Fringes of Pune’s Urban AreasA Visual Survey

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHERS, PUNE andTHE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF PUNE

National Seminar on Managing the Urban Fringe of Indian Cities

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A Presentation ByKiran Kalamdani

Architect, Urban Designer, Conservation Architect, Partner ‘Kimaya’

Introduction

While introducing the concept of secondary and intermediate cities, the paper takes an Architect’s viewpoint of the problems and potential offered by the fringe. Though the fringe is defined and characterised by a low-key urban experience, it is felt that the urban fringe cannot be separated as a distinct element and the solutions offered at various levels are often applicable to the other parts of the Indian city. The author’s experience is largely conditioned through living and working as an architect, urban designer and conservationist in the cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Early Quotes…

“Town planning is not mere place making, nor even work planning. If it is to be successful it must be folk planning… to find the right places for each sort of people, places where they will really flourish. To give people in fact, the care that we give when transplanting flowers, instead of harsh evictions and arbitrary instructions to ‘move on’, delivered in the manner of officious amateur policemen.”

-Patrick Geddes (1912).

Early Quotes…

Rudyard Kipling (1896) “…half your trouble is the curse of America… sheer, hopeless, well-ordered boredom; and this is going some day to be the curse of the world.”

Fringe - Meaning, Scope1) Distance between buildings is more than

200 m.2) The degree of enclosures of streets and

open public spaces falls below 1:4. 1:1 1:4

3) It is characterised by large open spaces of agricultural or other urban uses.

4) It functionally interacts intensely with the core city as well as the rural hinterland.

5) Fringe could vary from 1 Km. to 10 Km.

Secondary & Intermediate Cities

Urban Fringe of Cities in Pune

Slums developed along the Mutha Right Bank Canal tend to pollute the water corridor mean’t for farmers beyond the Pune Municipal Limits.

Hills and hill-slopes are being partly abused and partly properly used. Ecological concerns are lowest on priority for the sensitive parts of the fringe. Walk-up apartment

blocks vying for space and views of the scenic lakes and hills around are filling up the valleys.

Slums – Improvement or Rehabilitation?

Slum Rehabilitation at Bhatnagar – Cost Rs.5 Crores+.

Slum Improvement at Anandnagar – Cost Rs.5 Lakhs.

Institutional Development, SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

Some institutional buildings are characterised by low-rise and play meaningful roles at the national, state and local levels. NICMAR experiments with cost-effective and ecologically sustainable building techniques for its campus, which itself is an outdoor museum of such building techniques.

Institutions – Poetry amidst ProseNIA (National Insurance Academy), NIBM (National Institute of Bank Management) and CDSA (Centre for Development Studies and Activities)

Good old values and more…

Religious institutions like like the Prayagdham enjoy considerable political and religious patronage but are a city in themselves having nothing to do with the city or the villages around.

A Residential School for Mr. Shaikh Jaweed Sarfraz at Naigaon, Near Prayagdham, Uruli Kanchan, Pune, has had a number of teething problems, despite good intentions.

House on the brook…House for Mr. Rahul & Mrs. Leena Mahajan at Talegaon

Detached houses offer ultimate freedom of choice but are vulnerable to natural and man-made calamities.

Dream house on the fringe or Nightmare!

House for (Late) Mr. Mukund & Mrs. Netra Sonpatki at Talegaon: Innocent inmates of this house were victims of decoities. Problems of resources such as water supply and proper access are seen in such fringe locations, despite scenic views and the promise of solitude.

Some Rivers on the fringe don’t need Development

The riverfront on fringes is due to full and the water is relatively clean on the upstream ends, while the downstream fringes have high pollution of both solid and liquid waste.

The use of urban land should take adequate recognition of the hydrology, aquifer recharge zones and natural aspects, which ultimately reflect upon the health of the city.

Riverfront DevelopmentGhats at Wakad

People on the fringes continue to have rural lifestyles for which the riverfront needs to be reprofiled.

Quarry, Nala Development

Earlier mining activities on the fringes have left gaping wounds on the urban landscape in the form of quarries. These are either used for dumping waste or decollect rainwater, which then breeds mosquitoes and other pathogens.

There are few instances of nallas been recognised as sensitive watershed corridors. The Osho Nalla Park is an expensive and exclusive exception.

Dinosaur Park in Quarry?

It is not just large resources but also imaginative ideas are needed for the rehabilitation of quarries. Competitive prescriptions are needed for healing old wounds.

Heritage Sites at Fringes CONSERVATION CANNOT BE IMPOSED ON A PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT IT OR CAN’T AFFORD IT.

`Kund near temple at Kondhwe Budruk being used for dumping solid waste

Sites of natural and cultural heritage interest are either abused or ignored. Their potential in acting as a focus of a fringe development lies untapped..

Some Heritage Sites at Fringes can be saved

Sept.’ 1996

Sept.’ 2002

Mastani Talao at Dive Ghat

Work Centres, PRE-AGRARIAN AND POST-INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATIONS CO-EXIST IN A LANDSCAPE OF CONTRASTS.

The fringe is the most suitable place for locating large and small industries. These are often located without regard to air, noise, ground and water pollution

In a globalised economy and an increasingly automation driven industrial world, industry is no longer employment-oriented. The problem of jobless workers and sick industries is posing a great challenge for the 21st century industrial city. Obsolescence in technology is commonplace.

Fountains: CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP IN URBAN IMPROVEMENT IS OFTEN EQUATED WITH AD-HOC AND NON PRIORITIZED ‘BEAUTIFICATION’.

Fountains at the fringe!For whom and for what?