Shifting Identities of the Fringes : Odhav, Ahmedabad

PORTFOLIO Shifting Identities of the Fringes Odhav, Ahmedabad

PUH21178

Understanding the City Studio | M2021 Faculty of Planning | CEPT University

Agricultural Land, Odhav

PREFACE

The portfolio focuses on understanding the Ahmedabad city through the lens of a precinct of 1 sqkm of Odhav locality. The portfolio talks about what has triggered Odhav to keep changing its identity from agricultural land to industrial estate to residential settlement and then commercial establishments. Photos placed at the beginning and the end of the portfolio depicts these changes.

First and second part of the portfolio is about the insights and overview of Ahmedabad city and Odhav precinct. Third part talks about the causes and outcomes of the changes that has been happening to the area. Forth part talks about the people of Odhav and their houses and jobs and trade offs they make for a better living.

The reports concludes on the base of analysis and findings the author gained throughout the study period of Odhav Precinct.

Industries of Odhav GIDC, Odhav

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Ahmedabad : A Growing Radial City 1.1 Ahmedabad Insights 1.2 Evolution and Transformation 1.3 Road Network and Transportation 2. Odhav : A Precinct of the East 2.1 Odhav at a Glance 2.2 Visual Expression 2.3 History and Evolution 3. A Revamping Land Parcel in the Fringes 3.1 Understanding Land Use pattern 3.2 Land Development 3.3 FSI Consumption 3.4 Monotony in Building Typology 3.5 Publicness of the Precinct 3.6 Connectivity of the Precinct 4. People of Odhav 4.1 Housing Scenario of the Precinct 4.2 Gentrification in Odhav 4.3 Trade offs in Transportation

6 7 8 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 26 30 31 32 36

CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY

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CHAPTER 1 Ahmedabad : A Growing Radial City

Source : displate.com

AHMEDABAD |

1.1 Ahmedabad Insights

Population 55.7 Lakhs

Spatial Area 466 sqkm

Urban Local Body Amdavad Municipal Corporation

Zone 7

Ward 64

Economic Identity Commercial

Total Workers 19.5 Lakhs (Urban) Economy Centers of Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is located near the banks of the Sabarmati River. It falls south to the capital of Gujarat – Gandhinagar - the twin city of Ahmedabad. The city has been selected amongst 100 Indian city for Smart City Mission. Ahmedabad city has always been the forerunner in industrial sector. Eastern part of the city has mills and industrial estates whereas the western parts blooms with commercial activities. Remote towns of the city such as Sanand and Bawla are hub for automobile and pharmaceutical industry.

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1.2 Evolution and Transformation

1411 1411 1900 1920 1940 1960 2020

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1900

1920

1940

1960

2020

Evolution of Ahmedabad

Old Ahmedabad was built as a fort city on the east bank of Sabarmati River.

Initially city expanded on the east side due to rise of textile mills, engulfing nearby villages.

As technology developed and bridges were built, the city started to grow on the west side.

Development on the east side of the city paced slow because of the fall of the mills.

Gujarat state was separated from Grater Bombay and rapid development started.

City continued growing on the north and south side also, including outer areas into AMC.

AMC = Amdavad Municipal Corporation

AHMEDABAD |

2001

2008

2015

2020

Spatial Expansion of Ahmedabad

2001 Ring and radial roads had been developed. The city has expanded to a greater extent. 2001 Bhuj earthquake and 2002 riots had shattered the city, pausing it development for a while.

2008 Development had resumed proposing new project to uplift the city, like Sabarmati Riverfront Development, BRTS and more ring roads to enhance the connectivity of the city.

2015 Peripheral economy centers like Bopal, Chandkheda, etc were included into AMC boundary.

2020 Introduction of METRO transportation system will lead the city to a different direction.

Source : M. Patel. (PUH20201) | BRTS = Bus Rapid Transit System, AUDA = Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority

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1.3 Road Network and Transportation

Road Network Map of Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad has developed radially, thus the road network of the city consists Ring and Radial roads. Ring roads connect areas which are at the same distance from the city center. Ring roads are concentric roads.

Radial roads dissect the city. Radial roads connect farther areas to the city center. The junction where ring and radial roads meet have high public activities and job opportunities.

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AHMEDABAD |

Transportation Systems of Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad city has varied transportation systems that provides last mile connectivity. AMTS, BRTS, GMRC (Metro) are public transportation systems, whereas intermediate public transport systems like rickshaws, tuk tuk and mybyk are the main source that provides last mile connectivity. Ahmedabad is one of the city with successful BRTS system. Metro system is currently being installed in the city.

Source : wctrs-society.com | AMTS = Ahmedabad Municipal Trasport Service, GMRC = Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation

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CHAPTER 2 Odhav : A Precinct of the East

ODHAV |

2.1 Odhav at a Glance

Distance From Center 14 km

Zone East zone

Ward Odhav

Predominant Typology Residential

Connectivity Arterial Road

Smallest Footprint 9 sqmt

Largest Footprint 5250 sqmt Aerial Image of Odhav Precinct

Odhav is situated on the easternmost part of the city. Odhav’s location suggests that it was developed recently. The precinct is a neighboring residential settlement of the established industrial estate of Odhav. The precinct is predominantly made of small sized grain of residential blocks.

Odhav in City’s Context

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2.2 Visual Expression

Larger Grain Size of the Industries

Smaller Grain Size of the Residences

Imagining Odhav Precinct

Primary building use can be seen clearly. Larger grain size suggests industries and smaller grain size suggests residences. Primary observation of the precinct is the building typology. Small size grain placed formally shows a housing community of rowhouses. Second major observation is open plots which are not being used at its potential. Arterial ring Emerging High road - S P Ring Road dissecting the precinct visually, Rise Buildings physically and spatially. High-rise buildings can be seen emerging on the arterial and collector roads.

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Unused Open Plots

ODHAV |

2.3 History and Evolution

2003

Introduction of S P Ring Road which was proposed in CDP 2002 made the connectivity of the precinct stronger to the farther most areas of the city.

2010

Increase in high rise commercial and mixed use buildings such as commercial – residential & commercial – industrial due to changes in FSI usage in 2002 CDP.

2015

Resurfacing of roads made connectivity within the precinct strong. Extension of OIE started to emerge on the eastern side of the Road which falls out of AMC.

2021

Introduction of Odhav over bridge on the S P Ring Road which is a part of NH8, made the traffic flow easy and that fueled up the development in the precinct.

GIDC = Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, CDP = Comprehensive Development Plan, OIE = Odhav Industrial Estate

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CHAPTER 3 A Revamping Land Parcel in the Fringes

3.1 Understanding Land Use Pattern

LAND & BUILDING | Agricultural 5%

Industrial 8%

Residential 40%

Commercial 2%

Vacant 4%

Public Open Space 4%

Amenities 1% Land Use Map

Industrial estate has stopped expanding and residential and commercial land development has happened. Beyond S P Ring Road, lands follows different by-laws, thus warehouses and small scaled less polluted industries has developed. Commercial developments can be seen along side the arterial and collector roads. Agricultural lands are untouched.

Roads 33%

Others 3% 17

3.2 Land Development

Before 1968

1968 - 1985

1985 - 2010

2010 - Present

Land Use

Land Use

Land Use

Land Use

Odhav is 14km away from the city centre.

Odhav was a Gamtal before 1968.

Thus, surrounding area of the Gamtal was agricultural land.

Under The Gujarat Industrial Development Act – 1962, three industrial estates were to be established on the east side of the city. Odhav was one of them. This changed the agricultural land use to industrial land use.

As a part of Development Plan of 1987, Odhav was included into AMC boundary and the industries were shifted to the outer side of the city. This changed remaining agricultural land use to residential land use to invite more residents.

Development Plan of 2002 imposed two major changes. Change of the residential zone to accommodate more FSI and introduction of S P Ring Road for better connectivity. This welcomed developers to built commercial set ups.

Agricultural

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Industrial

Residential

Commercial

3.3 FSI Consumption

LAND & BUILDING | Total Floor Space 8,78,923 m2

Net FSI 2.2

Gross FSI 0.9

Lowest FSI 0.1

Highest FSI 3.2

Residential Floor Space 7,08,815 m2

Residential Net FSI 1.6 Plot Wise Floor Space Index

Non - Residential Floor

Due to non - gated row-houses, the ground cover counts as a plot. In Space such row-houses, the building is built edge to edge on the plot sharing 1,44,774 m2 common walls. This results into higher net FSI in the precinct. The industries are only one floor high and their ground cover are much lesser than plot area. This results into moderate gross FSI. Non - Residential Net FSI 0.7 FSI = Floor Space Index

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3.4 Monotony in Building Typology Number of DU 6168

DU (Row-house) 4,565

Average FSI 2

Average Ground Cover 80%

Typical Row-house Street Building Typology Map

First row-house settlement was established in 1987, just after the CDP of 1987 which allows residential land use in Odhav with hight restriction, as the land use changed from agricultural to residential, land size were huge. Thus, row-houses were built in bulk until CDP 2002 allowed high -rise building to be built in Odhav. This have influenced the dominance and monotony of the building typology being row-houses 20DU = Dwelling Unit

Row-house

LAND & BUILDING | Building Typology Row-house

Ground Coverage 100%

Built Up Area 80 m2

Consumed FSI 1.5

Typical Row-house Iso View

Typical Row-house Section

Row-house allows street interaction. The shown row-house is situated on the Shopping Center Street which is busiest street in the precinct. Children and women halt here to have a chat with the residents.

Elder resident is observed spending his most of the time outside the house.

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3.5 Publicness of the Precinct Private Space 67%

Public Space 33%

Unregulated Space 6%

Regulated Space 27%

Public Open Space (Industrial) Noli’s Map

Odhav precinct is still in developing phase. In spite of having fairly populated precinct and public open lands and vacant lands, there are no maintained public open spaces in the precinct. AMC has developed one park for children to play but due to its ill-maintenance it is not used.

Open land parcels in the precinct are littered by either the industries or the residents. In absence of public open space, where is the public realm?

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Public Open Space (Residential)

LAND & BUILDING |

Public Open Space

Public Realm

In the absence of designated public space, public realm is created by the spilled over commercial activities 3 2

1

Introduction of Public Realm on Shopping Center Street 1 2 3

Buildings which are designated to commercial and residential use.

First floor of the commercial building converted into institutional.

To accommodate deducted commercials, ground floor of the residences converted into commercial.

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Celebration of Festivities

Busy Shopping Center Street

Busiest Hour at Shopping Center Street

Due to various commercial, institutional and religious activities, Shopping Center Street is always busy.

Having residences throughout the street makes the street safe. Vehicular movements are restricted to two-wheeler and three-wheeler. People beyond the S P Ring Road come to Shopping Center Street to avail day - to - day life necessities.

Shopping Center

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LAND & BUILDING |

Men gather in the street to celebrate festivals Women stand in the front yard to observe festivities Children sit on the compound wall to be a part of the activity Set up to for the festivities organized in the street

Men gather in front of the shop to chat Women use street to commute to Sabji Mandi Children play on street Vehicles are parked on the footpath Cattle roam around freely

Men gather in front of the shop to chat Women gathering around food stalls Children play on street Vehicles are parked on shop front Food stalls placed on footpath

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3.6 Connectivity of the Precinct

Road Hierarchy

Road Connectivity

Street Density

Connected Node Ratio

27.1%

0.77

Area Under Road

Link Node Ratio

33.5%

1.42

Collector Road diverts from arterial roads and then branch out to become local road that provides last mile connectivity.

The precinct is fairly connected but there are dead ends ending at society level which doesn’t affect much on local level.

Due to industries, roads in the precinct are heavily trafficked. While residential lanes are quite. What are the repercussions of this?

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LAND & BUILDING |

Arterial Road : S P Ring Road : Section and Image

S P Ring Road is part of Delhi-Mumbai corridor and it’s always filled with heavy traffic of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses. S P Ring Road encircles the city, connecting peripheral areas to each other.

Thus, S P Ring Road attracts local traffic as well. S P Ring Road consists of 5 parts - one, a Median - which divides the road into two parts, two, a Carriage Way - on which vehicular movement is allowed, three, Buffer - that separates carriageway from service road four, Service Road - which is used to access the buildings on the road and five, Parking.

Precinct’s Context

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Precinct’s Context

Collector Road : Suvas Oram Road : Section and Image

Collector road - Suvas Oram Road is used for diverted traffic that leads to the OIE (Odhav Industrial Estate). The heavy vehicles have impacted the road in a way that the road now serves a different purpose than commuting. Residential buildings on this road have retail and non-retail commercial shops on the ground floor that sell day to day necessity goods and services like grocery, laundry etc. These shops have parking space in front of them that usually goes till the footpath which is fairly covered with trees. This place is usually used as a resting place for the shopkeepers, where shopkeepers meet and have a chat over tea.

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LAND & BUILDING |

Precinct’s Context

Local Roads : Adinath Society and Vankar Society : Section and Image

The local roads in residential settlements are mainly used to connect the main collector road to the individual houses. These roads do not have traffic flow. The footpaths of the roads are used for parking two wheelers. The main carriageway of the road is used for pedestrian movement. Apart from this, these lanes are semi private lanes meaning, they are accessible and important only to the people residing on these lanes. These people sometimes gather on the street for social interaction. Females gather at the threshold of the house in the group and perform few day to day activities like vegetable cutting and laundry folding while having a chat with neighbors. Apart from this, elderly people often lay down on the street under trees to relax and chat with the pedestrians.

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CHAPTER 4 People of Odhav

PEOPLE |

4.1 Housing Scenario of the Precinct

Number of Dwelling Units 6168

DU (Apartment) 1,542 (25%)

DU (Row-house) 4,565 (74%)

House Owned 65.5%

HH with Good Condition 74.1%

HH with Drinking Water 88.9%

HH with Toilet 94.1% Housing Typologies

Housing scenario of the precinct is created as a result of industrialization. As GIDC established OIE, people started migrating from nearby town and villages for better employment opportunities. That has created housing demand. The houses must be affordable looking at the migrant’s situation. Land owners started converting their agricultural land for residential land. Thus, there are larger land parcel with rowhouse building typology.

HH = Household

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4.2 Gentrification in Odhav

Establishment of an Industrial Estate Triggers Chain Migration, Affecting Migrants’ Trade-offs. What is Chain Migration? Movement in which prospective migrants learn of opportunities, are provided with transportation, and have initial accommodation and employment arranged by the virtue of previous migrants’ settlement.

What is Chain Migration?

1° 2nd Generation Migrants

Self - Employed : Factory Owner

32 Source : aer.eu

Salaried Employee : Teacher

PEOPLE |

Chain Migration in Odhav

2° 1st Generation Migrants

Informal Worker : Tailor

Source : favpng.com, freepik.com, canstockphoto.com, alamy.com

Casual Worker : Street Vendor

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Housing and Finance Condition

Self - Employed : Factory Owner Total HH Income : 50,000 Rs Savings : 5,000 Rs Housing Condition : 3BHK, Semi – Detached, Front Yard Vehicles Owned : 1 Four Wheeler, 3 Two Wheeler Total HH Income : 50,000 Rs Savings : 5,000 Rs Child’s Education : 8,000 Rs / month / Child ( 1 ) Social Life : Proximity to Social Circle

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Salaried Employee : Teacher Total HH Income : 45,000 Rs Savings : 10,000 Rs Housing Condition :1BHK, Row - Houses Vehicles Owned : 1 Two Wheeler Total HH Income : 45,000 Rs Savings : 10,000 Rs Child’s Education : NA Social Life : Proximity to Social Circle

PEOPLE |

Housing and Finance Condition

Informal Worker : Tailor Total HH Income : 15,000 Rs Savings : 1,000 Rs Housing Condition : 1HK, Near S P Ring Road Vehicles Owned : 1 Two Wheeler Total HH Income : 15,000 Rs Savings : 1,000 Rs Child’s Education : 1,000 Rs / month / Child ( 4 ) Social Life : Away from Social Circle

Casual Worker : Street Vendor Total HH Income : 10,000 Rs Savings : 500 Rs Housing Condition : 1BHK Vehicles Owned : 1 Bicycle Total HH Income : 10,000 Rs Savings : 500 Rs Child’s Education : 800 Rs / month / Child ( 1 ) Social Life : Away from Social Circle

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4.3 Trade offs in Transport Jobs are Generated in Cities in Different Spaces in Different Times Based on Ongoing Economic Activities that Escalates Chain Migration. This Kind of Chain Migration Generally Trades Housing Choices Off with Jobs and Transportation.

But What Happens When the 2nd Generation of 1° Migrants have a Choice to Continue Working like 1st Generation or Perusing an Entirely New Direction for Livelihood?

Self - Employed : Transportation Choices Intermediate Public Transport Home Location : Adinath Nagar, Odhav Work Location : Civil Hospital, Asarva Distance : 12 km Time : 45 min Mode of Travel : IPT Travel Expense per Month : 600 Rs / Person Private Transport Distance : 12 km Time : 30 min Mode of Travel : Two Wheeler Travel Expense per Month : 3,000 Rs

36 Source : shutterstock.com | IPT = Intermediate Public Transport

PEOPLE | The Balance Between the Supply of Travel Options and Individual Preferences is What Determines Transportation Choice.

This Kind of Transportation Choices are often Dictated by Different Socio – Economic Conditions.

Salaried : Transportation Choices Public Transport Home Location : Adinath Nagar, Odhav Work Location : Dahej, Bharuch Distance : 220 km Time : 5 hrs (3 trips : 30 min – 3 hrs – 1.5 hrs) Mode of Travel : Railway Travel Expense per Month : 4,000 Rs Private Transport Distance : 220 km Time : 5 hrs Mode of Travel : Four Wheeler Travel Expense per Month : 12,000 Rs Source : freepik.com

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CONCLUSION

As time goes by and the city expanded, remote areas around the city included within the city limits resulting change in the land use in these areas. Odhav precinct has been witnessing these changes throughout the years. As it was included in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, development in the area took a different direction from industrialization and focused on residential settlements. For instance, introduction of an Industrial Estate then implementation of new town planning schemes resulting in residential development, introduction of new infrastructure and new building typology to cater the residential settlements. Due to these changes, level of migration changes too. People who were migrating to avail better employment in the industry sectors now are migrating to offer service based employment to cater to the people migrated because of the industries. These changes are clearly visible on the streets as we move around, giving us glimpses of shifting identities.

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Residential Settlements, Odhav

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmedabad District, Government of Gujarat (2021). History. https://ahmedabad.nic.in/history/

Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (1987). Revised Development Plan 1987 Map. https://www.auda.org.in/RDP/ Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (2002). Revised Development Plan 2002 Map. https://www.auda.org.in/RDP/ Census of India (2011). Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India . India. https://censusindia.gov.in/ Eppell, V.A.T. (Tony) and McClurg, Brett A and Bunker, Jonathan M (2001). A four level road hierarchy for network planning and management. In Jaeger, Vicki, Eds. Proceedings 20th ARRB Conference, Melbourne. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/2349/1/2349.pdf Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (1962). Acts & Rules. https://gidc.gujarat.gov.in/pdf/act-and-rules/Gujarat-Act-No-XXIII-of-1962.pdf Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India (2011). Service Level Benchmark, Urban Transport. http://utbenchmark.in/UsersidePages/CityProfile.aspx?City=1 M. Patel. (2020). Nuclear Economic centre for Western Ahmedabad. Understanding the City. Published portfolio. CEPT Portfolio. CEPT University. https://portfolio.cept.ac.in/2020/M/fp/understanding-the-city-studio-up4002monsoon-2020-8121/nuclear-economic-centre-for-western-ahmedabad-monsoon2020-puh20201 Town Planning and Valuation Department. Town Planning Scheme No. 104 (Odhav). https://townplanning.gujarat.gov.in//monitoring/documents/Milestone-documents/08D3 9E8840FDB77F43wzeqz3acl3.pdf Town Planning and Valuation Department. Town Planning Scheme No. 112 (Odhav). https://townplanning.gujarat.gov.in//monitoring/documents/Milestone-documents/08D2 98D45855CBE9wzpc2m1hanqk.pdf Urban Management Centre (UMC). (2012). Public-Private Partnership for Road Infrastructure Development. Mega Cities...Poised for Change, Leading Practices Catalogue, 2-7. https://www.auda.org.in/uploads/Assets/librarycatalogue/ring_road.pdf Images / maps without any source mentioned are taken from Google Earth or produced in ArcGIS or captured on the site by the author

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Commercial Establishments, Odhav

Shifting Identities of the Fringes Case of Odhav, Ahmedabad

PUH21178 | M2021

Understanding the City

Foundation Studio

Faculty of Planning | CEPT University