Defining Modular for Sustainable Future

By Anoop Jha

Sustainable Modular Unit for Design, Architecture and Planning

Modular planning and design is not a luxury, its necessity of time due to scarce resources, ever growing population, industrialization and mass production, automation, emerging and rapidly changing technology, wide gap of demand and supply, time constraint, need for efficient integration, rapid expansion and need for fast and easy maintenance and reproduction. In context of above observation let’s analyze the elements and process which are and can be made modular for optimum utilization of time and resources for the better future. But one should not be confuse modularity with monotony; Modular units need to be flexible for the customization based on region, location, altitude, culture and other environmental constraints. 

Modular Elements in Design - Design elements, patterns, motifs, pixels, Canvas/ Panel/ Base, printing, casting moulds, design tools, frames, pallets,

Modular Elements in Architecture - Architectural elements like door & windows construction items like tiles and glass panels, false ceiling panels, etc., Toilet, Kitchen, Structural elements, prefabricated modules,

Modular Elements in Planning - Replicable city grid, clusters, modular infrastructure, Modular neighborhood sectors, Modular housing units, Street section templates, street hardware etc

Pedestrian Desireline - Significance in, Landscape Architecture, Transport and Urban Planning

By - Anoop Jha

Desired natural and organic Pedestrian Movement Vs Planned synthetic and rigid Transit Network

Pedestrians are a very important element and regular attribute of transit-scape and landscape of any city, they often assume secondary position when it comes to transit plan of the city. transport models revolves around the vehicular dominance, transportation plans are prepared for smooth flow of vehicular traffic and after that pedestrian facilities are integrated rater retrofitted into the vehicular movement plan, through pedestrian underpass and over-bridges, with discontinuous patches of footpaths which is not suitable and safe for even healthy and active city dwellers, not to speak of physically challenged, differently abled and old aged population. Pedestrian circulation and their movement desire-line should be mapped and considered at the beginning and throughout of transport planning process. 


When it comes to landscape planning or outdoor public spaces, again pedestrian desire-lines are often ignored, result can be observed  everywhere  across city- broken fences, walls and barriers to avoid longer route and vehicular traffic, impression of casual pathways made by regular shortcut movement of pedestrian on the otherwise planned green fields and formal landscaped areas. All this because of ignorance to pedestrian desire-line and lack of comprehensive walkability plan for the city, neighborhood, and public spaces which should be otherwise vital and compulsory part of Transport, landscape and Urban Planning process. 

Transportation Viscosity - Resistance in Collective Travel

By - Anoop Jha

Understanding Qualitative aspect of Transportation

Transport Viscosity and bottleneck 

Transportation viscosity or transit viscosity is a resistance faced by commuters while travelling collectively in any given urban or regional setting; it can be sophisticated qualitative criteria to understand and judge the congestion level of any city and can help improve the life of city. Transit viscosity is made of many tangible and intangible elements like, No. of Vehicle per unit length of Road, Surface Material, Condition & Texture of Road, Street Edge, Manmade or Natural Obstructions on Road, Ongoing Development work in Process in the corridor, Ongoing O & M of Road of other infrastructure concealed within the road or corridor, Transport Signage simplicity, visibility and condition and location, Driving Behavior of individuals, pedestrian behavior etc. Most of the characteristics stated above are related to socio-economic condition of city, efficiency of administration and education level of community. Role of planners here is to understand the nature and reason of these frictional elements of transportation which causes transit viscosity and to plan accordingly to reduce the friction.    

Local Ecosystem : Model for adaptive growth

By - Anoop Jha

An autonomous and sustainable model for planning

Understanding the intricate pattern of  local ecosystem of any region which is adjustable and adaptive to its constantly changing environmental parameters like micro-climate, inhabitants, pace of activities, external tangible influences etc. could prove to be the key to future sustainable model for Urban and regional development. 

There are ample of example of such ecosystem throughout the world with  its peculiar challenges and solutions. ecosystems can be as small as an small island or a patch of land on a river bank, or it can be as big as a regional watershed catchment area of forest of Amazon, but each of these autonomous ecosystems have some kind of  similarity  which is absorptive capacity of these ecosystems, they seem to have inevitable capacity to nurture and absorb the growth within its somewhat flexible envelop. 

Natural ecosystems try to maintain a unique environmental conditions necessary for its existence from its constant physical and chemical activities. For example, river bank of an urban settlement which acts as the only grazing land for  buffaloes and cows of the small villages trapped within the city fabric in the process of urban expansion, can be an interesting area of study related to ecosystem.It is more or less similar cycle of activity flux everyday in the somewhat flexible envelop of this river bank grazing land, though constantly being influenced and invaded by the development activities of city and natural cyclic activities like annual flood. another example can be the Large forest of Savanna, which apparently seem calm from a distance but  buzzing with life cycle activities of flora and fauna inside its dense green envelop, constantly nurturing, changing, adapting  and absorbing the growth, while maintaining its ecosystem. Urban and Regional Planner need to study, document, analyse, extract, and implement the similar autonomous model of growth and planning for a sustainable future of cities.

Conference cum Exhibition on Sustainable Mobility -2011

4th ANNUAL URBAN MOBILITY CONFERENCE CUM EXHIBITION-2011 AND SIXTH REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT (EST) FORUM IN ASI

Programme

Conference cum Exhibition on Sustainable Mobility

Organized by

Ministry of Urban Development

Government of India

Insititute of Urban Transport (IUT)           

United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)              

World Health Organization (WHO)

Ministry of the Environment,

Government of Japan

VENUE: The Manekshaw Centre, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi-110070, India

3rd to 6th December 2011

New Delhi

PROVISIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Conference Chair: Prof. Saugata Roy, Hon’ble Minister of State (Urban Development), Government of India

Source: iutindia.org

Changing Scale of Innovation – from Architecture to Urban Planning

By- Anoop Jha

Next generation of Urban Planning inspired by Architecture Evolution

Evolution of Construction Technology and new construction Materials inspired the Architects in past to experiment with the form, scale and aesthetics of buildings, technology fueled the growth of architectural innovation and the broadened vista of modern architecture. Complex and sophisticated simulation tools and software, advanced construction equipments, advanced structural engineering and emergence of new stronger and flexible construction materials combined with creativity of Architects made this architectural revolution possible. Urban planning was of relatively much larger and complex nature, incorporating architecture as one of the element. For the long period of time technology was of little importance in urban planning except the transportation revolution of Mass Rapid transit systems and emergence of steel as high-rise construction material which shaped the development of urban planning to some extent.

Technology in recent past has made tremendous development like satellite images and advanced mapping technology, Geographical Information System (GIS), sophisticated analytical tools and software, new resource management techniques, modeling prediction tools, automation, integrated infrastructure systems etc. and it is growing exponentially, which is giving tremendous possibilities for urban planners to experiment in the field of urban habitation, buildings of near impossible height and scale, urban transit systems, environment, and core urban infrastructure, utilizing resources, use of previously untapped potential of region and inaccessible terrains, and planning in extreme climate. We can see the impact of state of art technology manifesting itself in the new planned cities, future urban development proposals, emerging revolutionary thoughts on next generation of cities. The kind of innovation which was only visible in architectural domain till recent past is now have become a regular feature of urban planning processes an proposals.  

Pro-poor Regional Planning: Strategic proposal

By- Anoop Jha

Mainstream Socio – economic Integration of poor and underprivileged

Impact of Regional Planning is slow but it is long-lasting. It is directly related to growth of region hence it has to be inclusive for downstream befits. It has evolved to cater to a much larger population base. It shapes the socio-economic future trends of the region and even the nation. There are different strategies which can and should be adopted as part of the Regional Development Plan and Regional Tourism and transportation Plan. Some of the pro-poor strategies for regional planning are as follows –

Social Integration of poor and underprivileged strata of society

Reviving and reinforcing local art, culture, history, of the region   

Promoting local Artisans, craftsman and artists,

Establishing Service and food processing industries

Creating zonal art, craft, food-grain, Wholesale and retail markets as active and vibrant nodes

Networking nodes through all weather road

Small scale industries

Training

Storage facilities

Hospitality

Natural eco tourism, Food and eateries 

Rural tourism

Culture trekking

Nurturing talent pool

Resource mobilisation,

Micro financing and community based program