Present scenario of physical development within the city indicates areas of relatively intense
development besides certain areas, which could be more intensely developed.

4.9.6 PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR URBAN GROWTH

The components of the growth strategy that directly affect the proposal for social amenities would be the following:

4.9.6.1 POPULATION ACCOMMODATING CAPACITIES OF THE PROPOSED URBAN VILLAGES AND THE RESPECTIVE TIME - FRAMES FOR EACH

The growth strategy has been outlined according to estimates of the maximum population each of the Urban Villages can accommodate as per the designated density characteristics, felt appropriate to each of the Urban Villages.

Hence a phased scenario of population has not been projected for the whole city. Accordingly, in case of the amenities too the maximum population that could be accommodated has been considered for decisions on the required grade of facilities. But, it would not be accompanied with phasing scenarios, as it would be unrealistic, as per the characteristics of the growth strategy adopted.

Instead, it would be appropriate to set standards of population thresholds after which, any facility would have to be up - graded to the next higher level. (The population thresholds for up - gradation with reference to certain areas have been mentioned in the accompanying proposal charts.)

4.9.6.2 DECENTRALIZATION OF BASIC NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL FACILITIES

As has been discussed earlier, the whole growth strategy has been structured into a set of Urban Villages, each one of which would be self - contained as regards basic social amenities and facilities.

Thus, arriving at a series of self - contained neighborhoods, and in the process, decentralizing and distributing the amenities and lessening the burden on the existing higher grade of facilities within the city.

4.9.7 MAIN COMPONENTS

4.9.7.1 AMENITIES AND SERVICES WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOOD NODES

These would be the amenities that are essential for the establishment and functioning of any residential community. These would primarily be smaller scale facilities, that any residential community needs access to on a daily basis. These would be provided at the level of each Neighborhood Node, with an attempt to locate the Node at the activity center of every outlined Urban Village. The facilities that would go into the making of the Neighborhood Node could be categorized under the following heads:
• Health
• Recreation
• Essential Commerce
• Public convenience
• Public Utility
• Public management

Table 4.12: Categorization of the Facilities provided in the Neighborhood Nodes and their Relevance:

Category	Nature of facility	Benefit and social purpose served
Health	Neighborhood clinic	Elementary treatment and medication.
Education	Nursery school and crèche	Elementary education and play facilities for the youngest segment of the population.
Recreation	Toddlers park	Place for recreation and play for the younger segments of the population and would also act as a place for chance meetings if coupled successfully with the commercial facility.
Essential Commerce	Convenience shopping	For easy access to basic daily needs of grocery, medicines, vegetables etc.
Public convenience	Post collection center, phone booth, newsstand, and internet café.	These would more importantly serve as popular meeting places for all age groups and would catalyze and spur chance interactions.
Public Utility	Public Toilets, Water storage reservoirs and Back - up supply pumping facilities.	Provision of essential public utilities to support and serve community areas like the shopping area, public garden etc.
Public management	Police post	Establishment of a governing authority at the lowest possible level of the city structure.

The purpose behind the establishment of Neighborhood Nodes and defining their composition as a conglomeration of these essential amenities (at one location in every Urban Village within accessible distance) was to create activity nodes in each Village, which encourage and make possible informal social interaction within the resident population. Thus establishing each Neighborhood Node as the primary Social space of the city.

A schematic design of a Neighborhood Node

A comparable image of a neighborhood center

4.9.7.2 CITY LEVEL SOCIAL AMENITIES - SCHOOL FACILITIES

As is the case with any other amenity, an efficient structure of educational facilities within any city too depend on, the grades of facilities provided and the degree of accessibility to these facilities, enabled to the city population.

The Structure Plan has been put together after considering the factors of terrain, conditions of accessibility existing to different parts of the valley, current pattern of distribution of population and the future envisaged patterns etc.

Though the standards form the basis of all the projections of demand done for this sector, other outlined factors of terrain and topography have necessitated certain assumptions and deviations from the framework of the standards, to enable the facilitation of all the grades of school facilities to the entire population of the city as the growth strategy anticipates it to be structured by 2027.

Accordingly certain establishment and up - gradation actions have been suggested which have to be undertaken at the appropriate times as recommended by the proposal. For details please refer Table 5.14 and 5.15 for the proposals.

4.9.7.3 CITY LEVEL SOCIAL AMENITIES - HEALTH FACILITIES

As in the earlier case of school facilities, the attempt in this segment too was geared towards facilitation and enabling easy access to all grades of health facilities starting from the Neighborhood Clinic to the advanced Regional Hospitals, for the entire city population. For the same certain deviations had to be made from the framework of the standards to enable access to the entire hierarchy of health facilities to the whole population anticipated to be accommodated within the current city limits, by 2027.

The characteristic that differentiates the Schools and Health facilities from the Neighborhood level amenities is that, these amenities had to be planned taking the whole of the city as the elementary unit, with assumptions of mutual sharing of these facilities between neighboring Urban Villages as in the case of intermediary grade facilities or over the whole city population. For details please refer Table 5.16 and 5.17 for the proposals.

 

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