HOUSING + Disaster Resilient Housing in Rurban Saurashtra: Chitravad Village by Center for Advanced Urbanism

CHITRAVAD, INDIA

Chitravad

Index

Introduction

Neighborhood Planning and Design Village Visions

Synthesis Plan

Appendix: Housing for All by 2022

Housing for All in the context of Rurban Saurashtra

Common Elements of a Rurban Village

Conceptual Planning Alternatives

Mari Shehri, Hamari Jaga and Neighborhood Environmental Proposals

Study Transects and Home Interviews

Disaster Resilient Housing in Rurban Saurashtra: Chitravad Village

Fieldwork and Initial Design Charrettes

Introduction

Preface

The unique habitat of the rural community in the villages of Chitravad, Haripur and Sangodra in Gujarat, India, proved to be an appropriate backdrop to conduct a workshop on Disaster Resilient Housing for the faculty and students from MITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School of Architecture and Planning, the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA), and the MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism. The choice of this location was even more significant considering the fact that these villages were studied in 1996 by a similar team from MIT whereby the resulting deliverable, a research document for improving rural habitat, served as a point of departure for the present team. In the span of twenty years that have elapsed since the last research study, the community has undergone several changes in its aspirations, settlement patterns, and livelihood options. However, access to basic services, effective governance models, and cohesive social integration in society, have not shown similar trends despite constitutional reforms for de-centralization and empowerment of grassroot-level governance. These factors, in turn, contribute in various ways to the quality of habitat and social fabric prevailing in these villages,as they steadily evolve and attain a rural-urban character. Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India (AKAHI), itself has undergone a transformation as a planning and building agency to include broader aspects of habitat, such as safety, community resiliency, access to municipal services and opportunities for economic empowerment, in its mandate. Engaging with the community at various levels since 2007, AKAHI was well placed to provide an interesting field research opportunity to the workshop participants. The larger aspects of holistic village planning also proved useful for envisioning progressive development in improving the quality of life for the community as a whole, and for the families at a micro-level. The use of technology by the students, for graphical communication with community members, helped overcome barriers of language and verbal comprehension and brought about a healthy sense of participation. The enthusiasm and energy with which the students and their faculty guides immersed themselves in the challenge helped them reach out and glean critical data and feedback from community members to corroborate their inferences and design concepts. The prevailing schemes of the government, such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (for sanitation coverage) and Housing for All, provided a meaningful context for the workshop and were readily incorporated in the design solutions by the teams. The system of consultative feedback and constructive critique sought at various stages of the design development was well organized by the guiding faculty and demonstrated a mature approach to the project by the team. We, at the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India, are optimistic that the study and design concepts evolved through the workshop will eventually contribute to improved quality of life in these villages through our collaborative efforts in the future.

Surekha Ghogale Chief Executive Officer Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India

Disaster Resilient Housing in Rurban Saurashtra: Chitravad Village Context of Housing+ Workshops at MIT This report is a compendium of field work and design alternatives resulting from a 9-week workshop collaboration between the MIT School of Architecture and Planning (MIT SA+P) and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India (AKAHI, of the Aga Khan Development Network). The workshop focused on developing design and policy concepts for disaster resilient housing in Rurban Saurashtra in India. It brought together graduate level architecture and planning faculty and students with engineers and architects from AKAHI’s Chitravad field offices and Mumbai headquarters in the late summer and fall of 2017. The focus area of the workshop was Chitravad village, located in the Gir-Somnath district of Saurashtra, and the nearby villages of Sangodra and Haripur, where AKAHI has had long term involvement, most recently since 2015, providing technical and financial assistance to the Ismaili community and their neighbors to improve earthquake resiliency in housing. Their work has resulted in the rebuilding of approximately 50 homes over the last 2 years, with a target of 150 homes in total over the project timeline (comprising roughly 10% of the housing stock across the 3 villages).

The workshop was developed as part of the MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism’s (LCAU) Spring 2018 exhibition and symposium on the theme of ‘Housing+,’ intended to advance a dialog around innovative models of affordable housing design, policy, and implementation across different global and urban contexts. During the 2017-18 academic year, MIT architecture and planning faculty and students collaborated with local partners on housing workshops in Brazil, China, Guyana, India, Peru and Rwanda, researching issues ranging from development and regulatory frameworks, building construction systems, community infrastructure, and building typologies. The title ‘Housing+’ makes reference to the multitude of political, social, economic, environmental, and technological issues that are tied to housing, and that are reflected in the diverse body of work produced across the workshops. The LCAU workshops shared a commitment to field-based design research, with each involving several weeks of on-site engagement with local communities and institutions through different modes of inquiry including interviews, stakeholder outreach, physical surveys, design charrettes, and design-build activities. This Saurashtra workshop contributed to the Housing+ biennial across a range of scales, from an exploration of the ‘rurban’ condition, to village and neighborhood-scale disaster resilient design, to the design of individual homes. This workshop also involved revisiting the work of a 1996 Gujarat Housing Workshop between MIT’s Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture and the Aga Khan Housing Board, India (AKHB-I, a former agency of the Aga Khan Development Network). The earlier workshop set out to develop improved housing standards and environmental performance through building, planning, construction and prefabrication, based on field documentation of vernacular building forms and materials in villages across Gujarat, including Chitravad. The report resulting from the ‘96 workshop provided a useful basis for comparison for our team to take note of changes in the housing environment over the last 22 years. An MIT team visited Chitravad again in 2014 while working with the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, India, on village water and landscape design in Jamnagar District in Gujarat. The Housing+ workshops provided an opportunity to return to Chitravad and collaborate with AKAHI on disaster resilient housing design.

Introduction

Disaster Resiliency and Other Forces of Housing Change in Saurashtra The peninsular Saurashtra region is exposed to multiple environmental hazards including earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts, and extreme heat, necessitating the development of contextual and multi-layered risk reduction strategies. Over the last decade, earthquake resiliency has been foregrounded largely because of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake that caused immense devastation in the nearby Kutch peninsula. Although impacts were less severe in Saurashtra, this tragic event, in combination with more local seismic activity in following years, heightened awareness of earthquake-related risks and prompted a series of public, non-governmental (NGO), and philanthropic initiatives like AKAHI’s, for housing retrofit, reconstruction, and disaster preparedness.

On the one hand, a new area of houses is being incrementally constructed on the northwest edge of the village, with subsidies from the Housing for All program for low-income families. At the same time, some marginalized community households continue to inhabit floodprone edges of the village in substandard homes. In addition, it is not uncommon to find abandoned or temporarily unoccupied structures along village lanes, as families of varied income strata migrate to urban areas in India and beyond in search of new economic and lifestyle opportunities. Disaster resilient design is thus one key dimension of the broader ‘rurban’ vision needed to address the unfolding forces in the region.

These mitigation efforts, along with evolving community aspirations, have contributed to a gradual transformation in the housing fabric in Saurashtran villages like Chitravad, from vernacular and less enduring structures of unmortared stone, mud, or thatch, known as ‘kutcha’ houses, to more resilient reinforced stone and concrete structures, regarded as ‘pucca’ (i.e., strong or solid). Efforts to upgrade or replace kutcha houses also fit into a major national housing policy initiative called Housing for All or Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), launched in 2015. PMAY calls for state-subsidized construction of 40 million rural and 20 million urban pucca houses by 2022 to address India’s shortage of quality housing for the urban and rural poor.

Our Approach

The magnitude of this scheme reflects the scale and speed of development and population growth seen nationally – and although India’s population remains predominately rural according to the most recent census data (68% in 2011), there has been substantial ruralurban migration and peri-urban development in recent decades. Village communities, occupations, and lifestyles are changing with increased communication and mobility. These patterns of development pose a challenge to the traditional rural-urban dichotomy, and have led to ‘rurban’ policy initiatives such as the National Rurban Mission (formerly PURA, Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) to introduce urban services and economic opportunities within traditionally rural areas. This policy is envisioned as both an effort to counteract rural out-migration and over-development in urban areas, and as a way to invigorate the quality of village life and opportunities (see National Rurban Mission Vision and Mission).

With this community-based approach and experience in mind, we set out to explore how new approaches to disaster resiliency, housing, and Rurbanism could contribute to meaningful design concepts for home and community. How can household aspirations be closely linked with physical design innovations, community spatial planning, environmental risk reduction, and housing policy innovations that yield sensitive community visions and plans for the future?

These transformational (and conflicting) forces are reflected locally in Chitravad. While the village economy has been primarily agricultural, there are signs of change as eco-hotels pop up in former farming plots along roads connecting nearby villages catering to tourists visiting the nearby Gir Forest National Park and Sanctuary (habitat of the Asiatic lion), and school children from the surrounding villages increasingly migrate to Chitravad for the school year staying in hostels to take advantage of the local reputation for quality schools.

These interrelated issues of disaster resiliency, housing needs, and emerging patterns of Rurban development comprise the broader context for our work in Chitravad village. AKAHI generously guided and supported the MIT team’s daily interactions, structured interviews, site analyses, and generation of design alternatives. AKAHI’s close relationship with community members helped the MIT team gain a deepening sense of both tangible and qualitative aspects of ‘home’ and ‘community.’ We have a shared conceptual approach that associates risk with hazards exposure, vulnerability, and capacities to cope and adapt.

We addressed this question through a series of planning and design investigations, beginning with interviews in village homes that are briefly discussed in the section that follows. The planning and design process comprised: ++

Initial field studies, interviews, and household design charrettes

Neighborhood planning and design proposals

Village vision and planning concepts

Synthesis plan and its relation to housing policies

This brief publication provides a selection of these studies to highlight some of the key design concepts that emerged. It strives to convey the evolving commitment to ‘reflective practice’ in MIT’s School of Architecture+Planning, and its potential for contributing to the quality of life in Rurban India.

Animals frequently share the streets in Chitravad

Introduction

Team

MIT

James L. Wescoat, Jr. Lorena Bello Gรณmez Marie Law Adams Brent Ryan Riddhi Shah Ranu Singh Sera Tolgay Sneha Mandhan

Fall Andrea Baena Wan Chantavilasvong Eric Van Dreason Sean Phillips Ellen Shakespear Manuela Uribe Ayna Verella Spring Natalie Bellefleur Xhulio Binjaku Wenxin Cai Jaya Eyzaguirre Jacob Kohn Pavlo Kryvozub Karthikeyan K.S. Raman

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India (AKAHI)

MIT Support

Surekha Ghogale Harsukh Solanki Sana Dharani Rahim Dobariya Abhijit Ekbote Rupali Vaidya Taheera Walji

MIT Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture MIT-India MIT School of Architecture and Planning Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism

Alif Halani Viraj Ghogale Nehal Rajwani

The MIT team is deeply grateful for generous support received from these organizations and staff members, and for inspiring guidance from the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India.

Fieldwork and Initial Design Charrettes

Study Transects and Home Interviews

Field transects One of the first steps on arrival, after team introductions and discussion of goals and objectives, was to undertake some initial field studies. A reconnaissance walk led by AKAHI team members led to the selection of several street transects for detailed study. These were the: ++ Main north-south road through the village ++ Main east-west road through the village

Interview questions OBSERVATIONS (Pre-Interview) A. House structure (old, new, number of rooms) B. Toilet (number of pits, visible drainage) C. Ventilation D. Location of house in relation to public-open space HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION 1.

How many people live in this home?

++ Main boundary road on the east side of the village

2. What are their ages (note # of male/female)?

++ Main boundary road on the west side of the village

3. How long has your family lived in Chitravad?

The double-elevation drawing below provides an initial close observation of housing-street relationships.

4. Who are your neighbors? (Information on adjacent properties?) 5. Do you have family living nearby in Chitravad? If yes, where do they live in the village? 6. Have household members migrated to other parts of India? If yes, where? 7. Have household members migrated to other areas abroad? If yes, where?

A transect of the east-west main street

8. How long has your family owned this plot of land (where the home is built)? 9. What year was this house built? 10. What is your occupation? (ask this to any working age individual) a) If agriculture, are you a farmer (kheti) or laborer (mazdur)? b) What crops do you farm? 11. Where do you eat lunch or rest during a typical work day? 12. Describe your typical day routine 13. Do you store any produce or equipment in the home? 14. Please tell us about your neighbors? Do you have any abandoned property? 15. Conclusion: Do you have any additional comments you would like to provide on your household? PREVIOUS HOUSE

Interviews A detailed survey was developed to collect household information. Students formed groups of 3 to conduct interviews, record information and make detailed drawings showing the use of each space in the home. To overcome the language barrier, Gujarati-speaking volunteers working at AKAHI translated questions and answers. To understand the current and desired quality of life, the questionnaire focused on the built space, social practices, usage of spaces, user occupations, and aspirations. This helped students identify potential interventions at different scales â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from home to street to neighborhood and village.

16. For completed and occupied projects, describe your previous house before this one was built. a) How big was it? b) How many rooms did it have? c) Did it have a toilet? d) Did it have drainage? e) What materials was the house made of? i. Mud + Stone ii. Concrete iii. Other 17. How old was the house when it was demolished? 18. What were the problems with your old house? 19. Did you have any problems with rodents, insects? 20. Did you keep animals in the house? If yes, for what purpose? 21. How did you finance your old home a) Self/family fund b) Inheritance c) Help from organization 22. Do you miss any features of your old house? 23. Do you have any additional comments about your old home?

Interview questions

One Family’s Story

CURRENT HOUSE

Mr. and Mrs. _____ are entrepreneurs. They have several businesses (tent making and farming) and seek to expand their business around tent events. They are driven and motivated. They have a monopoly in the tent business in Chitravad. They are approaching retirement age and do not have children. The fruits of their labor are therefore solely for their personal growth.

Throughout the interview, the head of household was cautious about his answers. Their home was improved years ago in Phase I of the Chitravad housing program. And after the interview we learned that AKAHI has rules for the occupation of each room, and some rooms in the house should not be used for storage.

Design should cater to their entrepreneurial drive and desire to expand and better manage their tent business. There are multiple uses integrated in the property. Some parts are used to accommodate for agricultural activities (storage) while other parts are used for the tent business. AKAHI housing should also allow for flexibility and growth.

This couple also values their comfort. The house was kept tidy and well maintained. The tiles were detailed and the house had a very personalized feel. They had different tile designs on the walls, and a distinctive gate.

The couple is aging, and therefore it is important for the design to consider how a structure can adjust for an aging couple.

They had strong opinions about the management of their community. Their comments highlighted a lack of unity amongst habitants on their street. Often their household management problems related to water are worsened because of the lack of infrastructure in a neighbor’s home. Even though they do not live communally, they have some shared issues.

Abandoned properties also cause problems. They worsen street conditions, since no one takes care of them or claims responsibility for maintenance; they become a place for accumulation of waste.

The local governance structure is not helping the development of the town. There is citizen awareness and knowledge that there should be more infrastructure in the village relative to the taxes paid.

24. What activities do you do in each area of the house? (Such as resting/ sleeping, eating, working, socializing, studying/reading, praying, storage) Document for the following: Room 1, Room 2, Veranda, Open Outdoor, Space, Roof, Other. 25. Do you use these rooms and spaces differently during other times of the year? 26. Is your house ever too hot? If yes, when and which areas? 27. Is your home ever too cold? If yes, when and which areas? 28. Are rooms properly ventilated? If no, when and which areas? 29. How satisfied are you with your house? WATER and SANITATION 30. How often do you receive clean drinking water? And for how long? 31. How much time do you spend cleaning your house? 32. Do you have any problems with water leakage or water damage? Flooding? 33. Do you have drainage? In your house? On the street? 34. What kind of toilet do you have and use? 35. How do you dispose of used water? 36. Do you reuse water in anyway (e.g., kitchen garden)? 37. What kind of waste (garbage) does your household produce and where do you take it? 38. Do you have additional comments about waste and sanitation? 39. How do you heat water? 40. How is your electricity service? Do you have any suggestions about improvements? STREET and VILLAGE 41. How satisfied are you with your street? 42. Does someone clean the street? If yes, how often? 43. Do you feel like your street is clean enough? If not clean, which parts could be improved? 44. Do you spend time talking, sitting, or engaging in other activities on your street? 45. Do you spend time talking, sitting, or engaging in other activities in other parts of the village? 46. What are your favorite “public spaces” or “community spaces” in the village? Why? 47. In your neighborhood do you feel personally safe in the day? At evening? 48. Have there been examples of man-animal conflict near your house? Or elsewhere in the village? What happened? 49. Are people resolving man-animal conflict, or is it still a problem? 50. Where do you buy groceries? 51. Where is the nearest hospital? 52. Where is the nearest school? Where do/did your children go to school? 53. Do you work in fields? If so, where are they? 54. What activity do you do in the fields? 55. How much time do you spend in the fields? 56. Is there more or less risk of man-animal conflict in the fields than in the village? 57. Is there anything I have forgotten to ask or anything you would like to add about the village? Variations on this questionnaire were adapted for each of the villages studied.

Perhaps the most important inference from this and other interviews was the team’s perception of it as a ‘home’ rather than as a ‘house.’ On the basis of observations and insights from the homeowners, the team proposed to reassess the allocation of residential rooms, workspace and open space to better serve the needs of this aging but still working family. In addition, the team decided to focus on the modulation of adjacent plots and units while activating their connection to the street, as shown on the following pages.

Storage space in side room

Farm produce

Storage space for tent material in courtyard

Tent materials

Personal items

Chairs

Exterior view of beneficiary familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home

Spatial Mapping and Analysis of an Existing Home

3.Current Existing houseFloor Plan Ground

Phase I of AKAHI’s Rural Housing and Development Program was an encouraging first step to provide a fundamental need to families in Chitravad, with assistance in constructing well designed, disaster resilient housing with a bathroom, kitchen, 2 well ventilated rooms, and a veranda. Quality of life doubtlessly improved with the given assistance, but families had limited opportunities to engage in the design process to construct a home that met their needs. Their pitched Mangalorean tile roofs did not allow for expansion.

Section

Current Ground Floor Plan

Sections Current Spatial Use

Current spatial use

Productive Space Productive Space Residential Space Residential Space Multi-Use, Semi-Open Space Multi-use, Semi-open Space

Current Circulation

Phase II of AKAHI’s housing program is now addressing issues of inflexibility in adding rooms, floors, and work spaces experienced in Phase I housing. The new approach tailors the design process to home owners’ aspirations and taste. This lengthens the rebuilding process somewhat but increases flexibility and Current c satisfaction.

Current circulation

Current Water Collection Areas

Current w

A Flexible Spatial Framework for Live-Work Homes

Flexible Grid Systems According to plot’s size and geometry the grid can be adjusted in order to provide maximum spatial efficiency. Therefore, there must be different modules proportions

Given the constraints of the Phase I housing schemes and the focus of Phase II on customization, a Phase III might be considered, in which a gridded spatial system provides some building efficiency and allows for flexible live/work inhabitation. The proposed system illustrated on this page would combine flexibility and efficiency in the use of dwelling space over the home owner’s lifetime.

Flexible Grid System

3mx3m grid 3mx3m grid

3mx4m grid 3mx4m grid

This spatial system could be created by incorporating structural building members and frames that ensure seismic safety. AKAHI, in collaboration with the family, could decide which modules to build first, according to the family’s needs, desires, and budget. In the future, additional spaces could be partially or completely enclosed as per those needs.

3mx2.5m grid 3mx2.5m grid

3mx4m grid 3mx4m grid

Proposed Usage of Space for Live and Work

Productive Space Work Space Residential Space Residential Space Multi-Use, SemiOpen Space

Multi-use, Semi-open Space

Use of Space for Living and Working Proposed Usage of Proposed Space for Live and Work veProposed and Work Usage of Space for Live and Work

This example addresses one type of live/work housing situation, which may become increasingly relevant for families who seek to remain in the village, supplement their farm income, and have flexible dwelling spaces over time. The team’s initial design studies addressed other housing types and situations as well (e.g., for growing families at different income levels).

FutureGrid Possibilities of Enclosure based on the Flexibe Grid lexibe FutureGrid Possibilities of Enclosure based on the Flexibe Future Possibilities of Enclosure based on a Grid Flexible

Future Possibilities of Enclosure based on the Flexibe Grid

Introduction Second Shop Expansion of House Introduction ofofSecond Shop

Expansion of Home Introduction ofofSecond Shop Expansion Current Shop and House Expansion of House

Expansion of Current Shop andShop Houseand Expansion House Expansion ofof Current

House

13 Productive Residential Space Space

Residential Space Multi-use, Semi-open Space Productive Space

Productive Space Space Multi-use, Semi-open

Neighborhood Planning and Design

Mari Shehri, Hamari Jaga and Neighborhood Environmental Proposals

After the initial household design charrettes, the teams turned to the nearby connections between individual homes, and adjacent roads and neighborhood spaces. The role of neighborhood planning and design is to help villagers contribute to a larger vision of the village that moves beyond the betterment of their own home and improves their quality of life through comprehensive interventions in the built environment, starting with the street and shared collective spaces, and open areas. Design can serve as a bridge between homeowners, the lane, the block, the neighborhood, and the village.

Mari Shehri (My Street) is a progression of streetscape improvements that starts with homes along a lane, and a suite of functional, aesthetic, and symbolic improvements. It then extends to major evacuation routes, along with disaster resilient retrofit of existing housing and commercial spaces on those routes, while creating public safe havens for all communities, castes, religious, and age groups. Hamari Jaga (Our Place or Block) is a framework for transforming shared collective spaces at the scale of the block to include essential built and non-built elements, including disaster resilient homes, water and waste infrastructure, community buildings, shared open spaces, and planting. Neighborhood Environmental Proposals address the varied conditions found in most Rurban villages, which tend to have relatively good water and wastewater management in higher locations coupled with poor drainage and solid waste accumulation on the village margins.

Mari Shehri (My Street) is a framework for the progressive improvement of streetscapes in Chitravad, beginning with drainage infrastructure, landscaping, evacuation routes, and upgrading of landmark buildings. This is illustrated along the main commercial east-west road and side streets in the village.

Proposed Improvements

Main East-West Road

Health

Beauty

Safety

મારી શેરી

Convenience

A drawing of Chitravad’s main street by local children

Mari Shehri

Public Realm Interventions

Proposed Improvements

મારી શેરી

East-West Street today

મારી શેરી

શેરી

મારી શેરી

મ

Hamari Jaga Hamari Jaga

Life Block A block prototype in the village

Hamari Jaga (Our Place) is a spatial framework for transforming abandoned and underused spaces along adjacent streets into a shared collective space at the scale of the block. Here we illustrate this concept in a typical block within central Chitravad. The main design components are: ++ Willing neighbors ++ Open spaces within the block ++ Mixed building conditions ++ Infrastructure improvements ++ Community building program

Habitat plus People Vegetation Buildings Infrastructure Community building

Blocks Open Spaces Ruined conditions

THINKING

BLOCK

THINKING

COLLECTIVE Exploded axon

Collective Block Planning Collectiveness is more than the sum of its individualCollective parts.

Housing plus Configurations of 2,4 and 6 units on a block

planning In addition to individual housing

improvements, Rurban villages nth, party wall and roof) may wish to consider collective neighborhood housing and open space alternatives. When done well, Collectiveness is more neighborhood housingthan can add: the sum of parts

Housing plus Housing plus

benefits ++ Individual benefits++ individual resource efficiency

e efficient use of open space

+ sense of community

++ Resource efficiency

++ Sense of community ++ Special sense of place This section illustrates those potential benefits, both in a general way on this page, and in a case Collectiveness is more study and thanâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;before the sum of afterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; parts block is more design on Collectiveness the opposite page.

plus ng plus

shared facilities productive space

otla

water tanks

semi-public space

semi-private verandah

otla

structural wall

semi-public space

toilet pipes

water tank

2 houses together = shared bathroom p structural wall

water tank

toilet pipes structural wall semi-private verandah

Collectiveness is more than the sum of parts

+ individual benefits + resource2efficiency houses together = shared bathroom pipes and structural elements (plinth, pa 4 houses together = shared bathroom p + sense of community 2 houses together = shared bathroom pipes and structural elements (p 2 units + savings 2 units + savings

6 units + savings units + open6space + savings

6 units + savings 6 units + open space + savings + productive spaces + open space + shared facilities + productive spaces

+ open space than the sum of parts + individual benefits Configurations 2, 4 and 6 units + shared facilities + resource2efficiency houses together = shared bathroom pipes and structural elements (plinth, party wall and roof) + =individual benefits 2 houses together shared bathroom pipes 4 houses together = shared bathroom pipes, 6 houses together = shared bathroom pipes, structural elements, additional open space and 4 houses together = shared bathroom pipes, structural elements and more effic + sense of community and structural elements (plinth, partition structural elements and more efficient use collective amenities such as sports court, playground, laundry and gardens + resource2efficiency 6 houses together shared bathroom p houses together = shared bathroom pipes and structural elements (plinth, party wall and= roof) wall and roof) of open space 4 houses together = shared bathroom pipes, structural and m 2 houses together = shared bathroom pipes and structural elements (plinth, party wall elements and roof) + sense of community amenities, such as sports court, playgro

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Neighborhood Planning and Design

Actions

House A for retrofit House A for retrofit

House B for retrofit

Government Land

Government land

House B for retrofit

Before

Shared roof, plinth

shared roof, plinth and and structural walls structural walls

Productive activities

productive activities finance collective to finance to collective and amenity spaces andspaces amenities maintenance maintenance

Space for childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

space for childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recreation recreation

Collective kitchen

Shared water tank

Collective laundry

collective water tank collective laundry gardens kitchen shared for increased waterincreases for more storage collection capacitycapacity area in each house gardens water collection storage area in

21 After

Neighborhood Environmental Proposals Water, Drainage and Solid Waste Needs Even when the standard of living improves, neighborhood environmental conditions may decline. Core environmental concerns include water, drainage, and solid waste management. However, environmental improvement also requires landscape planting and open space amenities.

This environmental design proposal maps existing problems, and identifies strategic opportunities for waste collection, drainage improvement, and flood risk reduction. It then scales down to the neighborhood level to show how they can be integrated into the design of local places.

Documentation of Solid and Liquid Waste and Flood Risk

Proposed Liquid and Solid Waste Management System

Accumulation of water and waste Direction of drainage

Waste collection Soak pits and drains

Neighborhood Planning and Design

Chitravad can manage its wastewater and flooding through a system of drains, underground pits and rain gardens, which can serve to create small pocket gardens throughout the village. We also recommend coordinated solid waste management points along the outer village loop road. In terms of risk mitigation, we propose land management strategies that limit growth in areas of flood risk, turning these areas into green infrastructure sites and encouraging infill development instead of encroachment into areas of risk for new housing.

Proposed liquid and solid waste infrastructure

India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is an ongoing sanitation campaign that aims to clean up the residences, streets, roads and infrastructure of India’s cities, towns, and rural areas through the implementation of key waste and sanitation infrastructure and behaviors. As part of this nationwide initiative to improve waste management, both at the scale of individual households and more comprehensively in rural areas, we propose an integrated drainage and liquid waste management system by introducing collection points, in lowlying “sinks”, for water and waste accumulation, and transforming these areas into public spaces.

Low-lying edges of the village have become dump sites

Water, Waste Management and Rurban Landscape Design

Village Visions

Conceptual Planning Alternatives

Incremental change is occurring in the built environment through public and private sector initiatives, such as road paving, provision of individual sanitation facilities, water infrastructure, and housing upgrades. However, Chitravad village is missing a comprehensive future vision and approach to the collective realm and infrastructure. The 3 Conceptual Plans developed in this phase are dedicated to producing visions for the village, comprehensively addressing issues of infrastructure improvement (roads, water and waste management), land management (growth or shrinkage), agricultural production and storage, and animal-human relationships, through the development of novel housing strategies. These issues are explored under the umbrella of risk management as a mechanism for improvement in the village. How can physical design and policy initiatives be combined to provide greater benefits and quality of life for all?

1. Collective Rurbanism: This proposal integrates collective housing, management institutions, and infrastructure improvements in a new village loop road that supports community development and connectivity. 2. “Furban” Future: This alternative to India’s “Rurban Mission” focuses on advanced farming improvements in the village landscape. It incorporates agricultural assets and livelihoods within the framework of rural development and the regional context of the Gir Forest. 3. Look Out, LOOP In: This plan proposes an integrative loop of interventions that mitigate water-related risks through environmental systems, blue-green infrastructure, and new housing typologies outside the floodplain. Taken together, these proposals form the basis for a Synthesis Plan outlined at the end of the report.

At this stage, the workshop developed 3 novel Housing+ models to leverage the resources available to citizens as part of the national ‘Housing for All’ mission to provide affordable housing to economically disadvantaged households in rural and urban areas of India. The following 3 proposals consider how a village vision can influence the individual housing projects, and conversely, how individual housing projects can positively influence the broader collective realm in the village as a whole.

Collective Rurbanism

Towards a Rurban vision of growth and development in Chitravad Ranu Singh Manuela Uribe Ayna Verella

This proposal creates a village-scale development loop to support a Rurban (rural+urban) vision of growth and development in Chitravad. The proposed loop road and amenities connect the peripheries of the village which are risk-prone and inhabited by some of the most vulnerable communities in the village. By introducing infrastructural systems and providing collective housing and institutions along the loop road, the project envisions planned growth scenarios for the village which allows for better community development and connectivity. Each new redevelopment proposal along the loop road contains collective housing and facilities geared towards new economic activity that complement the existing fabric of the town. The key development activities identified are housing, agricultural processing, market places, education centers, and construction laboratories. The proposal involves creative rethinking of Housing for All policies in a way that integrates its urban and rural programs. The current Housing for All policy does not address the new trends in Indian villages for those living between urbanity and rurality. These new transitional spaces keep many rural characteristics but, due to urban processes, want to modernize and upgrade their facilities to mimic those available in cities. Parallel to this trend, Rurban villages are often subject to migration and cyclical density. To address these growing challenges, we propose a rethought “Rurban policy” that encourages more flexibility in the currently separate Housing for All programs for rural and urban areas. This Rurban housing policy will also rethink the traditional roles of institutional partners and broaden our understanding of their responsibilities while allowing for more fluidity in implementation of the policy. There are 2 major actors in the proposed Rurban policy – non-governmental and governmental partners. The nongovernmental sphere encompasses actors working for-profit, nonprofit, or philanthropic organizations (i.e., developers, NGOs, banks, etc). A community group as a non-governmental partner will create a Residents’ Association to manage shared facilities, organize waste collection, and composting. Developers and NGOs will be jointly responsible for retrofitting existing and implementing new construction. They will also execute housing projects for mixed-income groups (e.g., subsidized housing for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Lower Income Groups (LIG)). These joint efforts will help support new housing markets and also incorporate higher cost housing units for home-stays and higher income groups. The proposed policy allows for ownership, rental, and rent-to-own schemes. The governmental partner, like under the current Housing for All policy, will facilitate acquisition of land for redevelopment. They will establish a vision for the city around the loop of integrated services. The governmental partner, whether at the ward level or the village (Gram Panchayat) level, will also be responsible for the maintenance of streets and public spaces. Through funding from the state, this partner will provide subsidies for the retrofit and reconstruction of EWS houses. For the village of Chitravad, each redeveloped zone will be targeted toward a specific economic activity to create hubs around farming, education, construction, and marketplaces.

Working with Policy EXISTING

Mason training program PMAY Rural

PMAY Urban

Residential Township Asct

Housing block development Land procurement by government Easement Infrastructure Public Private Partnership Access to capital for housing

PROPOSED

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RURBAN POLICY

COLLECTIVE RURBANISM

SPATIAL LOOP

We begin with the policy proposal, and then turn to the physical planning proposal on the pages that follow. In policy terms, the Government of India has identified challenges caused by an increasing demand for housing and lack of access to formal credit institutions. To address these changes, the government has created a Housing for All program (PMAY). The PMAY policy was designed to be piloted in several states in India and has 2 major programs: Urban and Rural. We draw from both programs to rethink how large federal projects can be better adapted to the context of small towns that are neither urban nor rural. For example, the PMAY-Urban policy encourages public-private partnership and requires a minimum of 250 houses to be constructed by a developer to benefit from a government-sponsored land exchange. However, this scale is not adapted to a place like Chitravad, which does not have the demand for 250 houses. The PMAY-Rural policy, on the other hand, encourages individualistic development, without considering the village as a whole, which reinforces the lack of planning direction currently observed in small towns. Therefore, we looked at both programs and decided to craft an intermediary policy based on the needs and future development trajectories of Rurban villages. From the PMAY-Rural policy, we appreciated the smaller scale and the mason-training offered to beneficiaries of the program. In the PMAY-Urban, we valued its encouragement of public-private partnerships and land incentives for private developers. Overall, the Housing for All program guarantees subsidies to EWS households and access to credit institutions. Using some aspects of each of these Housing for All programs can guarantee a more sustainable framework for redevelopment of towns in India that are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rurban,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; i.e., between rural and urban. By re-framing existing policy and adapting it to local characteristics, Housing for All has great potential to be a driver of change in India. This proposal suggests a framework for understanding the phases of village-level public-private partnership. It helps facilitate increased community involvement, which can strengthen a plural society. Risk is not a unidimensional concept and it needs to be addressed on multiple fronts; engagement of all stakeholders can help reduce vulnerability.

Understanding Risk and Vulnerability

With these housing policy innovations in mind, we can now turn to physical planning concepts that link housing with other improvements. During our trip, we observed several key issues that informed our design work: 1.

The population living in villages like Chitravad, and in small towns, want to replicate the infrastructure observed in cities, though they are still living a rural lifestyle.

2. Chitravad is a migration center: Families send their children to school in Chitravad, and farmers and construction workers come seasonally to do work in Chitravad and its surroundings. 3. Due to the influx in population, there is an increase in demand for concrete houses and amenities in Chitravad. There is a desire to access modernity while maintaining the scale of the village and addressing the redevelopment of existing units. 4. The current trend is to redevelop through an individualistic approach. Development is piecemeal, through transformation of individual, private homes. Resources for new development and reconstruction are not accessible to all. AKAHI has conducted an assessment of risky houses and infrastructure in the village resulting in a map that identifies 285 houses as risky (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;kutchaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;). On the ground, we observed several houses with severe internal structural problems. Risk is not assessed solely by visual structural evaluation; it has a broader definition shaped by social vulnerability and capacity. Vulnerability in Chitravad includes exposure to poverty that is not identified on existing maps. The villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historical development has been from a central chowk to low-lying, peripheral lands that include flood prone areas. Those living on the periphery are not only living in vulnerability but also on the margins, the margin of poverty and margin of the town. The margins overlap with high flood risk areas as shown in the maps and images on this page. Access to amenities and safe havens is limited for those on the margins and in socially segregated spaces, and it would be valuable to prepare a combined risk map, highlighting vulnerabilities as well as hazards.

Collective Market Low-lying Flood Prone Area

Kutcha HousesKuchha Houses Regularly Flooded Areas Safe Havens Regularly Flooded Areas Safe Areas Safe Havens Safe Areas

Waste Industries Combined Risk Map Collective Rurbanism 0

8 km

Solid Waste Site

Waste Water Sink

Village Visions

Collective Market Low-lying Flood Prone Area

Collective Market Low-lying Flood Prone Area Easement Zone Regularly Flooded Areas Easement Center Line Material Flows

Sites

8 km

Market Hub 60% of construction by private developer 20% of construction by NGO HOUSING

20% of construction by home owners

20%

80% MAINTENANCE

COMMUNITY

FINANCING

2018

2023

Maintenance by the community

Maintenance by the municipality

Mixed income community 40% of housing reserved for households who have current commercial activities 35% of housing reserved for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) 25% of housing reserved for artisans Market hub will be the pilot development and be mostly financed by private developers and residents. NGOs will finance public space Housing developed by private partner will either be rented, bought, or subsidized

2028

2033

2038

To enhance living conditions on the margins of Chitravad, we propose a loop that includes Market and Garden Hubs. In the implementation process, the hubs would be developed first because of their strategic location near the main corridor. The Garden Hub will provide produce to be sold in the Market Hub. Looking at the topography, the hubs are located in 2 low-lying areas connected by a main street. The Market Hub has the following key features: ++

Location near a transportation node

Location on a major road and market street

Opportunity for new exchange and connection

The Market Hub would have 16 new housing units and a public space designed for market exchange and pedestrian fluidity. The plan below indicates the connectivity among these elements and the main street. The design allows for a hierarchy of public to private usage where the street front provides for commercial activities while the housing area facing farmland has increased privacy. The Hub includes a private pathway accessed by residents through courtyards. The Market Hub is on the urban side of the Rurban continuum.

Market Hub plan

0m 5m 10m

20m

Market Hub cross-section

Infrastructure for farmers

Infrastructure for preparation and packaging

New housing

Collective courtyards

New housing

Market

Main road (expanded)

Bus station 0m

10m

20m

Garden Hub

Village Visions

40% of construction by private developer 40% of construction by NGO HOUSING

20% of construction by home owners

20%

80% MAINTENANCE

COMMUNITY

FINANCING 2018

2023

Maintenance by the community

Maintenance by the municipality

Agricultural Community 35% of housing reserved for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) 30% of housing for mixed-income groups with priority to senior citizens 20% of housing reserved for households who are farmers/migrant workers 15% of housing reserved for Agro-tourism Financing by home owners and government subsidy Migrant workers will be housed in temporary housing Housing developed by private partner will either be rented, bought, or subsidized

2028

2033

2038

The Garden Hub is located on the east side of Chitravad, adjacent to farm fields, and is thus on the rural side of the ruban continuum. It will also have 16 new housing units and innovative community gardens. It will serve as an interface with the farming edge. The Garden Hub is located in a low-lying area with the housing located on elevated fill and the community gardens in lower lying areas that allow for runoff collection and graywater reuse and infiltration. The main qualities of the Garden Hub will be to provide an environmental system in which: ++

Future development is adjacent to farm land

The design provides for integrated water management

Housing supports farmers and farm workers.

Taken together, these components offer a promising model for collective Rurban settlement.

Garden Hub plan

5m 10m

20m

Garden Hub cross-section

Collective housing on fill

Rain garden filters street waste water

Loop interface with village settlement and gardens

Recreational space

Fruit and vegetable gardens

10m

20m

Construction Hub 10% of construction by private developer 90% of construction by home owners HOUSING

20%

80% MAINTENANCE

COMMUNITY

Maintenance by the community

Maintenance by the municipality

Construction Hub 35% of housing reserved for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) 40% of housing reserved for mixed-income family households 25% of housing for families in the construction industry

Financing by private developer as the hub will showcase housing typology and propose mason training activity EWS home owners can access financing through banks FINANCING

2018

2023

2028

2033

Construction and Educational Hubs would be developed in the next phase of implementation. The Construction Hub builds upon AKAHIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mason training programs for seismically safe building methods. In Chitravad, those programs include members of the lower income Siddi community. The Construction Hub could support the strategic use of prefabricated materials as well as mason training for workers. AKAHI and developers are directly in contact with workers; Chitravad could develop as a pioneer in the production of prefabricated building components and units. This direction would give Chitravad a competitive advantage in the region and provide long-term, economically viable employment through mason training, and safe construction methods for seismic and flood risk mitigation.

2038

Educational Hub 40% of construction by private developer 40% of construction by NGO HOUSING

20% of construction by mason

60% MAINTENANCE

40%

Maintenance by the community

Maintenance by schools

Recreation 60% of housing reserved for children 40% of housing reserved for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) COMMUNITY

Recreational Hub financed by governmental and nongovernmental partners

FINANCING

2018

2023

Municipality and schools are responsible for the maintenance of the hub

2028

2033

2038

The Educational Hub will provide amenities and a community center for children. As previously mentioned, Chitravad is recognized as a leader in providing education in the area. Therefore, this final hub could be developed as a gift from nongovernmental partners.

Housing Typology

Village Visions

Design principles The new housing units should be flexible to adapt to the needs for productive space as well as increasing and changing family space needs. Therefore, we propose houses that are low cost and flexible. The features of these houses rely on prefabricated members and/or frames. The structural and constructional system of the house is centered around a shared core of services.

The houses are flexible and allow for convertible commercial/maker space

Housing unit for rent Unit for rent

Productive spa

Housing unit 1

m 5.5

5.5

A modular system of prefabricated concrete units and frames can be covered by different materials, and can be extended to include prefabricated bathrooms, kitchens and stairs. The bathroom and the kitchen are attached to a service wall that is shared between 2 houses. This typology proposes a double height perforated wall in the upper level to allow for ventilation and improvement of sensory experience and thermal comfort.

The prefabricated structure would address environmental risks and take into account bio-climatic aspects of design, including ventilation and natural lighting, while protecting against natural disasters.

Prefabricated bathroom Service wall Prefabricated kitchen

Bathroom

Prefabricated stairs 3m

Frame structure 3m

Shared service core

Kitchen m 5.5

.5m

5.5

Backyard

Furban Future

Chitravad as a Model Agro-Tourism Village Sean Phillips Ellen Shakespear Sera Tolgay

The second Village Vision and Conceptual Plan is titled ‘Furban Future.’ It would position Chitravad as an agro-tourism destination of the Gir Forest region. Currently, like many villages throughout India, Chitravad’s economy is dependent on the farming activities of older generations, while the younger population looks to larger cities for employment outside of the agricultural sector. The term “Furban” proposes an alternative to India’s “Rurban Mission” of bringing urban amenities to rural areas by incorporating agricultural assets and livelihoods within the framework of rural development in the context of Gir Forest. Hospitality and food processing have the potential to create a more diverse economy and better jobs. Given Chitravad’s strong educational institutions and proximity to Gir Forest, we propose expanded educational programs on agronomy, food processing, and hospitality, to facilitate work opportunities in the agro-tourism sector. Our urban design proposal for Chitravad strengthens the western spine of the village by adding communal processing facilities and educational institutions focused on tourism, hospitality, and rural landscape education. Expanding throughout the village, the scheme strategically infills 3 underutilized sites: 1) roofs, 2) abandoned homes, and 3) larger farming lots. Furban Future utilizes a modular building system to transform these sites into home-stays, rental units, dorms, storage units, worker housing, and processing facilities. Combined with infrastructural upgrades, Furban Future re-imagines Chitravad as a model agrotourism destination. Chitravad is positioned in close proximity to the Gir Forest and is in the Talala block which is an agricultural center, particularly for sugar cane, peanuts, mangoes and dairy. At a regional scale, the Talala agricultural region is surrounded by larger industries, including building materials’ manufacturing along the Arabian Sea coastline, and is connected to global trade. Along with a cluster of villages, including Haripur, Sangodra and Sasan Gir, Chitravad can become a center for agro-tourism by building on the strong educational institutions that already exist in the village and by allowing for the expansion of housing and accommodation for families living in kutcha structures, students, seasonal workers, and visitors to the Gir Forest. Prefab Infill

Raw Materials

Value Added Farming

Agro-tourism

Infill

Hospitality

Hospitality Education

Food Processing and Specialty Products

Families congregating on village rooftops

Cattle in Chitravad

Construction Industry Landscape Junagadh Mars Poly Foam + Insulation

Population: 517,350 Industry: Foam panels and insulation manufacturers, dairy processing Education: Junagadh Agricultural University

Junagadh

Talala Population: 21,060 Markets: Local produce market, steel suppliers and construction materials

Chitravad N. K. Steel Wood Industries

Population: 2,811 Agriculture: Ground nuts, mangoes, sugar cane, dairy Education: Diamond Jubilee High School, Aga Khan High School

Mendarda Keshod Airport

Keshod

Gir Forest

Balaji Steel

Haripur

Dhanvi Steel Viradi

Population: 1,977 Agriculture: Ground nuts, mangoes, sugar cane, dairy

Sasan Gir

Haripur Sangodra

Ajmera Cement Factory

Chitravad

Gir Reserve

Borav Dhava Ankolvadi

Talala

Bhuvneshwari Cement

Khalidhar

Indian Rayon & Industries Ltd

Veraval

Anand Para Mine

Ajotha Bhavesh Steel

Gujarat Sidhee Cement

Una

Ambuja Cement Factory

Mineral Mining

Proposed Village Flows Gir Forest ity tal spi Ho om s fr ent sud

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tourism itself is a growing threat to Gir. These visitors create a huge demand for infrastructure but do little of benefit to the park, not even staying long enough to really Chitravad Vision Plan experience it or learn Micro Regional Flow Map much at all.â&#x20AC;?

ets ark la m al a to T

Critical cities

-Gujarat Tourism Flows Talala

North

Critical Cities Flows

itr av ad

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uc ts ga in

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Risk Map

Homes in Flood Risk Area

Infill Opportunities

Kutcha (weak) Houses

Vacant homes in ruins

Contour Lines

Pucca Homes

Village Visions

Vacant Lots

654 Kutcha (weak) structures 45,338 sqm

578 Pucca (Reinforced Cement Concrete Structures) 52,215 sqm

Existing Site Opportunities

New Infill Sites

Farmhouses

Vacant Units

Upgrade farmhouses with support of AKAHI

Upgraded vacant units serve as housing, home-stays or processing facilities

Rooftops

Additional income from rentals help improve street infrastructure

Farm houses

Prefabricated Systems

Flexible Prefab System

Storage Roof Unit

1 Bed Roof Unit

Various arrangements of the prefab system

8’

’

Patio

2 storage 1 bed/ storage 1 storage 1 bath 1 bed 1 covered patio

8’ 8’

Double Roof Unit

Storage

Roadways for cranes

8’

Location of Prefab Units

8’

Kitchen

2 bed 2 bath 1 covered patio 2 Bed Roof Unit

8’ 8’

Bath

8’

’

Bed

2 bed 1 bath 1 storage 1 covered patio Large Unit

Cistern

2 bed 1 bath 1 storage 1 kitchen 1 covered patio

Prefab Systems Applied to Farmhouses and Upgrading of Rooftops

Upgrading a farmhouse

Village Visions

Upgrading Rooftops Family of 8 in a farmhouse with basic sanitation, no drainage

Family of 5 living in pucca (RCC) house

Apply for a home-stay upgrade Apply to Housing for All-Rural Housing in Partnership with AKAHI (for profit section)

Existing Farmhouse

Family receives a 2 bedroom prefab unit

Existing Rooftop

gutters drainage street upgrade

Family of 5 visiting Gir Forest book a home-stay

prefab unit

cistern

shared bathroom

Farmhouse upgraded with prefab unit

drainage Host family builds sanitation and street drainage with savings

Upgraded rooftop

Farmhouse opens directly into fields

Existing Chitravad Farmhouses

A shared storage facility for farmers

Family rents out the unit to visitors in high season and to students throughout the year

Family builds drainage infrastructure and helps improve streetscape with additional income

Market Square Multi-Level ‘Furban’ Public Realm

Look Out, LOOP In

Risk Mitigation Through Landscape Design Andrea Baena Wan Chantavilasvong Eric Van Dreason

The third Village Vision and Conceptual Plan is titled ‘Look Out, LOOP In,’ or LOOP for short. LOOP is an integrative design intervention that weaves together opportunities and challenges present in relation to Chitravad’s position within the context of the natural systems enveloping it. In particular, LOOP aims to mitigate water-related risks by leveraging environmental systems and fortifying resiliency on the edge of the village. This proposal is derived from the understanding that the security and safety of villagers, their livelihoods, and their homes, as well as the security of the built environment generally, when considering multihazard risks, is tied inextricably to the landscape. By expanding the definition of ‘home,’ we consider the natural environment as not merely a setting where risks threaten to actualize, but a place where there exists potential for greater social activation. By developing a deeper understanding of the landscape and using its beauty to handle and contain threats, risk mitigation measures can be combined with community development and public space activation in order to formalize a version of “home” for villagers that protects but does not isolate. We began by mapping watershed runoff, and seasonal as well as perennial stream channels and floodplains. That exercise showed that while the core of Chitravad village is located on an elevated mound, stormwater from dry jungle areas north of the village runoff through channels on either side that threaten homeowners in low-lying areas. An earthen flood control bund provides protection against high frequency, low magnitude events, but may increase vulnerability to extreme events. Some households and roads on the northern and southwestern sides of the village appear to lie in active floodplains, and so our conceptual landscape plan focuses on hazard mitigation in those areas.

122

A Responsive LOOP

Village Visions 120

WATERSHED AND FLOOD RISK

118

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Building Housing for All Shops Institution Religious Building Safe Heavens

120

Micro-Watershed Delineation (October, 2017) EL

148

CONTOUR HEIGHTS (IN METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL)

RIP

Marginalized Population

Village Threats (October, 2017)

132

116

Main Street

130 126

CONTOUR HEIGHTS (IN METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL)

128

126

124

126

Walking Path

124 IR & SANGO DRA SAN G TO SA

122

136

126 120 120

124

River

114

Watershed Area

118 122

122

120

118 116

100

116

114

200 M

114

114 112 120

116 114

WATERSHED AND FLOOD RISK

110

114

108

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

112 Building

122

114 114

122

112

106

High Risk

124 N

WATERSHED AND FLOOD RISK

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

124

Building Main Street Walking Path

Low Risk

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

104

WATERSHED AREA

Medium Risk

114

122

WATERSHED AREA

120

Ridge

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA River

Watershed Area 0

100

200

METERS

Dump Site

TA LA LA

Building

Dump Site Polution

Building

High Risk

Main Street

Medium Risk

Street Expansion Area

Walking Path

Low Risk

Walking Path

Dump Site

River

120

Ridge River

Watershed Area

Dump Site Polution 0

100

Watershed Area 200 M

Main Street Village Combined Threats & Opportunities (October, 2017)

100

LOOP Analysis (October, 2017) 200 METERS

Street Expansion Area Walking Path River Watershed Area 0

100

200 M

WATERSHED AND FLOOD RISK

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

SYNTHESIS OF CURRENT SITUATIONS CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Proximity to farm lands and green space

Building Housing for All

Proximity to safe heavens, schools, and gathering space

SYNTHESIS OF CURRENT SITUATIONS CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Proximity to farm lands and green space

Shops

Proximity to safe heavens, schools, and gathering space

Currently have economic activities: shops

Potentially have more economic activities: foot traffic

Institution

External water entry point: rain water run off or river overflow Internal water exit point: grey water run off

Religious Building

WATERSHED AND FLOOD RISK CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Currently are trash sites Future needs of trash site support

Safe Heavens

Housing for All

CHITRAVAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Proximity to farm lands and green space

External water entry point: rain water run off or river overflow

Proximity to safe heavens, schools, and gathering space

Internal water exit point: grey water run off

Currently have economic activities: shops

Currently are trash sites

Potentially have more economic activities: foot traffic

Future needs of trash site support

External water entry point: rain water run off or river overflow

Proximity to arginalized communities

Main Street

Shops

Walking Path

Institution Religious Building

River

Safe Heavens

Watershed Area

Internal water exit point: grey water run off

Marginalized Population Main Street

Potentially have more economic activities: foot traffic

Proximity to arginalized communities

Marginalized Population

Building

SYNTHESIS OF CURRENT SITUATIONS

100

200 M

Currently are trash sites

Implementation - The LOOP Plan

Looping in

References

In plan view, LOOP appears to be an aggregation of ribbons that thicken at strategic locations and that collectively stitch together the border of the village. The design lends itself well to phased implementation through a collaborative effort. Active involvement would be sought from local government (the Gram Panchayat), local schools, the national government (particularly in relation to federal policy initiatives like the Housing for All scheme and access to the 24-meter easement along federally-designated transportation routes), the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India (AKAHI), and the different communities present in the village.

Challenges LOOP consists of an integrated blue-green infrastructure project, designed in synergy with a housing improvement strategy that includes retrofit of housing currently at risk, and new collective housing for the lower income sector of the population, which will help catalyze vibrant urban space at the edge of the village1. LOOP proposes a resourceefficient vision that leads to double benefits – environmental and social– through each of the coordinated actions2. The greatest challenge to make LOOP a reality would be mobilizing collective action towards the implementation of this approach, a challenge that can be addressed in a number of ways. Chitravad currently has a relatively weak governance structure, which has limited resources, coordination, and vision. There is interest in low income housing development in the northwest “annex” of Chitravad, mostly due to the national government’s establishment of a Housing for All scheme, but to date that area has limited spatial connection with the rest of the village. Fortunately, some communities in the village have a strong social support network and access to good quality community spaces. However, other communities, especially those located on the edge of the village, have more vulnerable living conditions and limited access to quality public space. Even though Chitravad is a small village with a population of under 4,000 people, it is still a very diverse and rich cultural place with a range of communities that are currently segregated. A successful implementation of the LOOP plan could help trigger a higher level of integration between the different communities.

Opportunities It is important to see the many opportunities present in Chitravad that could contribute to the successful implementation of the LOOP plan. LOOP seeks to leverage Chitravad as a hub to build “green knowledge” and environmental awareness within the exemplary local school system, which has raised awareness of and respect for Chitravad across the region. The local schools have demonstrated a strong action network with an elevated environmental consciousness.

See James Corner, The Landscape Imagination: Collected Essays of James Corner (1990-2010)

2. See Orff, Toward an Urban Ecology: SCAPE. (2016)

A C

Additionally, the western section of the LOOP passes through the regional road with a 24-meter right-of-way that the government can use for related purposes. This area is an opportunity for future development, specifically in terms of implementing soft landscape infrastructure which will improve road conditions and mitigate risk for adjacent housing. Finally, Chitravad has a strategic location close to the Gir Forest which presents potential for eco-tourism that could supply an economic boost to the village, thus helping to facilitate implementation of the blue-green infrastructure LOOP.

Phases of Implementation While the LOOP as a whole may require significant investment in infrastructure and new housing construction, funding for which is limited in Chitravad, the proposed plan incorporates incremental development components and phasing that can be achieved locally through collective efforts. Those components require minimal funding, focus on collective time and energy, and thereby strategically utilize existing funding from local and higher levels of government. For example: 1.

Trash collection systems can be implemented immediately by strategically designating specific locations as waste collection nodes in existing trash accumulation areas around the periphery of the village. Separating reusable, recyclable, and decomposable trash is a first step for the village to reap financial benefits from current solid waste problems, which can help sustain a village-wide trash collection program.

2. Some water-protection and water-enjoyment landscape features lend themselves to a cut-and-fill method, which can be done locally through collective contributions of time and energy. These interventions may include the bund systems in between sections B and E as well as areas near section D on the next page. 3. The proposed plan aligns with many of the Gram Panchayatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goals, including strategic street improvement funding allocations. 4. Lastly, the more expensive disaster resilient housing design and cluster planning could be funded through the Housing for All program, implemented in more environmentally and socially strategic ways. Taken together, these LOOP components link liquid and solid waste management with flood risk reduction and new housing design.

Illustrative Sections Section A

Section B

Section C

traffic and pedestrian. e accessed through the street. Street mproved with incorporated bench ation bordering the homes.

Children are currently playing in ruins. Reimagine playgrounds for kids where they are close to nature and enjoy water.

Section D

Homes look out, face the exterior of the village in the second floor. The edge is now an attractive place. Inverting the edge condition to become a positive social space where community integration happens. Pedestrian only path with beautiful views to the farmlands.

scape is improved with incorporated and vegetation bordering the homes.

Section E

Wet garden for grey water treatment. Use a diverse set of species in order to avoid mosquitoes. Commonly used plants are macrophytes like duckweed and water hyacinth, helophytes like reed and cattails, floating-leaved bottom-rooted macrophytes like lotus, and submersed macrophytes like waterweed. A series of two gardens. A more shallow rain garden where the first filtration process occurs with a mesh to easily collect any solid waste excess. Second water garden is more deep, second process of cleaning the water that will be used for collective activities.

Community laundry inspired in the Dhobi Ghats. Circulation of filtered grey water for re-use. Laundry spaces are located at a level below the rain gardens in such a way that the water flows with gravity.

Synthesis Plan

Bunds for Flood Protection

Agroprocessing Institutions

Reconstruction of Kutcha Housing

Social and Infrastructural Loop

Collective Housing

Cow sheds

Floodable Arable Area Landscape Bund Infrastructure Loop

Drainage Park Bund

WATERSHED

CHITRAVAD, GU

Common Elements of a Rurban Village

The Synthesis Plan positions Chitravad as a model for future Rurban villages in India. The Plan addresses and alleviates several existing conditions that currently inhibit growth and prosperity in Chitravad. The absence of economic opportunities beyond agricultural life and the aging of an elderly population are leading people to leave the village, causing both population loss and property abandonment. At the same time, villagers who remain are doing so within an environment of risk, where they are endangered by periodic drought, monsoon flooding, cyclones, and earthquakes. Overall, this Synthesis Plan intends to enhance the built environment to create increased security from natural hazards simultaneously with improving the quality of life for all in Chitravad. The Synthesis Plan has 4 components: 1) a village loop road containing comprehensive infrastructure improvements; 2) collective housing constructed in 4 key neighborhoods around this loop road easement, and disaster resilient retrofit of unsafe or abandoned properties in the central village; 3) enhanced street design and retrofitted housing with improved water sanitation along selected evacuation routes; and 4) collective housing along the loop and street improvements within the village, bringing Rurban amenities to all, transcending caste and religion. 1.

The Loop Road. An enhanced infrastructure loop around the village reduces risk through grading and drainage to eliminate low elevations that have stagnant water throughout the year, and that flood vulnerable populations during monsoon season. The Loop also improves access and establishes points for waste collection at specified locations, enhancing sanitation and public health as well as improving aesthetics at important gateways to the village from other communities. A continuous tree and shrub planting design along the Loop road provides beauty, comfort, and ecological amenities.

2. Housing Plus. Chitravad’s urban fabric is characterized by a mix of improved (pucca) housing and poorer-quality, kutcha housing, with the lowest-income kutcha housing often located on the village periphery. The Synthesis Plan proposes a Rurban housing improvement strategy to simultaneously improve housing for the poorest inhabitants, rehabilitate and make safer the abandoned or unsafe properties in the central village, and improve the shortage of collective spaces for all villagers. The Synthesis Plan proposes to draw upon the Government of India’s “Housing for All” policy to support a Rurban condition with up to 250 new or reconstructed dwellings within the village boundary. These dwellings consist of new low-income rental houses constructed on currently abandoned properties in the village center, together with reinforced or reconstructed kutcha housing along main evacuation streets. This new and improved housing would revitalize the village, improve safety by removing unstable older structures, and increase lowincome inhabitants’ exposure to economic and social opportunity. The Plan also proposes the construction of new collective housing clusters at underused sites at the village periphery on the loop road easement, combining this housing with collective facilities for education, agriculture, markets, and construction.

3. Mari Shehri (My Street). In addition to local street improvements within neighborhoods, the Synthesis Plan proposes a progression of improvements for major village streets. These begin with safety improvements for evacuation and functional improvements for drainage and paving. As village water supply improves, drainage may get worse, so the Plan suggests soak pits within compound walls, enhanced French drains in the street immediately outside household drains, and gutters for monsoon drainage. Street aesthetic improvements may take the form of tile decoration on otlas, plantings, and textile shade structures above lanes. 4. Rurban Amenities Throughout the Village. These may include an improved bus stop, market places, a fabrication lab and playgrounds. Chitravad has an invaluable asset of high quality schools that draw students from surrounding villages and that enable these students to participate in and benefit from the wider economy. The Plan found significant potential in building upon these assets in other realms of village life and addressing village ideas in the school curriculum. These education centers help bring urban amenities to what is becoming a “rurban” place. The future Chitravad can be a Rurban village whose inhabitants have access to improved housing, attractive and accessible collective spaces, and a greener, cleaner inner-peripheral village. Rurban Chitravad would be denser and more active, but also more sustainable and resilient, with a periphery that protects the village from hazards and a village fabric that enhances housing access and durability. It is the hope of this design workshop that the village of Chitravad will adopt a Synthesis Plan that fulfills its collective vision and aspiration in the years ahead.

Epilogue In January 2018, a second group returned to Chitravad to conduct a workshop in the 2 nearby villages of Haripur and Sangodra. This workshop explored 3 Rurban Village design ideas: 1) that the innovations proposed in Chitravad can be adapted in other villages; 2) that innovations in Haripur and Sangodra may generate additional ideas for Chitravad; and 3) that these processes of innovation exchange can become part of a more comprehensive inter-village Habitat Plan for transportation, education, economic development, and environmental management. The workshop report for Haripur and Sangodra will be completed in 2018.

References

Low Cost Housing In Developing Countries ++

Alexander, Christopher, and Davis, Howard. The Production of Houses. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1985

Aravena, Mori A, and Andrés Iacobelli. Elemental: Incremental Housing and Participatory Design Manual. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2016

Bhatia, Gautam. Laurie Baker: Life, Work, Writings. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1994

Correa, Charles. The New Landscape: Urbanisation in the Third World. Sevenoaks: Butterworth Architecture, 1989

Di Lullo, Raul. Evolutionary Housing Design: An Instrumental Contribution. Rotterdam: Bouwcentrum International, 1981

Fathy, Hassan. “Rural Housing in Developing Countries.” Hassan Fathy Archives. Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Geneva, Switzerland. 1 July 1963

Habraken, N J and Teicher, Jonathan. Supports: An Alternative to Mass Housing, 1972

Lullo, Raul Di. Evolutionary Housing Design: An Instrumental Contribution. Rotterdam: Bouwcentrum International, 1981

Turner, John F C and Ward, Colin. Housing by People: Towards Autonomy in Building Environments. New York: Marion Boyars, 1976

Rural-Urban Dynamics ++

Firey, W., Ecological considerations in planning for rurban fringes. Am. Sociol. Rev. 11 (4), 1946: 411–423.

Government of India, 2016. National Rurban Mission (accessed 31 December, 2017). <http://rurban.gov.in/>.

Gupta, D., The importance of being ‘rurban’: tracking changes in a traditional setting. Econ. Political Weekly 50 (24), 2015: 37–43.

Hui, Rebecca, and Wescoat, James. “Visualizing Peri-Urban and Rurban Water Systems: Cartographic Perspectives and Challenges in Pune District, Maharashtra, India,” Geoforum, special issue on Visualizing Undisciplined Environments, 2018.

Revi, A., Prakash, S., Mehrotra, R., Bhat, G., Gupta, K., Gore, R., Goa 2100: the transition to a sustainable rurban design. Environ. Urbanization 58 (1), 2006, 51–65.

Spodek, Howard. Urban-Rural Integration in Regional Development: A Case Study of Saurashtra India, 1800-1960. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1976

Sharma, S S. P, K V. Raju, and Sabyasachi Sarkar. Growing RuralUrban Disparity in Gujarat. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009

Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission, 2017. Website at rurban. india.gov (12/31/17).

Wescoat, James. “Water-Conserving Design in Rurban India,” Journal of Landscape Architecture, India. Special issue on Traditional Wisdom, December 2016.

Turner, John F. C. Freedom to Build: Dweller Control of the Housing Process. New York: Macmillan, 1972

The Indian Village

Life in Saurashtra and Gujarat

Brara, Rita. Shifting Landscape: the making and remaking of Village Commons in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Chambers, Robert. Rural Development: Putting the Last First. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 1983

Palrecha, Alka et al., Integrated Regional Development Status of Saurashtra, Gujarat, People in Centre and Diamond Jubiliee Trust, 2017.

Gandhi, M K. Village Swaraj. 6 United States: Navajivan Trust, 1962, pg. 43-4

Simpson, Edward and Kapadia, Aparna. The Idea of Gujarat: History, Ethnography and Text. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2010

Gandhi, M K and Shriman Narayan. MK Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru. The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: Vol. 5., Selected Letters. Navajivan Publishing House, 1968

Simpson, Edward. Society and History of Gujarat Since 1800: A Select Bibliography of the English and European Language Sources. New Delhi: Orient BlackSwan, 2011

Jodhka, Surinder S. “Nation and Village: Images of Rural India in Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar.” Economic and Political Weekly. 37.32 (2002): 3343-3353.

Tambs-Lyche, Harald. Power, Profit, and Poetry: Traditional Society in Kathiawar, Western India. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 1997

Tambs-Lyche, Harald. The Good Country: Individual, Situation, and Society in Saurashtra. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 2004

Sharma, S S. P, K V. Raju, and Sabyasachi Sarkar. Growing RuralUrban Disparity in Gujarat. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2009.

Wescoat, James. “Peri-urban water planning and risk reduction: A waterscape approach,” in Design to Sustain – Towards effective Water Management through Habitat Development. Mumbai: Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, India, 2015, pp. 138-153.

Jodhka. S.S. Village Society (Readings on the Economy, Polity and Society Series). Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2012.

Marriott, McKim, ed. Village India: studies in the little community. (Comparative Studies of Cultures and Civilizations, [No, 6]) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1955.

Nehru, Jawaharlal. A Bunch of Old Letters. London: Asia Pub. House, 1960

Thakur, Manish. Indian Village: A Conceptual History. New Delhi: Rawat, 2014.

Appendix: Housing for All by 2022

Housing for All in the Context of Rurban Saurashtra

Housing shortage has been a major problem in India since independence and before. The industrial boom and increase in urban migration resulted in a dire housing crisis. A large proportion of rural housing remains in a kutcha or unhealthy condition. Housing problems include homeless families, congestion, disaster-vulnerable locations and construction, a need for upgradation of kutcha/unserviceable houses, and repair of old houses. The Government of India has provided policies for affordable housing since the first Five Year Plan. The current Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme ‘Housing for All by 2022’ with the ambitious task of making the entire country slum-free by 2022 to mark 75 years of independence. The policy outlines separate processes for rural and urban environments. The target is to build 40 million rural houses and 20 million urban houses by 2022. This appendix examines the housing policy framework for urban and rural contexts and identifies the limitations of both the schemes. The analysis is done in reference to the site of Chitravad village, located in Gir-Somnath district near Talala town in the state of Gujarat. The essay begins with an overview of the ‘Housing for All by 2022’. The scope of rural and urban schemes is then outlined to identify potential solutions for the current situation in Saurashtra. It is expected that the study can help the local Gram Panchayat prepare an action plan and propose a vision for village in partnership with the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, India. It was found that due to its proximity to the town of Talala and the Gir Forest, the housing crisis in Rurban Chitravad demands a hybrid rural and urban housing policy approach.

A. Housing For All

B. Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U)

The Housing for All mission exemplifies the core values of the Indian Constitution. Shelter is a vital entitlement of the citizens of a country. The level of development of a nation is revealed by the manner in which the basic needs of food, shelter and livelihood, i.e. roti, makaan and paisa, are addressed and manifested across society. In India, the goal is to achieve Housing for All by 2022 when the nation completes 75 years of its independence.

It is projected that India will have to house 900 million in urban areas by 2050. The biggest challenge to accommodate this rising population is providing housing for the most vulnerable sections, which includes the large share of migrants and slum dwellers.

This initiative aims to build upon the previously implemented policy, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Indira Awaas Yojanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (IAY), by improving the implementation process. It promotes convergence of different governmental schemes and funding streams. The Centre has developed rural and urban schemes, with technical assistance, to target the rural and urban poor as well as slum dwellers. The selection criteria vary for each scheme. The target population includes the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low-Income Households (LIG) in urban and rural areas. The selection of housing beneficiaries is done through the SocioEconomic Caste Census (SECC 2011). In previous schemes, the eligibility criteria were the Below Poverty Line (BPL) data. The SECC data captures specific conditions of deprivation related to housing. Through the survey, the households are divided into 3 groups, i.e. included households, excluded households, and other types. A beneficiary family may comprise a husband, wife, unmarried sons and/ or unmarried daughters. The beneficiary family should not own a pucca house in the name of any family member in any part of India to be eligible to receive central assistance under the mission. The reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) is up to 60%. An additional 15% is reserved for persons with disabilities. These aspects help us understand the inclusivity of the scheme. The selection of urban households is left to the discretion of the States through a demand assessment survey and verification process. For the current proposal in Chitravad village, it is important to understand the selection process and inclusivity. It is evident that scheme has majority of the funds reserved for minorities and thus it is a challenge to avail funds for other needs even if housing is in a dilapidated state.

The major challenges for meeting the housing shortage include rising construction costs, shortage of urban land and lack of access to lowinterest finance. Earlier, the state was responsible for providing homes to low income households. But with the liberalization of economy, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role is shifting to some extent from being the provider to being a facilitator. The state encourages private sector participation in delivering affordable housing as a strategy for closing the gap between demand and supply. PMAY-U, launched in 2015, aims to meet these shortcomings by decentralizing the implementation framework and building local capacity. The mission is implemented as a central government sponsored scheme, except for the component of credit-linked subsidy, which is implemented as a central government scheme.

Limitations ++

Implementation framework - A regulatory framework is needed to discipline the real estate sector. At present, beneficiaries are subject to exploitation, unmet deadlines, misused funds, hidden charges, and clauses interpreted in an ad hoc manner. A regulatory framework would provide strong systemic controls, formalize the roles and responsibilities of respective parties, introduce stringent penalties for violations, and promote convergence among urban housing programs (see figure on the next page).

Data constraints - One of the major problems is the use of SECC data collected in 2011. This data does not account for changes in demographics post-collection, thus limiting assistance for migrants and houses degraded post-2011.

Incentivize private actors - High population density in urban areas has triggered a huge demand for urban land. There is a growing need to revisit previously conceived government regulations which have created an artificial land shortage and pushed up land prices in India. Thus it is important for the government to provide large incentives to promote low cost housing on an expensive entity (KPMG and NAREDCO, 2014).

40 Million

Technical Assistance Finance

60% SC / ST 15% Disability

Training Labour Urban

$1.5 Billion

Rural

Mission

20 Million

Approved Investment: $32 billion Houses Approved: 37,50,000 New and Green Technologies: 16 Credit Linked Subsidy Disbursed: $259 million

C. Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) (Rural) ++

Long approval process - Due to the land shortage and scattered slum clusters, the viability of in-situ developments is compromised, resulting in few scattered projects with low profitability. Multiple approval windows add to the project timeline, and delays in obtaining clearances result in added costs. Minimizing the point of contacts for project approval can boost private sector participation. Lack of personal funds - Under the beneficiary led construction scheme, the beneficiary has to start construction to avail assistance. This limits the beneficiary participation due to limited financial capacity. (Sarkar, Udayan Dhavalikar, Agrawal, and Morris, 2016)

PMAY-U Components

“In-situ” Slum Redevelopment

Assistance

Central State

Non-assessment of housing shortage

Lack of transparency in selection of beneficiaries

Lack of convergence in programs and funding

Loans not available to beneficiaries

Weak mechanisms for monitoring

Varies USD1500

Land as a resource

Private partners

Additional RSI/TDR

Central State

USD2200 Varies

Central Assistance with public or private agency

Minimum Scale 250 houses

35% reserved for EWS

Central State

USD9000 N/A

Interest subvent subsidy for EWS and LIG

EWS: Household with income upto USD4500 annual for house size of 30 sqm

LIG: Household with income upto USD9000 annual for house size of 60 sqm

Beneficiary-led construction (BLC)

Beneficiary led individual construction

The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G Rural), launched on 1st April 2016, is an ambitious project to address these rural housing woes. As a pilot, the target is to build 10 million houses by 2019. Building on the gaps identified in the implementation of IAY, the new rural policy aims to address the following:

Credit-linked Subsidy (CLS)

Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme

This task is a multi-dimensional one that has to factor in area-specific geo-climatic features, low levels of disposable incomes, technological and information gaps, and inadequate delivery mechanisms and management capacities.

“In-situ” Slum Redevelopment

Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP)

Affordable Housing in Partnership

A high proportion of rural households live in dilapidated conditions (Census 2011). India, with its predominantly rural populace dispersed over villages with marginal to low levels of economic development, faces a unique challenge in the task of addressing adequate habitat for all.

Central State

One of the key features of this scheme is the convergence of housing policy with existing government schemes to ensure the complete development of housing infrastructure. As shown below, different government schemes can be availed by the beneficiary. To ensure the convergence of schemes, the state is expected to conduct meetings with the officers of the other departments implementing the schemes. Priority will be given to the beneficiaries. Special projects are sanctioned by the State to provide housing for disaster relief to eligible beneficiaries. This can account for upto 5% of annual budget. The scheme employs e-governance to ensure end-to-end delivery from the official to the beneficiary. 2 important applications are developed for this purpose, i.e., AwasSoft and AwaasApp.

Rural Assistance The Central and State Government together provide financial assistance to the beneficiary belonging to the EWS to build houses having floor areas up to 30 sqm (previously 25 sqm). The subsidy amount is INR 130,000 which sums up to INR 150,000 with the inclusion of other government schemes. In addition to the subsidy amount, the beneficiary is also eligible to obtain a subsidized credit loan of upto INR 70,000. The 3% subsidy on interest on home loans under PMAY-G will reduce the effective interest rate, and hence the monthly installments, by a significant margin. This is in contrast to the urban scheme where the beneficiary is eligible to use only one of the available schemes.

Conditions for Obtaining Funds ++

The beneficiary has to build an additional room along with a toilet or kitchen to be eligible for the scheme. One cannot upgrade the house without adding extra space.

The minimum carpet area cannot be less than 9 sqm or more than 30 sqm

USD2200 Varies

EWS household

State prepares single project

Additional FSI/TDR

Design Assistance The State Governments have developed a range of options as per local context and climate. Their design typologies emphasize clean and hygienic cooking and toilet areas. Disaster resilient designs are developed to withstand cyclones, earthquakes, floods, etc. The design guidelines lay emphasis on inclusive development of space including verandahs and courtyards and rain water harvesting system.

Due to this instability, there is often a lack of interest from private developers in rural markets. Currently there are few incentives to attract private developers to rural markets. This adds a burden on the public sector to independently cater to rural housing demands. It is advisable to classify different village typologies as per their context and local needs to encourage a mix of public-private development. This is possible if the scheme enables the private developer to generate profits.

An in-depth study conducted in 18 states of India has helped develop 130 zone-specific comfortable, affordable, green and multi-hazard safe designs for the PMAY-G. The State of Gujarat has developed 142 designs for guiding the building process. These designs consider the climate, local lifestyle and availability of local material district-wise.

Proposals to creatively combine aspects of the rural and urban programs, as shown on figures in the next page and recommended in the Chitravad design workshop, can help overcome some of the limitations currently faced by Rurban villages and towns.

Limitations

References

Feasibility - The rural scheme currently promotes development of individual houses. One of the biggest challenges is to allocate land to every individual beneficiary. However, if provisions are made to promote collective development through group allocation of land, construction costs can be reduced. For example, a scheme of town houses with a common service wall can be integrated into the model design. In case of shortage of land to provide to landless beneficiaries, the policy permits construction of multi-storied houses but this leads to conflict over the sharing of common areas. Additionally, the policy states that the State has to allot land prior to sanctioning of funds. Recommendation: Clear guidelines need to be developed to promote shared ownership of land in such spacestarved communities. (KPMG and NAREDCO, 2014)

Dept of Rural Development. (2015). Framework for Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin. Government of India.

KPMG, and NAREDCO. (2015). Decoding Housing for All by 2022.

Ministry of Home Affairs. (2011). India Census. Government of India.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. (2015). Housing for All- Urban Scheme Guidelines. Government of India.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. (n.d.). Guidelines for affordable housing in partnership.

Sarkar, A., Udayan Dhavalikar, Agrawal, V., and Morris, S. (2016). Examination of Affordable Housing Policies in India. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad.

Reservations - The scheme states that 60% of the reservation is for SC and ST. This can be a matter of conflict in areas where there are major shelter needs, but limited targeted SC or ST populations.

Tiwari, P., and Jyoti Rao. (2016). Housing Markets and Housing Policies in India. Asian Development Bank Institute.

Lack of expertise - The inspection process doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t involve a trained design expert. A technology team like that at the central level should be organized at the local level. Partnering with local design teams can prove beneficial. Another major issue is creating a system for maintenance of the new housing structures. This is a rare practice in rural areas.

Absence of local networks - The policy mentions that the Urban Local bodies are encouraged to form partnerships with local selfhelp groups, but there is no clear path laid down for the partnership. This issue can be overlooked by the local district development officer. The self-help groups may have an existing network of labor and an existing relationship with the beneficiaries. Agencies like AKAHI can extend their expertise by partnering with local bodies to increase their capacity, social impact and outreach.

Lack of e-literacy - The AwaasSoft App interface requires the user to update construction photographs for sanction of subsequent payments. This allows for many discrepancies, and this can adversely affect the progress and quality of construction.

Remote access to funds - The availability of an additional loan of INR 70,000 is an additional incentive for the beneficiary to complete construction. However, it is important to recognize the fact that there is a large population that remains financially excluded from the formal banking/financial systems and, in the process, is deprived of access to housing finance at this level.

Lack of supporting conditions - The current rural housing market is adversely affected by poor infrastructure in terms of roads, electricity supply, drinking water and sanitation. Availability of non-agricultural land to meet housing needs is also a challenge. The lack of vibrancy in the market for village properties and volatility in agricultural incomes combine to dampen the prospects of this sector.

PMAY-U Process

Actors

PMAY-G Process

Process

Actors

*Source: Housing for All Guidelines-Urban

Process

*Source: Housing for All Guidelines-Gramin

Chitravad

This publication is a preliminary summary and accounting of work conducted by graduate students in a workshop held at MIT. This report is not intended to be read as a comprehensive peer-reviewed document.