Defragmenting the city from it's edge

Defragmenting the city from its edge :

Incremental strategy for Residential and Public Spaces in Chennai, India Gayathri Jagadeesan MA Architecture + Urbanism

Declaration No portion of the work referred to in this thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Manchester, August 17, 2018 This Thesis could not have been accomplished without my thesis Advisor and Principal lecturer Mr.Eamonn Canniffe. I wish to express my gratitude to him, whose support and suggestions led me throughout this Dissertation, and feel grateful to the other supervising staffs who helped and encouraged throughout the research within the topic chosen.

I would like to thank my friend Yogalakshmi for the support provided whilst undertaking this research.

I believe I owe deepest thanks to all people in my entire family who have supported and gave me warm encouragement and love in every situation.

MOTIVATION Born and raised in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, influenced with cultural and colorful essence, the city attract tourists from all over the world, and has history from 300 BC. This city has the longest coastline in the continent, but lack of waterfront development and the proliferation of slum / informal settlements around the rivers, canals and sea, degrade the environment and affects tourism. Instead of evicting the slum dwellers to the sub urban and rural areas, this framework (proposal) helps to understand how to improve the living conditions and make these waterfronts an interesting space to use. The location I particularly worked for thesis, is one of the oldest fishing hamlet, which is facing seasonal flood, and the people living here lose their shelter and job often as their livelihood is based on fishing.

The aim of the thesis is to propose a frame work to create a public space and to improve residential developments for the people of informal settlement, thus bridging the gap between slum and the public space adjacent to it and making the informal settlement a part of city, instead of fragmenting them.

CONTENTS 1. Motivation 2. Acknowledgment 3. Introduction to thesis

i. Slum, a Global Phenomenon ii. Raising Concern in Chennai

iii. Research Aim and Question iv. Existing Problem

4. Background

i. History of Chennai

ii. Development and Morphology through maps

iii. History of the site

5. Location

i. Site Analysis

ii. Behavior map

iii. Observations 6. Problems - Potentials 7. Framework - Masterplan

Introduction

Chart produced by the author

RAISING CONCERN IN CHENNAI

CHART 2

The steady increase of population in Chennai, due to employment factors and educational

opportunities, the city is getting dense. The housing prices are increasing tentatively. Hence the people who could not afford to live in the city centre and around move to the informal settlements.

Even though few slums are recognized by the government and provided with resettlement areas, the majority of the people are facing forceful evictions and natural hazards due to the living conditions

CHART 4

and improper shelter. Particularly, the people living in the coast are facing seasonal floods and lose

Identified OR Estimated & Slum Population in India and Tamil Nadu 1981 TO 2001.

shelter. They cannot move to the sub urban or government built slum redevelopment housing in the suburban as their daily living is based on sea.

Growth Rate of Slum Population in India and Tamil Nadu during 1981 TO 2001.

CHART 5

Waterfronts Designing an Urban environment that revitalise/enhance the neighborhood while Retaining the history and culture, and improving the quality of urban life through Public Space, which is monopolizing in this case, since it encourages people to access the space, Which is naturally alluring through the design.

Slums, the inevitable part of unplanned urban growth face social, economic and physical threats in all dimensions. It is not possible to investigate the significant reasons to find the formation of slum around the city but, it dates back to 300 years. It is evident that the division of white town and the black town, planning, arrangement, and building of the city emphasizing the social and economic class, led to the formation of informal settlements.

In most of the cases, the affordability was the main rationale of people living on the edges.

The research and design are oriented towards the marina in Chennai (longest coastline of the country), which has fishing community and slum developments, particularly famous for festival gatherings and fish markets, do not have an established public or recreational space. People cannot walk or spend time at the beach since the boats and the fishing net occupies the sandy area and there is also traffic congestion due to the street market on the main roads.

Chennai holding a longest coastline, and five wetlands, three perennial rivers cannot be used by public and often surrounded by informal settlements. The rivers which once was a source of water is now a sewage canal, affecting the land and air (Total sewage generated in the city is drained untreated into the river.)

RIVERS

NOW Fig 2 -Slum around Adyar river

THEN Fig 3- Buckingham canal

RESEARCH QUESTION Is it possible to create a public space that is safe, engross, and embraces all the activities that people expect in the different context but in the same site?

Possible through responsive design.

QUESTIONS How to prevent the damage/loss of local community and their shelters from the seasonal floods ?

How to build a water storage tank and use it for utility purpose, not only a structure that serves the water needs but also as a social / gathering space?

How to increase the revenue of the street market and reduce the congestion and traffic movement?

SEASONAL FLOODS

WATER FOR UTILITY PURPOSES

How to Create a space that connects Land + Coast + Sea, which can be accessed by public, that benefits both local community and visitors?

How to develop the above mentioned spaces sustainably?

FRAMEWORK Creating a framework which help people to gain the feel of traverse through an environment at different levels in the same context but experiencing and exploring different habitat visually and functionally. This paper explores the possibilities through architecture and urban design that involves utilizing the elements in the site naturally and using the notion of open Planning. The concept of mixed use planning has helped me to explore the possibilities of different spaces and users in same context, by maintaining the history/culture.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

PUBLIC SPACE

Fig 4 - Scene of Nochikuppam

Background

HISTORY OF CHENNAI

The city Chennai, is the capital of a southern state, Tamil Nadu. It is

popularly known as “Detroit of South Asia”, since the city has a major automobile base, which also has manufacturing and assembly units for few prominent brands like Mercedes and BMW. It has the longest coastline in the country and been a dream city to people around the nation, who move here for their education and employment.

Originally it was a place with small villages and settlements far from each other, but East India Company formed the villages nearby in the late 1600’s and named it Chennai during the British colonization. Since the city had the largest coastline i.e. Bay of Bengal, a port was developed which favoured trade for Europeans and east Indians. When observed the city throughout is bounded by rivers and canals on a side and a largest coastline on the other side. So, water has always been part of the city, which is now degraded, since the river banks became the sewage and drainage routes A fishing hamlet, which existed at the present site of George Town, called as Chennai Pattanam from, which the name of Chennai is said to have been, derived (CMDA 2007) CHAPTER 2 URBAN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA AND THE CASE CITY OF CHENNAI

Fig 4A- View of Marina

Pre History

2,50,000

Fig 4- Excavations in chennai

Mylapore

Arrival of East India Company

300 BCE

1639

Fig 5- Parthsarathy temple Triplicane

Fig 6- Scene of a street in chennai

Fort St.George -Built

1640

Fig 7- St. Thomas Mount

TIMELINE

First Hospital built

Madras City Municipal Corporation is inaugurated.

1646

1693

Fig 8- View of Beach Road

Fig 8- View of Chennai Central

Independence from Brittish Rule

1947

Fig 8- View of Marina

MORPHOLOGY MAP CHENNAI

Map 2- Evolution of Chennai 1633 - 1971 (source : CMDA 2008)

LAND USE MAP 1970

Map 3- Change in Urbanisation 1973-2006

LAND USE MAP 2006-2026

CMA - EXISTING LAND USE - 2006

CMA - PROPOSED LAND USE - 2026

Location of the Site Nochikuppam, Chennai, India

FIG 9- VIEW OF THE SITE

N

development pattern

12 M

2001 2004 2011 2015 2017

NOCHIKUPPAM, CHENNAI

Nochikuppam, one of the hamlets was formed near the marina, during the British colonization. People who moved from the rural area settled in this coast, after clearing the Nochi forest. The Santhome church and Tamil Nadu Government commission on a side and inLand Beach

formal settlement on the other side are showing strong juxtaposition in the site. One of the busiest fish market (after Kasimedu, a leading exporter of fish) is prone to natural hazards. The beach, is underutilised. In spite of

Sea

large number of tourists and visitors, the government took no initiative to improve the public spaces around.

Lack of piers and docks for fishing boat make the fishermen to park their boats and fishing net in the beach, which occupies the whole sand area, leading to lack of public space use.

Fishing Boats in the Beach

FIG 10 A 10B 10C Boats parked in the beach due to lack of docks

Traffic Congestion and improper roads

FIG 10 D 10 E 10F Damaged roads and Traffic due to markets on the other side

Housing Scenarios

FIG 10 G Housing conditions

10H 10I

10J

PROBLEMS IN THE SITE

On seeing as, a whole (even it involves phase to phase development) the sense of integrity is achieved through design at the end. The sensitive context (LAND+COAST+SEA), lead to some physical constraints such as:

1. Due to Sea level rise/ lack of development in the sea, limits the designer to bring hypothetical concepts, which is an advantage, Since the outcome would be feasible and easy to build.

2. Existing Informal settlements cannot be evicted in spite of recent floods,as their daily life is based on sea. So the development should encourage housing for all,which should be resilient in nature when flooding occurs.

3. Being one of the largest shoreline, the coast do not have any public development (recreational/commercial except informal market including hawking in the narrow existing arterial road)

Overview Since the local people (fishermen community in majority) are surviving with very basic shelter, they face severe flood and cyclone during monsoon. Due to poor weather conditions, they cannot go for fishing, which eventually leads to lose of job. The lack of docks for fishing boat results in damage during heavy storms/bad weather. The existing residential developments (constructed under tsunami rehabilitation and slum clearance) do not have water supply/proper sewage and drainage lines which lead to stagnation of wastewater in and around the plots resulting in cholera and diarrhoea.

FISHING The people living in this neighborhood moved to Nochikuppam during British colonization, as Chennai became one of the port city, which created employment opportunities. The vicinity was once a forest (nochi- tree), where people moved from the rural to urban and started living here (Apart from fishermen, people who couldn’t afford in the city moved to the low lying and around coastal neighborhoods due to low rent). The people’s daily life is based on sea, including fishing, building boats, fishing nets, and selling it in street along the coast. It’s also said they are one of the leading exporter after kasimedu (which has fishing harbour and export seafood involving internationally).There is Lack of docks, lack of place to sell fish, and lack of space for weaving fishing net.

PUBLIC SPACE Other countries and even some part of India which have coastlines has few recreational activities and tourist attractions. But Marina Beach, do not have any public spaces. Even though a huge amount of crowd access the beach for walking and relaxing (Pedestrian movement is relatively higher, in spite of congestion due to street market which creates high traffic), people in the city still visits the beach, which seems to be a natural advantage.

ANALYSIS

EXISTING SITE PLAN

1:2000M

1

2

5

EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

FIG 15- Fish Market

FIG 11 - Traffic and Congestion 5

1

3

4

FIG 12- Boats and fishing net in the Beach

FIG 13- Lack of Parking

FIG 14- Street Market

2

4 3

6

PROXIMITY GRAPH

FISHING RESIDENTIAL

PIBLIC PUBLIC

SAFETY SOCIAL DIMENSION SUSTAINABILITY

SCENES FROM THE SITE

LAND

BEACH

ADDRESSING THE ISSUES

How to prevent the damage/loss of local community and their shelters from the seasonal floods ?

SHARED STREET + PROMENADE + RESIDENTIAL UNITS The above problem has been addressed, by elevating the residential units to 3M, and the space underground can be used for parking . A belt of vegetation run throughout the frontage which helps to absorb excess water during flood and the vertical farm generates income benefitting the local community.

How to Create a space that connects Land + Coast + Sea, which can be accessed by public, that benefits both local community and visitors?

ACTIVATING THE SEA FRONT The land and the sea are separate entities now, it is essential to integrate them with a promenade to make the transition between these spaces easier. The promenade and the piers are in different levels thereby inducing the curiosity of users making it interesting for them to explore.

Pool which is an important element in a waterfront is lacking in the current design. The proposal has a pool which can contribute to the welfare of the community.

How to increase the revenue of the street market and reduce the congestion and traffic movement?

MARKET AND HAWKING AS A PART OF PUBLIC SPACE Market and vendors determine the movement and direction of pedestrian and acts as a transition space between the active public space and traffic congestion. The road existed can be converted into shared street, which will hold canopies and street furniture and market on either side. They last throughout a day and early night, which also increases the security.

A city street equipped to handle strangers, and to make safety asset, in itself, out of the presence of strangers, as the street of successful city neighborhoods always do, must have three main qualities.

Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.p.35

ACTIVATING THE EDGES The informal settlement often found around the edges of the city are left abandoned which eventually becomes a threat. Instead of fragmenting them, and treating the settlements as an territory the vicinity can be improved by connecting through a series of public spaces benefitting the local community and tourists.

CONCLUSION Water fronts are attractive elements of a city that will leave a lasting image of the city for any visitor. This study sets out to study the existing water front condition in Chennai. Chennai being the capital of Tamilnadu the southernmost state in India attracts over 3 million tourists per year mainly due to the cultural attractions in and around the City. The city itself houses 5 million people at present with increasing population every year its expanding outwards. The waterfront being a remarkable attribute that defines the city, is not utilised satisfactorily. If redesigned to adapt more uses it can increase the economy of the city and will be an excellent tourist attraction.

Waterfronts have been influential in the development of cities even in historic settlements. It elevates the opportunity for trade and transport, fishing communities are based on water fronts, its also an environment for leisure. It also adds an interesting edge to the city (Lynch). Any development adjacent to the coastline is desirable and its proximity increases the value of properties.

When we take a close look at the coastline of Chennai with these ideologies in mind it is possible to notice a few of the above said notions apply to it. For instance, there is a fishing community whose livelihood is dependant on the sea, one end of the coast has a port with export and import facility, a part of the coastline has official buildings facing the sea enabling the passers-by to understand of glimpse of culture and past history in Chennai. But apart from this there is no infrastructure that enables th e users to interact with the waterfront, the fishing community mentioned above is a slum with poor living conditions.

The main goal of the current study was to understand the physical fabric of this part of the city, how it connects to the rest of the city, study the complex interrelationships between the sea and the people living close to it, identifying the issues and potentials of the site and then proposing a holistic solution that eradicates these issues, activates the waterfront and allow people connect and interact w ith it in a physical level rather than just a visual experience.

REFERENCES FIGURES FIG 1- https://www.natureinfocus.in/road-trips/along-land-s-end FIG 2- Picture credits- Arunmozhi FIG 3- https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/how-buckingham-canal-could-have-saved-chennai/article7949238.ece Fig 4-http://www.newindianexpress.com/2016-with-tnie/2016/dec/29/mishaps-and-tragedies-that-struck-india-in-2016-1554261.html Published December 12, 2016 accessed on 1 july 2018 FIG 10A- https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/fishermen-stay-off-sea-due-to-roughweather/article8038643.ece FIG 10C-https://www.natureinfocus.in/road-trips/along-land-s-end FIG 10 F- http://scholarships.travel/photo15/monsoon-aftermath FIG 10 E- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections-2016/tamil-nadu-elections-2016/news/Tamil-Nadu-elections-2016-Traffic-pollution-top-priorities-for-voters-in-Tamil-Nadu/articleshow/52109956.cms FIG 10D- https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/marina-loop-road-is-ours/article19199735.ece FIG 10 G,I- http://picssr.com/tags/nochikuppam FIG 4A- http://www.chennaitourism.in/marina-beach-chennai FIG 12,12,14,15- Photograph by Author CHARTS Chart 1,2,3 - Produced by the author MAPS Map 1-prodeuced by the author Map 2,3,4,5- source- CMDA