Shivaji Memorial off the coast of Mumbai

Shivaji Memorial - Image via 20twentytwo.blogspot.in

Firstly, the idea is based on the Statue of Liberty at New York. How unoriginal one could be! Just to mention, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to America. 

We would rather build a colossal memorial for Shivaji in the sea off Mumbai, but will not repair the forts built by the king which are in state of ruins or use that money for some sensible cause. It’s a shame our politicians even bring up such plans.   

I remember a story told by Babasaheb Purandare, the famous Shivaji historian. Upon visiting London, he noticed that there were hardly any statues of Winston Churchill to be seen. He asked this once to an Englishman why this is so, that such a famous well deserving man should lack a memorial or big statues within his own country. The Englishman replied, “We need no statues or memorials to commemorate Churchill. He lives in our blood”. 
Let’s first build a memorial for Shivaji in our hearts and let it manifest in a number of meaningful causes before building a 300 ft statue in the sea.

You can read the detail proposal here.

Lessons from Ahmedabad for Pune – Part II

Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project

This is another project from Ahmedabad worth mentioning. Until some years back, the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad was plagued by problems similar to other rivers passing through cities in India today. Untreated sewage disposal, squatter settlements, and flooding during the monsoons were some of them. In 1997 Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation formed the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd. for the purpose of ‘reviving the city by reconnecting it to the river’.  Environmental Planning Collaborative, an Ahmedabad based non-profit headed by Ar. Bimal Patel prepared feasibility studies and proposed a design. Despite unending controversies, the plan can be seen coming to fruition today. The leaders and decision makers of the time are largely to praise for the successful implementation without compromising for quality. 

People throng the riverfront during Kite Festival - Jan 2012

Large retaining walls have been added for means of flood control for an 11.5 km stretch along both sides of the river. More than 200 hectares of land has been reclaimed which will be used for creating parks, public plazas, promenades and commercial + residential space. 

Promenades have been created for the public along the entire stretch and water has been diverted from the Narmada canal north of the city and has been retained by constructing a barrage downstream at Vasna. 


The project is entirely self-financed with sale of 14.5% of land for commercial and residential establishments. Various plans are underway to weave the riverfront with the city by connecting popular landmarks near the river with pedestrian plazas. Many iconic structures such as the Corbusier’s Textile Mill-owners Association, Patang hotel, Tagore Hall, NID etc. face the waterfront and have been incorporated in the design. In addition, large part of the reclaimed land will be used for new cultural and civic institutions such as museums, exhibition and performance venues, monuments etc (Source: 'Indian cities: Managing Urban Growth', pg. 95, A report by Metropolis Association).

Artists rendering of the promenade

Large parks along the riverfront

Pune can take some lessons from this project. Firstly, that the SRFD project is going as planned and is being managed well. I know that’s quite basic but our city always stumbles when it comes tor successful project implementation.

Mula and Mutha rivers - Pune

Next, Pune can invest in its own riverfront development. The map on the left shows how the two rivers, Mula and Mutha meander through the city. In fact, before the confluence, they pass through some of the important and densely inhabited areas. At the confluence there is an 33 acre thickly forested island! The rivers do not divide the city in east and west (like in Ahmedabad), but connect it together. This connection can be exploited with help of a small dam (such as the bund which the British had built), and a ferry service could be launched.

Open land along the river

Open land and road as seen from the Omkareshwar bridge.

For me, the most important outcome would be a recreational riverfront promenade/park. We all know that Pune is in desperate need of quality open spaces.  Parks such as Sambhaji Park and Saras Baug are there but are too small for today’s population. There are hardly any sizeable parks in the city. Peoples’ need for public open space cannot be underestimated. Puneites crowd the bridges during the evenings for some open air. Sometime just look down from any of these bridges. You will see a large swathe of empty land along the riverbank. Thanks to river, it’s green even in peak summer. To begin with, if this space is moderately developed on an experimental basis, it can become a fabulous public space and provide respite from the city above. Since flooding is a threat, it can be closed during the monsoons. Progressively, a flood control plan can be created to divert the monsoon water elsewhere. Bringing people to the river will rekindle another cause. River pollution! As of now, PMC has created a road here rather than a public promenade.

For detailed information, plans and photographs of Sabarmati Riverfront Development, please visit:
HCPDPM website at http://www.hcp.co.in/project-details/61/73/135/sabarmati-riverfront-development-project and
http://www.sabarmatiriverfront.com/
http://www.metropolis.org/publications/indian-cities-managing-urba, pg. 95

Photo Sources: 
Ahmedabad Photos: http://epaper.timesofindia.com
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1107117&page=2, 
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1107117&page=11


Pune Photos - Pushkaraj Paradkar

Lessons from Ahmedabad for Pune – Part I

Modern Ahmedabad and Pune are quite comparable. Both cities have witnessed massive growth in the past two decades.  Ahmedabad ranks 7^th followed by Pune as the most populous cities in the country respectively (Source: Metropolis report, pg 16. Link: http://www.metropolis.org/publications/indian-cities-managing-urba). Both cities are characterized by the haphazard sprawl similar to other growing metros in India. The sustained industrial boom in Gujarat has seen steady growth of Ahmedabad over the past few decades. Pune is not very far behind and has seen a construction boom over the past two decades as it has morphed into a major commercial centre in Maharashtra after Mumbai.

A recent survey by Times of India ranked Ahmedabad as the most livable city in the country followed by Pune (All the cities ranked very low on the index. Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-11/india/30504461_1_cities-ahmedabad-kolkata). Thus as upcoming boom towns both are quite comparable. But this is now. A few years down the line, Gujarat’s alpha city will take over Pune for more than one reason. Two projects are changing the face of Ahmedabad. ‘Janmarg’, the Ahmedabad BRTS and Sabarmati River Front Development Project.

‘Janmarg’

Ahmedabad BRTS. Source: www.flickr.com Photo by Chris Kost

The first phase of the BRTS is already up and running and is coveted as the first successful BRT system in India. The planning and detailing from centralized digital ticketing system, buses and station design is excellent. Designed by CEPT, the work for next phases is already underway. When complete, BRTS project will connect large parts of the city with efficient public transport. An added layer of the proposed metro rail will further help enhance the connectivity within the city.

The first BRT system in India was in Pune and is now considered a failure. In fact, Pune still has the larger approved length of BRT routes (112 kms) than Ahmedabad. As per this comment from ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy), it is not even a real BRT since it does not run in a closed loop and also it lacks same level boarding. Further, Pune BRTS has failed to create a strong brand image to attract passengers. A complete mismanagement led to closure of some routes. 


Today, only two routes remain in operation. Next phases are only in files. Just imagine the transformation if all these routes were in operation by now. An affordable system of mass transit would have become available for the public. Usage and ownership of two wheelers would have automatically reduced, and with it would have gone down the petroleum demand and pollution. People, especially the old and children would have had better accessibility to various parts of the city. Puneites would have spent more time and money on visiting markets, temples, public spaces rather than wearing pollution masks and being stuck in traffic. This article written by transport specialists Abhijit Lokre and Madhav Pai, talk about the success story of Ahmedabad BRTS. It also highlights the need for strong management and political will. It’s time for Puneites to demand a resuscitation of the BRTS service for the city.

Broken lane barricades - Satara road, Pune

BRT stations are in a bad shape

Lack of same level boarding 

Pictures taken near Lotus Court on Satara Rd. 

by Pushkar Paradkar

Urban Planning Intro

Wow! I just heard that Pune is the fastest growing city in India. It has the largest number of construction sites and one of the biggest migration rates. The McKinsey report (http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/publications/india_urbanization/executive_summary.asp ) predicts that by the year 2030, Pune will be the fourth largest city in the country following Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata, and beating Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. This means a big deal to us architects, planners and entrepreneurs. Pune is going to witness an unprecedented demand for housing, transportation, quality open spaces, and virtually every other aspect associated with a rapidly developing city. The question is are we prepared for it? As of now the answer is “No”.

There does not seem to be a clear agenda, or a master plan/general plan to address this kind of growth. And if there is one, it is certainly not public. One of the main interests in democratic society is that such plans which are going to affect the lives of the current and future residents should be easily available to the public. A comprehensive general plan and for that matter a regional plan for Pune and its context in the western Maharashtra with other cities of Mumbai, Nashik etc need to be prepared. It should plan and propose for the growth happening within next 50 years. Pune-Mumbai- Nashik could be classified as one giant economic megaregion due to its growing economy, population and physical connectivity.

A creation of a general plan is a big venture. It is a big investment for the city but if done properly it can pay off big time for the future generations. Most of the beautiful and livable urban areas around the planet are not mere creations of chance but long term planning and more importantly proper implementation of those plans. Justifying the need of future growth the a city like Pune can get control over the state owned land much ahead of time for public facilities such as parks, open spaces, public structures like water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, additional municipal facilities and so on and also allocate land for hospitals, schools, old age homes etc. Predicting and planning for population densities in various parts of the city can help design an efficient public transportation system which is backbone of any well functioning city. The PMC website states that the city is in the process of including 13 villages in its jurisdictions but does not talk of a combined comprehensive plans for these new areas or the old existing ones. The material available online is in bits and pieces and hard to read. I am sure there is some plan and people of Pune would be interested to know what it is how it is going to develop in the coming years, but no effort has been made to make this easily understandable and available for the general public. Similar is the story with many other cities in India.

For the longest time, lack of money, bureaucracy and the 'developing' status of our country has been blamed as a cause for these problems. The common public needs to take a very active part in shaping their urban environment and their role cannot be denied. It is indeed a difficult task but certainly not impossible especially in Pune with its highly skilled technical labor and the influx of money.

Planning documents look ahead in to time and give precise guidelines for the way we want to see our city in the future. The common public should be involved in these decisions and should be made aware of what the city government is planning for in the coming years and how it plans to tackle the current and future issues. This could be done through public exhibitions and published documents.

So in short, we visualize how we want our city to look and be in say the next thirty years and create a plan for that today. Amidst all the political and bureaucratic change these documents serve as guidelines for the future development of the city. All the new developments have to follow the planning guidelines for the city. Thus the general plan for a city serves as an umbrella document for future developments.

This general plan can be broken down in to several categories. There could a preservation plan for the old town and buildings, open spaces and parks plan, plan for central business district, green belts and so on..

The main general plan of the city sets up broad goals and gives an overall direction for the city. It introduces the different elements/plans as mentioned above and outlines their scope. So for instance, a general master plan for the city would talk about the different parks present in the city but would not talk about a proposal for an individual park. Thus creating a general master plan is not the end. This calls up for a task to create a number of other plans such as the ones mentioned in the previous paragraph.

The only overriding plan for the general plan can be the regional plan. To ensure that all these different plans are congruent to one another from the very beginning it is important to convert them into legal documents which are passed and approved by the city. Also it is very important to have a clearly defined time-line for these plans. General master plans usually have a broad time line of 25-30 years. Obviously a lot changes in this time and all the goals and visions set forth in the plan are not one hundred percent realized but still if implemented properly, it is possible to go quite near the visions. Most importantly, the master plan ensures that unintended consequences in the development are curtailed and there is a common organization and alignment of both public and political interests.

This is literally a topic of books but I have tried my best to summarize the idea and importance of a general master plan. USA has a very standardized top-down hierarchy for such plans. There are regional plans, followed by general plans (or the master plan for a city), and then a master plan for individual elements within the general plan such as the downtown, open space and parks, environmental and so on. These individual plans could be further broken down in to small community scale plans, urban design projects and the individual buildings. Not to forget there is also a as built or existing land use plan which acts as a main reference between the present and the future general plan.

Check out some links below to get an idea of how a general plan can look like.

City of Tempe, AZ, USA - http://www.tempe.gov/generalplan/

City of Los Angeles, CA, USA - http://planning.lacity.org/cwd/gnlpln/index.htm