SHEHER_ISSUE#1_OCTOBER

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issue #01, September 2019 Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi, India

Front Cover - Chandigarh Capital Region, India Title and Front Cover design- Anshul Abbasi Rear Page Illustration credit -Naumaan Imran Khan

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SHEHER- ‘Strategies for Habitat, Economic, Heritage and Ecological Regeneration’ is an initiative by the Alumni Association of Urban Regeneration -AURA (M.arch), Faculty of Architecture & Ekistics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. This quar terly publication has been initiated to highlight the pressing issues existing in urban areas and provide solutions in form of policy/ program analysis, planning strategies and design interventions. The aim is to create awareness and provide a platform for exchange of ideas, suggestions and forming collaborations for regeneration.

Sheher primarily looks at sharing learning and on ground experiences of the Urban Regeneration alumni, from thesis and research topics of the current batches to featuring events/accomplishments of the AURA members. It also has a dedicated guest column inviting contributions from urban professionals from diverse backgrounds to bring for th new understanding and innovative concepts.

“Our mind and body needs regeneration regularly and so do our cities.”

So let’s converge and innovate in a collective effor t towards ‘SHEHER’.

In dino garche dakkan me hai bade qadr-e-sukhan Kaun jaye ‘ZAUQ’ par dilli ki galiyan chor kar

-Md Ibrahim Zauq

[We have heard that poetry is greatly valued in Deccan these days, but Zaauq who could bear to leave behind the alleyways of Delhi]

Content

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guest column| CONTEXTUALIZING URBAN REGENERATION Arunava Sarkar

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policy matters| THE MISSION URBANIZATION Ishleen Dheer

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avenues and opportnitiespost M.Arch[UR]| ISCF 2019, SMART CITIES MISSION Anshul Abbasi

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young achievers| SRINAGAR TO BAHAUS Sabreena Ashraf

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revisiting thesis| BHENDI BAZAAR: INTEGRATING THE CHARACTER WITH CONTEMPORARY TIMES, CHANGE WITHOUT CHANGE Adnan Ahmad

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revisting studio| BUILDING UP A REGENERATION, CASE OF CHANDIGARH CAPITAL REGION, USING MEDICINAL PLANTS AS CATALYST Anshul Abbasi

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indigenous urbanism| URBAN DESIGN WORKSHOP, LEH: BUILDING AN URBAN DATABASE Intekhab Alam

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article| VERTICAL GREENS, A SILVER LINING FOR BANGALORE? Shama Parween city lens| DIGHA, WEST BENGAL Intekhab Alam roll of honour| CLASS OF 2016-2018

from the desk of ....

Arunava Sarkar |module_b@yahoo.com

CONTEXTUALIZING URBAN REGENERATION

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he discipline of urban regeneration is a relatively young profession. Urban regeneration owes its origins to the mid 19th century, when industrial revolution lead to severe environmental degradation of inner cities prompting planners and policy makers address the escalating menace of urban blight and degradation through physical interventions. Since then, urban regeneration, as a discipline, has come a long way, but its history has strictly been a mixed one. There are resounding success stories like the post industrial regeneration of Bilbao but such grand experiments often ended up with extremely disastrous outcomes. From its very outset urban renewal/ regeneration/ redevelopment as a domain has been fraught with controversies, quite evident from its inability to agree to a strong singular definition and specify its own scope, boundaries and limitations. It is indeed a difficult subject to dwell upon; complicated, sensitive, often without any apparent solutions, contested by all possible counter-arguments, closely associated with negativity , war, destruction, decay, delinquency and disasters. The western approach towards urban regeneration has not been particularly successful; our experiences with post world war regeneration, their inability to deliver social justice, gentrification and affordability, have been a subject of skepticism among scholars and practitioners alike. Examples like the magnificent “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” where Jane Jacobs locks horns in an epic battle of planning ethics with Robert Moses, the New York City planner who had called for an expressway that would bridge lower Manhattan, plowing through SoHo, is representative of the dilemmas inherent in the urban renewal process- something which stands to this day.

So how can we deal with the philosophical undercurrents of urban regeneration? The answer is probably to “let it happen” rather than “make it happen”. This is a subtle change in perception which calls for a softer approach towards regeneration more attuned to its indigenous socio economic context. Clearly, even in a globalised world, every regeneration project need not be a financial center, themed destination or a cultural hotspot where the needs of the local residents are marginalized in favor of maximizing economic returns to the “Global Capital” for which it acts as a launching pad. Rather, a society led regeneration process, deeply ingrained in its sense of place (genius loci) may be a more prudent direction, especially in the Indian context where multiplicity and social equity are the recurrent themes. At Jamia Millia Islamia we have the most distinguished opportunity to look beyond the imported western models of regeneration and dig deep within our ethos to develop contextual solutions suitable for our ageing settlements.

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“So how can we deal with the philosophical undercurrents of urban regeneration? The answer is probably to let it happen rather than make it happen “.

At a fundamental level, Indian cities, as ingrained as they are in their spirit of historicity, epitomizes transformation and adaptation practiced over generations. Cities like Varanasi; the cradle of our civilization, has been an ardent witness to centuries of transformation. The perpetuity of life and the consistency of change are strongly reflected in its urban and social structure, representative of a well developed urban metasystem which has enjoyed positive transformations over centuries. At this very crucial juncture, as we are, transitioning within cycles of massive urban expansion, we should aim to learn from successful Indian models of regeneration before blindly adopting foreign models of adaptation and change. I am confident that the urban regeneration department at Jamia Millia Islamia will seize this unique opportunity

Above: Varanasi (formerly Banaras) lies on the banks of the Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh and is center for pilgrimage and tourism in India.

Source: Intekhab Alam

Arunava Sarkar is an architect with 13+ years of experience in master planning and large scale architecture projects. He has worked on prestigious Greenfield townships, urban regeneration projects, TOD hubs, retail destinations and institutional campuses in India, UK and the GCC region. Apart from the professional work, Arunava is actively involved in teaching through JMI, New Delhi as a course tutor for the M.Arch- Urban Regeneration Programme. Arunava regularly contributes to research through his association with professional organizations like the International Society of City and Regional Planners, Hague , American Planning Association- Chicago , Architectural Association-London and Institute of Urban Designers –India.

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policy matters

Ishleen Dheer |ishleen.kaur.dheer@gmail.com

THE MISSION ‘URBANIZATION’

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did my Masters in Urban Regeneration in the year 2016. With six flagship missions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched in the previous year, India was looking at a radical shift in the way development was happening in 4041 urban centres. Time was ripe for “change” backed by political will and ambitious city visions. Technology, smart, swachh, inclusive and liveable were the buzz words promising Indian urban masses a future thriving with opportunities and quality of life. Our own vision of growth was aligned with the idea of flourishing Smart cities booming with opportunities, innovations and big ideas.

Five years down the line, it is still a utopian idea. Indian cities have become test bed for technological innovations and city planning and design reforms. The idea of ‘Smart’ has been propagated and technology has gained prominence in the urban centres of India, like never before.

This column is a first of the series presenting a quick and broad assessment of what went right and what we can do better to make ‘smart’ as well as more responsive and liveable cities.

Smart Cities Mission Abuzz with a fresh vision to transform existing urban centres into ‘smart’ cities using technological solutions integrated into city planning and design, the mission aimed for shaping urban environments that are economically robust, environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. The mission was designed to cover 100 cities of India starting from metros to state capitals, the rapidly transforming tier 2 cities and cities of cultural and historical importance. It was a pivotal step towards giving the decision making power to cities and its residents, providing them opportunity to remodel how their city looks and feels.

In these five years, India has seen a number of path-breaking 3

development models, yet there remains a scope to improve. Below are some wins and slips of the Smart cities Mission: Freedom to choose: The mission gave an autonomy to cities to choose their priority areas with and for the first time citizen participation became an important part of the city vision. This led to advent of a number of innovative concepts such as child friendly smart city of Bhubaneswar, Pune’s vision of the most liveable city or making a vibrant and inclusive Belagavi.

Suddenly, these 100 mission cities became the epicentres of urban innovations.

At the area level, the mission provided alternatives in the form of redevelopment, green field development or introducing technological solutions, all striving towards making these cities economically lucrative attracting opportunities and investment, Integrated approach: Rather than focusing on developing only mega infrastructural projects, the mission adopted a comprehensive model of development focusing on planning and design strategies, upgradation of basic infrastructure, housing, better mobility and walkable streets, while also making cities more humane and responsive to the needs of vulnerable sections.

Unconventional ideas: How much so ever ambiguous it sounds, the mission guidelines stated that there is no universally accepted definition of a smart city.

“It means different to different people, different cities and different countries.”

The conceptualisation of Smart City, therefore, varied from city to city, depending on the level of development, willingness to change and reform, resources available and aspirations of the city residents.

A number of smart cities used this window of opportunity to come up with development strategies and technological solutions like smart bike sharing systems, complete streets to developing blue

green master plans. The implementation of Smart Cities Mission brought forth a number of projects and strategies which can be replicated in other cities.

It also drew attention to the huge gaps in our urban systems and the effort required for changing the established patterns of development.

While the mission is still on an upward trajectory, following factors can impede the intended progress: Disconnect between urban realities and the mission implementation: Indian cities are transforming rapidly and tier 2 cities are the new centres, attracting flow of economy and people.

While this has been instrumental in modulating the migration patterns and resource flow from big cities to smaller cities, the inherent trade-economy-services and industry ecosystem already established in these cities has been overridden by the aspiration and strong interest of developing infrastructure and technology. In hindsight, these mega-projects uproot the local systems effecting the dependent population.

Thus it is important for smart cities to consider the contextual setting and address the local needs of housing, mobility, open spaces, water, sanitation etc. including the new demands that arise with the emerging technology and infrastructure development.

Then only will these cities will be for all rather than serving a specific section of people.

Digital divide: The cities selected under the mission have become labs for new technologies and innovations. A lot of promotion has been done around making cities ‘Smart’ by introducing technological element like command and control centres, surveillance, water meters, intelligent transport etc. However, besides the growing smart phone usage, Indian masses still remain technologically ignorant. the mission doesn’t acknowledge the time it would take for people to get accustomed to the new

infrastructure becoming a part of their everyday life. This specifically effects urban poor, aged and women.

Therefore, educating and building capacities of people is instrumental for making these services and technologies accessible to all.

Low capacities of ULBs: Restructuring the ULBs is imperative to get the implementation part right, more so for Smart cities Mission. Considering the projects being developed under the mission require an overall institutional structure and technical capacities, many cities have formed joint ventures and SPVs. However, this cannot discount the role of urban local bodies and implementation agencies in taking forward the development narrative. Enhancing their technical capacities and that of various other allied departments in the city can help in understanding and implementing changes in an efficient way, also supporting in future sustenance of the mission initiatives.

The pace of development has definitely gained momentum in the last five years and cities have been riding high on the priorities of the national government. With a few modifications and a robust implementation mechanism, the future cities of India can set global benchmarks for development.

And as it has been famously reiterated “ No country is perfect, we all have to come together and work towards making it perfect.”

Above: Children invited for wall painting under Bhubaneswar ‘child friendly’ smart city initiative, source: @Smart Bhubaneswar twitter handle)

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avenues and opportunities post M.Arch [UR]

ISCF 2019,

SMART CITIES MISSION Anshul Abbasi |abbasianshul@gmail.com

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SCF (Indian Smart City Fellowship) is a work-based learning program launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to provide young professionals from diverse fields of engineering, urban planning, architecture, information technology, education, finance and social sector with a platform to drive change. The competitive selection process saw 38 young professionals selected from over 3800 applicants. The selected fellows underwent an intensive 2-week long induction program post their joining.

Through this one of a kind induction program, they were oriented about the mission and its philosophy and were sensitized on a plethora of issues and challenges faced by urban India. This induction program was also a platform for the fellows to interact with experts and professionals already working on various issues associated with urban areas.

The cohort has equal gender representation and comprises of young professionals with diverse backgrounds and a multitude of perspectives who engage with the Government and work on urban India’s pressing issues and challenges to come up with innovative solutions in resolving them. Post induction,12 key projects were identified by the fellows, from the focus areas of the National Urban Policy Framework, 2018. The most compelling challenges in Urban India were considered and effective and sustainable solutions were devised by visiting all the 100 Smart Cities. These ideas will be now demonstrated as urban laboratories/ pilot projects to be replicated across all the mission cities.

Anshul Abbasi completed his B. Arch in the year 2016 and went on to pursue masters in Urban Regeneration from JMI. He worked as an architect and part-time lecturer after completing his masters. An urban regeneration professional and ecology enthusiast, Anshul is presently involved in India Smart Cities Fellowship at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, working on developing a Traffic monitoring tool as a part of team PLAN.

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young achievers

SRINAGAR TO BAHAUS Sabreena Ashraf |sabreenaashraf@gmail.com

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ultural Landscape and Urban Resilience focuses on the growing need for ‘sustainability’ of Urban areas and approaches than can be taken to make them resilient. as the name suggests helps in learning about several aspects of urban resilience from an environmental and cultural perspective through different tools, scientific methods and analysis, including GIS-techniques, from a macro level (integrated urban development and urban sustainability) to the micro level (urban heat islands) as well as the analysis of different construction typologies in relation to risks of flooding, earthquake, climate change etc. Thus, it helps to develop an understanding of urban resilience that connects both man-made as well as natural conditions in the urban context, from urban the (macro) to the building level (micro).

I presented my M.Arch Urban Regeneration thesis entitled “Regeneration of Water based settlement of Srinagar” , at the Bahaus summer school, my work is based on the degrading condition of waterbodies of Srinagar and their direct implication on the settlement. The main focus was on the communities living on these waterbodies with their socio-economic dependencies on these waterbodies.At the summer school I shared strategies for coping with climatic threats in Srinagar. The programme is open to all students (bachelors for 6th semester and masters) and professionals in spatial discipline such as architecture, engineering, urban and spatial planning, cultural social and economic geography, real estate development etc. Sabreena is among the 25 candidates selected from India for the programme based on SOP (statement of purpose), CV (curriculum vita) and Portfolio (containing at least three relevant projects) other partcipating countries include New York, Istanbul, Sao Paulo – Brazil, Tunisia – North America, Korea, Egypt etc.Each one has a different case to present with some unique as well as similar issues.

It is an opportunity to work with them and learn from their experiences.It focuses on interdisciplinary and global context of planning, it helps in learning different approaches and urban typologies and to access them in a border perspective thus enables to form and design in different geographical and cultural systems.

Above: At the summer school

Sabreena presenting her thesis topic to the partcipants.

Source: Bahaus Summer School, Instagram handle

Srinagar being my home town,I have grown up around these beautiful waterbodies.

The city is fortunate to be rich in fresh water resources. However, looking at the current degenerating condition of these waterbodies, it is important to take action before it is too late. I want to work on ground towards the regeneration these waterbodies and my thesis was the first step towards it.

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re-visiting thesis

Adnan Ahmad | ar.adnanahmad@gmail.com

B H E N D I B A Z A A R : INTEGRATING THE CHARACTER WITH CONTEMPORARY TIMES: CHANGE WITHOUT THE CHANGE

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hendi Bazaar is one of Mumbai’s oldest areas and lies right in the heart of the old city. It comprises of mostly mixed use tenanted houses, many of which were constructed before 1950.

It still remains one of South Mumbai’s busiest commercial belts and spiritual home to Bohra community. These neighborhoods have structural unity and give a general impression of relative orderliness and homogeneity. The area overall is well-knit and has dense urban character. The streets are vibrant with activities with each lane recognized by different activity and shops. The place is also home to famous informal markets namely Chor bazaar and Jumma bazaar.

In course of time, the increased density, low rents and lack of maintenance have plagued the area with dilapidated structures and redundant infrastructure leading to urban decay. The Bohra Community constituting60% of the population of Bhendi Bazaar had initiated a redevelopment plan which is being developed under the cluster redevelopment scheme by Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT). Though it aimed to change the quality of life of people through redevelopment of the cluster; the scheme looks at changing the overall character of the area by replacing the existing fabric, skyline and community structure by high end multi storeyed housing cum commercial complex.

“Once the fabric of a just society is undone, it takes generations to weave it back together.”

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”The need of the hour is sensitive and r

regeneration through which the cultural heritage, community bonding can be con most importantly every stakeholder is incl process and supported by it.”.

building use plan

building height

space available

activity mapping

responsible l character, nserved and luded in the landuse plan

figure ground map

Documentation Structur

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e Plan

Each Structure plan was developed to create people centric plan where community bonding, street activity and pedestrian movement played major role. A number of punctures were created acting as recreational space for people. Concentrating high rise development at one end of the area and subsequently creating an edge for smooth flow of the traffic was envisaged in the overall planning scheme.The idea was to restore maximum heritage buildings, retain the street character and provide consolidated green spaces.

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Proposal

current status Five years since the proposed redevelopment by SBUT , the project is already in implementation stage and one of the towers is in construction phase (as shown in the photograph).

The building stands alone in isolation and with many more to come, we are looking at a high rise concrete jungle in near future. �While the development may benefit individual residents, it won’t do the same for businesses, as the large retail spaces indicated in development plans will take away the charm of the original cultural character, small stake holders and informal markets. Bhendi bazaar is going to become just another residential cum commercial redevelopment project and loose its historic significance, community bonding and intangible heritage. �

The need of the hour is sensitive and responsible regeneration through which the cultural character, heritage, community bonding can be conserved and most importantly every stakeholder is included in the process and supported by it.

Above: Ongoing construction work on site.

Source: Indian Express

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re-visiting studio

Anshul Abbasi |abbasianshul@gmail.com

B U I L D I N G U P A R E G E N E R AT I O N CASE OF CHANDIGARH CAPITAL REGION USING MEDICINAL PLANTS AS A CATALYST.

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handigarh has always been known for its efficient planning, street design, and walkable neighbourhoods. However, only a few people besides the local population are aware of the trees and plants present along the 7 Vs (street heirarchy) of the city.

Access to health couldn’t have been imagined in a better way than lining the streets all across the city with medicinal trees and plants.

During my masters, an exercise was done to identify all the medicinal trees growing in the Chandigarh Capital Region which was followed by their mapping. A similar exercise was carried out where the twelve most common diseases were identified in the Chandigarh Capital Region. These diseases were plotted on the map in different zones with respect to their impact. Mapping was done to identify the areas with particular diseases along with their intensities.

Understanding the ‘graphic’ The graphic represents different zones in the region with expanse and intensity of major diseases, which is then overlaid with the availability of medicinal plant and its ability to cure the disease to depict the potential resources in the region. (The point where the vertical and horizontal colors are same represents the solution for the diseases with the help of particular medicinal plant.)

Benefits of the study Conducting this study of quantifying and mapping medicinal plants helped us to analyze a relationship between physiographic features, socio-cultural conditions and the status of health in the region.

Further analysis and mapping availability can help to frame a management plan that would stimulate the process of maintaining the ecology of the region and further establishing new prospects of economic development in the area by utilizing these resources for medicinal purposes. Moreover, by establishing the importance of these neglected herbs, the currently diminishing greens of the area would be retained.

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indigenous urbanism

Shiekh Intekhab Alam |ar.intekhab@gmail.com

U R B A N D E S I G N W O R K S H O P, LEH BUILDING AN URBAN DATABASE

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he cold desert town of Leh is now one of the most sorted tourist destination in India, specially indian tourists coming in large numbers, Once a compact Himalayan settlement Leh town is growing in all directions to cope up with the floating tourist population. The region is ecologically fragile and the impact of the growing tourism and commercialization can be countered with sensitive planning and designing of the area.

To bridge the gap between academics and society a ten day workshop was conducted in Leh city with Architecture Students from across India. Eighteen partcipants participated in the workshop the basic intention of which was to document the city and come up with Urban Database of the city which can help in initiating a dialogue with planners, govt officials, NGO’s and the people of Leh. Conducted in the first week of July 2019 it aimed to study the impacts of growth and tourism on this small Himalayan settlement. The entire study was carried out covering major layers of architecture, demography, public spaces, streetscapes and basic infrastructure, while documenting all of this in video clips too. Each group of students had to pick up one of these layers and study the delineated area looking at the existing conditions and identifying the issues at hand. With an overall understanding developed through this, the students came up with ideas and broad proposals to resolve and address the identified issues.

The old Leh area, just at the foothills of the Leh Palace was documented with its salient features while looking at the issues that were arising in these core areas. Subsequently, the new developments coming up and shaping the land in a different way were also studied under same layers to bring out the comparison between the old and the new.

This study surfaced many aspects regarding the social and cultural loss along with architectural changes in the new developments.

The disassociations and consequential problems arising due to these changes and developments were identified and attempts to find solutions in terms of policies and design guidelines were proposed by the participants.

Mr. Nazir Din who is native of Shey, Ladakh with Intekhab Alam and Maithily Velangi (Assistant Professor) at BMS College of Architecture conducted this workshop, the study was then exhibited and discussed with people from Municipality, NGO’s and community representatives at the last day at Central Asian Museum, Old Leh Town. The work done in the workshop was appreciated by the prominent guests who were invited for jury as part of the workshop.

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.5 0 NORTH

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UNITS IN METRES

Above: Hand Drawn sketch of one of the houses

in Old town, Leh, The heritage and historical significance of the Old town of Leh is under serious threat due to rapid urbanization.

Below : Elevation Mapping of Leh Main Bazaar, done by the public spae group to understand the morphology of the settlements. The facades are changing rapidly due to lack of architectural controls and awarenes.

Source: EMARA Architecture and Urbanism

slope of drain

high

main collection point

medium

and water pumps low pipeline connected to water pumps

S ol i d Was te M anag ement i n Ol d Leh Ci t y Effective waste management throughmunicipal solid waste composition studies is important for numerous reasons, including the need to estimate material recovery potential, to identify sources of waste gen processing equipment, to estimate physical and chemical properties of the waste PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

D rain age s ys tem plan i n Ol d l e h Ci t y Drainage system in the old town is now almost abandoned, the natural system is now slowly being replaced by pipe water supply and draiange

very low

resedential buildings

religious buildings

R oad hei erac y The streets of Leh old city are narrow and pedestrianized, but unfortunately the street character of old Leh is degrading.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Loc at ion o f religio u s a n d re si de nt i a l b ui l di n gs The location of the settlements was selected so that agricultural production and the availability of grazing fields was possible. Initially,the houses were intimately connected to the needs of an agrarian society .

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article

Shama Parween |khanshama1910@gmail.com

VERTICAL GREENS:

A SILVER LINING FOR BANGALORE?

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he Silicon Valley of India viz. Bangalore is one of the fastest growing Indian metropolis with a population of more than 12.34 Million. The ever expanding urban boundary, rampant growth of construction industry, fanatical reduction in vegetation and mindless reclamation of urban lakes has not only added to urban heat Island effect but also increased the pollution level remarkably. The study by urban emissions shows that the city’s pollution level is three times, World Health Organization’s safety limit.

The city, once known as the garden city has lost more than 50% of its green cover in the last 40-50 years. The city had 262 major lakes and water bodies in 1960’s , is now left with only 81 lakes out of which only 32 are recognized as live lakes.

Fortunately, in the last few years, there has been some awareness among the residents, social organizations, institutions and government bodies. Different social and environmental groups have taken initiatives for conservation and cleaning of water bodies in the city.

Another innovative and interesting measure to curb pollution and ever increasing temperature of urban areas, Urban greening has been implemented in different parts of the city. Though at a small scale presently, but these green features are a ray of hope for the city and its residents. Vegetation helps in reducing the heat energy absorbed and solar heat gain through walls, windows and roofs by providing shading and reduces long wave heat exchange with the sky. It also helps in latent cooling by addition of moisture to the air through evapotranspiration. Studies conducted have proved that urban greening helps in reducing the air temperature by 1.5 -2.5 degrees Centigrade within the urban areas. Studies conducted by CES, IISc Bangalore have established a necessity of at least 8 trees per person. Unfortunately, in Bangalore City only 16 trees are available per 100 people.

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Above: Image of hosur road flyover pillars used

for vertical gardening, this is one of the many initiatives to increase the green area in the city of Bangalore.

Source: Times of Bangalore, July 20, 2019

Right: Mexico City’s Via Verde scheme has led to

the installation of vertical gardens on 1,000 pillars of a busy motorway.

“Vertical greens is not

a new concept, starting from the hanging gardens of Babylon (a combination of roof garden & vertical garden) to the greening of facades during art nouveau period, numerous examples can be cited from history.�

Urban greens refers to all form of vegetation from street vegetation, parks, gardens, green walls, roof gardens and any other green landscape element. Urban greens can be categorized into two type’s namely horizontal greens and vertical greens. Most of the urban greening examples falls under the first category. Vertical greens can also be termed as vertical gardens, green walls, and breathing walls.

Vertical greens is not a new concept, starting from the hanging gardens of Babylon (a combination of roof garden & vertical garden) to the greening of facades during art nouveau period, numerous examples can be cited from history. In the last few decades with the advancement in hydroponics, improved vertical drip irrigation system and deployment of IOT devices has made vertical greening easier and innovative.

In Bangalore, one of the first initiatives of urban greening was taken in 2017 by a NGO named Say Trees, which started with installation of vertical gardens on the piers of Hosur road flyover. Similar installations were also carried out at Yeshwanthpur flyover and MG road.

Another excellent example of urban greening with combination of horizontal and vertical greening can be seen at Samsung Opera House at Brigade road. The urban greening measures have greatly impacted the ambience and environment of these urban spaces.

In recent years installation of green walls or green facades can be seen in numerous Corporate and educational buildings along with few residential projects as well.

It has been observed that that the maintenance of these vertical gardens is the major issues especially for the ones installed under flyovers. As per the reports by Bangalore Mirror, Yeshwanthpur flyover vertical garden, plants started withering just after a month of installation. The main reason for the failure was poor maintenance, along with theft of the pots at lower levels. Also it has been noticed that the plants at lower level are more susceptible to pollution and heat generated by the traffic, resulting in quick drying.

Similarly, the hydroponic vertical garden installed under MG road metro station pier also dried up even though it requires 90% less water than the conventional vertical garden. Here as well, the reason for failure was lack of maintenance and negligence by the authorities.

Considering the fact that the vertical greens help in reducing pollution and lowering the temperature along with creating an ambient environment these can be a promising solution for Indian cities. The failure of these projects in Bangalore can be a learning experience for future. First of all maintenance and care taking of these vertical greens should be resolved followed by judicious selection of plants. As our cities are growing vertically, one can say that, vertical greens might be the need of the hour.

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city lens

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igha is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. It is the most popular sea resort in West Bengal. Digha’s old beach is not as wide as it used to be due to heavy soil erosion. Big stones and concrete steps are used to hold together the beach. Another problem is the record number of storm surges that have caused many of the unplanned shacks and smaller hotels to succumb to the sea. Since it is one of very few popular beaches in West Bengal, it gets overcrowded, especially during the cooler winter break.

Photographer: Intekhab Alam Location: Digha, West Bengal

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roll of honour

CLASS OF 2016-2018 1. A D I T I S A N D H U

Urban regeneration of Gandhi Nagar, East Delhi, New Delhi

2. A K A N K S H A S H A RMA

Urban regeneration of old market area: a case of Hapur city, Uttar Pradesh

3. FA RH EEN A L AM

Integrated territorial urban conservation, Najibabad, Uttar Pradesh

4. S AM I UL L A H CH A N D

Regeneration of defunct industrial zone of Howrah, West Bengal

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61 5 2 10 3

5. A RS H I WA RS I 7

Regeneration of central spine, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

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4

6. I QR A QA Z I 9

An urban regeneration approach for the redevelopment of wholesome markets; a case of azadpur mandi, New Delhi

7. K A N EEZ A I EMA RI ZV I

Re imagining the public realm through regeneration of transportation infrastructure, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

8. S H I VA N I

Regeneration of riverine ecosystem and urban water services of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh

9. TA Z YEEN A L AM

Regenerating balance between the water systems and human settlements a case of bagjolakhal in Kolkata, West Bengal

10. UN EB K H A N

Regenerating micro industrial sector of Firozabad glass industrial cluster, Uttar Pradesh

11. A K S H R A N A

Urban regeneration of har ki pauri precinct, Haridwar, Uttrakhand

12. A RI F K H A N

Heritage based urban regeneration of Kishangharh, Rajasthan

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issue #01, October 2019

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