While recent outrage about tree-cutting put these seven projects in the headlines, urban planners say such densification and redevelopment projects are going to become increasingly common in the heart of Indian metros over the coming decade.
Holistic redevelopment
“All those urban areas which came up in the 1960s and 1970s will be due for redevelopment soon...Our policies and by-laws are not geared towards holistic redevelopment,” said Raman Sikka, a Delhi architect whose firm has worked on urban projects across the country.
There is need to see redevelopment projects through a wide lens and consider issues of connectivity, green spaces, landscapes and skylines, he suggested.
Mitu Mathur, an urban planner and architect with GPM Associates, pointed out that redevelopment will take place whether policies are in place or not.
“In Delhi for example, you have redevelopment happening on both sides of Ring Road. In Kidwai Nagar, it is planned government projects, while in South Extension, it is unplanned and being done haphazardly by every individual plot owner,” Ms. Mathur said.
While several cities are developing land pooling policies, they may not work if the government demands that owners give up rights to a substantial chunk of their land, said Arun Rewal, an architect and urban planner with Raj Rewal Associates.
He suggested that if policies are put in place to facilitate cooperative land pooling by owners themselves, that may offer better ways for plot reconstitution and redevelopment.
While Mr. Rewal emphasised that the design of a redevelopment project must protect the existing vision of the city it is located in, even as it plays around with new typologies, Ms. Mathur said that redensification projects are an opportunity to reinvent the vision of a city.
Any densification project must consider its impact on infrastructure and ecology of surrounding areas as well, but several planners said existing policies to assess impact on traffic, water resources, flooding and pollution are either insufficient or poorly implemented.
Equity is another key factor to be considered.
“There needs to be inclusive planning which allows for mixed housing, with accommodation for all socio-economic classes...We cannot create ghettos,” said Mr. Rewal.
Kanchi Kohli, who heads an environmental justice programme at the Centre for Policy Research, agreed. “We cannot demolish public spaces and turn them into gated communities. It is not just an ecological problem, but a social justice issue,” she said.
Under existing policies, there are few ways for public participation and input into real estate projects, she added.
