The blog explores a ubiquitous relationship between spatial urban forms and quality of living in the highly-dense and rapidly urbanizing cities.
This is the continual blog series, where this blog explains the qualities and terminologies in dealing with high density urbanism and the next blog demonstrates what could be an ideal density model for tomorrow’s cities. So stay tuned to get full insights about the topic which is almost a nightmare for designers, academicians and planners. This blogs makes one aware of density ideation and its impact on our socio-cultural arrangement of the society.
Most countries pursue policies that aim at promoting ‘compact urban form’, but so far these policies have not been well-grounded in evidence. - Dr Gabriel Ahlfeldt
What is High density Urbanism?
High density urbanism is a phenomena and study of how inhabitants of dense urban areas, such as cities or megacities interact with the built environment. Today, Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata stand out among the top ten Megacities of the world and the trend is expected to follow. Yet it is in the developing nations like ours, the problems of social sustainability, inclusion and quality of life is most oppressing. ‘Density’ and ‘compactness’ are two very popular terms that show some relevance for sustainable urban development and the transformation of cities; however, their relationship is not always well understood. While a high degree of compactness is desirable to make a city function efficiently, while density can be detrimental to livability, health and urban well-being. Bridging the gap between two is the aim of most Planners, designers and academicians. Through numerous empirical research, the blog discusses on the qualities of a high density cities that are been formalized under various policy such as ‘compact city’, ‘smart city’ and how it leaves an open ended thought to decide whether it has been proven as a blessing or curse.
Is current planning paradigms addressing the social dimension while planning for high density?
Over decades, urban fabric have transformed significantly in the way they are experienced and envisioned. The importance of place has diminished as global flows of people, ideas, capital, mass media and other products have accelerated. Cities have evolved into less navigable sprawls due to automation and isolation of urban spaces, creating brusque ruptures and fragmented urban forms. Rushing into the modern age has left very little time for Indian cities to restructure their unique sense and place-based physical form. The difficulty for the urban planners and designers in India lies not just with the rate or vast scale of urbanisation, but with the lack of appropriate approaches and development mechanisms of how to tackle built environments and urban form affecting cultural sustainability, especially with its social dimension. “Cities are engines for sustainable development. It is where ideas, commerce, culture, science, and productivity thrives.” (United Nations in India, 2021). Urban spaces offer opportunities for people to prosper economically and socio-culturally, but this is only possible in cities that can accommodate people in decent jobs and where land resources are not overwhelmed by real estate trends. As the city centres being over-crowded with high density built forms and population, unplanned urban sprawl is the common phenomena observed as the current trend. As cities spill beyond their formal boundaries, they can be detrimental to urban planning and sustainable development transforming cities into inaccessible and unplanned satellite towns . “The future we want includes cities that offer opportunities for all, and which provide access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.” (United Nations in India, 2021).
What are the design considerations for ‘high density urban form’?
As seen earlier where I talk about urban sprawl becoming detrimental to urban planning with unplanned densities and character. It is also seen that re-densifying the existing city core by planning for redevelopments has mistakenly believed to be a smarter way of city growth. It falsely assumes that all residents need to live in high-rise housing and forego automobile travel altogether. Currently, many Indian cities experience the worst of all worlds: they are dense (many people per hectare) and suffer from overcrowding, and have inefficient public services, poor walking and cycling conditions, inefficient public transport services, and policies that favour automobile travel. As Indian cities transform, it will be important to emphasize on ‘inclusive & equitable density measures’ rather than ‘smart’ density measures. The image below demonstrates framework of high density urban centres.
Lastly, through this blog, it is hoped that the contribution to transparent, evident and place-based policy making needs awareness towards various economic cost benefits along with social inclusion and cultural vibrancy to make our cities livable, safe, and unique. Stay tuned for next week's blog that demonstrates policy and design frameworks in re-densifying the existing urban centers to become the fulcrum of quality of life. Share your comments and opinions to make this blog an interactive platform.
You can also follow the links for further understanding:
UN-HABITAT, State of the World’s Cities: Bridging the Urban Divide 2010/2011, Earthscan: UK and USA, pp 52-100, 2008.
Jenks, M and Burton, E and Williams, K (ed). The compact city: A sustainable urban form? E&FN Spon, London, 1996.
Singh, B., & Sethi, M. (2018). Divided City, The: Ideological And Policy Contestations In Contemporary Urban India. World Scientific.
Unhale, Sameer and Singh, Dr. Binti 2020. How Will India Fix Her Urban Future? (Kindle Edition)
S. Hemani, A. K. (2012). Influence of urban forms on social. The Sustainable City VII, Vol. 2 , 783-795. Retrieved from https://www.witpress.com/Secure/elibrary/papers/SC12/SC12066FU2.pdf
Tewari, M. G. (2020, JANUARY 06). Better Growth: India’s Urban Opportunity. New Climate Economy, World Resources Institute, and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Retrieved from http://newclimateeconomy.report/workingpapers
United Nations in India. (2021, January 06). Retrieved from in.one.un.org: https://in.one.un.org/page/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-11/
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