Towards A Holistic Approach In The Wake Of Sustainability

Urbanisation is an inevitable process in a city’s growth.

- Ar. Gurpreet Shah

With increased migration and search for a better quality of life, there is also an increase in the need for infrastructure to cater to the demands of the people. This has led to the urban crisis, with all the major cities in the world facing the lack of adequate infrastructure and unable to manage the growth, leading our cities to their doom.

“Cities are the manifestation of human settlement, and human settlements are evolved through various eras of civilization depending on the three basic principles of food, shelter, and clothing, thus creating a comfort zone for sustainable development.”

Man since time immemorial has developed cities for his survival. Settlements like Mohenjo – Daro or Mesopotamia were the epitome of urban planning even in those times with well-planned streets, sufficient open and public spaces for the people as well as using locally available materials and basic knowledge to plan the built structures. As architects, it is our duty to understand the underlying principles behind these cities and understand why they were considered sustainable and could promote healthy living. We need to understand to undertake new developments in a way that they do not harm the environment but are self-reliant and promote alternative methods for the city to grow.

Towards Sustainable Greenfield Townships Jamshedpur Master Planning: Jamshedpur is a small town at the crux of major infrastructure and city development. As part of the future urban development stipulated for the town, a Master plan for Jamshedpur 2057 was envisioned. The overall planning of the city was based on taking forward the ideology ‘A town within a park within a city.’