Redevelopment of a refugee camp

Abstract

Refugee camps are the settlements formed by the refugees after they flee from their home country to a host country to seek refuge. These can be temporary and permanent based on the reason for their arrival. Around 132 countries provide protection and assistance for refugees. Refugee camps are probable to affect the host cities economically, spatially, demographically and culturally which often leads to population influx, vegetation degradation, overcrowding in public places and security concerns for the local residents. Notably, India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee convention. Spatial planners can crucially avoid such situations by providing exclusivity to situations as such. Sri Lankan refugees who fled to India in 1983 to seek refuge after the violence arose during the civil war for a separate Tamil state. Over three decades, Sri Lankan refugees have been living in Tamil Nadu in 117 government-run camps and maintenance of these camps are funded by the Tamil Nadu state government. Largest being the Mandapam camp, Rameswaram is the transit camp for refugees after being deported from Sri Lanka. The second largest camp, Gummidipoondi, is located near the Pulicat Lake in the Tiruvallur district. Situated in the suburbs of Chennai, near an industrial area along the highway, Gummidipoondi is selected as the study area due to its location, scale, and presence of overcrowded settlements. This study aims to understand the housing patterns, economic status, and camp infrastructure, differentiating them from normal neighbourhoods. Field visit was conducted to study the dynamics of the site and household survey method to understand the perspective of a refugee living in the camps. Residents of the camp mentioned many concerns regarding the camp and obstacles of their daily lives like not being able to reach their workplaces, women and children stopping their education and work due to inevitable security conditions and vendors traveling back-n-forth daily to sell the goods and residents of the camp are not accessible to the basic goods. Analysis of the gathered information reveals that this refugee camp faces numerous challenges, with solutions lying at polar opposite ends of the spectrum. Here we provide the space and opportunity for them to live and contribute to the state government by procuring the functional spaces for them to sell and create. Another major concern in this refugee camp is overcrowding and non-functioning common toilets. To avoid that, this thesis proposes the zonal development with standardized spaces for the services and a cluster plan in which four families share a courtyard, common toilets and a space for domestic animals/ fishing equipment. This thesis proposes the redevelopment using the low-income housing standards in India referring URDPFI, Tamil Nadu building bye laws and National Building code 2005. This thesis anticipates providing refugees a secure environment where one can live with the dignity as a refugee and sustainable living conditions by crafting the land to a productive use for the long-term conditions