Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By
HT086002X
Bachelor of Architecture
At the
April 2009
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
: To my loving wife who has been the soul and life behind all my efforts
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SUSTAINABLE URBAN DESIGN IN A DEVELOPING CITY
By
HT086002X
Abstract:
This study aims at identifying the key parameters of sustainable urban design in
the perspective of a developing city. The first part of the study introduces the
term sustainability and urban design to understand the word sustainable urban
developing city which has to balance the rapid urban growth and long term
sustainability and introduce the case study considered for the study, the city of
The second part of the study looks into various concepts of sustainability and
international conferences.
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The third part of the study identifies the key parameters of sustainable urban
design that are important in the case of a developing city and describes the
on the case study emphasizing on the present status and various potentials
and limitations.
The fourth part of the study identifies the key areas of sustainable design in
sustainable design with focus on Calicut and its various limitations and
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………..…8
2. Literature review…………………………………………………………………14
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4.2.1 Ecology
4.2.1.1 Necessity
4.2.1.2 Potentials
4.2.1.3 Conflicts
4.2.1.4 Limitations
4.2.2.1 Necessity
4.2.2.2 Potentials
4.2.2.3 Conflicts
4.2.2.4 limitations
4.2.3 Equity
4.2.3.1 Necessity
4.2.3.2 Potentials
4.2.3.3 Conflicts
4.2.3.4 Limitations
6. Conclusions………………………………….……………………………………43
7. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………45
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
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1 INTRODUCTION
The word “Sustainable design “has been used everywhere ranging from
factors. In urban design sustainability is a holistic mix of all these various aspects,
where each of these aspects are mutually interrelated and contribute on its own to
state1. Sustainability has become a complex term that can be applied to almost
every facet of life on Earth, particularly the many different levels of biological
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conservation and development. The important resources affected most by urban
design and development are land, particularly green areas, ecological systems
and bio-diversity, air, water, physical infrastructure, the built environment, human
health and well-being, social relations (‘social capital’) and cultural heritage.
‘Sustainability’ is mainly concerned with environmental issues and the long term
longer term economic growth with achieving social equity in ‘meeting needs’
through the equitable distribution of economic and social goods and, in particular,
the need for better and more knowledge and information about environmental
Urban design is defined as, first, the physical design and planning of the built
areas) in relation to the natural environment in and around built-up areas and,
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second, the production of concepts and models that serve the purpose of guiding
The challenge for urban design is to respond to the emerging patterns of urban
Growing prosperity and wealth and increasing demands for an improved quality
of life are reflected in the increasing consumption of land and space, demand for
privacy and better living conditions and access to green space. Urban design can
help provide the physical framework for overcoming differences and segregating
high quality of life for all people and subsequent generations, with equitable and
societies in the sense that they have to balance economic growth and
2
Urban Design for Sustainability, Final Report of the Working Group, European union
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environmental consideration even though they are not major contributors to
developed countries, developing countries have to pay more and more attentions
to such accessibility space in order to realize the same level of economic growth.
subsequent urban expansion. Perhaps nowhere are these factors more dominant
Calicut (Kozhikode) is a city in the state of Kerala, southern most tip of India.
Calicut is a coastal city with an urban population of 0.8 million with a decadal
growth of 9.67 % and an urban population density of 1000 p/sq.km, while state
avg.urban population density is 700 p/sq.km. The temperature within city limits
varies between 23 oC – 36 0 C.
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Fig:01 Location of Calicut city
Calicut is the erstwhile capital of powerful Zamorins and is a historical town with
a hoary past. The charming physical features and prosperity of the town attracted
travelers from all over the world. Being a major trade centre with abundant supply
of spices Calicut turned out to be a very important economic base for British in
south India. The development of Calicut in the post independence period (1947-
Calicut is a prominent city in the southern peninsula of India with a high potential
that are found to be important in the case of Calicut and similar type of cities.
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1.5 Research Methodology
The study starts with a set of research questions aiming at redefining sustainable
urban design to the context of Calicut based on the understanding of the author.
developing city
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2 LITERATURE REVIEW
The key aspects of Economy, Environment and Society are considered as the
three pillars of sustainable development. This view was predominant at the Earth
1992. One of the main outcomes of Rio was Agenda 21, intended to provide a
basis for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century. The tendency
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The ‘three-pole’ concept of sustainable development is the one that underlies the
Istanbul in 1996.
Sustainable development and urban design are indeed closely linked (C.
Mougthin, 2005). Some current concerns in urban design, such as the form of
urban space (gestalt), vitality and identity of urban areas, quality of urbanity,
respect for tradition and the preferences for developments of human scale, can
3
A study on city of Bandung
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that needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future
Development, 1987).
is concerned with cultural, social and economic progress. Secondly, the term
needs introduces the ideas of distribution of resources: “meeting the basic needs
of all and extending to all the opportunity to satisfy their aspirations for better life”
argument concerning the term needs, meeting needs is therefore political, moral
and ethical issue, since the meaning of needs for everyone will not the same.
requirements, this means that human activity should allow for its effect that may
have on the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations. The
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identify the direction of changes in consumption patterns that are necessary to
possible to outline the type of development that is more sustainable. The last two
principles equity and participation support the first two main principles of
emerged steadily through the 1980s. In the following years the proliferation of
escalating pollution and the destruction of biodiversity. Thus, urban design will
main aspects.
• Global ecology
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o air quality, climate, biodiversity, water, land, mineral and energy
resources
• Regional resources
heritage.
• Transport systems
• Energy
In the report submitted by the working group for studying urban design for
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• The reduction of the impact on the natural environment at the global scale
• Promoting the long term health of the citizens, including addressing the
for children).
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3 FORMULATION OF AN INDEPENDENT UNDERSTANDING
in a more cyclic, balanced way, and choosing forms of production that minimize
the use of resources and environmental pollution. Similarly, urban design for
The physical design of infrastructure and the built environment, and the way the
land is used and developed, noting that the value of land as agriculture area is
sustainability.
In this respect the concept of the ‘ecological footprint’ is helpful. There has been
sense that cities have been viewed as more unsustainable than rural areas, but
also in the positive sense that self-governing cities can be strong management
units that can take positive steps at the local level, particularly through Local
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The 1990 Commission Green Paper on the Urban Environment focused on
• congestion
• pollution and
Sustainable urban design is a process whereby all the actors involved (national,
pride, social equity, cohesion, integration and identity at the local and
wider scale.
efficient way possible, reusing land and empty property within the
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urban sprawl: compactness of the city at a human scale as a local
development pattern.
city regions, networks and urban corridors and systems and their
development trajectory, and treats the urban and rural landscape of the
• Promotes mixed land use to make best use of the benefits of proximity
• Has sufficient density and intensity of activity and use so that services
such as public transport are viable and efficient whilst achieving a high
pollution).
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• Has a green structure to optimize the ecological quality of the urban
production.
• Respects and builds upon the existing cultural heritage and social
As discussed earlier, developing countries and cities face the greatest challenge of
balancing the rapid urban growth and the aspect of long term sustainability within
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the economic, social and political limitations they possess. This complex scenario
demands a new way of thinking for the development of these third world cities for
their local sustainability and in turn for the global sustainability. There is a need to
The level of pollution of air and water, the loss of bio diversity through the rapid
urbanization and urban sprawl and the loss of green spaces are also not to be
neglected, though these factors always take a second stage when compared to the
Each city or region will have its own natural, social and economic capital which has
developed in the course of the history. It is important that these assets are
assets in these three aspects can thus play the key role in sustainable urban
discussion and also the context of the discussion. It is very important that both
these various levels for a consistent and true analysis and design. These points to
developing cities as a whole as the aspects are too contextual and periodically
variable.
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3.3 Sustainable urban design – an independent perspective
As seen from various studies, Sustainable urban design has different parameters
and the relative importance of each parameter differ from cities and locations. The
study attempts to find out the relative importance of these various parameters in
three aspects of natural, economic and social capital. The study essentially looks
at how urban design as a tool can be used to conserve, develop, enrich and
A developing city, fights with various contradicting forces regularly for its existence.
are some factors which are common to all developing cities and fighting these is
the one of the basic necessity of urban design. But urban design and planning
cannot just concentrate on the mitigations of the problems that the city face in a
specific period, but also have to look into the future, considering the morphological
development of the city, its strengths and weaknesses. Thus sustainable urban
design also has to consider various potentials of the city to realize the vision of
and development will lead to several conflicts and urban design in turn has to
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consider these conflicts and set out guidelines on how to overcome these conflicts.
Being a developing city means the planning process will have a number of
limitations like fund availability, political stability, social stability etc depending on
the specific situations. It is thus very important that a sustainable urban design
process look into all the limitations and consider them as a major factor so as to
Thus Sustainable urban design has four major roles in a developing city.
sustainability of the city as a whole, it has to look into all the various parameters
and perform the different roles efficiently, so as to balance all forces. These
infrastructure layout, land use mapping, green networks, waste disposals etc.
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4 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF CASE STUDY
• hospitality
• the fact that it is well connected by air, sea, road and rail
• no anchor economy
The city though boasts of a unique 240 acre urban wetland and various green
open spaces within the corporation limit, it has no development plan integrating
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these along with the total urban design scheme. In fact a look into the recent
sensitive green lungs of the city are highly non-sustainable. This scenario calls
development perspective.
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4.2 Sustainable urban design parameters
4.2.1 Ecology
Ecology is one of the three corner stones of sustainability and holds a key
4.2.1.1 Necessity
Total availability of open space in Calicut is 14.94 hectares (0.038 hectare per
(0.4 hectare per 1000 persons) .This suggests it is a necessity not just to look
into conservation of existing green areas but introduce more green zones by
design guidelines.
Calicut is blessed with various urban water channels consisting of rivers and
canals and most of them have turned to be mere waste drains due to lack of
proper planning. Even the urban wetlands have been reducing at rapid rates
preserving these key ecological capital areas are there fore a necessity of urban
design plans.
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4.2.1.2 Potentials
The presence of a 240 acre wetland within the city provides a unique oppurtnity
for a bio-diversity park and centre and community learning centres which will also
help to conserve and protect these highly valuable natural assets. Long coastal
lines are also an unrealized potential which can be further developed through
careful planning. Realizing these potentials in urban design plans can have wide
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4.2.1.3 Conflicts
The immense land value of the urban wetland zones and green zones are facing
a big threat to the idea of conserving and developing it as a green zone from
various real estate forces. As these real estate forces are the key to the
economical support of the city as a whole, the factors like this possess a conflict
in the land use plans and sustainable urban design has to adapt to these
4.2.1.4 Limitations
participation of all stake holders are main reasons for improper conservation of
green zones and urban wetlands. These limitations have to be overcome through
proper evaluation and participation in the urban design process which is also a
4.2.2 Economy
The major economy generators are agriculture (coconut, paddy, banana, tubers,
and spices), fisheries, and trade (industries – tiles, wood, and food products
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Economy), tourism, medical tourism, wetland and cultural tourism, port and ship
building, institutions and consumerism and Middle East NRI income .The major
issues are lack of an anchor economy, capitalizing critical strengths, and the
political system. The proposals are special economic zones, industrial townships,
it parks.
4.2.2.1 Necessity
Calicut, though had a number of industrial units based on clay tile production,
and infrastructure. The traditional trade zones are giving way to real estate units
sustainability of the city it is important that urban design plans look into these
development and trade with strict controls and good infrastructure support.
4.2.2.2 Potentials
within the city provides an opportunity to look into new aspects of economical
development like IT and Software parks and Hi-tech Business units. These can
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along with other parameters. Traditional industries can be revived by providing
them with basic needs and support. Tourism is yet another major potential which
4.2.2.3 Conflicts
The lack of proper planning in last few decades has resulted in haphazard
controls within urban design plans for the proper sustainable growth of these
aspects.
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4.2.2.4 Limitations
4.2.3 Equity
hindhus, muslims and Christians and is known for hospitality, education and
trade. Major potentials are community initiatives like kudumbashree and social
and public organizations .The major issue are lack of integrated involvement in
of extremists and unemployment and Middle East returns. The major proposals
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Fig:07 kudumbasree – a social initiative
The major issues in waste disposal are unplanned city drains, lack of integrated
sewage lines, blocked storm water drains, untreated sewage to canals, lack of
sewage system for many areas and lack of treatment plants. One of the major
community initiatves. Quantity of waste generated from the urban area is 350-
500 tonnes per day and out of that only 50% of the wastes generated are
collected for disposal. Around 200 tonnes of waste is left to decompose on road
The reason for poor waste management is the absence of segregation and
primary collection from the source of its origin. Kudumbashree – the state
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household waste collection and transport to the transit points fixed by the urban
(Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per month) and also provides employment for 18,500
4.2.3.1 Necessity
Many of the traditional public space have given way for real estate developments
and passive green areas which is one of the main reasons of lack of social
multi racial and multi religious city like Calicut to have good and effective public
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4.2.3.2 Potentials
cities and areas of raw material availability, availability of developable land and
potential of growth which is not yet realized. Through careful and sustainable
urban design plans these aspects can be given a much needed boost to develop
to its potentials.
4.2.3.3 Conflicts
and collection, women empowerment through house hold industries etc have
created a chance for a better societal integration and development. But these
also act as a conflict when not properly addressed in land use plans as these
community programs are devoid of any designated place for waste disposal and
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Fig:09 calicut – public spaces
4.2.3.4 Limitations
lead to the increase of crime activities and illegal activities in such public spaces
and these spaces turn out to be a menace for the society. Proper incorporation of
these aspects and realization of actual capability on type of spaces that can be
developed in the urban design plans will lead to a better and sustainable
proposal.
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5 CALICUT SUSTAINABLE DESIGN INITIATIVES
canal which connects Elathur river in north and Kallai river in south .It was made
by British in 19th century for the transportation of goods .It plays a major role in
rainwater drainage and socio-cultural activities .the study will look into the detail
of the project.
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ERANHIKKAL
KUNDUPARAMBA
KARAPARAMBA
ERANHIPALAM
ARAYADATHUPALAM
KALLAI
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5.2 Sarovaram Bio-Park
and
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Fig:13 Sarovaram Bio-park – Ariel perspective
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6 CONCLUSIONS
The study has attempted to answer the research questions and also to find a
The study has found out that sustainable development has different aspects to
The study also has realized the importance of striking the balance of these
found out that sustainable urban design is very subjective, both locally and
The aspect of time and period of discussion is also identified as a major factor in
developing countries as the forces are highly variable and has to be balanced
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The success of sustainable urban design in developing cities largely depends on
its capability to counter the conflicts and limitations in the form of corruption,
Specifically in Calicut, though there are some initiatives as the part of Calicut
sustainable development initiatives, the projects has its own potentials and
threats
Potentials
Threats
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The main concerns that have to be overlooked in the sustainable urban design of
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7 Bibliography:
Cliff Moughton, Peter Shirley, Urban design – Green dimensions, Elsevier 2005
Jane Sillberstein, Chris Maser, Land use planning for sustainable development,
CRC press, 2000
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HIS, Sustainable mobility : the challenges for developing countries , HIS, Vol 9,
issue 1 , 2007
7.2Internet references
http://www.kozhikodecorporation.org/
http://www.kkd.kerala.gov.in/
http://www.calicutnet.com
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