Swati Kulashri

Urbanization is one of the major phenomenon in the current urban scenario. It has been estimated that by 2030 around 400 square kilometers of land would be consumed for urban area and it is expected that in the next 20 years urban population will be doubled due to massive spatial and economic change in developing countries. Many developed countries like UK, USA have adopted transit oriented strategies that focus on catalyzing development along transit oriented corridors. On an ongoing basis, the strategies have been presented for augmenting development and transit ridership. There have been adverse effects of urbanization on development in many countries. In India, mass urbanization, is leading to severe environmental and economic problems such as urban poverty, congestion, pollution, degradation of quality of life etc. Hence, a sustainable approach is required to attend to these problems and ensure a positive growth for the cities. In Indian cities, rapid transit is a comparatively new phenomenon. Hence, the current strategies being introduced include densifying the development along the transit corridors, boosting compact development, discouraging private ridership, improving paratransit modes to enhance transit accessibility and ridership. A transit-oriented development (TOD) is thus an approach integrating land use and transit systems to maximize access to public transport and solve other glitches. Transit oriented development embraces compact mixed use design that provide proper accessibility to transit and non-motorized transportation and encourages transit ridership. It aims at integrating infrastructure, transport and land use with urban design to increase positive growth in the city

After India gained its independence, despite of surplus welfare policies and schemes that targeted at the upliftment of rural areas, a polarized development was witnessed. The past record of development initiatives in terms of plans and policies had clearly indicated weak attempts to curb the rural-urban disparity. Not only were the policies short-sighted but their implementation were lacking on ground level as well. Even in the current scenario, there is a dominant variation in the degree of development across India, and simultaneous existence of developed urban sub-regions. Concentration of essential physical and social infrastructure remains in the urban areas and hence their development outweighs that of the rural areas. The inefficiency of rural areas to provide for basic infrastructure, economic opportunities and modern amenities has forced the rural population in migrating to the urban areas. This imbalance has led to weaker agricultural productions and has increased infrastructure pressure on urban areas. Urban areas are continuing to attract investments and resources, primarily in terms of housing. The government's inability to meet the rural infrastructure deficit is the primary reason for out migration and creation of informal and unauthorized settlements. Owing to low levels of education, medical and other essential facilities, the rural areas are increasingly becoming dependent on their urban counterparts. Not only is there a need for efficient rural amenities, there is also a need for additional income generating provisions to make the rural areas self-dependent. In this context, the Government of India under the National Rurban Mission aspires to stimulate local economic development and enhance basic services in rural areas to create well planned Rurban clusters.

The ancient constructions in Himalayan regions are the finest examples of the traditional architecture, providing sufficient thermal comfort under extreme geo-climatic conditions of the region. These indigenous construction practices include the use of locally available materials such as wood, stone etc. One such native construction techniques, that has been practiced in the state of Himachal Pradesh is known as ‘Kath-Khuni’ and its architecture is created with a mesh of interlocking horizontal sleepers and is dressed or raw stones are packed without any mortar. The designs of these houses are best suited for the harsh environmental climatic conditions of the region. The present state of knowledge reveals that usage and construction of such houses are not in practice due to non-availability of timber and modern architecture. However, such kind of houses can be strengthened and preserved by deploying affordable S&T inputs. For these reasons, about 120 traditional architectural styles of rural houses in Himachal Pradesh have been studied and documented. Subsequently, S&T interventions have been suggested to strengthen and maintain the traditional architecture of rural houses based on the gaps identified.

Urbanization is one of the major phenomenon in the current urban scenario. It has been estimated that by 2030 around 400 square kilometers of land would be consumed for urban area and it is expected that in the next 20 years urban population will be doubled due to massive spatial and economic change in developing countries. Many developed countries like UK, USA have adopted transit oriented strategies that focus on catalyzing development along transit oriented corridors. On an ongoing basis, the strategies have been presented for augmenting development and transit ridership. There have been adverse effects of urbanization on development in many countries. In India, mass urbanization, is leading to severe environmental and economic problems such as urban poverty, congestion, pollution, degradation of quality of life etc. Hence, a sustainable approach is required to attend to these problems and ensure a positive growth for the cities. In Indian cities, rapid transit is a comparatively new phenomenon. Hence, the current strategies being introduced include densifying the development along the transit corridors, boosting compact development, discouraging private ridership, improving paratransit modes to enhance transit accessibility and ridership. A transit-oriented development (TOD) is thus an approach integrating land use and transit systems to maximize access to public transport and solve other glitches. Transit oriented development embraces compact mixed use design that provide proper accessibility to transit and non-motorized transportation and encourages transit ridership. It aims at integrating infrastructure, transport and land use with urban design to increase positive growth in the city.

Urbanization is one of the major phenomenon in the current urban scenario. It has been estimated that by 2030 around 400 square kilometers of land would be consumed for urban area and it is expected that in the next 20 years urban population will be doubled due to massive spatial and economic change in developing countries. Many developed countries like UK, USA have adopted transit oriented strategies that focus on catalyzing development along transit oriented corridors. On an ongoing basis, the strategies have been presented for augmenting development and transit ridership. There have been adverse effects of urbanization on development in many countries. In India, mass urbanization, is leading to severe environmental and economic problems such as urban poverty, congestion, pollution, degradation of quality of life etc. Hence, a sustainable approach is required to attend to these problems and ensure a positive growth for the cities. In Indian cities, rapid transit is a comparatively new phenomenon. Hence, the current strategies being introduced include densifying the development along the transit corridors, boosting compact development, discouraging private ridership, improving paratransit modes to enhance transit accessibility and ridership. A transit-oriented development (TOD) is thus an approach integrating land use and transit systems to maximize access to public transport and solve other glitches. Transit oriented development embraces compact mixed use design that provide proper accessibility to transit and non-motorized transportation and encourages transit ridership. It aims at integrating infrastructure, transport and land use with urban design to increase positive growth in the city.

After India gained its independence, despite of surplus welfare policies and schemes that targeted at the upliftment of rural areas, a polarized development was witnessed. The past record of development initiatives in terms of plans and policies had clearly indicated weak attempts to curb the rural-urban disparity. Not only were the policies short-sighted but their implementation were lacking on ground level as well. Even in the current scenario, there is a dominant variation in the degree of development across India, and simultaneous existence of developed urban sub-regions. Concentration of essential physical and social infrastructure remains in the urban areas and hence their development outweighs that of the rural areas. The inefficiency of rural areas to provide for basic infrastructure, economic opportunities and
modern amenities has forced the rural population in migrating to the urban areas. This imbalance has led to weaker agricultural productions and has increased infrastructure pressure on urban areas. Urban areas are continuing to attract investments and resources, primarily in terms of housing.
The government's inability to meet the rural infrastructure deficit is the primary reason for out migration and creation of informal and unauthorized settlements. Owing to low levels of education, medical and other essential facilities, the rural areas are increasingly becoming dependent on their urban counterparts. Not only is there a need for efficient rural amenities, there is also a need for additional income generating provisions to make the rural areas self-dependent. In this context, the Government of India under the National Rurban Mission aspires to stimulate local economic development and enhance basic services in rural areas to create well planned Rurban clusters.