Urban Adaptability in Egmore | Chennai

Egmore, Chennai | Portfolio

PUD21333

Understanding the City

Preface

Urban Adaptability In Egmore

Urban Adaptability refers to the character of urban built form, neighborhood and people adapting to the changing needs and growing trends. Egmore, a core locality in Chennai is a suitable study area for the concept, as the predominantly institutional locality over the years adapted to the changes and diversification without losing its core character. The analysis is done through the lenses of built form, infrastructure, technological and socio-cultural adaptability. The portfolio also highlights that the adaptable nature of Egmore has resulted in better imageability and hence multiple genius loci creating a public realm that attracts a large number of people.

The Chennai City

Chennai

The 426 sqkm coastal city is known as the Detroit of Asia due to its industrial identity. The city is governed by the Greater Chennai Corporation(GCC) with a population of 70 Lakhs (GCC, 2018). George Town, the core of Chennai is located along the coast near the banks of the Cooum River. To understand the urban layers of the city 1 sq.km area in Egmore was chosen as a representative sample.

1 sqkm precinct - Egmore

core city - George town

Chennai Metropolitan Area

Greater Chennai Corporation

Arterial Roads

Chennai from its inception

1600s 1800s 1974 2001 2011

The Fort was setup on the banks of Cooum river by the British.

Migrant population inflow to the city. The city expanded by annexuring villages like Egmore and Mylapore.

The first masterplan was proposed by the World Bank. This led to land reform in core areas which were under the government. This triggered urbanization in the city.

The city span was 126 sqkm. The central core areas were completely urbanized and saturated. The city started to grow vertically. The industrial identity of the city led to a poly centric model.

Area under Greater Chennai Corporation was extended to 426 sq.km including the peri urban areas like Ambattur.

How the city works ?

Polycentric Model of Chennai Travel pattern in the city

The city over the years of development gradually adapted to the polycentric model creating a number of job centres across the city. These job centres inturn created the need for urban residential areas around them thus developing CBD’s across the city. George town( Core), Koyambedu (sub centre) and Old Mahabalipuram Road( Periphery) are three important job centrs in the city while the first two are driven by markets the latter is the IT hub of Chennai.

The city adapted various transport systems like MRTS, Sub-urban trains and metros as the polycentric model developed. The city relied predominantly on public transport until the 1990s. It is observed that the share of public transport, cycle and IPT have declined over years. This dismal trend can be attributed to the increasing vehicular ownership, the stagnant growth of bus fleet and the unsafe rights-of-way for the cycles.

(CMDA, 2018)

0.1

Public transport(bus) takes 1.3x more travel time than private mode of travel

1.3

Public transport(bus) costs 0.1x more than private mode of travel

George town Koyambedu Old Mahabalipuram Road

Job centre old city

Water supply system

The city with no perennial rivers has adapted different means of interconnected water supply systems to ensure uninterrupted water supply to all parts of the city.

Ring Main System

One of the notable water distribution system that the city has adapted is the ring main system where the main wds is connected to the pumping stations of the city. And it acts as a support system when there is a water shortage in any locality.

Solid Waste Management system

The city is catered by the two dump yards located strategically on the north and sothern ends of the city. The collected waste is segregated and reused at different levels and only the wastes that cannot be reused or recycled is sent to the dump yard.

What happens after?

The seggregated bio waste is treated and used as biogas and manure. Other wastes such as plastics and glass are repurposed or recycled.

Krishna River

Nandi River

Arani River

Bay of Bengal

Minjur Desalination Plant

Poondi Reservoir

Chembarambakkam lake

Puzhal lake Surapet and Kilpauk WTP Underground Water Tank

Chembarambakkam WTP

Anna Poonga WDS Anna Poonga OHR

Kilpauk WDS

KK Nagar WDS KK Nagar OHR

Nemili Desalination Plant

Perungudi Dump Yard

Kodungaiyur Dump Yard

Egmore

Egmore is an old settlement located at close proximity(4.4km) to the Central Business District (George Town). The area developed spatially before the 2000’s and was one of the dense urban localities in Chennai. The predominantly government led institutional area has gradually developed to accomodate other activities such as commercial and residential over years.

Egmore is surrounded by a mix of old and mid aged localities and hence showing a transitional character.

Egmore

Central Kilpauk Nungambakkam

Chindadripet

Why is Egmore important ?

Egmore: Through the years

Pre Colonial Era Late 1600s

In Pre Colonial Era Egmore was a group of 7 hamlets from which it got its name of Ezhumbur which means 7 settlements. These were situated along the northern banks of the Cooum River

When the fort was set up by the British, the settlements such as Egmore which were located along the edge of the core city were annexed to the fort creating the black town (workers town).

Late 1700s 1800s 1900s

Due to densification the black town was decentralized and people were shifted to other parts of the city such as Chindadripet and Egmore.

Egmore had 2 distinct settlement zones towards the east and west. The area was under the control of the government. Where they subsequently developed the major instituitional complexes.

Egmore went through urbanizatoin in the late 1900s. The first masterplan proposed in 1970’s triggered urbanization in Egmore. The locality was saturated by the year 2000.

The initial changes in the new decade were minimal and had the inclusion of few new buildings. This was accelerated by the change in land use policies which increased the number of commercial buildings in the locality. This gradual transition between 2000 and 2021 played a pivotal role in introducing highrise construction to the area and accommodating the growing necessities of the present population.

Comprehensive changes

New development Re-development Road Re-development

Adaptable Egmore

Adaptability

Egmore, a locality that emerged as an institutional area under the government after the land reform by the world bank and CMDA in 1974 upgraded itself to accomodate various other activities.

Though over the years with urbanization it is found that the residential land area has dominated Egmore yet it manages its identity as predominantly instituitional due to the impact of the complexes in the city.

This can be understood as the adaptable nature of Egmore which has not lost its original identity yet thrives to be an important locality in the city.

This adaptable nature of Egmore is analysed across Built form, Infrastructure, Technological and social cultural aspects.

Built form Adaptability

The built form of Egmore has a history dating back to the 1800s when the first structure i.e the hospital complex was set up on the banks of the cooum river. When the land reform was established by decentralizing the lands owned by the government Egmore started to be inclusive of other activities such as residential and commercial. The presence of railway station at proximity attracted people to this core area. Soon, in late 1990s the land was limited so the locality started to develop vertically. Another common trend observed in Egmore is that often the old residential lands were divided into parts to accomodate the nuclear family system living in different units of the same apartment.

Division

Infrastructure Adaptability - Transport

The changes in the built and landform of Egmore necessitated improvements in the street network and connectivity of the locality. The Pantheon Road bridge was the first major development in the transport system of Egmore that seggregated the traffic. Chennai being the first city to adopt the Non-Motorized Transport Policy in 2014, aimed to improve the pedestrian system and considered redeveloping and expanding the important roads of localities with high foot fall. Egmore due to the number of public and commercial buildings is one such area. The streets were redeveloped by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and GCC providing wide and continuous footpaths and better roads.

Urban Adaptability In Egmore

Urban Adaptability

Egmore

Section through Pantheon Road

Section of old settlement areas

Pantheon Road Junction Pantheon Road Commissioner Office Road

Technological Adaptability

Adaptation can be seen as a result of updation to the recent trends. It is necessary to adapt to the latest technologies in order to cater the growing needs of the current population. The Egmore Museum Complex which houses both the Museum as well as the Connemara Library is now dominated by the library building which has adapted to the technological advancements like e-catalogue and providing easy access to books. Similarly the Tamil nadu Police Museum Complex which is located at close proximity to the Egmore museum is an adaptive reuse of the old Commissioner office. It is vibrant with activities due to the concept of adapting new digital technologies as well as live experience for the users. Whereas, the Egmore museum hasn’t adopted to any of the latest technologies and it can be said that it is slowly losing its importance and identity in the locality.

Egmore Art Museum Connemara Library

Inside Egmore Museum

Inside Tamil Nadu Police Museum

Socio Cultural Adaptability

The socio cultural adaptability refers to the people’s perspective of engaging in existing activities of the surrounding. Here in Egmore we can observe public activities that has lasted over decades which is mainly due to their adaptability to the surrounding and the necessity to cater the present needs of the users. The Pantheon lane is known for its street shopping since the past 40 years. The strategic location amidst a number of colleges attract majorly the student crown who later become a regular visitor. Similarly in the era of online shopping people still prefer visiting the old shopping complexes for their needs. The iconic sandwich shop has developed by adapting to the latest tastes of the people in order to survive in a field with heavy competition. Though these functions have developed according to the growing needs, they still tend to maintain the core character of accessibility.

40years

35years

20years

45years

Pantheon Lane

Alsa Mall

Fountain Plaza

Pantheon Lane

Alsa Mall

Fountain Plaza

Montieth Road Sandwich Shop

Imageability and Genius Loci

Imageability

It can be thus observed that Egmore had adapted and incorporated a number of activities thus creating legibility and imageability of Egmore. This creates a concept of multiple identity and genius loci for the locality. These genius loci when analyzed tend to be related to the public realms in the locality. Hence, the locality attracts a high foot fall creating a public realm around the genius loci. Few of the important locations are considered and addressed here.

landmark path identified genius loci

node edge

Multiple Genius Loci of Egmore

The Pantheon Lane is an iconic street shopping destination for many years. This cul de sac street has sustained over the years being one of the accessible places for the locals. The street lacks designated facilities for parking and any basic amenities. Now that the number of private vehicle users in the city are high, people appropriate the available space for parking and street hawkers are also often seen vending.

Available space

The 25 year old sandwich shops in Egmore are the iconic places of Egmore that acts as a genius loci. This places attracts a number of people from the working age group due to its strategic location as a pass by space. Though the establishment is regulated, the space the owners use around to keep things like water, dustbin, stool etc., for the visitors. The shopkeepers have adapted to the change and appropriated the spaces accordingly.

Appropriated space

Located on Montieth Road

The regulated establishment appropriates necessary surrounding area

Pantheon Lane Alsa Mall Sandwich Shop

Conclusion

The Egmore Maternity Hospital is the pioneer in the city. This long standing structure is one of the high footfall areas in Egmore. The users, i.e., the public have started to use the space outside for parking and as a waiting space to avoid hospital ambience. This created shops on the pedestrian plaza. The people are often seen waiting on the bus stand outside the hospital or sitting on the platforms.

The multiple genius loci at Egmore thus attracts a large number of people to the locality. The accessible public buildings and commercial complexes attribute to the high footfall of the area. The street activity in the locality however is limited. This can be reasoned out by the high percentage of regulated public spaces in the locality which are predominantly government led institutional buildings which does not encourage much of on street activities. Another reason to be cited is the lack of proper on-street furniture and facilities that cater to the requirements of the people. The behavioral pattern of the people in a hot and humid city requires facilities that provide better conditions. People rather prefer going to places such as beaches and malls when compared to a pedestrian plaza as a getaway place. It hence becomes necessary to improve the user experience on the street as that would in turn improve the pedestrianization in Egmore helping the government to reach its NMT Goal.

“We know much about good habitat for mountain gorillas. We know much about good habitat for Siberian tigers. But we hardly know anything about good urban habitat for homo sapiens.”

- Jan Gehl

Appropriated space

Outside Egmore Maternity Hospital

private regulated public Open spaces

Bibiliography

Aloysius Xavier Lopez. (2018, October 30). FSI hiked for residential buildings. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/fsi-hiked-for-residential-buildings/ article25365096.ece

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (September 2008). Second Master Plan for Chennai Metropolitan Area, 2026. http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/smp_main.html

Institute for Transport and Development Policy (February 2020). Complete Street Design Guidelines

https://cscl.co.in/sites/default/files/2020-02/Complete_Street_Design-Guidelines.pdf

Greater Chennai Corporation (2014). Non-Motorized Transport Policy

https://www.itdp.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NMT-Policy.pdf

Jacobs, J. (1993). The death and life of great American cities. Vintage Books. Gert - Han Hospers (2003). Jane Jacobs: VIsionary of the Vital CIty, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347561637_Jane_Jacobs_Visionary_of_the_

Vital_City Images

Google Images , Google Earth