Case Studies

Gurgaon: Urban Flooding Crisis

Despite its modern appearance and high real estate prices, Gurgaon faces severe flooding and infrastructure challenges.

What causes flooding in Gurgaon?

It occurs when a city receives heavy rainfall, and its drainage system cannot handle this, resulting in parts of or even the entire city to become submerged under water

Why does Gurgaon flood each year?

Rapid and Unplanned Urbanization: Developers build over natural areas like floodplains and wetlands, which naturally absorb rainwater.
Poor Drainage Systems: Old drainage systems built decades ago, get blocked by garbage, plastic, and debris because of improper waste disposal. When drains clog, water backs up, leading to waterlogging and flooding.
Climate Change: Global warming changes weather patterns, leading to more intense rainfall events over shorter periods.
Loss of Natural Water Bodies and Green Spaces: Over decades, cities have lost a huge number of their natural water bodies, when they are destroyed or encroached upon.

Gurgaon's waste crisis

Till date Gurgaon lacks proper waste management system at city level. The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) is often at the receiving end of residents’ anger piles of waste left uncleared, poor monitoring of contractors, and illegal dumping in open areas. The frustration is understandable, and social media is flooded with pictures and videos of garbage heaps.

Garbage is the great leveller in Gurugram. Once seen as a problem of the shanties, it is now at the doors of the moneyed elite.

Even in posh localities, the streets are scattered with wrappers and plastic latte cups. Cows wait at intersections beside SUVs. On rainy days, muck floats through waterlogged roads while traffic stalls. Residents say the garbage takeover has been getting worse, rather than better.

Gurugram produces two main types of waste—solid municipal waste and construction and demolition (C&D) debris. Most of the mounds seen around the city are from construction sites.

As Gurugram rapidly transformed from a quiet Delhi suburb into a bustling urban hub starting in the 1990s, essential infrastructure was left by the wayside. The city still lacks a dedicated dumping yard. At present, almost all of the city’s solid waste—around 1,200 tonnes a day—ends up at the Bandhwari landfill, which also takes in waste from Faridabad. From the construction sites the waste is picked up and dumped at random locations.

Loss of Architectural Uniformity and Heritage Character - Jaipur

The biggest threat to the Walled City's design lies in the gradual loss of its original aesthetic and built form.

Uncontrolled Alterations: Historic residential structures (Haveli's) are being altered without regard for traditional architectural elements like elevation, material, and color. This includes unsanctioned additions, increased number of floors, and modern construction technology replacing traditional materials.

Commercialization Pressure: There is an extensive and increasing transformation of residential dwelling units into commercial spaces, often involving the complete conversion of ground and even upper floors. This leads to a loss of the original residential character of the chowkris (neighborhoods).

Lack of Enforcement: Despite regulations, there is a lack of stringent policy enforcement and oversight from municipal and heritage authorities to control illegal construction and protect traditional buildings, jeopardizing its World Heritage status.

Ahmedabad Pol’s Houses

Pol settlement pattern has its emergence from the rural villages of Northern Gujarat. Pol houses locality have one of the highest population densities. Initially, there was no provision of market and other facilities within the gate of pols. However, these markets later developed along with the main street due to people's needs. The community within Pol is an administrator by one statue of Pol assembly known as ―Pol Panch in Gujarati. The residents of Pol are supposed to follow the rules and regulations made by this Pol assembly.

The main components of the plan of the traditional pol house with a courtyard are as follows.

1. Otla (a veranda): The otla is a transition space between the street and the house. It demarcates the extent of the house and creates the plinth for the house with steps to enter into it. It is a semi-covered space, shaded by the projections of the upper floor balcony.

2. Khadki/Baithak (a living space): The khadki/baithak is the front portion of the house, and it is usually a reception space and a formal social space. It is a sitting space for guests, and many times, it is equipped with a traditional swing called a Gujarathi swing.

3. Chowk (a courtyard): The khadki leads into the chowk, which is the most important element of the Pol house; it is interiorly adjacent to the khadki. It is the central open-air part of the house and holds all other spaces together; it also acts as the activity hub in a house. All the activities take place in and around the chowk. The narrow proportion of the chowk acts as an aperture in a compact layout and serves as the climate regulator of the built form.

4. Osri (a semi-open family space): The osri is a small veranda near the chowk. It is a semi-open space and accommodates the spill-over activities of the chowk. On the upper floors, the space is known as the revasha.

5. Parsal (a family space): The parsal is multifunctional space deep inside the house

behind chowk and is considered a private space for family members. It is also used as a dining room or an extension of the kitchen.

6. Ordo (a bedroom): The ordo is the inner most space of the house, deep inside from the street; essentially, it is a private space used for sleeping and storage

7. Resodu (a kitchen): The resodu is the kitchen of the house that is adjacent to the osri, chowk, or parsal and is near the traditional water-storage system known as the tanka. Domestic activities are usually extended from the resodu to the osri, chowk or parsal

8. Utility areas (water closet, bathroom, wash area, storage): The water closet is generally placed in front and is attached to the otla or khadki rather than to the private spaces in the traditional house. With the changing lifestyles of modernresidents, however, it is now placed in private areas of the Pol house. Other utility spaces, such as the wash area for washing clothes and utensils and bathing, are attached to a common wall. Storage is a narrow space attached to other activity areas and acts as a multifunctional space

9. Passage: The passage is a transition space connecting one room to another. Generally, on the ground floor, the passage is a narrow space around the chowk and is attached to activity spaces for circulation.