimals within and around cities; it includesproducingfood for personaland/orcommercial consumption.”

The Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture& Food Security(RUAF)

timeline

Preliminary research Data collection Field booklet Team building Onsite measurement Onsite mapping Community survey Sharing session Site modelling Data analysis & Mapping Techniques & Case studies Project narrative Innovation & systems research

Week 3 Site visits

Lecture 01 | Blue-Green Infrastructure Lecture 02 | Food landscapes Lecture 03 | Site measurement & tools Lecture 04 | Community participation Community-Engagement Workshop Week 4-7 Issue & vision

Lecture 05 | BGI in Bangalore Lecture 06 | Urban farming in Bangalore Jakkur Lake Walk IIS Campus forest walk Organic Terrace Garden Tour Week 8 Mid review Week 9-13 Design development Week 14 Final review

Table of Contents

04 Introduction 06 Studio Team 12 Site Context 13 Historic Timeline 14 Landuse & Planning 20 Structure & Infrastructure 22 Economics & Social Demography 24 Culture & Community 28 Greenspace & Biodiversity 34 Water & Ecology 40 Community Survey & Results 42 Synthesis & Visioning Workshop 43 Glimpses of the Site 45 Proposals 46 therapeutic gardens | jiang jiahang 91 Credits 50 54 empowering the women of yelakanka | shanika tuinder edible schoolyard | yu xi 58 productive landscapes for women’s empowerment | bao lixia 62 energy recycling system | chen beifei 66 intergenerational center for learning | vinamra agarwal 70 food travels | zi gui 74 re-weave: cultural revival | eingeel jafar khan 78 continuous productive urban landscape | dong yitong 82 informal textile industry | li ziheng 86 interlake | radha wayakool