Linking Urban Open Spaces: Mangalavanam and it's Precincts, Kochi

Abstract

Kochi, after Mumbai and Surat, is the third largest city on India's western coast, with 53 urban agglomerations with populations of more than one million. It is the nerve centre of all commercial activities in the state of Kerala and is a rapidly growing coastal settlement on the western coast. It was once home to rich, natural ecosystems of rivers, creeks, and wetlands, but Kochi's landscape matrix has been battling for survival in this modern world. Since the end of the twentieth century, rapid urbanisation has fragmented this landscape matrix, exacerbating the impact of climate change at high environmental, social, and economic costs. The adaptation of the cities towards these modern problems is emerging as one of the most significant challenges that urban designers will face in this century. Unfortunately, there is a misunderstanding about how to use green spaces against climate change. Considering the population of 21,19,724 and available open space as 113.79 ha, the per green space for a resident of Kochi would be around 0.53 sqm. In this task of densification, policies do not make adequate provisions for green open spaces, which are now considered a luxury. The green open spaces are recognized not only as green fragments that are in contrast with urban masses but also as effective factors in enhancing the citizens lives. The key planning challenge is to provide people with opportunities to access and use good-quality green spaces and to ensure that species can move within and migrate between habitats, thus supporting their continued survival, the fundamental aspect of these challenges is the connectivity of green spaces. A green space network is one possible way to solve these challenges and create a sustainable urban environment, it could help cities adapt to climate change, and the strategy of expansion of greening in urban planning could play an important role in enhancing the resilience of cities and communities. The study aims to find the appropriate approaches and strategies for creating a green space network by linking the urban open spaces in Kochi. It involves identifying different typologies of open spaces present in the city, understanding and resolving the qualitative deficiencies of open spaces and finding linkages between them via a tool kit that consists of mapping and surveys based on various analyses like walkability, urban permeability, people’s preferences, and perceptions of urban open spaces and then apply the study to improve the biodiversity and quality of life of people in Kochi.