Sustainable City Form In India

Metropolis Commission Meeting 2

Barcelona, October 5-8, 2010

Chetan Vaidya and Satmohini Ray

National Institute of Urban Affairs
New Delhi, India

Sustainable City Form in India October 2009

 CONTENTS

 India
India’s
s Urban Scenario
 National Mission on
Sustainable Habitat
 Problem of
U
Unsustainable
t i bl Cities
Citi
 Sustainable City Form In
India
 Two Case Study Cities
 Potential Outcomes and
Conclusions
URBAN POPULATION TRENDS

 Total
T t l Urban
Ub P Population
l ti iin 2001 : 285 million
illi
 % Urban Population to total in 2001: 27.8%
 Decadal Growth (1991-2001): 31.2%
 Urban India contributed contributes to around
60% of GDP; likely to go upto 70% by 2030
 Concentration of Urban Population in large
cities
 India needs to improve its urban
infrastructure and governance to achieve
economic objectives
PROJECTED URBAN POPULATION: 2026

 Expected
p to increase from 286m in 2001 to. 534m
in 2026
 % Urbanisation will increase from 28% in 2001 to
38% in 2026
 11 mega cities by 2016
(with population above 4.0 million)
 By 2030, India will have 68 million plus cities ( Europe
has only 35)
 Different regions have different level of urbanization.
URBAN CHALLENGES IN INDIA

• Rapid
R id urbanization-inadequate
b i ti i d t infrastructure
i f t t
• Weak Urban Governance
• Supply of serviced land
• U
Urbanization
b i ti off Poverty
P t ( presentlytl 30% off
urban population poor; likely to increase)
• Weak financial base of urban governments
• Limited staff capacity
URBAN INITIATIVES IN INDIA
Recent initiatives of the government include:
• JNNURM- reform
JNNURM f linked
li k d iinvestment
t t program
• Market Based Financing/ PPP
• e-Governance
G in
i Municipalities
M i i liti
• Urban Transport Policy
• National Urban Sanitation Policy
• Service Level Benchmarking Program
• Citywide Slum Upgradation Program
• National Government Reform Link Support to Municipalities
• Setting up of Centers of Excellence in Urban Development
• Sustainable Habitat Mission
 Green Building
 Public transportation
 Solid Waste Management
 PEARL/JNNURM
Activities

• The PEARL website (India Urban Portal) to be linked

• Documentation of best practices on planning and
implementation of projects and reforms,
reforms innovations
etc.
• Newsletter (4 issues) – “PEARL
PEARL Update
Update” is ready.
• National and three Groups Workshops
• Twinning of Cities
• Helpdesk
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat –
JUNE 2010
Recognizing
R i i the
th importance
i t off urbanization
b i ti and d its
it vulnerability
l bilit from
f
climate change, National Action Plan on Climate Change had
proposed setting up of a National Sustainable Habitat Mission. The
Mission looks at:

(i) developing standardized eco eco-building

building norms to
promote energy efficiency;
((ii)) improved
p urban p
planning g byy integrating
g g land use and
transportation plans and focus on shift towards
public transport to facilitate growth of cities;
(iii) promoting sustainable waste management focusing
on reduce-recycle-reuse and waste-to-energy options.
IMPROVED PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Urban Transport Initiatives

• Metro Rail (MRTS) Projects,
• High-capacity Bus Systems,
• Comprehensive Mobility Plans by state
governments (this will get central financial
assistance upto 80%), and
• Compulsory Fuel Efficiency Labels.
Labels

15 cities have plans to modernize public transport

through fuel/energy efficient buses, improved
information system and prioritization of bus
movements;;
11 cities are already implementing the Bus Rapid
Transport (BRT).
6 cities are planning
g new metro rail systems,
y while
two cities have already set up Unified Metropolitan
Transport Authorities.
The problem with unsustainable cities

Zoning of different land Pl

Planning
i i
issues…
uses…
…poor quality
…longer distances to housing car
housing,
work, shop and recreate dominant cities,
reduction in urban
green spaces
Urban sprawl…
Urban disparities…
Rapid urbanization …

… poor civic
i i infrastructure,
i f t t d
decay off smallll cities
iti and
d slow
l iindustrialization
d t i li ti

Increase in ecological footprint

Hence unsustainable level of resource use…
SUSTAINABILITY AND URBAN FORM

Urban form: strong determinant of the ecological

footprint of a city.
A form is sustainable if it enables the city to function
within its natural and man made carrying capacities- is
user friendly for its occupants and promotes social
equity.
equity

Sustainable development is the development that

"Sustainable
meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report.

SUSTAINABILITY AND URBAN FORM

70% of delivered energy is subject to influence of land

use planning.
l i (B
(Barton,1990)
1990)
Sustainable development is…

Not just compaction Not just travel and fuel

of form but also consumption but also
-Size of the city -Ecology and wildlife
- mix of uses within -Natural resources
- block size and type -Social
Social conditions
-Structure of the city -Behavior of people
Not just building -Economic well being
scale
l but
b t also
l
-House
- block
-Neighborhood
g
-District
-Region
URBAN FORM
COMPONENTS MORPHOLOGICAL PARTS OF URBAN AREA

DENSITY

SHAPE

URBAN SIZE

MIXED USE

LAYOUT

LANDUSE AND TRANPSORTATION

OPEN GREEN SPACE DISTRIBUTION

RESEARCH STUDY
Sustainable City Form in India

Aim :
The study aims at achieving sustainable
development in rapidly growing cities in
India.
India

Lead Partners:
NIUA and Oxford Brookes University in
association with CEPT Universityy
Ahmedabad, School of Planning and
Architecture, Delhi.
OBJECTIVES

Investigate how urban form performs in

terms of sustainability with special reference
to India

Identify gaps in knowledge relating to

sustainable urban form, in Indian cities

Examine how policy is interpreted and

implemented at the local level

Identify gaps in policy and practice relating to

sustainable urban form in Indian cities

Prepare a strategy/ roadmap identifying action points

for stakeholders to attain sustainable city form
CASE STUDY SELECTION: Rajkot

• Organic city with a deep rooted and thriving history.

• 22nd fastest growing city globally (2006
(2006-2020
2020 period.)
• Highest recorded decadal urban growth in India.
• Important regional trade centre.
centre
• UKTI has also identified Rajkot as one of the eight
business opportunities’ cities in India.
‘business India
• Innovative land pooling- Town Planning (TP) Scheme
th t broadly
that b dl influences
i fl l d development
land d l t strategy.
t t
CASE STUDY SELECTION: Faridabad

• Central NCR town

• Good connectivity and most-populated city in Haryana
and contributes to nearly 60% of Haryana’s revenues
• Proximity to Delhi
• Industrial hub.
• Full
F ll land
l d acquisition
i iti model.
d l
• Emerged as the real estate hotspot
• Haphazard development in the city resulting in an
uneven built form

Research on Rajkot and Faridabad’s urban form and sustainable

interventions becomes topical and relevant as this would set an
example for the other million plus Indian cities.
Faridabad Rajkot

Location 32 km south of Delhi

Delhi, Location 250km West of
Haryana Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Total area 207.88 Sq Km (20,788 Total area 104.86 sq km (10, 486

ha) ha)
Total Population 1,055,938 (2001) Total Population 1,002,000 (2001)

No of wards 35 No of wards 23

Density 6129 persons/sq km Density 9556 persons/sq km

CASE STUDY -Rajkot

• 6 Schemes within
the city boundary
have been selected
for the detailed pilot
study.
y

• Selection criteria:
variation in density,
density
location from the
center of the city and
year of
implementation.
• Detailed physical form survey and 600
h/h surveys to understand quality of life
and linkages to urban form.
CASE STUDY –Faridabad

•Examination of the region around Faridabad to

4 areas have understand its overall linkage, interdependence
and
d role
l within
ithi its
it surroundings.
di
been
selected for •Subsequently zoom into the city, to understand
the morphology of the city at the local level and
the detailed identify relevant issues.
pilot study.
•Analysis
y of the p
physical
y form and city
y structure
to provide clues towards issues related to
sustainability.
 Faridabad
To Delhi

SURAJ KUND 

The city consists

TILPAT FIRING  of distinct
RANGE
RANGE 
Railway Line
R
character
h districts
di i
as marked on the
plan:

1. Old Faridabad
BADHKAL LAKE 
and old
Ballabhgarh –
organic
i towns
t
Mathura Roaad

2. Planned New
Industrial
Township (NIT)

3. The sector
BALLABHGARH
BALLABHGARH 
d
development
l t

To Agra  4. Industrial areas

NIT-N5 Neighborhood level study
Sector 30/31

No of households of selected area- 3672

Courtyard and mixed use type with attached No of households of selected area-2910
row houses, medium density with green open Irregular pattern of development with piecemeal
space in the center of each block development along streets

Sector 15 Old Faridabad- Sector 18

No of households of selected area

area- 1821 No off households
N h h ld off selected
l t d area – 1398
Mostly Detached houses and builder flats, Organic pattern and medium density with mostly
Sector development with planned grid iron courtyard type of houses
pattern of streets and a large central green
space in eachSustainable
sector City Form in India October 2009 Source: Google Earth
POTENTIAL
O OUTCOMES
OU CO S
AND CONCLUSIONS
•Identification of issue-based strategic
intervention areas (mixed land use,
d
density,
it t
transport-landuse
tl d li k
linkage, open
space distribution etc) and
recommendations for the future g growth of
these areas
• A meaningful
g strategy
gy for design
g of
new cities and redevelopment of existing
cities.
•Contribution to the decision and policy-
makers in terms of data base and
analytical understandings.
understandings
 THANK YOU

cvaidya@niua.org
sray@niua.org

www.niua.org
g
www.indiaurbanportal.in