[RE]shaping urban environments in Chennai city
Urban transformation through an integrated densification process to facilitate liveable environments
K. Suresh (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
C. Forgaci – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
Dominic Stead – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
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Abstract
Chennai, a historical seaside city on the southern coast of India, has undergone extensive urbanisation ever since the postcolonial economic reform of the nineties. Mismanaged urban growth that predominantly prioritises economic development has led to a situation of congestion, lack of public space and forgotten ecological networks in the city. These issues, over time, have amounted to a living environment that is negligent of the pedestrian, and lacks many opportunities for social interactions, opportunities to sit, walk or just wander in the city. The recently redefined building codes stand to further exacerbate the situation, due to the lack of an integrated perspective of densification in the city. This project aims to find potentials in the ever changing and densifying city, to facilitate liveable and vibrant environments for those who inhabit it. The process of densification and urban growth is redefined in Chennai, through the evaluation of its synergies and conflicts with the mobility network and the ecological systems in the city. This results in a trans-scalar design and planning strategy that facilitates urban transformation in a holistic manner, taking into account ecological impacts, mobility patterns and local daily use patterns of public space by the people in the city.