Resilient design approach for eco-sensitive peri-urban areas: a case of Puzhal lake catchment area, Chennai

Abstract

Chennai is a city with various water sources like rivers, lakes/ reservoirs, and tanks. Yet the city experiences floods and drought alternating every year. One major reason for the issue is the rapid urbanization in the water catchment areas of these water resources. In the core areas of Chennai, most of the lakes and tanks have become distinct because of the rapid urbanization trends at the global level. Chennai has a vast peripheral line where the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) has been spread out over almost 3 districts in the state, making it the second largest metropolitan city after Delhi, National Capital Region (NCR). While the government has been striving to match the demands of the people in the city, on the other end trying to resolve the environmental problems like floods and droughts. The peri-urban areas in the cities are the vulnerable areas where the change can be brought in. Peri-urban areas can be of various characteristics like the IT, industrial, tourism, etc. but all these factors should blend in with the ecological factors in the neighbourhood. The existing strategies in the greenfield development areas have a fragmented development, lacking social cohesion and community sense in comparison to the urban core areas, which are the oldest communities of the city and have a sense of belonging and community cohesion which lacks in the peri-urban settlers as they are mostly the migrant workers or people who tend to live in gated communities, away from the chaotic urban cores. Social cohesion makes the living quality better for people enabling them to be self-sufficient and resilient. A major part of the thesis is to understand the nature of existing water catchment areas around the selected waterbody and the nature of development happening around the Puzhal lake and its catchment area. The catchment area surroundings can be conserved, prioritizing nature over humans. The urbanization that has already happened in the catchment can be revived or can be preserved from causing further damage to the catchment terrain by providing urban design guidelines. In addition to the ecological interventions, creating spaces for the people of the neighbourhood to utilize the common spaces would form the scopefor urban design interventions. The catchment area, lake, and their peripheries can be protected to maintain their purpose and prohibit concretization. The minor part of the thesis is to understand the Peri urban fragments of the city and the significance of ecology i.e. open spaces, water bodies and the transformation zone of grey to green spaces, their contribution in making the place resilient in terms of ecology and social aspects. The thesis focuses on the network of open spaces in peri urban areas that can be preserved ecologically, serve as an asset (breathing space), made socially inclusive with the surrounding neighbourhood, and can make an optimistic difference in the resilience of the fragment