Conventional and Unconventional Urban Planning and Design Approach, a Way-out to Increase the Green Cover and to Reduce Temperature Variation in the Cities - Case Study Dehradun City

Abstract

In the last few decades, most of cities in India have seen rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization. This rapid growth in urbanization has lead to unplanned development of urban areas, by large scale cutting of trees, converting agricultural land into human habitation and deforestation. This has affected adversely on general environment and maintaining ecological balance. The escalated urbanization, associated with environmental degradation, has generated a debate on how much urban green space has been lost due to the urbanization process. Integrated means of addressing the ecological and environmental, economic and social concerns are still neglected in the framework of development. The increase in built up mass is increasing the temperature variation and UHI effect within the city & is also decreasing infiltration and evapo-transpiration of water which has directly increased the surface runoff and has lead to water logging in urban areas. Most of cities in India are now facing the problem of water logging & urban heat island effect; these problems are very common in most of the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Gurugram (Gurgaon). The unplanned development has increased water logging and flood like situation, during rainy season traffic movement gets hampered due to submersion of roads under water, the houses in low lying area of the cities get partly submerged and if not planned other cities in future are going to face the similar problems, the balance between open spaces and built up area has to be maintained. Therefore for sustainable development of any city it is important to maintain a balanced built up mass arrangement. Urban Planners, Geographers, Environmentalists have to adopt various conventional and unconventional urban planning designs and plans to increase the depleting green cover (open spaces) & to reduce temperature variation within Cities.