BOPAL : EDGE TO SUBURBIA Understanding the City Studio 2018 NIKITA DOSHI PG180604 Monsoon Semester Master in Urban Design Faculty of Planning CEPT UNIVERSITY PREFACE The portfolio summarizes a detailed study of Bopal pre- cinct located in the western area of the city. It analyses the key elements of the city such as urban form, land characteristics, transport, public amenities and socio- economic aspects, including choices and behavior. The study identifies the elements that contribute to the predominant ‘’suburban’’ character of Bopal lying on the AMC ‘‘edge’’ through photographic mapping, on- field surveys and documentation. Growth and develop- ment in Ahmedabad city has affected many surrounding villages. Rapid urbanization creates pressure on urban core resulting in the spill out areas outside the city limits characterized as ‘‘fringe zone’’. The concept of Suburbanisation, as outward growth of development observed mainly along the fringe zone of a larger urban agglomeration is therefore justified in the case of Bopal. Its low real estate value,availability of land and upcoming development has triggered a shift of population from central urban core towards the city edge creating an urban sprawl. Also the functioning of Sardar Patel Ring Road and improved connectivity through BRTS has triggered growth of the precinct from an urban sprawl edge to a developing suburb. Bopal is defined by a residential low density character. The purpose of this portfolio is therefore to review the precinct through its land characteristics, street scape, built-form and socio economic environment in order to understand its character and draw inferences based on analysis from the background study, fieldwork and as- sessment defining the “Suburban Edge” of Bopal. Understanding the City Studio 2018 2 CONTENTS 1 PRECINCT CHARACTER 2 HISTORY & EVOLUTION 3 LAND CHARACTERISTICS 4 STREETSCAPE 5 BUILTFORM & DENSITY 6 HOUSING & POPULATION 7 TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR 8 JOBS 9 PUBLIC REALM 10 CONCLUSION Understanding the City Studio 2018 3 1 PRECINCT CHARACTER The city of Ahmedabad, divided by the Sabarmati into two distinct eastern and western regions has experienced trans- formation since the 14th century. The development has been result of various physical and socio-economic parameters. The built-open percentage as shown, therefore signifies the intensity of development of the respective precinct. 16% 39% 26% BOPAL VASTRAPUR PALDI Location of the precinct plays a major role in the process of development. As Ahmedabad has developed radially, simi- lar pattern of development is observed in the precincts from west to east. Bopal is 12-15km away from Sabarmati and 15- 25km away from the eastern precincts of Ahmedabad. There- fore, lying on the extreme western edge of the AMC bound- ary it is only 16% built as compared to Vastrapur, Paldi and Maninagar which are 25-40% built. The urbanised precincts are mainly situated along major ar- terial roads. Therefore connectivity also triggers faster growth of a precinct.Therefore Bopal’s edge along the Sardar Patel 31% 48% 37% Ring Road acts a s a catalyst in its process of development MANINAGAR ODHAV NARODA from rural to a suburban precinct. Hence one can conclude that: ‘‘BOPAL IS AN UNDER-DEVELOPED PRECINCT WITH MAJOR SCOPE OF FUTURE DEVELOPEMT DUE TO ITS LOCATION AND S.P.Ring Road CONNECTIVITY’’ 132ft Ring Road VASTRAPUR 8 km NARODA BOPAL 120ft Ring Road 25 km C.G. Road PALDI Also in order to further decipher the ‘‘Physical environment’’ 12 km of the precinct and understand its growth pattern, it is import- ODHAV ant to study the following key characteristics explained in the 23 km following chapters: - HISTORY MANINAGAR - LAND CHARACTERISTICS 17 km - CONNECTIVITY & STREETSCAPE - BUILTFORM AMC Boundary Understanding the City Studio - 2018 4 2 HISTORY & EVOLUTION 2003 2008 2012 2014 2018 Migration due to 2001 earthquake. 1st Phase of Sardar Patel Ring Bopal Lake restoration by AUDA BRTS extended to Bopal-Ghuma. Bopal & Ghuma merged to form a Land use change, agriculture plots Road Connectivity to business hubs. Municipality in 2015. to NA plots and residential devel- Higher residential demand. opment under ULCRA. AUDA jurisdiction in 2008 and 2011. Above determinants have triggered the growth of the precinct. Change in land characteristics and improved connectivity through Sardar Patel Ring Road and BRTS have majorly attract- ed the population towards the edge. The lake restoration has helped Bopal develop an identity. The merging of Bopal-Ghuma to form Nagarpalika signifies its transition from a rural to a peri-urban precinct. Understanding the City Studio - 2018 5 3 LAND CHARACTERISTICS Residential According to the land use study of Bopal, 46% land is under 46% residential use. Gamtal also being residential covers 5% of the LANDUSE % total landuse of the precinct. Bopal not being a part of ex- tended AMC boundary enjoys low taxes in property therefore encouraging developers. Even in absence of infrastructure, developers prefer Bopal for low land prices, availability of la- bour, low-cost plan sanctioning, liberty in development etc. Commercial,institutional, religious and utility landuse is com- Vacant paratively very less, ranging from1-3% only. 25% According to overall observation, Bopal is 57% built, 18% open which comprises of pasture lands, water bodies and roads and 25% vacant. Therefore observing the development pat- Roads tern of Bopal it can be concluded that: 9% Waterbody Gamtal ‘‘BOPAL IS PREDOMINANTLY RESIDENTIAL WITH 25% VACANT Institutional Open space 6% Commercial LAND AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT. IT MAY FURTHER DEVEL- Religious & Utility 5% 3% OP AS RESIDENTIAL SUBURB IN FUTURE ACCORDING TO ITS CUR- 1% 1% 3% RENT PATTERN OF TRANSFORMATION.’’ Landuse Map 57% BUILT 18% OPEN VACANT 25% Land development Map Scale in Meters N 0 50 100 200 Understanding the City Studio - 2018 6 Due to rapid urbanisation of the urban core, Bopal in the fringe zone has observed landuse evolution from 1983. In 1982 75% land use changed due to industrial setup by Inductotherm Group. Under Urban Land Ceiling Regulation, many landlords sold their land to developers for profits. Therefore majority of the land is under private ownership. AUDA and Ngarpalika have 21% land ownership for development of public infra- structure. Bopal has rich institutional infrastructure owned by LAND OWNERSHIP % private owners, Nagarpalika and community Trusts. DUE TO HIGH PRIVATE OWNERSHIP RATIO, DEVELOPERS ARE PLAYING A CRUCIAL ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRECINCT. 13% Legend: Private AUDA Nagarpalika Trust Private 8% Residential Waterbody Waterbody Institutional AUDA Commercial Openspace Institutional 1% Nagarpalika Institutional Vacant Religious & Vacant utility Trust Land Ownership Map Majority of the precinct, around 45% lies in the minimum range of Jantri rate, around rupees 11500/- per sq.m. Urban forms with low Jantri rate are densely developed compared to land with higher Jantri rate. As per the map, the rates are observed to be higher towards 45% the south of the precinct due to proximity to arterial road JANTRI RATE % (Bopal-Ghuma road and Sardar Patel Ring road). Therefore Comparison with the footprint correlation between Jantri rate and road connectivity is im- portant to understand because - Rapid development 38% High Density THE LAND AROUND ARTERIAL ROADS HOLD HIGH POTENTIAL FOR TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT RESULTING IN HIGHER Average development JANTRI RATES. Medium Density Scattered development Low Density Minimum Average Maximum 17% Jantri rate Legend (In rupees per sq.m) A - 11500 - 12250 11500 12250 14750 B - 12250 - 13750 C - 13750 - 14750 Jantri rate Map Scale in Meters N A B C 0 50 100 200 (In Rupees) Understanding the City Studio 2018 7 Following are the Jantri rates Understanding Connectivity (In rupees per sq.m) in North A and South bopal along their as determinant for Jantri rate Railway Track Road Ring Patel Sardar respective arterial roads: Precinct A As per the Jantri Document, the rates are higher on plots abut- C ting wider roads and commercials plots. The graphic showing Minimum 11500-12250/- all four precincts in Bopal justifies the influence of arterial roads B on Jantri rates. Higher rates are observed along the highlight- Maximum ed roads as compared to the whole precinct. 13750-14750/- The market land value is 3-5 times higher than the average Bopal-Ghuma 18m wide Chocolate road jantri rates. Road Ambli Road Comparing Bopal to other parts of Ahmedabad, it behaves South Bopal Road as an outlier even with the proximity to Sardar Patel Ring road. D Therefore inspite of better road connectivity , its location on the outskirts results in its low land value. But the scenario might be different in future as Bopal is transforming into a develop- ing suburb due to its connectivity by Sardar Patel Ring road. Precinct B Apart from connectivity, other parameters like land use, build- Minimum ing typologies and quality of neighborhood along withso- 11750-12250/- cio-economic characteristics also play a key role. Therefore Road Connectivity of Bopal N Maximum Vastrapur and Naroda have high Jantri rate due to more 15750-18000/- commercial landuse, whereas Odhav inspite of proximity to 18m wide Chocolate road arterial road has low Jantri rate due to industrial land use. Therefore, further chapters showcase detailed study of these parameters. Precinct C Minimum 12250-12500/- Maximum 14750-15750/- 30m wide Bopal-Ghuma road 60m wide Sardar Patel Ring Road Note: The above graph is an outcome of team analysis (author being a part of the team) S.P.Ring Road 132ft Ring Road BOPAL 120ft Ring Precinct D VASTRAPUR NARODA Road C.G. Road Minimum PALDI 12 km 14250-14750/- ODHAV Maximum 15750-18000/- MANINAGAR 18m wide South Bopal road AMC Boundary 60m wide Sardar Patel Ring N Map of Ahmedabad City Road Understanding the City Studio 2018 8 Tracing the transformation of road network Rate of development is observed to be slow, but after 2010 there was influx in population with high residential demand due to effecient connectivity and accessibility to business hubs like Sanand, Prahaladnagar etc.