The presentation is an attempt to showcase the role and importance of open spaces in the context of human settlements and to improve quality of air and life in built environment, communities and cities

1. Planning for
Open Spaces
to Make Cities
Healthy
Jit Kumar Gupta
Ex- Advisor, PUDA
Jit.kumar1944@gmail.com

2. Green Spaces in Urban Context
• Cities more than just buildings
• Most “liveable” /famous cities – known for
their open areas---.
• As cities grow-- green space becomes
more important/valuable.
• Paris Climate Change Agreement mandates-
for making cities sustainable and livable- --
Promoting larger green cover by,
• -- planting more trees
• -- taking green cover from 24-33% by 2030
• - to create additional carbon sink of 2.5- 3
billion tonnes
• challenge-– space, resources /
development.

3. Green Spaces in Urban Context
In land use planning -urban open space ----
areas for:
-- "parks", “
--green spaces“.
--playing fields
-- recreational areas
-- natural landscape which is--
• Open to public access
• Does not include
• -- areas outside city boundaries / open
space in countryside,
. Streets, piazzas, urban squares

5. Status of Open Spaces

6. Status of Trees- Man Ratio

7. Objectives
and
Benefits of
open spaces

9. Benefits of green space in cities
• WHO--physical inactivity --a major public health
risk.
• WHO Studies found –
• people using open spaces --three times more
physically active
• Users - prefer nearby, attractive/larger parks/
open spaces
• Improving access / creating Network of parks /
open spaces results in--
-- increased physical activity
-- improved mental health
--better general health,
---reduced stress levels,
---- reduced depression
--reduced healthcare costs.
--- environmental benefits.
-- providing healthy habitats for humans/
wildlife / plants in densely built places
--- preserves ecosystems amid growing cities.

10. Benefits- Open Spaces
Open space provides 3 kinds of benefits to citizens
• Recreation, Ecology, Aesthetic value
1 Recreational
• -- active recreation --organized sports / individual
exercise
• -- passive recreation-- being in open space.
• -- Reprieve from urban environment.
2 Ecological
• -- Conserving nature-
• - Creating ecological awareness.
• -- promoting biodiversity
• -- providing home to natural species --
3 Aesthetic Value
--People enjoy viewing nature..
-- make neighbourhoods attractive
-- create positive attitudes
-- increases walking

11. Advantages of Green Spaces
• Open space in urban environments
provides many advantages
• -- preservation of natural environment
• -- modulating environment
• ---Improved Quality of life
• --Promote social contacts
• --Promote Youth development
• -- provide vital lungs to city
• Improve community feeling
• Promote Safety

12. Benefits of green space in cities
Green Spaces also help :
--Creating energy efficient cities
• --- slowing global warming.
• -- curtail greenhouse gas emissions.
• Every tree helps in--
• --- fighting global warming
• --reducing greenhouse gases
• --cooling cities.
• - Generating 7 cylinders of oxygen
• Cooling equivalent to 5 air-conditioners
• In US, --evaluation of largest 85 cities --
(population of 57.2 million) -- health savings
from parks estimated $3.08 billion.
• Significant Environmental savings

13. Open spaces –Increases Ground Water Charging

14. Best air purifying plants for
general air cleanliness
Areca Palm Snake Plant
Best Air Purifier
Money Plant
Removes Nitrogen Oxides
& absorbs formaldehydes
Improving Indoor Air Quality through Plants – Air
Purifiers

15. Planning
for
open spaces

16. Hierarchy of Open Spaces
• Each Cities must develop well
defined hierarchy of open spaces
• 1 Regional level open space-
Specialized Open spaces- zoo,
botanical gardens
• 2 City level open spaces
• 3 Sub- City level open spaces
• 4 District level open spaces
• 5 Neighborhood level open
spaces
• 6 Housing Cluster level open
spaces
• 7. Tot Lots

17. Garden City- Ebenezer Howard

18. ECO-CITY TIANJIN- Master plan..
1. Land-use Planning – compact city , mixed land uses ,Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) .
2. Transport Planning -Green transport .-- majority trips via public/ non-motorised modes of
transport --bicycles and walking
3. Green and Blue Network Planning---
--City planned with extensive green (vegetation) and blue (water) networks
-- to provide quality living /working environment.
--Green network -- green lung at the core and eco-corridors emanating from the lung to
the other parts of city.
-- Water bodies linked to enhance ecology /provide attractive environment , recreation
-- A wastewater pond rehabilitated /transformed into a clean/beautiful lake.
4. Master Plan summed as- 1 axis-3 centres-4 districts

19. ECO-CITY TIANJIN- Master plan..
.

20. Rolling garden on wheels in Milan

21. open spaces
In Delhi
Master Plan

22. Open Spaces--Delhi Master Plan
• Delhi largest green cover– among metropolis in
India-- called a "Green City".
• Green / recreational use 8,722 ha- MPD 2001
• -- 19% of the total urban land area of 44,777 ha.
• -- Includes 1577 ha. under Ridge.
• Balance 7145 ha. –along Yamuna, District Parks,
City Parks, Community Parks etc
• -- provided in the form of:
• - Neighbourhood Parks
• -- Tot lots in gross residential use zones
• -- plantations / greens in large campuses like
• -- President's Estate,
• -- JNU, Delhi University,
• -- plantations along drains / roadside plantations.
• --two Biodiversity parks

23. Delhi Master Plan- Norms/Standards

24. Open spaces
In
Chandigarh
Master Plan

26. Chandigarh Master plan- open spaces
• 800 hectares of green open space-13%-
over 6000 Hec of Project area.
• Major open areas include ;
• -- Leisure Valley
• -- Rock Garden
• -- other special gardens
• -- sectors/sub-sector level
• - Green belt separating the residential
and industrial area- 500 feet
• --vertically integrated by green space
oriented towards mountains
• -- Institution level open spaces
• -- open spaces along the choes- Patiali ki
Rao, Sukhna Choe

27. Chandigarh Landscaping
• landscape plan based on the principles of:
– Catering to vehicular and pedestrian
movement along V2 & V3.
• All old existing trees retained to give a
feeling of ancientness.
• Trees of both exotic/indigenous variety
planted.
• Tree plantation in the form of
squares/circles…. in singles and clusters .
• Concept of city forest introduced --by
planting trees in large numbers in clusters to
create beautiful effect.
• Landscaping within vertical green belts
made to provide unobstructed view of
Shivalik hills.
• Trees act as buffer against dust/noise and as
wind breakers.

28. CHANDIGARH PLAN --- ALBERT MAYER
• Designed for a
Population of
500,000.
• Based on a system
of low density
• neighborhoods
defined by a grid of
slightly curved
roads.
• Two natural valleys
run across the site
proposed to be
developed as park
strips.

29. Radiant city – Le CORBUSIER

33. Leisure Valley- 8 kms parkway

35. ARIEL VIEW OF THE ROSE GARDEN

36. LEISURE VALLEY

40. Rock Garden-27 acs

41. Memory/Butterfly Park- Sector 26

42. Park at Sukhna Regulator

43. SUKHNA LAKE

44. Lake-42

46. Chandigarh open spaces

47. Chandigarh Traffic Rotaries

49. Context of
Trees

50. Need for Tree Preservation
• Agricultural / urban expansion
• --at expense of native ecosystems /
forests/ woodlands/ croplands/
grasslands.
• Cumulative effects
• --produced serious global
environmental/ social problems
• -- loss of biodiversity
• -- extreme poverty of people living
in the more vulnerable areas
• -Need to leverage
• Climate Change Convention,

51. GREENING CITY
•Mechanism of appropriate landscaping at city/building levels
make cities/ bldgs energy efficient.
•Vegetation shade--
-Lowers daytime temperatures
-- controls humidity.
--Reduces heat emission during night
•Manages water
--during rains --lot of free water absorbed
-- during dry periods--- water is evaporated
•Clean air, reduce noise, lower temperature
--filter air up to 80% of pollutants
-- Reduce noise level up to 12 db
-50-100 m thick vegetation cover
Reduces air temperature up to 3.50 c
•Greening cities through
--Strategic plantation
--Massive plantation
--landscaping
--Developing city forests.
---An tree offers a cooling effect -- 5 air-conditioners,
Generates fresh air equivalent to 7 cylinders
- Improve indoor air quality
-- Energy savings : 20-30

52. Importance of Trees
• Trees improve air quality/ microclimate,
• Provide Oxygen
• Removes CO2
• provide water protection,
• promote wildlife habitat,
• Promote recreation
• increased carbon sequestration
• Ensure biodiversity.
• have symbolic cultural value
• Meet energy needs of poor
• important parts of language, history, art,
religion, medicine, politics,
• Trees combat climate change
• Trees clean the air
• Trees cool the streets and city
• Trees conserve energy
• Trees save water

53. Importance of Trees
• Trees help prevent water pollution
• Trees help prevent soil erosion
• Trees shield from ultra-violet rays
• Trees provide food
• Trees heal
• Trees mark the seasons
• Trees create economic
opportunities
• Trees bring diverse groups of people
together
• Trees provide a canopy and habitat for
wildlife
• Trees provide wood
• Trees increase property values

54. Importance of Trees
•Tree source energy from renewable
source--sun.
•Waste’ generated by Tree –
•-as fallen leaves is recycled by--
invertebrates, fungi and bacteria in the soil--
to provide nutrients
• to the tree and
• other organisms.

55. Chandigarh Tree Preservation Order
• Chandigarh Tree Preservation
order:
–All existing trees to be preserved.
–No removal of trees allowed
without permission.
–Sanction granted in cases of
extreme hardship
–New trees to be planted in lieu of
tree removed.
–No hopping, lopping and
chopping of trees allowed
without permission

56. Context/
Strategies for
open spaces

57. Strategies for Open Spaces
• Open spaces- provided as integral part of city planning
• Made Essential part of urban infrastructure and not an add-on / -
• Open spaces to be valued - need to develop basis of valuation
• Hierarchy of open spaces to be defined
• Space Norms for all levels must be defined
• Open areas distributed all over city.
• Concentration of open spaces to be avoided
• All derelict areas/ low lying areas/areas of natural/manmade
beauty be earmarked as open spaces/parks/recreation
• Encroachment from open areas to be removed and developed
• Involving people in planning, designing, development and
maintenance of open spaces
• Corporate sector /institutions --actively involved in developing
/maintenance of open spaces
• City to prepare inventory of open spaces
• Spaces to be safeguarded from encroachment.
• Organising competition for best gardens at residential/
institutional level etc
• Organising dedicated festivals- like Rose Festival to promote
open spaces

58. Strategies for Open Spaces
• Private colonies --to provide minimum 10% area under
open spaces – planned,developed and maintained by them
• Group housing to provide min. 20% area under open
space
• City to provide open spaces @ 9 sqm/per capita
• Careful positioning /Planning of open spaces
• Open spaces abutting /backing on houses – to avoid
misuse/encroachment
• Open spaces planned to face majority of houses for
optimization and preventing encroachment
• Promoting planned development --best option to create
open spaces
• Industries mandated to create green belts
• All existing trees/ natural areas to be preserved
• Tree Preservation law to be enacted
• Master Plans/ Development Plans to provide detailed
plans for open spaces
• Industrial /Residential area to be segregated with a green
belt

59. Strategies for Open Spaces
• Water bodies planned /developed as green/recreational areas
• Concept of City forests promoted to develop green cover
• Native plants to be used for plantation
• Xeri-scape used for landscaping to minimize water requirement.
• Land belts coming under High Tension lines—reserved, planned,
developed as open spaces with shorter variety of trees to avoid
mishap.
• Parking /hard areas planned /planted with trees to minimize
heat island effect
• Involving institutions and campuses having large area for tree
plantation/landscaping
• Making environment/ ecology integral part of education/study
curricula
• Creating awareness about role /importance of green spaces at
individual/community level

60. Global
context of
urban Parks

61. Hyde Park London- 253 Hec

62. Central Park New York- 700 Acs Vaux and Olmsted'

63. Bukit Timah Nature Park Singapore= 1.64 SKM

64. Phoenix Park Dublin- 7.07 skm

65. PERTH- Australia

66. Sabarmati River Front- Ahmedabad

67. MOGHUL GARDEN PINJORE

68. TULIP GARDEN SRINAGAR

69. MOGHUL GARDEN SRINAGAR

74. Today Curitiba boasts > 50 sq metres of green space per

75. COBS
WORKINGLIVING
CIRCULATION
• The Radiant City
•An organism capable of housing the
works of man of machine-age society.
• placed under the masterful
government of natural conditions:
•Sun
•Space
•Greenery
•And its mission is the service of
mankind:
•To live
•To work
•To cultivate body and spirit
•To travel about
(in this order and obeying this
hierarchy)

77. Thanks for your time,
attention and patience