Water Sensitive Urban Design by yoga_guna17

University of Sheffield School of Architecture ARC6982 Urban Design Project 3: Thesis Academic Year 2015/2016 Module leader: Beatrice De Carli

Water Sensitive Urban Design

How can cities be redesigned to appreciate the water resources?

Yogalakshmi Gunasekaran Registration no. 170214122

Supervisor: Claudia Lucia Rojas Bernal

Thesis submitted to the University of Sheffield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Urban Design and Planning

Sheffield, 6 September 2018

Abstract The thesis sets out to study crucial water related environmental issues faced by cities today, identify the underlying causes and provide potential solutions that may eradicate these problems in the future. The study was conducted at Chennai, a metropolitan city in the Southern part of India. The empirical part of investigation was conducted in June with the help of undergrad students on site. Data for this study were collected from several sources including but not limited to Government websites, planning authorities, research papers published in the past and journals. Using local and national data this study was designed to investigate and identify the current and past sources of water, consumption level and the course of human activities over several decades that has led to pollution and loss of waterbodies in the city. These data sets enabled the author to pinpoint the specific problems causing the issues. Following this, literature review was conducted to discern possible solutions used previously in similar situations. On the basis of results of this research a few context specific design strategies are proposed to combat the existing issues. It can be concluded that designing urban areas to be sensitive to natural resources adjacent to them can help prevent environmental issues in the long run.

Table of contents 01 Introduction 1.1 Research Questions 1.2 Methodology 02 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

Situating Chennai Chennai - a brief Introduction Urban Morphology vs Population Demographics Urban Challenges

03 3.1 3.2 3.3

History of Chennai Timeline A Cultural Perspective CMDA Master Plan

04 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

Reading Water in Chennai Kosasthalayar River Cooum River Adyar River Lakes

05 5.1 5.2

Adyar River Urban Tissue Geomorphology

06 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.3 6.4

Adyar Estuary Urban Tissue Grid Grain Connectivity - Permeability Biodiversity

07 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5

Design Case Study Edge Treatment Broadening the Edges Converging the Landscapes Landmark - Placemaking

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Firstly I would like to thank my parents for providing me this incredible opportunity to study master’s in UK. Next, I’m grateful to my supervisor Miss Claudia Bernal of the School of Architecture at University of Sheffield. The door to Prof. Bernal was always open whenever I needed assistance with my research. She consistently provided me with support and guidance when I was off track, took time off her work to understand the context I’m working on and made me think in a different perspective regarding landscape. I would also like to express my gratitude for my friends from Chennai who helped me carry out some empirical research. I’m grateful to them for spending time to help me with my thesis. I would also like to acknowledge other supervisors from School of Architecture who listened to our presentation during viva and provided some valuable insights to progress our thesis forward. Finally I must also appreciate all my friends and family who stayed with me through hard times, encouraging me, offering me unfailing support throughout this year. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you! Yogalakshmi Gunasekaran

01 Introduction The thesis sets out to study water related issues in Chennai, a city in India situated in the southernmost state of Tamilnadu. In the history of urban development water has played a pivotal role in shaping the cities. In early civilizations people started settling down around water bodies owing to the need for water for day to day needs. But over a period of time due to emergence of technologies and industrialization running water became an essential part in buildings so that there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any necessity to live close to water sources. This led to an ignorance that the water sources were exploited in small scale in the beginning which grew exponentially in years and has reached a state of irrevocable pollution. Several cities in the world faces water scarcity during summer while the same cities tend to face adverse flooding during monsoon season. The reason this contradiction exists is due to the negligence and exploitation of natural water resources in cities. Rapid urbanization has caused cities to expand and every parcel of land within the city is being utilized for construction purposes. While trying to meet the need for housing or built spaces planners take little care to preserve the water resources nearby. The rivers are culverted, the lakes are filled up and buildings are built over it. In some worst cases the rivers get polluted since sewage water from the nearby buildings are connected directly to them without a second thought. While polluting these valuable resources holding tons of water we struggle to meet the increasing necessity for water. By building over water bodies the natural flow of the water is disturbed which results in inundation of water in residential areas with potential health threats. It is high time that we design our urban areas responsive to water resources since water scarcity is a growing concern and depletion of freshwater resources does not seem like a far-fetched notion. The term water responsive urban design includes sustainable use of water, understanding the urban cycle of water resources, managing surface water, rain water and wastewater etc. It is a complex cycle of water resources and uses which are interdependent on each other. The thesis specifically focuses on understanding this interrelationship and seek to find solutions that can make urban design responsive to water from macro to micro level.

1.1 Research Questions By choosing this topic I want to study and understand how nature contributes to the physical fabric of a city and how the development of a city can affect the natural ecosystem and find strategies to implement so both the nature and the city can coexist. The following are the specific research questions this thesis focuses on â&#x20AC;˘ To what extent are water bodies exploited in cities while planning at present? â&#x20AC;˘ What are the strategies and tactics that can be employed for people and nature to co-exist? In general, when water bodies are affected it has a direct impact in the flora and fauna of the particular region. So, I believe by improving the water quality

1.2 Methodology The study involves qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the existing issues in Chennai. Initially to understand the water related issues in a city it is essential to understand the water demands for the city, how it is supplied, the source etc. In this case Chennai relies on three different water sources for supply which are ground water, metro water supply and lakes in and around the city. Further studying each source and its capacities it is understood that due to lack of maintenance of storm water drainage natural sources like rain water are wasted. The major three rivers running through the city are severely polluted. Apart from this there is also encroachment in water bodies due to expanding population. Since the scope of the thesis is limited the study is narrowed down to Adyar river. After in depth analysis of the history of pollution, sources of pollution, geomorphology etc. a case study method was approached to identify existing knowledge in this area and the solutions used in similar situations. In addition to this the culture, the urban realm, the people living nearby and other aspect of urban design was analyzed. With all the above said data it was possible to provide context-based strategies that would eradicate these ecological problems in the future.

another option for your process map

Figure 1: A mind map of methodology Source: Author 8

Figure 2: A View of Chennai Marina Source:pinterest

02 Situating Chennai Chennai the capital of the state Tamilnadu, is located in the southernmost part of India. Bay of Bengal on the East forms a natural edge for the city. Chennai dates back to 400 years when English colonized the area and built St Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fort. The city is basically an amalgamation of several small villages with different cultural heritage and diverse backgrounds. The temples, churches, colonial buildings constructed by British colonies certainly add to the heritage element of the city. The city flourishes is several aspects like automobile industry, business, IT etc. Due to these advancements everyday more and more people are moving to Chennai for employment causing it to expand further.

Figure 3: World Map highlighting India Source : Google

Figure 4: India Map highlighting Tamilnadu Source : Google 12

Fig. 1: World Map showing India Fig. 2: India Map showing Tamilnadu Fig. 3: Chennai Map with Site Location Fig. 4: Site Map

Figure 4: Tamilnadu Map Source : Google

Figure 4: Adyar Estuary Source : Stamen 13

Figure 5-12: Chennai Development map Source : CMDA

2.1 Cities

Chennai started as Madras in 17th century. After the construction of Fort St. George initially there was white town and black town. Later the villages around were united with Chennai to accommodate more people moving to Chennai. The maps here show the development in area over the centuries as well as the corresponding increase in population.

Fig. 1: Insert image caption here Fig. 2: You might need more than 1 caption

Figure 13: Chennai map Source : Google

2.2 Demographics To understand these problems in detail it is important to look at the population demographics of the city their consumption and the sources of water. Chennai city has a total population of 5 million people in an area of over 400 km2. The city is expanding and due to urbanisation, there is increase in population every year. For every thousand men there are nine hundred and fifty one women as of the latest census (Census 2011)

Figure 14: Demographics of Chennai Source : Hashtag Urbanism 16

2.3 Urban Challenges Chennai has hot and humid climate for a major part of the year with the temperature going up to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer and the weather can drop to 20-degree Celsius average in winter. Monsoon season is usually from October to November which is followed by winter from December to February. The rest of the year has usually tropical weather. Due to climate change the past few years Chennai has been experiencing extreme weather conditions in December. Due to cyclone depression from Bay of Bengal and severe storm and downpour most of the city is flooded. Ironically the same city faces water scarcity in summer. This is due to poor water management; the current water systems are not effective.

Figure 15 - 18: Flood in Chennai 2016 Source: Wikipedia

Figure 19 - 20: Water Scarcity in Chennai 2016 Source: DT next

Figure 21

Source: Author

Figure 22: Map indicating flood affected areas Source: Google

Figure 23: Map indicating water scarcity Source: Stamen

03 Post History of Chennai Colonisation

Figure 24: Madras Map Source: Wikipedia

Figure 25: M

Madras Map Source: Antiqua Print Gallery

To understand the current issues faced by Chennai today it is important to study the past and understand the causes. Chennai was called Madarasapattinam initially and was renamed Madras which was then changed to Chennai. For the first few centuries Fort St. George was the centre of reference for the city. During this period water transport was used through rivers. Rivers were not polluted to this extent.

History of Chennai Post Colonisation

Figure 26-27: Madras Old Photographs Source: Wikimedia

Figure 28: Madras Map Source: Antiqua Print Gallery 24

The British colony decided to construct a canal adjacent to the rivers connecting them. Sea water was used to fill the canals and this served for the North - South transport throught the city. But this contaminated the river water. But after independence the water transport system went dysfunctional. Since the canal is not a fresh water resource it became an outlet for sewage. In the following pages the historic timeline is traced with respect to Adyar river since it is the focus of this thesis.

3.1 Timeline Brodieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s castle was built by Brodie as a reminder of his castle in Scotland. The building has good views of the river and the Estuary. At present it is renamed as Thenral and used as music college.

Battle of Adyar was one of the significant events that happened close to the river. The battle was between French and British colonies. Indian armies supported English colony against the French. It happened near the Adyar Estuary. French army with ten times lesser soldiers won the battle and conquered the fort for a short period. (Hindu, 2012) Figure 29: Battle of Adyar Source: The Hindu

Figure 30: Brodieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Castle Source: Mapio.net

Buckingham canal was constructed in the 1800s. It provided a good medium of transport it connects all three major rivers in Chennai which will be discussed in later chapters.

Theosophical society is situated on the southern bank of the river. It was founded in New York and when the founders moved to Chennai Adyar became the headquarters of the society.

Figure 31: Buckingham Canal Source: Eyes on the Canal Figure 32: Theosophical Society Source: Theosophical society website

During late 1900s leather tanneries and other industries were established close to Adyar river. The wastes from these industries are being dumped into the river till date leading to severe pollution.

Since the population kept increasing year by year there was a need for more housing. To increase the space some of the lakes in the city were filled up and built over. T nagar which is a tthriving neighborhood was a lake a century ago. It is highlighted in red in the map. Saranathan, J(2015)

Figure 33: Image of lost Lake Source: Saranathan

Figure 34: Sewage waste released into Adyar River Source: TOI

The bridge which was constructed in 1967 to connect the land through the Adyar river drain was taken down by a massive flood in 1977. It was not rebuilt again and remains deserted now.

Figure 35: Broken Bridge Source: Monisha

During monsoon season major areas in Chennai floods in a day. In a way the reason for this is the encroachment of adyar ritvver and the lack of capacity of Chembarambakkam lake which will be explained in Chapter 4. Figure 36: Adyar Bridge Source: Wikimedia

3.2 A Cultural Perspective Apart from the historical events and timelines it is also essential to look at how people have used outdoor spaces in Chennai historically. For years people in India have associated themselves with water bodies through various festivals and celebrations. Here is a glimpse of different types of festivals and events that are based on water bodies and rivers. This is an important cultural factor. But this kind of events are now confined to temple tanks and beaches because rivers in the city are polluted beyond repair and people are not able to use it for taking a dip or soak their feet as they usually do. Though this is a religious factor it brings a cultural uniqueness to a city, its a part of century old heritage. In order to protect this and reconnect with out pasts it is essential to keep our water resouces clean and accessible.

Figure 37-48: Festivals in Chennai Source: Google

3.3 CMDA Master Plan The diagram is the proposed land use plan by CMDA (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority). It details different zones alloted by the government for different purposes. In this plan they allotted the coast line as the open space and recreational zone (CMDA, 2011).

Figure 49: CMDA master plan Source: CMDA

04 Water Sources in Chennai To understand the water issues in detail it is important to look at the population demographics of the city their consumption and the sources of water. Chennai city has a total population of 5 million people in an area of over 400 km2. The city is expanding and due to urbanisation, there is increase in population every year. The city consumes more than 200 million litres per day. Seventy percentage of this water is supplied by the fresh water lakes in and around the city. 20% of the water is supplied by metro water i.e. water supplied in tanker lorries and 10% of the water is from the ground water available.

4.1 Kosasthalaiyar River

Fig. 1: Insert image caption here Fig. 2: You might need more than 1 caption

Figure 50: Kosasthalayar River Source: Stamen

4.2 Cooum River

Figure 51: Cooum River Source: Stamen

4.3 Adyar River

As mentioned earlier since Chembarambakkam lake is the source of Adyar river, during monsoon when it overflows it floods the Adyar river which then overflows into the nearby low lying areas. As mentioned in Chapter 3 since a few areas are built on a lake they are low lying and becomes vulnerable to flood. To prevent this in future the capacity of the river should be increased.

Figure 53: Adyar River Source: Stamen

4.4 Lakes The five main lakes have reservoirs connected to the city by steel pipeline. The lakes are Sholavaram, Poondi, Puzhal, Chembarambakkam and Veeranam. While the first four are located close to the city extents veeranam is located 200 kms away from the city and its connected through a pipeline from a long distance. Though there are reservoirs in these lakes they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t well equipped to hold rain water during monsoon season. Releasing the water from these lakes is a major cause of flooding in the city. So, as we can see the filling up of the lakes, encroachments near the river thereby narrowing down its path has a major impact on flooding in the present day. Since the river is already polluted the water draining through it and filling up the nearby residential areas are polluted and render it unfit for daily use.

Figure 54: Lakes in Chennai Source: Stamen

Figure 55: Adyar River Source: Not that Sane blogspot

05 Adyar River Originating from Chembarambakkam lake adyar river runs through the city for 42 kms and drains at Bay of Bengal. The river has reduced in size due to encroachment for informal settlements. This not only affects the river but also affects the occupants staying next to it.

5.1 Urban Tissue

The Adyar river is home to a few historic mouments like Brodieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Castle, Chettinad Palace etc but there is also a juxtaposition of informal settlements in few areas. The people living in these settlements are affected most during monsoon.Slum near labour colony and Greenways road should be flood proofed by raising the dikes to a higher level and building houses behind it Prominski, M (2012). Figure 56 - 64: Adyar River Source: Krishna

Geomorphology`

The Adyar estuary has an interesting land form like an oxbow lake. These diagrams depict the way it might have formed over a course of hundreds of years (BBC, 2014). This forms an interesting land form with a few raised levels.

The slums highligh the slums occupy t gets narrow and los

Figure 65: Adyar River Geomorphology Source: Google

Figure 66: Adyar River Source: Cadmapper

hted in page 47 are shown here. The people living in the river bed when water is low. As a result the river ses its capacity to hold water.

Encroachments

Figure 67: Adyar River Encroachments Source: Cadmapper 49

Figure 68: Aerial view of Adyar Estuary Source: instagram 50

06 Adyar Estuary - Site Study

Adyar estuary is a challenging site since it has a varying terrain with a moving water body on one side and still water on the other side. The middle land mass is almost an island with a connection to the rest of the area. Since there are good views from the site it has increased the land value. The following analyses will show that the area mostly has luxury houses, multi story office buildings and monuments. The water front is not accessible to everyone its not inclusive to the people living in the slum nearbly.

6.1 Urban Tissue

Fig 69-83: Urban Tissue of Adyar Source: Krishna

Fig 84: Map of Adyar Estuary Source: Cadmapper

GridGrain 6.1 Map Map

The map of adyar estuary has a fine grain. The buildings are well spaces out avoiding congestion, there are a few multistorey buildings

and

induvidual

houses.

The

buildings in the edge of the river has a good view of waterfront.

Fig 85-86: Grid and Grain of Adyar Estuary Source: Cadmapper

6.3 Grid Map

The grid of the Adyar estuary is well connected from within and to the rest of the city. The land area here houses residential and office buildings and a lot of open areas. But the edge of this landform is not visible from human level. This is due to lack of access to the waterfront.

6.3 Connectivity and Permeability

The site has one main road which acts as the connector for all the other pathways.

Main Roads

Pedestrian

Public Transport

Fig 87-88: Connectivity and permeability map of Adyar Estuary Source: Cadmapper

Though the site is not physically permeable in certain areas visual permeability is brilliant.

Physical Permeability

Visual Permeability

6.4 Biodiversity The following pages show the increase and decrease in number of species in Adyar Estuary for the past five decades. Due to pollution a lot of species donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist anymore. To reduce the extinction of fishes and birds and protect their environment. When the qualiity of the water recedes the fishes or any other species depending on it becom9

Biodiversity Timeline

Fig 89 - 91: Bio diversity graphs Source: Autho

07 Design Strategies

7.1 Case Study 7.2 Edge Treatment 7.3 Broadening the Edges 7.4 Bridging the Gap

Fig 92: Adyar River Source: Cadmapper

7.1 Case Study The book River Space Design had a number of examples and several projects of river space design.

Fig 93: River Design Source: River Space Design

The bridge project by BIG based in Sweden is to design a bridge that letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people interact with the nature. It can be used for both vehicular transport and pedestrian activity.

Fig 94: Bridge Design Source: BIG

Fig 95: Edge Design Source: Author

Fig 95 - 96: Bridge Design Source: Author

Fig 95 - 96: View of Design Source: Author

Fig 97: Design Map Source: Author

Fig 98: Design Map Source: Author

Fig 98 - 101: Design Source: Author

Fig 102: Design Map Source: Author 84

Figure 103 - 109: Adyar Estuary Source: Krishna 86

Figure 110: Adyar Estuary Source: Author

Figure 111: Design Source: Author 89

Figure 112: Design Source: Author

Figure 113: Design Source: Author

The concept illustrated here indicated the step by step process of design. To enable connectivity between both ends and signify transition a platform is suggested which is then raised to give way for passing boats. The resulting structure will be a fusion between bridge and a building. with the functions of pedestrian walkway, camping area, learning hub and an observation deck.

Figure 114-123: Design Concept Source: Author

Figu

ure 124: Design Source: Author

Figure 125: Design Source: Author 99

100

Figure 126: Design Source: Author

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08 Conclusion The main aim of the current study is to examine the impacts of human activities on water bodies. The second aim of the study is to find solutions for man to coexist with nature. It is evident from the research that the pressing environmental issues should be addressed right away before it takes its toll against humans again. In this case Chennai has already been affected by severe monsoon season and scarcity due to ignorance towards maintaining water resources. The latter part of the thesis explores the relationship between people and water in the specific context. It is also vital that the knowledge of protecting the water resources should be passed on. Keeping all this in mind a few strategies were proposed. If these were to be implemented the relationship between residents in a city and water bodies will naturally improve. The capacity of rivers can be increased significantly which will recharge the ground water. If the current lifestyle of disposing the sewage in rivers, exploiting the natural resources continues the environmental issues that we may face in the future would be hard to recover. Further investigation and experimentation regarding coexisting with nature should be encouraged in the future.

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References / Bibliography

Books Cullen, G., 1971. The concise townscape, Abingdon: Architectural Press. Dreiseitl, H. & Grau, Dieter, 2005. New waterscapes [electronic resource] : planning, building, and designing with water Expanded and rev., Basel, Switzerland ; Boston: BirkhuĚ&#x192;ser. Gehl, J. & Koch, J., 1993. Life between buildings. Journal of urban history, 20(1), p.133. Mathur, A. & Cunha, Dilip da, 2001. Mississippi floods : designing a shifting landscape, New Haven ; London: Yale University Press. Mathur, A. & Cunha, Dilip da, 2014. Design in the terrain of water, San Raphael: ORO editions. Mathur, A. & Cunha, Dilip da, 2009. Soak : Mumbai in an estuary, New Delhi: Rupa & Co. Prominski, M., 2012. River, space, design [electronic resource] : planning strategies, methods and projects for urban rivers, Basel: BirkhuĚ&#x192;ser. Reed, C. & Lister, Nina-Marie E., 2014. Projective ecologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts] : New York, NY: Harvard University Graduate School of Design ; Actar Publishers. RMIT University. School of Architecture Design, Landscape urbanism., Melbourne: RMIT Press. Schindler, D.W., 1999. Management of lakes and reservoirs during global climate change. Limnology and Oceanography, 44(6), p.1594. Trancik, R., 1986. Finding lost space : theories of urban design, New York ; Chichester: John Wiley.

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Websites and Articles bbc.co.uk (2014). Bitesize Geography [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ bitesize/standard/geography/rivers/river_forming/revision/2/ casmbenvis.nic.in (2017). Adyar Estuary [Online] Available at: http://www.casmbenvis. nic.in/Database/Adyar_estuary_10567.aspx Jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com (2015). Lost Lakes of Chennai [Online] Available at: http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2015/08/lost-lakes-of-chennai.html

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