The city is undergoing a massive transformation in view of the development of new capital, Amaravati, in its vicinity.
In the wake of the growing population due to the upcoming capital city, the slum habitations on the canal bunds, hill slopes, and other hazardous pockets need attention. A team of research scholars from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), Vijayawada, has taken up a European Union (EU)-funded project –Building Inclusive Communities (BInUCom) – to effectively address the issue.
BInUCom is an Erasmus Plus project that has brought three European Universities – Danube University, Austria; Lund University, Sweden; and University of Twente, Netherlands; and four Indian Universities – SPA, Vijayawada; CEPT University (Ahmedabad); Karpagam University, Coimbatore; and Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture and Environment (KRVIA), Mumbai; to put in place an effective plan for inclusive urban communities/informal sector.
The EU’s Erasmus combines all current schemes of education, training, youth and sport.
Members of the research team include SPA’s Head of Architecture Department S. Ramesh; HoD-Planning Mohamed Razak; associate professor in the Department of Planning Ayon Kumar Tarafdar; and assistant professor, Department of Architecture, D. Srinivas. Nagaraju Kaja is the project coordinator.
Parameters
Based on parameters such as density, connectivity and civic amenities, the team members conducted a study to identify informal settlements in the city limits to explore a relation between their vulnerability and physical conditions in the slums along sewerage channels; spatial access and inclusion of livelihood needs for residents of Old Rajarajeswaripet and intervention of local authorities to create sustainable living on the hill slopes of the city.
“We also conducted a thorough study on key aspects such as their accessibility to civic amenities and impact of their environment on health,” said Mr. Kaja.
The outcome of the study would be put in the public domain at a national conference proposed to be held at SPAV in February.
The SPAV members attended a series of workshops held in the last two years to discuss similar projects in cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Coimbatore, and European cities such as Vienna.
A national conference on ‘Informal Settlements – Indian Cities; Impulses for Innovation in Architecture and Urban Planning Education’ was recently held in Coimbatore.
