Abstract:
The city of Ludhiana is an important industrial and economic centre of northern
India. In the proposed Master Plan Ludhiana-2021, there are certain pockets in
the city that have been designated under “Industrial Mix” type of land use where
in the Government allows co-existence of the industrial, residential and
commercial activities, with the pre-dominance of the former two, considering their
economic vibrancy. However, primary observations of these locales and their
surroundings that are Industrial Neighbourhoods, which consist of residential,
industrial and semi-industrial units, show that the built environment of these areas
are not very conducive to the needs of the inhabitants who are majorly engaged
in industrial work, either inside their houses, or within close vicinity, thus
suggesting a strong relationship between live and work activities. Furthermore,
the pre-dominance of the residential and industrial activities is such that they
supersede the social aspects and tend to encroach upon areas that can be
utilized for public uses, which further affects their quality of life. This exhibits lack
of holistic approach towards the design and layout of their built environment, with
no consideration of their socio-spatial requirements that would be specific to their
live and work relationship. Thus, this designation of the specific land use is barely
a case of accommodation of these areas in the master plan in the same way as
they currently exist, and there seems to be absence of any stringent policy for a
more planned development or improvement of built environment of these areas.
In context to this, this thesis attempts to upgrade the spatial quality of the
occupation based built environment by provision of spaces that are socially
responsive and appropriate to their function, and demonstrating how the built
form of an industrial neighbourhood can be designed, so as to enhance the
inhabitants‟ living and working conditions.
