Planning in India: A year of insight (continued from previous page )
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Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad
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Most marketing materials emphasized five selling points for the new developments: status, modern infrastructure, green space, quiet, and security. The themes of peace and quiet, green space, status and security appear in American marketing for residences, but in India, status and security were more strongly and overtly emphasized. In fact, many of the new residential developments within the city were self-contained, walled communities. Such developments might include a mix of housing types, a sewage treatment plant, developer-provided schools, and recreational facilities, all contained within a high wall with secured entrances. Large retail buildings and occasionally a hospital are often constructed outside the walls. To me, this was a bit surprising, as I am not used to many gated communities in a city, let alone at such a scale, with both single-family detached and multifamily units. But it is consistent with the cultural context; single-family homes in India have traditionally been surrounded on all sides by compound walls. I briefly contributed to the firm’s largest project, the Sabarmati Riverfront Development, an 11-kilometer-long ribbon of park through the city. Where residents once washed clothes in the river in the summer when the river was low, and dodged floodwaters during monsoon, there will soon be promenades on both sides of the nowdammed river. High floodwalls have been built, with promenades both at the river level and at the top of the walls. Large pipes have been installed along the length of the project to intercept runoff that would otherwise pollute the river. Slum dwellers living on the marginal land next to the river were relocated to new public housing, and land was reclaimed for development near the center of the city. This project will provide (continued on next page)
Northern News
7
March 2012