Planning remains universal for making cities growth rational and logical. In the absence of planned development, cities cannot be made to grow in an orderly manner. Planners have been making cities different and distinct using different agenda for planning and development of cities. Currently planners are making cities safe, resilient, sustainable and livable. Many nations are vouching to make cities smart. Smart city is not a new concept .It has been followed globally to improve the quality of living and promote operational efficiency and productivity of the cities. It is an attempt to make cities more livable, sustainable and for creating a brand image to attract investment and make them a tourist destination. Globally , smart cities are characterized by high degree of environmental consciousness; using information technology to promote energy/ resources efficiency; creation of knowledge infrastructure; promoting sustainable economic development and high quality of life; ensuring wise management of natural resources through participatory action. According to Forbe, the structure of smart cities will have to be built on eight pillars involving: ‘smart governance, smart energy, smart buildings, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology, smart healthcare and smart citizens. Based on detailed studies and in depth analysis made of the most successful case studies globally, as how to transform cities into great places to live and make a city great, Mckinsey’s suggests three pronged strategies involving, achieving smart growth, do more with less and win support for change. Considering the entire gamut of urban settlements , a city can be made Smart only if it is planned smart, developed smart, operated smart, financed smart and governed smartly .
KHULNA DIVISIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOYRA, KHULNA, BANGLADESH.
THESIS DISSERTATION.
Social connecting space to develop different Aspect . the purpose of this library is not only be a knowledge hub, but also a place for social-interaction because this is a divisional library and it will connect people from different districts. Social-interaction is already present there but it needed to be enhanced throughout the year.. it will be an iconic civic hub not only through the conventional ways but also in the ways which people have enlightened through ages. this library will play a vibrant role in the development of our culture that promotes reading, motivated readers and learners for life.
KHULNA DIVISIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY
BOYRA, KHULNA, BANGLADESH.
THESIS DISSERTATION.
Social connecting space to develop different Aspect . the purpose of this library is not only be a knowledge hub, but also a place for social-interaction because this is a divisional library and it will connect people from different districts. Social-interaction is already present there but it needed to be enhanced throughout the year.. it will be an iconic civic hub not only through the conventional ways but also in the ways which people have enlightened through ages. this library will play a vibrant role in the development of our culture that promotes reading, motivated readers and learners for life.
Sabarmati Riverfront Development ProjectFabiha Rahman
Sabarmati Riverfront:
An urban regeneration and environment improvement initiative
Transforming river from a geographical divider to a focal point for leisure and recreation
Recognized in the list of ‘100 Most Innovative Projects’
Urban design deals with the large scale of groups of buildings, streets, and public spaces, whole neighborhoods, and districts, and entire cities, with the goal of making areas functional, attractive and sustainable. Urbanization happening rapidly nowadays. projects in the portfolio discriminate with other(splintering city, local area planning, housing and mapping of networks). To deal with these urban design tools are used to demonstrate.
Architectural conservation_laws and practices_authenticityJoarder Hafiz Ullah
“Antiquity”
BNBC:
Definitions of Conservation
General Guidelines for Heritage Buildings and Sites
Promote cultural continuity
Integrate development with conservation
Outstanding Universal Value
Authenticity
Aspects of Authenticity
Conservation is not just a result of few years but work and dedication of centuries. With every good, there certainly follows bad but focusing on the positives and addressing the bad is what drives us to the future; in this case the future for our past.
Strategies for Planning Smart Cities in IndiaJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper critically lookS at prevailing planning, development and management practices; re-define new order of urban planning, ; leveraging technology; rationalising travel; promoting governance and re-defining design strategies for built environment to make cities more humane, just, efficient, sustainable and happy place to live and work.
Paper is an attempt to define the role and importance of smart cities in the context of state of art planning and design to promote happiness among the residents and stakeholders of the city .
Sabarmati Riverfront Development ProjectFabiha Rahman
Sabarmati Riverfront:
An urban regeneration and environment improvement initiative
Transforming river from a geographical divider to a focal point for leisure and recreation
Recognized in the list of ‘100 Most Innovative Projects’
Urban design deals with the large scale of groups of buildings, streets, and public spaces, whole neighborhoods, and districts, and entire cities, with the goal of making areas functional, attractive and sustainable. Urbanization happening rapidly nowadays. projects in the portfolio discriminate with other(splintering city, local area planning, housing and mapping of networks). To deal with these urban design tools are used to demonstrate.
Architectural conservation_laws and practices_authenticityJoarder Hafiz Ullah
“Antiquity”
BNBC:
Definitions of Conservation
General Guidelines for Heritage Buildings and Sites
Promote cultural continuity
Integrate development with conservation
Outstanding Universal Value
Authenticity
Aspects of Authenticity
Conservation is not just a result of few years but work and dedication of centuries. With every good, there certainly follows bad but focusing on the positives and addressing the bad is what drives us to the future; in this case the future for our past.
Strategies for Planning Smart Cities in IndiaJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper critically lookS at prevailing planning, development and management practices; re-define new order of urban planning, ; leveraging technology; rationalising travel; promoting governance and re-defining design strategies for built environment to make cities more humane, just, efficient, sustainable and happy place to live and work.
Paper is an attempt to define the role and importance of smart cities in the context of state of art planning and design to promote happiness among the residents and stakeholders of the city .
Strategies for Planning Smart and Sustainable CitiesJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Smart city remains a misnomer. No city on planet earth can claim to be smart. Experts are still searching the soul of smart city in order to precisely define it .Unfortunately smart city has become a money spending/spinning exercise for few individuals/agencies. Entire concept of smart city has been made technology centric, minimizing the role and importance of human beings. In addition, role of Town Planners in smart city has been totally marginalized. How can a city be made smart without intervention of planning and planners. Smart city as a concept has been copied globally to promote operational efficiency and productivity of the cities , with minimum concern for human growth and development. Addressing issue of poverty and making city livable for all should be the agenda of urban growth and development. In the face of homeless people , absence of basic amenities and facilities essential of human living, making city’s smart will be a fallacy and prove to be counterproductive. Cities do not exist in isolation and require the support of rural hinterland. Dealing cities alone by excluding villages will invariably lead to lopsided growth of cities because genesis of majority of urban ills has roots in the neglect of the rural areas. Urban areas must do handholding for the rural areas for synergizing mutual strength and to usher a new era of rational growth. Smart city concept must focus on empowering human being/ living, making them more skilled, create options for meeting the basic human needs and removing the curse of poverty and unemployment.
Paper is an attempt to look at the Indian urban settlements in terms of their planning, designing, travel, buildings etc, identify problems they have and options which can be leveraged to make them more effective, efficient, livable, productive and sustainable
Comact City as an Option for Making Urban India more Sustainable and LivableJitKumarGupta1
Cities and towns remain critical in chartering and scripting the development trajectory of any community/nation. Structural transformation of the economy, sustaining high rates of economic growth and realization of economic potential is largely contingent on the efficacy and efficiency of urban settlements and rationalization of the process of urbanization. Well-managed, urbanization is known to fosters social and economic advancement and improved quality of life. However, cities are globally facing greater threat and challenges in terms of growing number of urban residents living in informal settlements , inadequate urban services, climate change; global warming; exclusion and rising inequality and poverty; rising insecurity; growing migration, rising global carbon emission. The current models and framework/approach to urbanization and urban planning remains highly unsustainable. Majority of Indian cities lack planning, capacity and preparedness to manage and counter effectively the challenges associated with rapid and massive urbanization. Accordingly, new agenda will be essential and critical to defined /effectively address the emerging challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered by urbanization. The new urban agenda should promote human settlements that are planned, designed and managed to be environmentally sustainable; socially inclusive and economically productive. Compact city, as a role model of urban planning and development, offer enormous opportunities and options, to make cities more effective and efficient intense dense, efficient. Compact city is also known for its distinct quality of offering enormous opportunities to make cities more sustainable, socially interactive, walkable , cost-effective, land -efficient, productive, socially and environmentally, easy to develop/maintain. Accordingly, appropriate urban planning, development and management framework needs to be put in place and made operational on priority to make compact city model a distinct reality.
Compact city as an Option for Making Indian Cities Smart and SustainableJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper, written jointly with Ar Anoop Sharma from SMVDU Jammu, tries to look holistically at the prevailing pattern of India urbanization and planning and designing of Indian cities. Paper tries to underline the problems faced by cities in terms of environment, pollution, land , slums, traffic& transportation, housing,services etc and tries to suggest solutions looking at the advantages offed by the compact cities in terms of optimizing land, minimising travel/pollution, making cities development cost-effective, efficient and promoting walking instead of using fossil fuel propelled mechanical transportation. to make cities more livable and sustainable, resilient, safe and inclusive
As integral part of human history, cities have emerged as great places to live, work and do business. Cities symbolise the dreams, hopes and aspirations of society. Driving infrastructure and technologies, cities are fast becoming hub of economic and technical innovations. Dictating economy, generating employment, determining quality of life, promoting ideas and innovations besides providing quality infrastructures, cities remain crucial to human growth, development and happiness. Despite distinct advantages, cities also represent chaos, disorder, dualities and contradictions. Polarised cities, showing great contrasts of wealth and poverty, lack capacity, capability and will to meet basic needs of shelter, healthcare, education, water and sanitation. In the process, majority of urban residents are being marginalised with quality of life fast becoming nightmare for people opting for making cities and towns, as their preferred place of residence. Population, poverty, pollution and exclusion have emerged the hallmarks of Indian urbanisation. As consumers of enormous energy /resources and generators of large waste, ecological footprints of cities are growing very fast, promoting green- house gas emissions and global warming. With urban population projected to reach 590 million in 2030, greatest challenge before parastatal agencies, professionals and administrators remains, how to harmonise the urban growth with quality of life and make cities great , happy and smart place to live and work. If genesis of problems of climate change, global warming, rising temperature, ozone depletion and rising carbon footprints is in cities then solution for such problems are also embedded in cities. Search for solutions to make cities safe, resilient, inclusive and sustainable would fall in the domain of rationalising prevailing planning, development and management practices; re-defining new order of urban planning, ; leveraging technology; rationalising travel; promoting governance and re-defining design strategies for built environment.
Strategy for Promoting Sustainable Cities in IndiaJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper is an attempt to look at the options to make cities more livable, sustainable, productive, effective, efficient and inclusive in the face of rapid, massive,unplanned and haphazard urbanisation.
Paper tries to look at the planning, growth and development of cities and the manner in which they can be made sustainable in the context of 17 SDG. It tries to define agenda for their planning and governance while considering the new urbanism.
Strategies for Promoting Urban SustainabilityJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper is an attempt to define agenda for planning sustainable cities using different options of planning, transportation, green buildings, ruralisation etc
Re-inventing and Re-defining Urban Planning for Promoting Sustainable Mega Ci...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper make an attempt to understand the planning related issues and options for the mega cities with focus on capital City of Lahorein Pakistan, its growth and development post 1947 and the options which can be leveataged to make the city sustainable and livable. Paper looks at the good practices used in the planning of capital city of Chandigarh and also at the option of decentralising these cities. Look at the size, economic role and its criticality in the development of the state/region, --suggestion has been made to plan and devlop these mega cities in the regional/ national context.so as to enable them to play their designated role. However, these cities need to be made resilient to make them withstand any manmade/natural disasters. These cities despite their criticality and importance remain diffficult to manage and govern.
Designing for smart and Inclusive Cities in indiaJitKumarGupta1
Making cities Smart remains an illusion/ mirage and a fallacy in this world, which is illogically and irrationally being chased and promoted by politician, administrators and people in the power. How can cities be made Smart, both conceptually and physically, when cities are marked by dualities and contradictions, when it cannot take care of its stakeholders; Create ownership among them; provide them basic infrastructures, amenities and services; assure them appropriate employment and economic options; provide them with reasonable shelter; ensure healthy living. Cities cannot be made Smart till poverty continue to rule the cities; where planning remains marginalized/diluted; where multiplicity of agencies continue to operate and rule in contradiction to each other; where decision made remain mired with subjectivity; where there is total lack of ownership; where leadership has no understanding of the city growth and development and where manpower deployed remain inadequately qualified to understand and address the issues of urbanization. Cities would require more focus and will need care and caution, provided with the input of professionals who can lead the cities to make them more livable. I think need is to move from and focus on promoting livability rather than smartness. How can we achieve the objective of livability, should remain the agenda for all professionals and stake holders involved with making cities Smart.
Urban planning and urban governance invariably remain people centric having prime concern/focus on looking at/ promoting the welfare of the people, improving their social, physical, economic and environmental conditions besides improving quality of life. Both are mandated to create supportive/enabling conditions and environment to help people to perform their basic functions involving living, working , care of body & spirits and circulation, in a most effective / efficient manner. Accordingly urban planning and urban governance remain interlinked /integrated, and have close relationship. No good urban governance can exist in isolation/ without the input of good and rational planning. Looking at the entire context of good urban governance, it can be fairly concluded that effective urban planning holds the key to good urban governance. Poor urban governance has its genesis in poor urban planning. For enabling urban planning to play its desired and designated role in urban governance, it will be essential that operational mechanism of existing pattern of urban planning is critically looked into, reviewed, revised and re-defined to made it more responsive to the emerging urban dynamism/challenges. Unfortunately, in India, role of urban planners has been diluted and marginalized and has never been given appropriate recognition. Limited numbers of planning institutions have contributed to restricting the number of qualified professionals. With urban centres holding the key, future growth and development of the cities will be contingent largely upon the proficiency, efficacy and efficiency of ‘Planning Profession and Professionals’. However, , for planners/planning to play its ordained role, they have to be made more responsive , professionally competent, having capacity /expertise to understand /appreciate the complexities of urban growth and development, based on prevailing ground realities, and evolving appropriate options. .Planning tools will also require review and redefining to make them more effective and efficient.
Indian Options for Managing Global Warming Through Ruralisation and Rationali...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper looks at the option of adopting dual strategy , revolving round not only rationalising the development of cities but also promoting ruralisation through effective planning. New option will look at making villages more self-contained, self-sufficient, providing basic amenities and services besides generating employment for the rural inhabitants, creation of synergy between rural and urban settlements, rationalising planning, promoting accessibility, minimising mobility, planning for people not for vehicle and creating green built environment..
Paper looks at the current status of cities and urbanization, issues faced by urban sector and suggest strategies to make cities more smart and sustainable.
Redefining master plans for smart and sustainable citiesJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper tries to relook at the master plan in its prevalent form , content and procedure and tries to redefine the agenda for making it a positive tool for leveraging the sustainable development of urban settlements
Redefining master plans to promote smart and sustainable cities JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Master plans/ Development Plans, used as the most potent weapon by the town planner, to promote planned and orderly development has done more damage than good to the cities. Consuming large span of time, involving lot of manpower and requiring considerable resources, master plans has made planners chase the development instead of leading the development. Rigidity of master plans, based on defining the use of every piece of land, has made the master plans irrelevant, irrational and illogical in the face fast changing urban dynamics. Master plans, prepared for a period spanning over two decades, try to freeze the city. As planners, when we do not know our own future, what competency, capacity, expertise and capability we have to define the future of the cities. In the process, majority of cities have been suffering from illegal, sub-standard, haphazard and unplanned growth. Master plans have accordingly, emerged as the major road block in promoting planned urban development and making cities sustainable . For promoting planned development and making city growth both rational and dynamic, focus of planning should be on redefining and putting in place a new order of urban planning, development options and management strategies besides suggesting new format of Master Plans to make cities smart, more humane, equitable, just, efficient, productive, sustainable and providers of assured quality of life to all existing and future urban residents including poorest of the poor.
Similar to Planning Smart cities- Concepts and Practices.docx (20)
Role and Relevance of Architects and architecture in SustainabilityJIT KUMAR GUPTA
This brief text on Role, Relevance and importance of Architects and profession of Architecture in making this world and human settlements more livable, climate responsive and sustainable has been prepared as commitment of the professionals and profession of Architects on this World Environment Day ; June 5th , 2024 , with the hope that profession would be understood, valued ,appreciated and empowered in the right context for enabling it play its designated role in making built environment qualitative, cost-effective, energy-efficient, eco-friendly, safe and sustainable.
Bridging gap between resources and responsibilities at Local level.JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Text refers to need, role, relevance and importance of empowering urban local bodies by bridging gap between resources available and responsibilities bestowed, for enabling ULBs to operate and function as institutions of local governance more effectively and efficiently.
Construction Industry Through Artificial Intelligence -.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Considering the role, relevance and importance of construction sector in promoting economy, generating employment and creating wealth besides providing infrastructures and amenities, there is need to make the sector more effective, efficient, productive and sustainable. Driven manually, construction sector remains in the slow lane of creating quality built environment which are cost-effective, energy efficient, least consumers of resources and generators of waste. Artificial intelligence can help and empower the construction to make it more valuable, productive and qualitative besides supportive of environment and ecology. However, construction sector must be ready to co-operate and collaborate with IT industry to look for options and opportunities to make construction sector more qualitative and productive. Majority of urban ills and climate related issues can be resolved if Artificial intelligence can be embedded as integral part of the construction industry right prom planning, designing, construction, operation and management of the built environment and infrastructures. Communities and nations will save lot of valuable non-renewable resources if the construction sector is transformed from human led to technology led by the induction of Artificial intelligence. However, Construction industry has to search the areas where Artificial intelligence can be used effectively and intelligently.
Making Urban India a Role Model of Planned Urban Growth a.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Known for productivity, promoting economy, employment and innovations cities, when properly planned, rationally developed and professionally managed, have been labelled and recognized as engines of economic growth. Prosperity and urbanisation are known to have positive co-relation with rational urbanisation, leveraging growth and development of any community, city, state and region. In majority of developing countries, where urbanisation remains unregulated, forced largely by rural push and less by urban pull, cities invariably remain in crisis, crisis of population, crisis of poverty, crisis of development and management. Cities need to be cared ,incentivized, empowered and made more productive, effective, efficient and humane.
Redefining Globalization, urbanisation and LocalisationJIT KUMAR GUPTA
If cities are to made more livable, humane and productive, it is time that intent, contents and scope of globalization must be revisited and reviewed, both critically and objectively. Globalisation would need redefinition for promoting universality and inclusiveness among people and nations to have basic amenities and quality of life for all its residents , including poorest of the poor to lead a dignified life. Failure to redefine globalization, rationalise urbanisation, restore localization empowering poor and promoting universalisation and inclusivity; will invariably lead to making SDGs merely a paper exercise. In addition, making the world, cities and communities sustainable, livable, safe and inclusive, would remain merely a dream and a mirage, for future generations and communities, making planet earth as their preferred place of residence.
Knowing, Understanding and Planning Cities- Role and Relevance Physical Plan...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Cities are known for its complexities and operational inefficiencies. cities remain dynamic ,ever evolving, ever devolving, never static and never finite.
All cities remain different, distinct, unique and universal. No two cities are similar. Each city has its own strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Accordingly, problem faced by any city cannot be viewed, dissected, analyzed and enumerated, while sitting within the four walls of the air-conditioned rooms and by the so called intellectual sitting in the so called offices determining the future of cities and towns. Neither the cities can be made more rational by limited knowledge agencies providing consultancy to cities , states and nations.
For realistically and rationally understanding, analyzing the cities and having simple, cost-effective and quality solutions to the problems and challenges faced , Cities have to be walked through and concerns of the various communities have to be properly understood and appreciated.
Prime reason for inability and lack of capacity on the part of majority of physical planners, engaged in the art and science of planning, designing and developing the cities, to address the issues and challenges faced by cities , realistically and rationally, has genesis in the lack of understanding of the origin, growth and development of cities.
Lack of capacity in majority of town planners, has roots in the quality of education imparted and seriousness and commitment on the part of both teachers and taught involved. As it stands today, majority of institutions involved in imparting education in planning are being run on an ad-hoc manner and by proxy. Only few institutions have regular teachers and regular students. Majority of planning institutions are being run on proxy with proxy students and proxy teachers. Education system including curricula used for teaching, needs, review, revision and redefinition to make it more relevant to rational for addressing the issues and challenges faced by the cities and towns.
Land as a Resource for urban finanace- 24-1-23.pptJIT KUMAR GUPTA
PPt tries to brief Land, as a gift of nature, is being grossly misused, abused , manipulated Land is globally used for providing platform for all human driven activities, based on living, working, culture of body/ mind and travel.
Limited availability, coupled with large number of human beings trying to source land, has invariably created large demand for land resource for human consumption. Land, in urban context, is required for meeting the specific needs of urban dwellers for residential, commercial, institutional, recreational, travel& traffic purposes besides providing space for infrastructures , amenities, services, trade and commerce etc. Land in urban context remains under large demand and command high price due to concentration of large population in small physical area, with stakeholders making competing claims.Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-division and illegal occupation of urban land. Unregulated and regulated pressure on land has largely been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban planning and development remains land based/ land focused. In order to make optimum use of land resource on 24x7x365; making city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational. realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and essential, that all ULBs are made to focus on eliminating culture and practices promoting un-authorized/ illegal sub-division of land for ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the cities. Land needs to be effectively leveraged to generate resources for ULBs to make cities vibrant.
COST-EFFETIVE and Energy Efficient BUILDINGS ptxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Built environment is known for its capacity, capability, role, relevance and importance to change the quality of life of the occupants and communities. Presentation focuses on options which need to be leveraged to make buildings sustainable, cost-effective, energy efficient, resource efficient, qualitative over its entire life-cycle through designing, construction, operation. It calls for making buildings green and sustainable.
Making Buildings cost-effective , Energy Efficient ptxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Presentation focuses on options which need to be leveraged to make buildings sustainable, cost-effective, energy efficient, resource efficient, qualitative over its entire life-cycle
Ppt briefs about role, relevance, importance of the rating systems applicable in India, criteria used in assessing
greeness, weightage allocated, , brief of how these rating systems are applied, parameters involved; weightage granted, levels of rating granted , incentives given by states for green rated buildings and brief of suggestions, how to make rating system more effective, efficient, objective and transparent.
The phenomenon of global warming remains more pronounced in the urban areas, for the reason cities house large concentration of people and activities in a small/compact urban space.Densely-built downtown areas tend to be warmer than suburban residential areas or rural areas.. UHI not only raises urban temperatures but also increases ozone concentrations because ozone is a greenhouse gas whose formation will accelerate with the temperature. Tokyo, an example of an urban heat island. Normal temperatures of Tokyo go up higher than those of the surrounding area. However, it needs to be understood and appreciated that climate change is not the cause of urban heat islands but it is causing more frequent and more intense heat waves which in turn amplify the urban heat island effect in cities. Major reasons for ever growing global warming and climate change can be attributed to the; Nature and natural; Human-Driven; population; Rapid Urbanisation; Irrational Urban planning; High Density; Inefficient Transportation ;Large generation/consumption of fossil fuel based Energy; Unsustainable Buildings; Polluting Industry & Manufacturing; Unsustainable Agriculture; Irrational Development; Large scale Deforestation; Lack of open spaces and individual life-choices;
Making and Unmaking of Chandigarh - A City of Two Plans2-4-24.pptJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Presentation is a narrative of a
capital city- known for its innovative planning, designing, construction and management of a new capital . It briefs about the principles used in the planning and designing of city -by the first team of planners led by Albert Mayer and Mathew Nowicki-- followed by the second team led by Le- Corbusier, P Jenerette, Jane B Drew , Maxwell Fry. It also details about the various aspects of the city planning, planning of the sector as a neighbourhood, typologies of
various developmental controls used for regulating the construction of buildings. Innovations used for regulating the growth and development of periphery; redensification of city in case city exceeds its planned population of half a million, creating a narrative of city and periphery, innovative landscaping, defining an edict for the city to educate the future citizens of the capital city to safeguard the future growth and development besides lessons learnt from planning and designing the new cities.
Planning and Designing Green buildings-.issues, options and strategiesJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Affordability and sustainable development are considered anti-thesis across the world. Generally there exists conflict between the approach to sustainable built environment and affordable buildings. Sustainable development is considered more expensive. According to Middleton, ‘Sustainability and affordability aren’t mutually exclusive goals. It’s not about adding extra, but thinking more carefully about the design of buildings and incorporating technologies that can offset the rising costs of energy, water and other services. Affordability and sustainability are known to fit together perfectly’.
Through excellent design, buildings can be made more sustainable and affordable. Smaller the footprint of buildings, lower will be the upfront costs and embodied energy and lower shall be the running costs of buildings. Looking at the entire context of health, rising cost of amenities/services; Sustainable/Green designs are now being increasingly adopted, to make built environment more cost-effective and affordable. Considering the enormous amount of built environment to be created, India will have no option but to tread the path of sustainability and sustainable development in the built environment. Sustainable built environment would also help in and go a long way in achieving the majority of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the reason, built environment is known to be the largest consumer of energy, avoid wasteful use of resources and minimise generation of waste. Global sustainability will be largely contingent upon how effectively and efficiently we can make our buildings sustainable and qualitative through innovative/green design solutions based on local climate and culture, valuing site planning, embedding orientation, cross ventilation, using renewable/waste materials and involving state of the art building technologies.
_Neighborhood Planning in Capital City of Chandigarh- An Appraisal (2) - Copy...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Neighborhood as an idea, concept, option and strategy has been extensively used locally and globally by the Urban Planners to plan and decentralize cities, create cities within cities, promote self-contained communities and to make cities more humane, safe and socially vibrant. Neighborhood has also been used recently to define the city in terms of travel time - making 10/15 minutes city
Accordingly, large typologies of NH ,in terms of planning and designing , with varying shapes, sizes and contents have emerged in the urban context. Americans have used superblock and French using Sector for defining the neighborhood. Despite distinct advantages, holding high degree of relevance in urban and local area planning , NH planning has not been able to deliver the envisioned objectives of safety and social vibrancy. Cities in the process have been socially, economically and physically fragmented, leading to clear division of cities into different communities with little economical and social connectivity. Variance of planning and designing norms followed at NH and sub-neighborhood levels have promoted more dichotomy and contradictions with varying quality of life inducted at local level. Differential population and infrastructures have divided the city into the categories of high/low end NH units. Fabric and morphology of cities, in large cases, has been distorted with urban settlement emerging as a distinct social map of communities graded economically and socially,on the basis of area/location . In the process, the way NH planning concept has been used, neighborhood planning has emerged as an instrument of social and economic segregation/division. In fact in number of cases, concept has been used, misused, abused in intent and content to divide the cities into distinct social and economic layers. Instead of unifying , concept has led to division of cities.
Genesis of modern application of NH can be found in the planning and designing of Chandigarh where entire city fabric of capital city was woven around Sector as the basic unit of planning, concptulasied as self-contained and self-sustaining unit at the local level. However, the way sectors have been planned, it has led to dividing the cities into different and distinct communities. Individual status in Chandigarh can be judged from his/her residence. Concept of Sector has done more damage than good to the fabric of the city. Chandigarh is likely to face considerable problem in making city socially and economically cohesive/vibrant,. Sectors in Chandigarh remain anti-thesis to the basic concept of NH planning of safety, involving walkability, vehicular movement, putting commercial space in the centre. Considering role, relevance, importance and usability , NH needs to be planned, designed with care and caution, in order to make cities socially and economically vibrant, inclusive. NH planning deserves a new definition and approach to make it relevant and rational.
Reviewing, Revising and Redefining Master Plans and Development Plans to Ma...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Looking at its efficacy and efficiency, it can be seen and observed that Master Plans/ Development Plans have done more damage than good for the planned growth and development of the cities to which they have been made applicable. These plans have been violated with impunity both by the people, communities, cities and parastatal agencies; for the betterment/welfare of which these plans were prepared. These plans have been visualized as controller of development rather than promoters of development. Instead of planned development , these plans have been usherers of the unplanned development. These plans are known to be responsible for promoting large number of slums besides making quality of life poor for majority of the urban inhabitants. Cities under Master Plans are also known to promote exclusion rather than inclusion. Master Plans/Development Plans are known to promote prosperity for few and marginalize the large proportions of the local community by making them poor. Instead of catering to urban dynamism, Master Plans/Development Plans try to freeze the city, for next two decades, to which it is made to serve. Accordingly, these plans need to be reviewed , rationalised, revised and redefined to make them better Master Plans/Development Plans
Rationalizing the Planned Growth of Urban India- paper.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-division and illegal occupation of urban land. Unregulated and regulated pressure on land has largely been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban planning and development remains land based/ land focused, based on a strategy of sub-division of the land, dictated by the economic forces prevailing in the market. Irrational and ineffective public policies of urban planning and land sub-division, devoid of prevailing ground realities, have turned out to be incompatible with the demands of urban expansion, leading to large scale un-authorized and illegal sub-division of land. In the process, valuable land resources, gift of nature, has been misused, abused and mutilated in this race of uncontrolled and irrational urbanisation. In order to make optimum use of land resource; making city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational. realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and essential, that all urban centres are made to focus on eliminating the culture and practices promoting un-authorized/illegal sub-division of land for ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the country.
Suggestion and Options for integrating villages. within the framework of the...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Preparing Master Plans/Development Plans for any urban settlements, basically and essentially, involves declaring a planning area for which the said long term plans are prepared. Planning area invariably includes and involves, number of rural settlements, which comprise of the planning area besides the urban settlement. It has been observed that in majority of cases, while detailed studies and analysis are carried out of the urban settlements but villages in the study and analysis remain marginalized, diluted and muted. Despite the fact, villages have critical role in the rational development of the urban settlement, but in preparing Master Plans their role and relevance is not made part of the said plan. Accordingly, this text tries to bring out the typologies of villages falling in the planning area and the suggested framework to develop these villages in making Master Plans, better Master Plan. In order to improve Master Plan qualitatively, quantitively, both in intent, contents and scope, It will be appropriate that all the villages falling in the planning area must be studied , analyzed and made integral part of the final outcome of the proposals of Master Plan. In-fact one Chapter must be exclusively dedicated to detail out the issues faced by the Villages and options which can be leveraged to promote the rational growth of villages ,as an integral part of the long term development of the urban settlement , for which the Master Plan is being prepared. This will help not only in integrating the urban- rural settlements falling in the planning area, but would also go a long way in promoting and ensuring rational growth and development of the urban settlement, for which the Master Plan is being prepared.
Making cities Climate Responsive and SustainableJIT KUMAR GUPTA
“Decarbonization” of cities ,as an issue ,as an option and as a strategy , has been gaining currency in the parlance of; making planet earth livable and sustainable. “Decarbonization has been globally valued for keeping the global temperature below 1.5C, and achieving the agenda and goals defined in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, defined by UN for achieving universal sustainability. Despite distinct role and relevance, criticality and importance of decarbonization of cities has neither been properly understood and appreciated nor made integral part of the architectural practice and art and science of designing and construction of buildings. Consuming one -third of global energy (33%) and generating 39% of greenhouse gas emissions buildings have been considered as the major player in the domain of climate change and global warming. Since Architects and Architecture are
actively involved in the making and unmaking of buildings, accordingly it becomes important that planners and architects must play a significant role in making
cities and buildings least consumers of energy and generators of the minimum greenhouse gas emissions. This objective can be achieved if decarbonizing cities/buildings is made a distinct reality . Issue of decarbonizing the cities/buildings assumes importance for the reason, that world’s building floorspace is likely to be become double by the year 2060, with the addition of large number of newcities/ buildings due to rapid urbanization, population growth and economic development ; required for catering to
to the needs of additional population opting for urban living.
Managing Planning and Development of Citie- 26-2-24.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Cities in India are known to be in perpetual crisis; facing numerous crises in terms of; crisis of rational growth, crisis of orderly and planned development; crisis of effective and efficient urban management; crisis of making provision of basic infrastructure and services; crisis of climate change; crisis of global warming; crisis of poverty, pollution and population and crisis of making human living and prevailing environment qualitative. These urban crises have genesis in the fact that cities in India, lack ownership, command, authority and lack of willingness to run and manage cities professionally and objectively. In majority of cases, cities in India are run by proxy. In terms of physical growth and development; large cities are marked by multiplicity of agencies claiming right/ownership of development over the urban areas, whereas smaller cities face absence of such ownership and are made to run, operate and function like orphans
Agenda, Approach and Options for Rationalising and Redefining Future Indian ...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Government of India/state policies, programs, mission and agenda must move providing basic essentials to all its citizens through an efficient, objective and transparent system of governance. For making cities livable and empowering people; right to basics/essential of human living including; Right to shelter, food, clothing universal access to healthcare, education, employment , infrastructures, amenities and mobility; should be made integral part of Indian Constitution by embedding it as Fundamental Rights/Directive Principles of state policy besides making them integral part of planning, development and management/governance process of all human settlements.
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
Top 5 Indian Style Modular Kitchen DesignsFinzo Kitchens
Get the perfect modular kitchen in Gurgaon at Finzo! We offer high-quality, custom-designed kitchens at the best prices. Wardrobes and home & office furniture are also available. Free consultation! Best Quality Luxury Modular kitchen in Gurgaon available at best price. All types of Modular Kitchens are available U Shaped Modular kitchens, L Shaped Modular Kitchen, G Shaped Modular Kitchens, Inline Modular Kitchens and Italian Modular Kitchen.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Planning Smart cities- Concepts and Practices.docx
1. Planning Smart Cities – Concepts and Practices
*Ar. Jit Kumar Gupta; jit.kumar1944@gmail.com
Abstract; India is fast urbanising. With 378 million persons (2011 census) residing in 7935 urban centres,
India has emerged as the second largest urban system in the world after China. Majority of the cities in India
are passing through an era of enormous growth and development, both haphazard and unplanned. Cities are
facing the greatest challenges of meeting the basic needs of shelter, healthcare, education, water and
sanitation for its residents. In the process, majority of urban residents are being marginalised. Quality of life in
urban India is fast becoming nightmare for migrants. Population, poverty, pollution and exclusion have
emerged as the hallmarksof Indian urbanisation .With urban population reaching 600 million out of 1.4 billion
in 2030, greatest challenge before urban planners, architects and policy makers would be, how to harmonise
the growth and development of urban India and make it smart and rational.
Cities have been integral part of human civilisation .They are known to be humanity’s most complex creation,
never finished, never definitive. Despite chaos, disorder, dualities and contradictions, cities are going to stay
because they are humanity’s past, present and future. They symbolises the dreams, hopes and aspirations of the
society. With cities dictating economy,generating majority of employment, determining quality of life, emerging
as incubators of ideas and innovation and providers of quality social and physical infrastructures, it would be
important that prevailing dualities and contradictions are removed on priority so that urban India could be
launched on the fast trajectory of growth and development. This would be critical because cities will not only be
housing large proportion of population but will also be consuming enormous non-renewable resources,
generating waste and would be responsible for majority of global green house gas emissions.
Studies made and analysis carried out, have shown that city growth is largely dictated by urban planning,
development and management processes. Accordingly, it will be appropriate to, critically and objectively, look
at the prevailing planning, development and management practices in India and identify the roadblocks which
have hampered the rational growth of cities. While looking at the roadblocks, patterns and practices, paper
would focus on redefining new order of urban planning, development options and management strategies to
make cities more humane, equitable, just, efficient, productive, sustainable and providers of assured quality of
life to all urban residents including poorest of the poor. Paper would also define the role and importance of
technology,energy and built environment in creating smart cities. In the search for new options, paper will also
look at the success stories which have made urban growth rational and sustainable at global level
Key words: buildings, sustainability,technology , transportation, urban planning,
INTRODUCTION
Studies made by United Nations about the global trends in urbanization, has concluded that world is
urbanizing rapidly, with year 2007 marking a historic milestone in the human history ,when for the first
time global urban population exceeded the global rural population and the world population has
remained predominantly urban thereafter. The present trend has history spanning over last six
decades when process of urbanization gained momentum and got accelerated. UN Report further
enumerates that in 1950, more than two- third (70%) population worldwide lived in rural settlements
and less than one-third(30%) in urban settlements. In 2014, 54% of the world population became
urban. With present growth rate, it is estimated that by 2050, the world will be one-third rural and two-
third urban- roughly the reverse of global rural- urban population distribution of mid twentieth century.
With level of urbanization varying greatly, study further states that Africa and Asia remain largely rural
with urbanisation levels placed at 40% and 48%.However, these two regions, housing major global
population, will urbanize faster with projected levels of 56% and 64% by 2050. Despite low level of
urbanization, China, which in 2014 housed a urban population of 758.360 million as against 410.204
million in India, will have 1049.948 million urban population as against India’s 814.399 million in 2050.
2. India will be home to 7 out of 40 ten million cities of the world in 2050 as against 3 out of 28 in 2014. .
With 378 million persons (2011 census) residing in 53 metros and 7935 urban centres, India has
emerged as the second largest urban system in the world after China despite level of urbanization
placed at 31.1%. The growth of urban population has been rather fast in the post- independence
period. Growth of urban population has also been found to be co-terminus with the number of urban
centres. Census 2011, will be known for two historic facts in the Indian demography, firstly for the
largest increase (53%) in number of urban settlements from 5161(2001) to 7935(2011) and secondly
for the higher growth of urban population(91million) as compared to rural population (90 million) in
absolute terms during the decay2001-11, indicating that India is now on the fast trajectory of
urbanization.
Cities are known to be dictating economy, generating majority of employment, determining quality of
life, emerging as incubators of ideas and innovation and providers of quality social and physical
infrastructures and accordingly are the major drivers of development and prosperity. However, despite
many positive aspects of urban centres, cities have been growing in an unplanned and haphazard
manner with urban growth marked by chaos, disorder, dualities and contradictions. . Cities are facing
the greatest challenges of meeting the basic needs of shelter, healthcare , education, water and
sanitation for its residents. In the process, majority of urban residents are being marginalised. Quality
of life in urban India is fast becoming nightmare for migrants. Population, poverty, pollution and
exclusion have emerged as the hallmarks of Indian urbanisation. With urban population reaching 600
million out of 1.4 billion in 2030, greatest challenge before urban planners, architects and policy
makers would be, how to harmonise the growth and development of urban India and make it smart
and rational.
Growth of cities is largely dictated by urban planning, development and management processes.
Accordingly, it will be appropriate to look at the prevailing planning, development and management
practices in India , identify roadblocks and redefine new order of urban planning and development
options to make cities smart, green, more humane, equitable, just, efficient, productive, sustainable
and providers of assured quality of life to all urban residents including poorest of the poor.
REDEFINING PLANNING
Creating smart cities would require new order of urban planning, considering the contours and
complexity of such a city. New order of planning would involve making planning people centric,
transparent, community oriented and flexible. Its focus shall be to minimize prevailing urban dualities
and contradictions and to promote development based on equity, inclusiveness and providing
opportunities to all. Master Plans, which have been used by planners as the panacea to overcome all
the urban ills, will have to be redrawn /redefined with appropriate innovations/changes made in the
intent, contents and scope of such plans. New order of Master Plans will not be merely land-use plans,
defining/freezing the city future once for all for next two decades, indicating the use of every parcel of
land in the city. They will take a ‘whole city’ approach to planning and will focus on the urban form,
shape and typology of the city. Since cities are dynamic entities, ever changing, ever shaping, evolving
and devolving, they will require plans which provide inbuilt flexibility to cater to urban dynamism. The
master plans would accordingly be dynamic in nature, growing and evolving with the growth of towns.
New breed of Master Plans would be based on state art technologies and a distinct vision, evolved
after detailed study, analysis and understanding of the city fabric and its growth potential duly
supported by detailed planning and development guidelines. The vision shall be achieved through well
defined missions for different facets of city involving planning and development. Each development
project shall be evaluated in the context of defined vision and guidelines, by a multi-disciplinary team
of experts by involving stakeholders before accepting. The city planning shall not be dictated
exclusively by planners but will involve larger set of experts representing different shades of city
planning, growth and management to rationalize decision making. Architects, urban designers,
3. landscape experts, service providers, environmentalists, transport experts, conservationists, art and
culture historians and sociologists etc will have major role in planning the smart cities.
New order of planning will be geared to make the city compact to reduce travel and extent of service
network to bring economy and operational efficiency in the city. In this context, the focus of the city
shall be people. Planning shall also promote better relationship between living and working by
adopting the mechanism of transit oriented development. In this pattern, the focus shall be to provide
housing, offices, work areas, commercial and institutions along the mass transport network provided
within walking distance. Green spaces on the defined norms shall form integral part of urban living and
working in order to promote highest order of environment and ecology. Smart cities will be planned on
the basis of inclusiveness, self-reliance and self-sustainability, having minimum impact on local and
global environment and ecology.
Considering the major implications of urban areas, being largest consumers of energy and resources,
generators of waste and emitters of green house gasses , largely due to transportation and built
environment, the new regime of planning will focus on minimising travel and create buildings which are
least consumers of energy and resources. Smart planning will focus on creating cities which are highly
energy efficient made possible by adopting shape and size of the city which involve minimum travel
and services
In addition, to looking inward, new regime of urban planning will also be looking outward so as to link
the city with its surrounding areas/settlements. No city exists in spatial isolation. Every city has its
periphery/area of influence to support it. This zone of influence varies with the size, location, primacy,
accessibility, population, nature of specialisation, administrative status, amenities, services etc. The
existing pattern of urban planning ignores the critical role and importance of periphery in
sustaining/rationalizing the city growth and development. In fact majority of prevailing urban ills have
their genesis in ignoring the planning, growth and development of surrounding urban/rural settlements.
Accordingly, new regime of urban planning will involve an approach which would involve inward and
outward looking at the cities. Most efficient cities in the world have adopted Regional perspective and
not just looking at cities growth. The Regional approach/model has helped them in minimizing local
competition and conflicts, over/under investment in infrastructure and overcoming confusion over role
and responsibilities of various agencies and making city smart. In the process, it has promoted higher
order of co-operation and growth, of not only of the city but of the region. Looking outward can also
help in achieving the objectives of integration and decentralized planning,enshrined in 74th
Constitutional Amendment Act,1992.
Tianjin eco-city, in China, has been planned and developed as a smart city for a population of
3,50,000 spread over an area of 30 sq.kms. The city is planned as a combination of Three Harmonies
involving social harmony, economic
vibrancy and environmental sustainability
besides Three Abilities including
practicability, replicability and scalability.
These objectives have been achieved by
using a derelict/non-arable site with
planning based on mixed land use and
transit oriented development principles; city
mobility based on green transportation
providing for increased use of public
transport and non-motorised modes involving walking and cycling. Highest quality of life has been
achieved by planning extensive green(vegetation) and blue( water) networks, as integral part of city
fabric of living and working. For ensuring
appropriate quality of life to the residents on
sustained basis, planning is based on 22
Tianjin City Plan
4. quantitative and 4 qualitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),which define the development
standards for the city in terms of amenities, services, air-quality, environment, ecology, noise, carbon
emission, wetland, buildings, plantation, green spaces, accessibility, housing and employment. R&D
has also been included as one of the KPI to ensure city growth is based on latest technologies and
innovations. Tianjin is envisioned to be a thriving city which is socially harmonious, environmental
friendly, resource efficient and a role
model of sustainable development. Tianjin
eco-city provides a replicable model of
planning smart cities in India with
appropriate modifications.
MAKING CITIES COMPACT
Smart cities have to be compact. For
making a city compact, it has to be
planned, designed and developed as a
vertical and inward looking city. No
horizontal and outward looking city can be smart. Creating compact city would essentially involve
promoting high density development for providing large built up area using minimum land. Horizontally
spread cities are known to be cost intensive, energy and land inefficient because of larger spread of
services and road network. Horizontal spread
of city leads to larger travel demand and
greater trip length , calling for the provision of large and complex mechanized transportation, making
the city large consumer of resources and energy, generating green house gasses, creating more
pollution, adversely impacting the health and quality of life of the residents. Horizontal cities invariably
lead to numerous operational and management problems besides making the city environmentally
unsustainable. It also reduces the productivity and operational efficiency of the city due to large time
and resources spent on travel. Compact cities on other hand offer distinct advantages in terms of
saving precious land resource, economy in development, energy efficiency, promoting
pedestrianization, cycling and mass transportation with least dependence on personalized vehicles.
Compact cities are known to make city life supportive of social living and overcoming the two worst
gifts of urbanization including travel and traffic. Promoting non-mechanized travel has distinct
advantages in improving the health of residents besides making cities more humane and liveable due
to large personal contacts.
Planning vertical cities would however, require new state of art approach to planning. Present
approach to city planning would have to be re-defined with new order of development controls put in
place. It would also require new planning norms and standards for land use and supportive amenities
and basic services to be put in place. Planning vertical cities would ensure that basic principles of city
planning are not sacrificed and city would be planned and designed to promote highest order of quality
of life, provide high order of productivity and ensure availability of basic services/ amenities to lead an
optimum life. Cities of Singapore and New York have clearly demonstrated the distinct advantages of
vertical development in promoting quality of life and higher order of operational efficiency. In search of
finding optimum solutions to make the city development inward and vertical, Singapore adopted the
mechanism of using digital survey of the city, identified buildings which were low rise, evolved a policy
and provided incentives to owners to put high rise buildings to replace the low intensity development in
order to overcome the problem of high cost of living and provide more housing space in the city. City
of New York permitted the sub-division of land and construction of studio apartments on the terraces
of the existing buildings to create more housing space in the city. Though the system of redensification
of the existing cities may be slow and cumbersome but new and green field cities offer enormous
opportunities to be planned and developed as vertical cities for making them smart. With cities
responsible for consuming more than 70% global energy and generating 75% of green house gas
emissions, largely due to transportation and built environment, it becomes critical that both these
transit oriented development
5. problems are addressed by planning and designing the cities in a manner that they involve minimum
travel and have buildings which are primarily and essentially green. Planning vertical cities would be
most desirable and essential because India has only 2.4% of global land with 16.7% of global
population to hold/support, which would require land resource to be preserved, conserved, protected
and used in a most optimum manner for ensuring sustainability and survival of the country.
SMART BUILDINGS
Buildings have critical role in making the cities smart.
No city can be made smart unless it is supported by
built environment, which is energy efficient and
intelligent because buildings use over 40% world’s
total energy, 30% raw materials, 25% timber
harvested, 16% fresh water withdrawal and are
responsible for 35% of world’s CO2 emission, 40%
municipal solid waste, 50% ozone depleting CFC
besides making 30% residents having sick building
syndrome. With number of people rushing, towards urban centres, energy requirements of cities due
to buildings, is going to rise sharply in future. As per
Mckinsey Global Institute Report (April, 2010), ‘India
Urban Awakening :Building Inclusive Cities’, India would be required to create on annual basis
buildings to the tune of 700-900 million sqmts (equal to the built up volume of Chicago City in USA) to
meet the needs of urban India. Despite huge projected requirements , very little focus is being given
to mitigate the adverse impact on the environment caused by rapid and uncontrolled growth of
building industry. Thus building as a sector would require close scrutiny and monitoring for effecting
overall economy in the levels of energy consumption and making cities smart.
Experience and studies have shown that adopting an integrated approach to design can reduce
energy implications of buildings. Integrated approach to building design would essentially revolve
round, rational site planning, shape and size of the buildings, built form, surface to volume ratio;
promoting building efficiency ,rationalising ratio between length and depth of the building, using
simple techniques of building structure, efficient structural design; adopting principles of solar passive
techniques , using energy efficient equipment, controlling lighting, heating, ventilation ; using solar
energy/air movement, reduced use of transportation energy, low energy components; minimising
waste, using local materials, optimising landscaping etc.
Orientation is the most critical factor which needs to be effectively used in all building designs in order
to evolve energy efficient building design by making use of solar light/heat/radiation and the wind
energy. However, requirements of building design would vary from region to region, state to state and
within regions and states. Accordingly, buildings with regard to sun and wind will have to be oriented
differently in different regions. In order to ensure that buildings make best use of solar and wind
energy, it would be essential that majority of buildings would have the site advantage of having best
orientation where such buildings are to be constructed. Accordingly, in this context town planners
have important role cast for themselves for ensuring that while preparing the layout plan of the area,
highest consideration is given to orientation so that maximum number of plots have the advantage of
best orientation. Once this is ensured at the planning level, it would be much easier for the Architects
to evolve a design which would be energy efficient. Further, the planners should ensure that ratio of
plot width and depth is fixed in such a manner that the entire depth of built up area permitted on a
plot should have access to natural light during the day, minimizing the requirement of artificial lighting.
This would be particularly important in case of row housing where plots have the option to draw light
from front and the rear only.
green buildings
6. Designing with nature by making best use of existing natural
elements/sources and vegetation, offers the best option of creating
green buildings. In order to ensure that buildings are designed as
energy efficient, they must be designed to conform to the norms and
standards laid down by the IGBC/LEED. In addition, concerted
efforts should be made to promote retrofitting of existing buildings to
make them energy efficient. Singapore has already drawn a master
plan to make all the existing buildings green through a collaborative
policy framework involving residents, property owners and the
government. Retrofitting of Empire State Building of New York has
led to achieving reduction of electricity load for the building to the
tune of 3.5 MW and reduction of green house gas emissions by
1,00,000 tonnes over a 15 years period. The payback/recovery
period for the $13.1 million spent on retrofitting of building, has been
laced at 3.5 years due to saving of energy.
PLANNING SMART/SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
Cities, as explained above, are known to contribute
70% of global green house gas emissions, with
majority of contribution coming from transportation
and buildings. With traditional fuels, transportation
sector alone contributes 45% of total carbon
emissions. Challenges posed by transportation sector
accordingly remain daunting and formidable in
creating smart cities. To overcome these challenges
one of the best option would be to promote
sustainable urban transport in order to make cities
cleaner, greener and smarter. Promoting sustainable
urban transport would accordingly form integral and
essential part of any strategy to promote Smart Cities. Smart cities would have different order of
priority for transportation led by pedestrianization, cycling and public transport with least priority going
to personal transport. Smart cities will be planned with priority for people and not for vehicles. In
smart cities, sustainable transport would essentially call for minimizing use of personalized vehicles;
promoting non- mechanized/ non-fuel based options for travel; using public transport with large
capacity, run essentials on non-polluting fuels /electricity; using state of art technologies, making
vehicles zero-emission; making cities more compact to limit the need of mechanized travel; using land
use planning to rationalize the travel pattern etc. It would also involve use of information technologies
as one of the mechanism to reduce travel by using homes as offices, schools, libraries etc.
Study recently made by Central Road Research Institute
(CRRI), has revealed that Delhi Metro, having daily ridership of
27 lakhs, has helped in replacing 3.9 lakh vehicles off the Delhi
roads in 2014 besides saving Rs 10,364 crores in terms of fuel,
pollution and passenger’s time. In absolute terms, the annual
reduction in fuel consumption has been recorded at 2.76 lakh
tonnes, as against the corresponding figures of the year 2011,
besides bringing down the travel time of commuters by 32
minutes. In addition to promoting operational efficiency and
making Delhi cleaner and green, study furthers states that
metro has made the city safer by reducing the number of Delhi Metro
green transport
Empire State Building
7. fatal accidents.
Draft Concept note evolved by the Ministry of Urban Development for the Smart Cities has defined
the transportation parameters for a smart city in terms of maximum travel time of 30 minutes in small
& medium size cities and 45 minutes in metropolitan areas; creating continuous unobstructed
footpaths of minimum 2m width on either side of all street with right of way of 12m or more; dedicated
and physically segregated bicycle tracks with a width of 2m or more, one in each direction, provided
on all streets with carriageway larger than 10m ;high quality and high frequency mass transport within
800m (10-15 minute walking distance) of all residences in areas with density of over 175 persons / ha
of built Area and access to para -transit within 300m walking distance, in order to promote the use of
mass transport for meeting the travel demand of residents with least dependence on individual
mechanized transport.
Increased use of environment-friendly public transport systems and halting of urban sprawl in cities
can substantially reduce emissions at city level and make cities cleaner, greener, smarter and
sustainable.. However, creating sustainable urban transport would require a multi- pronged strategy
based on leveraging the advantages of all modes of travel, involving communities and stakeholders
besides professionals engaged in urban/transport planning, development and management Our
capacity to create sustainable urban transport, through state of art cleaner and greener technologies
with innovative city planning, development and management, would hold the key to the productivity,
economy, quality of life, sustainability and operational efficiency of human settlements and to make
cities smart.
LEVERAGING SMART TECHNOLOGY
Smart cities, besides being smart will also have to be intelligent. They will have to be user-friendly and
supportive of higher order of productivity and quality of life. Accordingly, state of art technologies will
form integral part of planning, development and management of day to day operations of smart cities.
Use of innovative/smart technology will promote operational efficiency, bring economy, efficiency in
service delivery and promote high degree of urban governance. Globally, successful cities are
extensively using Information Communication Technology (ICT) to promote good governance, bringing
transparency in decision making and involving communities and residents in planning and decision
making. ICT is also being used to reduce/bridge gap between people’s aspiration and administrative
decision making. ICT has critical role in rationalizing traffic and transportation, reducing congestion,
creating awareness among road users, reducing pollution and green house gas emissions. Monitoring
of service delivery and plugging leakage in services have been checked effectively by ICT.
Technology has also been used to generate enormous data regarding city, its growth, development
and operations which serves as a valuable base/input for planning and rational decision making.
Intelligent systems have been used to integrate data generated by different sources in the
organization at the city level and to bring high degree of integration among the working of the various
departments within the organization.
Many cities have created interactive portals to provide information and promote connectivity with
people and for addressing their grievances. Dimming/ switching street lights automatically by using
real time data to save 30% on energy cost; using cameras at cross-sections to optimise traffic lights,
cut travel times while reducing air pollution and cost of tackling it ; using One Map, an online portal,
enabling government, business, organisations and residents to access geo-spatial data; using digital
applications to register concern about streets that require cleaning and potholes needing repair ;
posting information online about pending changes to land use plan; sharing data suggesting best bus
route for any journey in the city ; engaging citizens as active partners in planning and development
process; providing drivers with real- time traffic information to avoid congested roads and city
authorities to track traffic volumes and plan for new roads; creating world’s first solar powered bike
lane to make cycle even greener, have been effectively leveraged by cities of Boston, Berlin,
California, London, and Bucheon in South Korea to make them smarter and harmonious.
8. CONCLUSION
Smart city is not a new concept and has been followed globally to improve the quality of living and
promote operational efficiency and productivity of the cities. It is an attempt to make cities more
liveable, sustainable and for creating a brand image to attract investment and make them a tourist
destination. Globally , smart cities are characterised by high degree of environmental consciousness;
using information technology to promote energy/ resources efficiency; creation of knowledge
infrastructure; promoting sustainable economic development and high quality of life; ensuring wise
management of natural resources through participatory action. According to Forbe, the structure of
smart cities will have to be built on eight pillars involving:
‘smart governance, smart energy, smart buildings, smart
mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology, smart
healthcare and smart citizens’. Based on detailed studies and
indepth analysis made of the most successful case studies
globally, as how to transform cities into great places to live
and make a city great, Mckinsey’s suggests three pronged
strategy involving, achieving smart growth, do more with less
and win support for change. Considering the entire gamut of
urban settlements , a city can be made Smart only if it is
planned smart, developed smart, operated smart,
financed smart and governed smartly .
REFRENCES
McKinsey Global Institute, “India’s Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic
Growth”, April 2010.
Government of India, ”Faster, Sustainable and More Inclusive Growth- An Approach to the Twelfth Five
Year Plan”, Planning Commission, pp.108-114,October, 2011
Shannon B, David Cis, Lenny& four others, “How to make a city great”, McKinsey Global Institute, pp.8-
25,cities@mckinsey.com
United Nations, “World Urbanization Prospects- The 2014 Revision”, pp.7-10, New York, 2014.
UN Habitat, “State of World’s Cities 2008/9, Overview and Key Findings”, pp. x-xvi, New York, 2009.
“Urban News Digest”, Volume III, issue 9: www.urbannewsdigest.in, New Delhi, pp4-8,November2014
Unpublished brief, “Tianjin Eco City- A Fact Sheet”, IGBC Confederation of Indian Industries,pp.1-
7,2014
Government of India, “Draft Concept Note on Smart Cities”, Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development, pp. 8,33, October,2014
Author:
* Jit Kumar Gupta
Ex- Director,
College of Architecture, IET Bhaddal, Punjab
# 344, Sector 40-A, Chandigarh-160036.
E.mail: jit.kumar 1944@ gmail.com
Smart city components