Projects | Studio
UG - BUD - Studio - 8 | Spring 2021 | Environmental Recharging
  • Student Lopamudra Baruah
  • Code UD2017
  • Faculty Planning
  • Unit L3 Studio Unit
  • Tutor/s Melissa Smith,Bulbul Vyas
  • TA Sampurna Pattanaik

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This project conceptualizes the usage of leftover railway public lands to re­charge the degrading environment of the city. This project unifies the infrastructural leftovers into a panorama of environmentally sound landscapes that will readjust the lens of urban development in our cities. Our cities resonate with the ever-increasing burden of expansion entailing global threats of climate change. The attempt to accommodate this expansion has orchestrated the political and economic structure of our cities into an elaborate diegesis of dismissive capitalism, the reflection of which is pronounced on our natural landscapes quite literally. Vacancy in every form is cashed into profits of parochial businesses, unmindful of the disturbed environmental footprint which persists longer. However, this profound affirmation of economic gains of both the government and the people can mate with environmental sensitivity to rebuild a narrative of sustainable development in the long run.  

The value of public land: RLDA has proposed to commercialize these vacant lands. But considering these vacant lands are public assets, what can be expected out of them? Instead of populating our cities with commercial multiplexes which are economic assets only to their private owners and exclusionary in terms of their usage, we must re-evaluate the purpose of such lands in the long run and their potential role in augmenting the city’s sustainability quotient. The rise of the Vacant Lands: The adaptation of these infrastructural leftovers to provide durable solutions against these crises is what should be the underlying principle of such repurpose projects.100 years down the line, the accomplishment of an ecologically responsible project weighed against the transience of a multiplex will be stronger and way more beneficial for the health and wealth of the city and its residents.
The particular linear nature of these lands gives them the added accessible, connective mobility which makes them a potential public space running across the city. Greater emphasis should be put on the fact that these are public lands, governed by one major authority i.e Indian Railways. Partnership between two government authorities will further the interests of receiving economic profit out of these lands and also restore the lost ecological value of the city . Real Estate market can be a drive for reforestation of these lands with a healthy environment, proximity to public infrastructure (transport and water) as incentives. In 2018, Ahmedabad recorded a drop of 13.4% in forest cover, reduced to 117 sq km from 135 sq km. This project paired with the incentives of real estate can be a major influence in increasing forest cover inside the city by extending its principles into future developments.
THE ALTERNATIVE: 194 hectares of land instead of being commercialized into multiplexes should perform as environmental recharge points of the city. These lands should be used to provide the people of the city to experience a clean and pollution free environment which will benefit their health. The goal should be to limit temperatures that would benefit the overall environment of the city in a way that every inhabitant enjoys a healthier life while attempting to offset the carbon footprint of large scale infrastructure projects that generated these in the first place.
Strategies: The fundamental logic of the strategies is to exploit the already existing potentials of the site with respect to the city. They can be broadly classified into two types: linear and point source. The linear connective tissue i.e the infrastructural lands is lined with extensive vegetation of different local species and a pedestrian and bicycle pathway for the public to experience such spaces. The point sources are developed into public spaces, situated at junctions which are also the access points for the city to these lands.
Strategy: Vegetation
Strategy: Bicycle/Pedestrian pathway
Strategy: Bicycle/Pedestrian pathway
Strategy: Public Space
Strategy: Public Space
Strategy: Public Space