Sachin Sandhir outlines the way forward for effective planning and development of sustainable cities
At present, urban land is estimated at 2.3 per cent of the country’s total land area. With the Indian economy increasingly shifting towards services which are located in urban locales and with a growing middle class, it has been cited that approximately 40 per cent of the country’s population will inhabit cities by 2020 as compared to the present 30 per cent. Limited availability of urban land and a growing urban population—pegged at 455 million by 2020—are further indicative of the increasing pressure on land. Given the interdependence between economic growth and urbanisation, a number of informal settlements have already started to mushroom in towns and cities. But in an age where energy usage patterns are leading to climate change, the role of the built environment and its contribution to energy consumption is gaining precedence. As buildings account for approximately 40 per cent of energy consumption globally, there is a greater need for not only buildings, but also cities to become more environmentally focused and friendly. Planning for Sustainability Town planning and building regulations in the country were implemented in the 1960s, and contained proposals for the development of new planned neighbourhoods on the periphery of the existing city. However, unplanned urban growth has continued in an unabated manner, giving rise to the development of numerous informal settlements within municipal boundaries.
With the rise of such settlements, energy consumption patterns, too, changed to match. Most unplanned neighborhoods develop organically within and on the periphery of cities without any planned intervention. With no homogeneity of plot sizes, street widths, building heights and gross built areas, buildings in these localities are considered as terraced dwellings and are energy-intensive. On the basis of these inherent characteristics of town planning in India, RICS, an independent, non-profit organisation that provides professional qualification in land, property, construction and associated environmental issues, studied the challenges India faces given its heavy reliance on informal land and housing markets, which encourage irregular settlements to emerge and the need for better design, planning and orientation of the built space to conserve energy. The findings are explained in the report: ‘The Energy Efficiency Impacts of Upgrading Informal Settlements in Developing Countries: An Exploration of Urban Areas in India’. As ‘urban form characteristics’ can significantly influence energy use in buildings, it is progressively important to upgrade informal settlements. However, one must realise that informal settlement conversion is more than just eradicating shacks and illegal building construction. An integrated approach is required, aimed at poverty alleviation. It is imperative to have both social and spatial statistics in order to assess the situation, which cannot be undertaken without community participation. Key Findings While energy can be conserved on several fronts, the Sonipat case study conducted by RICS, based on a detailed survey of 240 buildings, reveals some finer elements of ensuring energy efficiency, as it is not only a key hub of state government activity, but also a region lying in the high-risk seismic zone, where building regulations restrict vertical construction.
 Buildings located on narrower streets provide shading for other structures, thereby reducing the dependence on cooling and ventilation, and are thus considered more viable. Larger detached buildings are more energy-efficient when located on nine-metre-wide streets, while small to medium sized buildings are more efficient when located on streets 12 metres wide. Openings in the facades of buildings are also seen to indicate significantly lower energy use. However, like all other parameters, this factor too will vary across building types. The energy-saving potential of urban form design is an indication for land use planners to be more closely involved in the process of integrating present and future energy needs at the local and urban scale. Recommendations There is a need for a combination of economic and regulatory measures along with adequate training and awareness campaigns among policy-makers and the public at large to develop cities that are sustainable and planned to reduce dependence on civil infrastructure and non-renewable resources. Right from the commencement of town planning, mutually reinforcing land uses and complementary policies should be brought together to provide a powerful combination of economic, social and environmental benefits.
Involvement is required at all levels—implementation, allocation, layout design or house design—between the government, community organisations and multilateral organisations to ensure that rehabilitation takes place comprising essential elements of managed land settlement in which people have access to civic amenities. To this end, development plans not only serve as tools for policy-makers to provide a framework of residential, industrial and commercial projects, but also help in creating a blueprint of the city as a point of reference for future development. Mobility between economic hubs and neighborhoods is another key dimension in energy consumption. When developing new settlements to re-house existing inhabitants of unplanned settlements, specific planning policies and innovative designs need to be introduced to reduce travel distances, through better allocation of land which promotes lower use of motorised transport. Some of these measures would ensure that energy can not only be saved through the integration of ‘urban forms’ but also through transport management measures such as reducing the dependence on transport, parking charges restrictions, fuel surcharge and fuel switching. The author is Managing Director & Country Head, RICS India |
