SUSTAINABLE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE

Presented By- Prof. Ar. Soma Anil Mishra

SOA, IPS Academy ,INDORE (M.P.)

Over 60% of green house gas emission is created in and by cities. Over 50% of world population
lives in cities; this is expected to grow more than 60% by 2030.

How sustainable is the urban environment today? How sustainable does it need to be to meet
the needs of tomorrow?

These are the live questions of today, eagerly waiting for human answer, who have taken the
charge of earth since industrial revolution.

Vernacular architecture everywhere did not face these questions as they were sustainable from
grass root level.

Process of urbanization in India dates back to 5,000 years, or may be even more. Indus Valley
Civilization saw the birth of earliest human settlement in human history.

Urbanization is a form of social transformation from traditional rural societies to modern urban
communities (Bhagat R.B 1992)

An Urban centre is:

 An organism
 Holistic hub of opportunities
 Expression of cultures
 Accumulation of amenities
 Representation of Social, Economic and Environmental status of society.

In ancient and medieval times, urbanization was a cultural phenomenon and sometimes it was
due to political development; in recent times it is a socio- economic phenomenon.
Urbanization is a process which reveals itself through temporal, spatial and sectoral changes in
the demographic, social, economic, technological and environmental aspects of life in a society.

It is a progressive concentration of population in urban unit (Kinsley Devis 1965)

Urbanization has increased the participation of people in the secondary and tertiary production
functions.

In developing countries the rate of urbanization is very fast and it is not accompanied by
industrialization but rapid growth of service sector in the economics. (Helen Macbeth & Paul
Collinson 2002)

In India, the urbanization can be called as pseudo- urbanization. (Kundu 1996) The process is
still unfolding.

It is an inevitable part of economic development and social change.

The census of India defines urban area to “Either have a statutory status like municipal
committee/ corporation/ notified area committee/ cantonment board, estate offices etc or
fulfill all the conditions simultaneously.

1. A population of more than 5000.

2. More than 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural activities;
and
3. Density of population more than 400 persons per square kilometer.

The total urban population of India according to census 2001 is more than 10% of total world
population.

India’s rate of urbanization gallops at 31% (Urban poverty report 2009)

The rapid speed of urbanization and population increase has brought before the dangers of
climate change. There are major challenges from livelihoods to access to sanitation and health
facilities, issues related to water and energy, civic amenities, waste disposal, growth of slums
and the inadequate resources available.

To address the issues and challenges posed by such rapid urbanization, urban centers have to
be taken on the roads of “Sustainability”.

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” As specified in
Brutland report (World Commission on Environment and Development 1987)
Under Kyoto protocol in Kyoto Summit 1996, participating nations pledged to bring average
green house gas emissions from 2008 to2012, back to 1992 levels.

Sustainable Urban Infrastructure facilitates a place or region’s progress towards the goal of
sustainable living. Attention is paid on global level to technological and government policy
enabling urban planning for sustainable architecture.

A sustainable design leads to the development of sustainable communities and infrastructural

knowledge making improvements without depleting natural resources.

Emphasis for a sustainable urban infrastructure is on localization and sustainable living.

Individual’s ecological footprint has to be reduced according to the principles of sustainable
development in area with high population density.

Sustainable criteria for urban environment vary from place to place, according to differences in
existing infrastructure and built form, climate and availability of local resources or talents.

Sustainable urban infrastructure include: -

 Public transport networks

 Distributed generation and integrated energy demand management initiatives and
programs
 High efficiency buildings and other development constraints such as only permitting the
construction of green buildings and sustainable habitats with energy-efficient
landscaping.
 Connected green spaces and wildlife corridors.
 Low impact development practices to protect water resources.

Pressure from a broad group of stake holders including regulatory bodies and citizens are
forcing urban centre’s to rethink how they grow and prosper. Embedding sustainability into the
strategies, operating models, processes, system and culture is not only important, it is
absolutely essential for cities to be the needs of the future.

For a city to adopt sustainable behaviors’ it needs to have an integrated approach through
planning and investment across the infrastructure of water, building, waste, energy, heating &
cooling, public safety and mobility.

The adoption of solution areas through technology, operational effectiveness and behavioral
change drive innovation with new communication and technology support.

Critical success factors for implementing a sustainable city are:-

  Political alignment
 Private sector engagement
 Citizen engagement
 Visionary leadership
 Specific goals and timeline

Cities that are successful are entering into public private partnerships with a range of different
organizations. Sustainable infrastructure advocates environmental protocol and inclusion of
ecological and social indicators and factors in decision making at the earliest possible stage.

Sustainability infrastructure concerns apply to all of “maintaining, repairing and upgrading the
infrastructures that sustains our quality of life” including

 Government decision making and investment planning.

 Energy - Historic and real time energy data available.
- Potential for a range of new service / tariff.
- Enabling auto response to changing patterns
- Green procurement.
 Water - Metered usages displaying Historic and real time consumption.
- Potential for new service / tariff potential smart pipe Network.
- Reduce leakage and manage pressure.
 Waste - Storm water and waste water, especially minimizing the distance
that such water travels to be treated and reused.
- Increased waste – to- Energy power generation.
- Waste data available to improve government and private waste
management.
 Smart urban mobility –
- Roads and sidewalks and their integration with transit systems
to achieve smoothers flow of people.
- Transit oriented development (TOD) –a mixed- use residential or commercial
area to minimize access to public transport, including the promotion bicycles
for local use.
- Excellent pedestrians facilities
- TOD can link workers to employment centre’s, create construction and
maintenance jobs and has the potential to encourage investment in areas
that have suffered neglect and economic depression.
- TOD also reduces transportation costs, which can have a greater impact on
LMI households since they spend a larger share of their income on
transportation relative to higher- income households.
  Smart Building Solutions :-
- Smart building leverages the convergence of IT in building technologies to
reduce operating cost up to 30 % .

Cities are very complex entities, offering a constant interaction between people, resources and
the environment. Infrastructure management of essential operational components, such as
policies, processes, equipment, data, human resources and external contracts, for overall
effectiveness. Sustainable urban infrastructure highlights the importance of natural
environment in decision making. Emphasis lies on the “Life support” functions provided by a
network of natural ecosystems, with an emphasis on interconnectivity to support long-term
sustainability