Sustainable Human Settlement Development Planning

Mayengbam Bhavananda *

Introduction

Thousands of years ago, human beings began as itinerating hunter and slowly agriculture compelled them to settle in one place thus early settlements were formed. As the people gathered to live together, it compelled them to develop physical infrastructures in order to function and support their society. Among these infrastructures, one of the most essential facilities is shelter.

As society grew the demand for infrastructure also increased manifold. This is evident from the amount and type of infrastructures we require at present to support our present society. The question of where and how much infrastructure is required depends on how people make their decisions on where to live, work, shop, go to school, etc.

These decisions dictate the need for infrastructure and often have been based on the modern principle of compartmentalisation rather than on mixed development theories and due to this, in today's housing projects there is a marked deterioration in the quality of physical, social and cultural environment.

Houses in Imphal City - Picture Courtesy :: Kshitij Rawal

Housing Situation: An Overview

In the developing countries, there is a large gap between the supply and demand of shelter, especially for the weaker section. The problem is further aggravated by factors such as, population growth, public financial constraints, limited land and myopic planning principles based on functionality which only prioritise efficiency and technology.

The functional theories are based on compartmentalisation of categories of activities/functions such as living, working, movement, leisure etc. resulting in the spatial segregation of these activities. These theories have lead to the development of monotonous, fragmented and environmentally sterile settlements. This is particularly evident from the type of settlement created in the last couple of decades for the weaker section of the society, which are characterised by low levels of services and high levels of inconvenience.

This paper attempts to highlight these issues in relevance to my country, India by contemplating the historical trend which reveals the changes in average household size, government expenditure and corresponding approaches adopted in the last few decades to meet the housing demand and their shortcomings in terms of quality of physical, social, economical and cultural environment.

The Indian Context

India's present population is around 1.21 billion and around 20 years ago, in 1991 the population was 846.3 million and was distributed over 153.4 million households and sheltered in 148.4 million housing units. The average household size declined faster in urban India rather than rural areas.

This is evident from the decline in number of persons per housing unit from 6.06 in 1951 to 5.52 in 1991 in urban areas, whereas in rural areas it increased from 5.52 in 1951 to 5.77 in 1991. If this trend continues, it is expected that by 2011, the average household size in urban India may have reduced to 4.8 persons per household (BMTPC, 2000). This means the reduction in household size coupled with growth in population will have a significant impact on housing as a whole.

On the expenditure side, the share of the construction sector in Gross Domestic Capital Formulation (GDFC) which hovered around 60% during the 1951-61 declined to 41% in 1994-95. The residential sector accounts for 10% of GDCF where as the non- residential building and other form of construction account for 10.5% and 19.8% respectively (BMTPC, 2000: 5).

These figures show a decline in the total investment in the housing sector and low priority in terms of planning policies. When one looks at the housing situation at the grass root level, one finds that the meagre resources earmarked have generally failed to make any desired impact on the housing supply, particularly with respect to the need of the lower sections of society.

The historical trend of housing in India shows that between 1950 and 1970, the housing problem was viewed as one of providing each household with a minimum housing unit (Vastu-Shilpa Foundation, 1990). The standards in terms of space and materials were too high and the resultant cost of the house was beyond the paying capacity of the poor.

This approach needed heavy subsidies and could not address the situation with the meagre funds available for housing. The earliest response to this situation was a technical approach, which aimed to reduce the cost of construction by developing technological alternatives for low cost housing. This approach had its own inherent limitations as the cost of housing could not be reduced significantly to match affordability of the poor.

Another approach adopted was slum clearance and the relocation of slum dwellers into publicly built and highly subsidised standard housing units. This approach again made even the cheapest house built under social housing scheme unaffordable to the target group. Further, due to pilferage in the delivery system, the real benefits of the subsidised public sector housing accrued to households outside the target group.

The Emergence of a New Trend

There is a growing recognition that slum dwellings constitute a part of the housing stock and government approach to housing should not be only a constructivist one. The government can provide basic infrastructures such as roads, water supply, electricity, sewerage and drainage, and the upgrading of houses can be done more conveniently and economically by the people themselves. With the limited resources of the government, the public sector would do well by focussing on the indirect method which includes providing access to finance and serviced land through legislative measures rather than being directly active in housing construction.

Thus, housing is seen as a process rather than a product. The vital area of public intervention in this regard is the restructuring of urban land policy, review of rent control and formulation of more appropriate housing and land development standards based on development control rules. In terms of planning efforts, slum up-gradation, site and service and core housing have emerged as alternative solutions to the housing problem (Vastu-Shilpa Foundation, 1990).

As a part of these new approaches to close the gap between the high demand and low supply, the little housing provided lacks quality aspects of physical, social, economical and cultural environment, which are essential for liveability. There has been a marked deterioration in the quality of physical, social and cultural environment in today's housing projects. This could be directly related to the aforementioned myopic planning principles, rather than using a holistic approach which requires consideration of other aspects, such as the ones discussed below.

New Housing Environment Vs Traditional Life Style

Traditional Indian settlements have been always associated mixed land use, where activities are not rigidly compartmentalised. The imageablity of domains is achieved through a clear hierarchy of spaces. The conflicting needs of the social interaction and privacy are tackled through subtle transitions (Vastu-Shilpa foundation, 1990). However, these issues are disregarded in present housing schemes and this is the first issue a planner needs to understand in the Indian context.

Basic Space Requirements: Incremental Housing

In public housing, generally a typical standard dwelling is used to house all sizes of families irrespective of different requirements and backgrounds. Further, these dwelling units are relatively very small due to economic reasons and fail to take account of the socio-economic characteristic of the household. Incremental housing design could be a potential solution to address this problem.

Identity and Privacy of the Neighbourhood

The stereotype mass housing lacks individual identity and privacy which is essential for our traditional culture. The current building practice discourages any attempt by the occupants to modify the unit to suit his/ her needs and enhance liveability.

Open Green Space and Density

Outdoor space is equally important as indoor space in order to maintain a healthy environment. To obtain a maximum number of plots, this space is generally sacrificed from the neighbourhood layouts for the poor. The result could be devastating environmentally as it creates a concrete jungle with hardly any green space for the inhabitants.

Whenever an open space is provided, it is not appropriately designed to suit the needs of the people. Lack of open space discourages the social, cultural and economic activities which can take place there. As a result, efforts should be made to provide a minimum of 5 to10 m/sq green space per person even for economically weaker section.

According to Acioly and Davidson (1996), inhabitants per hectare and dwellings per hectare are used to express specific qualities and development potentials of a site in relation to residential densities. It is common to find indicators expressed as net and gross densities. The former includes only the area located to residential use; the latter refers to the whole settlement area including road, public space and other uses and they play vital role in built form of the neighbourhood.

Climate Factor and Layout

Climate is an important factor in the design and the layout of a neighbourhood. The built form and circulation pattern of our old cities and towns such as Jaiselmer in Rajasthan responded positively to the climate of the region thereby creating a comfortable living environment.

The new development very often ignores these issues when considering the orientation, sun angle (Azimuth), built form, wind direction, rainfall pattern and the type of circulation in the layout. To demonstrate this, properly designed narrow alleys with proper orientation of the sun and along the wind direction, generally provides shadow and comfort.

Energy Consumption/ Solar Passive Architecture

The energy consumption at the house level, both for heating and cooling, can be largely affected by the orientation and the layout of the neighbourhood depending on the geographical location of the country. In northern India, where the climate is hot and arid, the wall facing south-east and south-west needs protection from the harsh morning and evening Indian summer sun in order to bring down the temperature within the dwelling unit.

In the hot Indian summer, where the temperature rises above 45C and proper lay out planning can bring down valuable 2 to 3C thereby not only reducing the energy consumption in cooling, but also liveability. The effective use of renewable energy from replenishable sources using appropriate and user-friendly technologies can be an added advantage, economically to the weaker section of the society.

Use of solar passive architecture in both heating and cooling can be of profound importance in extreme areas. In Leh, which lies in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir province of India where the outside temperature goes down to -20C below.

Energy Consumption/ Solar Passive Architecture

The energy consumption at the house level, both for heating and cooling, can be largely affected by the orientation and the layout of the neighbourhood depending on the geographical location of the country. In northern India, where the climate is hot and arid, the wall facing south-east and south-west needs protection from the harsh morning and evening Indian summer sun in order to bring down the temperature within the dwelling unit. In the hot Indian summer, where the temperature rises above 45C and proper lay out planning can bring down valuable 2 to 3C thereby not only reducing the energy consumption in cooling, but also liveability.

The effective use of renewable energy from replenishable sources using appropriate and user-friendly technologies can be an added advantage, economically to the weaker section of the society. Use of solar passive architecture in both heating and cooling can be of profound importance in extreme areas. In Leh, which lies in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir province of India where the outside temperature goes down to -20C below freezing in winter, the indoor temperature of a shelter could be maintained at comfortable 20 degree centigrade by installing trombe wall with out any extra recurring expenditure on heating.

Services and Public Amenities

Providing adequate public services and facilities have been one of the major problems of all urban areas in India. In order to sustain itself, a neighbourhood needs basic services such as a market, schools, a public transport system and clinics, apart from technical infrastructures such as roads, water supply, electricity, sewerage, drainage, telecommunication and solid waste management systems. However, the under-provision of these services creates an unfriendly environment for human habitation affecting the physical and mental wellbeing of the inhabitants.

Mix Loting of Plots

Generally in a typical neighbourhood planning, there is a clear cut stigmatization in the types of housing as economically weaker sections (EWSs),lower income group (LIGs), middle income group (MIGs) etc . It is advisable to allow mixed development through careful planning and avoid compartmentalization. Such type of planning can enhance social cohesion, social equity and further help in building a strong social capital.

Integration of Income Generating Activities into Housing Schemes

The design of any housing development, particularly of the weaker section should provide the facilities to work and the layouts should be flexible enough to suitably incorporate them. Most planned neighbourhoods for the poor disregard this fact and small-scale income-generating activities sprang up in various locations in a hap-hazard manner.

Urban Agriculture and Rain Water Harvesting: A Step Towards Self Sustainability

The agricultural lands around the urban areas are rapidly turning into urban settlements due to population growth in cities and towns. In this context, the food supply system is being pushed further away from the city centre at an alarming rate. Under these circumstances the introduction of urban agriculture can play an important role to urban poor.

On the other hand the absence of rain water harvesting system (RWH) in the built form, under-utilises the potential of rain water from the roof tops. If the collection system is installed properly, the harvested water can be effectively used in urban agriculture.

Further, if RWH is installed in the built system, according to World Bank (1986), it provides an independent water supply system and no energy cost is required to run the system. Thus, it increases convenience and accessibility to water thereby saving the valuable time in water collection. However, the supply of the system depends on the variability of the rainfall. The demand imposed on the system depends on water use such as drinking, cleaning, cooking, bathing and washing.

Affordability

Affordability is closely related to the income of the household and generally to housing affordability, it represents around 20-25 per cent of the household income in developing countries. The expenditure on food and education for children are given utmost priorities by weaker sections in many developing countries. These issues need to be understood and addressed while designing a neighbourhood for a target group.

Convenience and Security

The neighbourhood plan should allow the inhabitants to conduct their daily activities easily and quickly. Inconvenient environments generally impose on lifestyle, curtail choice and increase cost. To ensure the safety of the inhabitants, it is assumed that certain type of crime can be avoided if the neighbourhood is planned cautiously.

The multifunctional land use ensures surveillance and visibility rather than mono-functional zoning. All paths and pedestrian routes should be in areas where there is enough lighting at night, surveillance, controlled vegetation and high level of activities. Presence of emergency services such as fire services, ambulances etc. are crucial. Disaster preparedness is essential for the overall security of the neighbourhood.

Discontinuities of Built Form

Public space such as recreational area or a park can be used as means to interrupt built form, thereby creating visual diversity in the built form. A well planned water body can act as visually pleasing effect to counter the harsh Indian summer. It can also act as physical barrier to stop unwanted intruders yet maintaining the visibility.

Sustainability

To ensure housing development that takes care of socio-cultural, economic and environmental aspects, the design of the built form should easily be maintained by the community themselves by prompting active participation, commitment, empowerment and ownership.

Integration

Over and above, neighbourhood planning requires strong horizontal and vertical coordination and cooperation between various stakeholders whose responsibilities and functions should be clearly defined. There is a need to build trust among politicians, officials and inhabitants for successful implementation, which requires setting strategic priorities, efficient and effective resource allocation through a participatory planning approach and through good governance at all levels.

Maintenance

It is the most neglected aspect of housing in the Indian context. Generally, once the project is completed and handed over, the maintenance aspect is forgotten and ignored completely. A good system will collapse rapidly, if the timely routine maintenance is not provided to the system and similarly in case of housing, all components such dwelling units, roads, street furniture, drainage, sewerage, the water pipelines etc require routine maintenance.

Further, maintenance expenditures often are not allocated as economic priorities and in case of infrastructure services, this situation leads to capacity lost, output decline and substantial additional funds are required to simply sustain existing level of service.

Lastly, to conclude, a good human settlement design should be able to address all the aforementioned aspects thereby enhancing the physical, social, economic, cultural and environmental quality. The planning approach should be based on the social, economic and environmental conditions of the region/area rather than merely following a stereotype approach.

India comprises of various regions with different social and cultural backgrounds and demands a sustainable human settlement planning approach which can address the three basic domains of a region.