Shared Scapes

The project proposes an agro-foresed zone and a public space for 136 acres of land at the edge of Sabarmati river. It will offer a unique landscape to the visitors and will also be a space where residents can lease land, grow, maintain and benefit directly from nature-based services. The policy framework and regulations are developed taking into consideration the management of resources and procurement in sustainable ways. The river bed has historically been a fertile landscape for growing and for many vulnerable communities such commons are economic backbones. Extracting water, drawing out rich soils, fishing, harvesting flora or rearing cattle can be seen within the site. Some of these activities, if not managed, can be detrimental to the health of the river and can have lasting negative implications. Therefore, based on the principles of the economist Elinor Ostrom the Shared scapes project is a self organizing and self regulating design for productive landscapes. The design has three zones: agro- forest, conserved forest zone and riparian based on the terrain and vegetation cover. It creates a system for plantation, architectural inserts for supporting infrastructures and a system of policy framework for availing land and managing resources. It is a first-of-its-kind public area that not only empowers communities but also provides multidimensional benefits.