Around 60% of the traffic uses the main road of the shopping street as a bypass route. The road connects places such as LB nagar, Saroor nagar, Vanasthalipuram, Charminar, Dilsukhnagar etc. There is lot of traffic of the buses which is creating lot of chaos and congestion on the main street.
Urban redesign proposals
Suggested Proposal to solve Traffic Problem:
Proposal for a one-way flyover (40’ wide)
As an attempt to solve the problem of the traffic movement, we are suggesting the proposal of a Flyover for one-way traffic which will take around 80% of the bus traffic.
Permanent traffic of the stretch considered (SBH-GPO) is the traffic of the shop owners and the employees. This is like a fixed percentage of traffic.
Permanent traffic
Flowing Traffic – Major Bus Traffic
Apart from this stretch being a major shopping Street in Abids, it also serves as a bypass route for going to Vanasthalipuram, Saroornagar, LBnagar, Dilsukhnagar and Charminar areas.
The movement of buses on this route is intense and causes lot of chaos which is not even relevant to Abids. There is a heavy percentage of Flowing Traffic on this stretch.
Flowing traffic
Staggered Traffic
Staggered traffic is usually found on the junctions. There are two major junctions on this stretch. The roads connecting the main street are two way roads. They can also be termed as “feeder roads”.
Staggered traffic
Floating traffic
50% of the traffic here on this main shopping street is the floating traffic. People park their vehicles wherever they find it easier and closer to get access to get their stuff and leave. The most chaos and cause of inconvenience is caused by floating traffic because they do not have an organized parking pattern.
Floating Traffic
Parking problems identified
On Street Parking
Main Shopping Street
The Parking of the vehicles especially two wheelers is done on the pavements or on the streets. This has led to the wrong practice of parking by the people. People go for On-street Parking because of the lack of Parking space.
Building and Cellar Parking
There is a very little percentage of Parking facility provided by the respective shop owners for their customers.
On street parking
For example, Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar has a provision for cellar Parking and Parking in the setbacks. Cellar Parking is very unsuccessful in Big Bazaar. People have an issue with easy access to the Parking area and hence they rather prefer parking it on the streets.
Big Bazaar
Permanent Parking
The shop owners and the employees of the respective shop owners park their vehicles as close to their shops or showrooms as possible. This Parking percentage does not vary with increasing traffic or parking.
Co relation of formal and Informal Activities | Urban Design
Studying the co-relation of formal and informal activities is very important. Abids as mentioned earlier in one of the oldest commercial neighbourhood of the city of Hyderabad. It has established formal and informal activities. They relate to each other and surprisingly there are different types of informal sellers that we call hawkers.
Types of Commodities
Books
Belts
Clothes
Cellphone Accessories such as Mobile covers, headphones etc.
Goggles
Watches
Eateries
Relationship between formal and informal shopping areas
The informal shopping areas evolved because of the influence of the existing formal shops.
Factors that influence the existence of the informal shops:
Type of formal shops
Crowd (people)
Types of formal shops
Some percentage of informal shops evolved because of a strong influence of the type of formal sector. The informal shopping development generally include the accessories of the major commodity sold in the formal shops/showrooms.
For example:
Hawkers around Hollywood
Hollywood is a footwear showroom. All the accessories related to footwear are available in the informal shopping area adjacent to Hollywood. Also, the accessories such as watched, goggles etc have been seen to exist around.
The informal sector around Hollywood is very popular.
Parking facility
The area between Hollywood ad Kamal Watch is their setback area.
Two wheeler paid parking is prevalent here. The funds collected by paid parking are distributed between the two showrooms Hollywood and Kamal Watch respectively.
Emphasis of Crowd on the informal Activities
The informal activity gets a boost in their business because of the following two reasons:
Kind of Crowd
Volume of Crowd
Kind of Crowd
People who prefer shopping on streets from the informal shop owners are in encouraging number.
Volume of Crowd
Wherever there is a huge of volume of crowd, the informal activities are larger in number.
Economic Status of the Hawkers
Types of Hawkers
As per our casestudy, the types of Hawkers can be classified into three major categories:
Senior Hawkers
Rental Hawkers
Hawkers permitted by formal shops
Senior Hawkers and their economic status
These hawkers have existed at a particular place for a minimum of 35 years. Some of these senior hawkers have been there even before the major formal showrooms came up. The formal shop owners cannot shoo them off from their place.
Rental Hawkers
Rental Hawkers are dependent on Senior Hawkers. If any newer hawker wants to establish his informal activity at a particular place where senior hawker once sold his goods; they have to pay rentals to the Senior for carrying out their sales activity.
For example
The hawker selling belts on the footpath paid 10,000/- to the senior hawker to carry out his sales activity.
The rental network does not stop here.
Rentals paid by the Hawkers:
Economically stable Hawkers
Turnover
Senior
MCH
Police
Buying New Materials
Income split into two partners
90,000/-
10,000/-
5000/-
5000/-
20,000/-
25000 each
Economically Backward Hawkers
Turnover
Senior
MCH
Police
Buying New Materials
Income
20,000/-
5,000/-
300/-
5000/- or commodities
3,000/-
6700
The amount collected by police depends on the income of the Hawker.
Hawkers permitted by Formal Shop owners
Formal shop owners use these hawkers to their advantage.
When shop owners keep their shops shut for a long time because of a certain reason, they permit these hawkers to practice their hawking activity until they open their shops again. They do this for two reasons:
Security Purpose
Prevention from dirtying of the surrounding area of the shop.
Sunday Bazaar
Evolution of Market – 35 years ago
Type of Market – Informal type of Market laid on footpaths and roads.
Commodities sold : Books and Clothes
Timing : 10am to 6pm
Peak Shopping hours : 4pm to 6pm
History of Sunday Bazaar
The informal activity in Koti has given a boost to the development of weekly informal activity which is today known as Sunday Bazaar.
Initially, market for books was a trend only in Koti which later spread to Abids.
Informal market for clothes gradually developed.
Sunday Bazaar | Urban Design
Identity of Hawkers
Basically Sunday Bazaar Hawkers are people who work in either private shops or municipal offices on week days.
To make extra money on weekends, they sell clothes or books in Sunday Bazaar.They follow a system of “FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS”.
Economic Status
They are employees from private shops or government offices.
On an average, they make 2000/- on Sunday.
Relation between Formal and Informal Activity
Sunday Bazaar influenced some of the formal shop owners to keep their shops open on Sundays. But the existence of Sunday Bazaar is not influenced by the formal Sector.
Introduction to Abids – Past and the Present Conditions | Urban Regeneration
Abids is a major commercial hub of the city of Hyderabad, India. It is the oldest and famous business area which developed after the development of Old City and Secunderabad. Major number of government buildings are located in this area. For example, the state government building APSFC, and President Plaza etc.
This place has a mixture of Anglican Architecture, Persian Architecture and the modern Architectural style. This place has heritage structures which have been preserved from the past 200 years. The city of Hyderabad was not much developed. The two hotspots of the city were Secunderbad and Old City. Secunderabad is the twin city of Hyderabad. Old City and Secunderabad were the only areas where businesses were set up and gradually got overcrowded.
Evolution of the name of the Area – ABIDS | Urban Regeneration
After 1908 floods in Hyderabad, King Koti Developed. The Nizamshahis went shopping in the horse carriages to Abids. The area had a shop belonging to Albert Abid, a Jewish valet of Nizam VI of Hyderabad state, hence the area came to be known as Abid shop and the main road abutting the shop was known as Abid road. Later on, this area became popular as Abids. But this was just a small stretch which developed.
History of Abids | Urban Regeneration
During British rule in India in the year 1844 AD, St. George’s Church was constructed. Along with it came Grammar School for boys. This gave a boost to the construction of new schools in Abids. This area has many schools and educational institutions.
The development of schools and educational institutions gave rise to the development of commercial activity related to the necessities of the School going children.
The commercial hub in Hyderabad selected for Redesign and Restructuring is “Abids” which was popularly known as the “Commercial District of Hyderabad”.
The study has been carried out in the following way:
Research Focus
Various issues regarding the Urban structure has been addressed. It includes commercial spots, residential communities, Amenities, Utilities, religious structures etc. The influence of each on the commercial activities has been addressed in the case study.
Research Methods | Urban Design
The research Methods include:
Detailed Case study of the Abids Zone
Collection of data regarding History of Abids from the Conservation books
Findings of the case study
The issues addressed in the case study have been classified into two categories:
The issues include various Urban Design factors to be reconsidered for restructuring and redesign that will help revive the ambience of the Commercial hub which existed 50 years ago.
The project “Design of Commercial Neighbourhood” needs critical study of area selected for redesign. Abids has been chosen as the commercial hub for the Urban Design Project.
Services in a Laundry – Fabrik Care Laundry, Rasoolpura, Begumpet
The Laundry caters to various hotels, hospitals etc. It is located at Rasoolpura, Begumpet, Hyderabad. The article discusses different services in a laundry namely water supply, drainage, electricity, fire safety and return air ducts.
The total area of the Laundry is 10,000sqft.
Total number of machines in the Laundry = 20
Total number of workers working in the Laundry = 80
Laundry
Types of Machines in the Laundry
Dry Cleaning Machines = 2 (Clothes upto 40kg can be washed in one go. The cycle of the machine is of around 30 to 40 minutes).
Wet Washing Machines = 2 (60 pieces can be washed at a time. The maximum capacity machine available in the laundry can take upto 80 pieces at a time).
Steam pressing Machines = 3 (Steam pressing is used for delicate cloth like siffon, silk etc)
Hothead pressing Machines = 5 (used for materials such as Cotton, starched clothes etc)
Row houses emerged in Europe in the 16th century. They are used when medium density housing is to be provided. They are also known as terraced houses or linked houses. They are generally identical or rather it would be preferable to say that they are mirror images with shared side walls.
Countries where row houses are popular
Row houses are found all across the world. They are very popular in Europe and Latin America. Some good examples of row housing can be found in North America and Oceania. In Europe, United Kingdom and France are popular for row houses or terraced houses. In North America, they are widespread. Cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Halifax in Canada have extensive examples of terraced housing. Cities with terraced housing in United States include Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other cities. Malaysia and Singapore are also known for a different variety of row houses.
Examples of Row housing projects across the world
Row houses in England
Grosvenor Square in London was one of the earliest terraces in England. The Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed a lot of property. This gave a rise for an urgent housing need which was met by building terraced houses. Victorian or Georgian architectural style was generally used in the design of terraced houses. Park Crescent, Regent’s Park in London is another good example of row housing.
Park Crescent, London | Row houses in England. Source: wikipedia.com
Row houses in India
Row houses were first built in the city of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier. They were built with an intention to provide low-cost housing. Le Corbusier wanted the residents to feel the happiness of having an independent home with their little garden in the front.
One of the newest project I found interesting was the one at Karad, a town in Maharashtra. The project aims to build 68 row houses. The project has been designed by a construction company called Kachchhi Constructions which is based in Hyderabad. What fascinates me is the elegant design of row houses. The architect Javed Kachchhi has used contemporary architectural style keeping the clients needs in mind. The township offers a number of amenities and facilities such as clubhouse, swimming pool and a beautifully landscaped garden. Overall it is an amazing design scheme.
Row houses in Northern Ireland
Initially, row houses in Northern Ireland were built to house working class people. One of the examples of row housing in Northern Ireland is the one in Peckham Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. This was built in 1981. They bricked up windows and doors to deter vandals. These houses have now been restored.
Belfast, Northern Ireland. Source: wikipedia.com
Row houses in Montreal, Canada
A large number of row houses can be found in Montreal Canada. Row houses remained a dominant type of housing during the post-war period. The row houses were subdivided into duplexes and triplexes.
Urban design is complex but fascinating. At least I find it to be exciting and challenging since urban designers get to shape the lifestyles of the people. I would like to discuss one of the urban design projects I did in Architecture college in a group. We were a group of 12 students, all of us skilled in different areas. When we began, we felt the project work was intimidating and that it was too early for us to be working on one. I am going to be writing a series of articles of how we dealt with this project, the design process that we followed and all the survey methods that we used. It was a great experience.
Aim of the Project:
Conservation of the original market character by restricting to various patterns, colours, to create a scenario that invites tourists without disturbing the old and traditional built forms to relate to the original concepts. We are aiming at Sustainability…Sustaining and improving the living standards and reviving the importance of the commercial hub in terms of commercial activity.
We listed out the target issues in terms of Sustainable Development. Listing aims of the project is the first and most important thing to do before beginning any kind of project. This gave us a clear understanding of the direction in which we should be progressing.
This is the design process we followed for redesigning the commercial hub. We had a brainstorming session with our group and came up with all the possible approaches we could take to design the project.
Stage One: Case study of 1,000,000 sq m of area in the centre of commercial hub (studied land use pattern)
Stage Two: Detailed Study and Analysis of the Critical Zone for Redesign
Selection Criteria
Abids is one of the oldest commercial hub in the Hyderabad city. Abids constitutes the dwellings of Upper middle class families. People from all over the city came to shop jewellery and textiles at Abids. With the decentralisation of the commercial markets, the crowd coming to Abids has lessened as compared to what it was earlier. The good thing about Abids is that it still has a unique shopping market which other places don’t have. This is what we identified as the unique selling point for the regeneration of Abids. To regenerate, it is essential to identify issues and come up with solutions that could enhance the functioning of the commercial hub and help restoring it to its original character.
Here are the issues that we identified:
Traffic issue
Lack of convenient Parking
Scope of redesign of facades
Organizing and redesigning streetscape
Informal activity
No recreational area
Stage Three: Major focused area selected for redesign
The stem and base are the main parts of a cantilever type of retaining wall. The toe is the front portion and heel is the back portion. The stem is supported at the base and the wall tapers towards the top.
Wall Dimensions
Generally the height of the wall known and approximate dimensions are required to be assumed.
The length of the base is between 0.4 to 0.7 times the height of the wall. Toe to base ratio is 1:4. The thickness of the base slab shall be assumed to be little more than the thickness of the stem at the bottom. The minimum thickness of the stem shall be 200mm for construction purposes.
Earth pressure on wall
A length of one metre of the wall is considered for design.
Earth levelled up to the top of wall:
From Rankine’s theory of earth pressure
where,
P = total pressure on wall acting at H/3 from the base
H = total height in metres
W = weight or density of earth in kN/m3
Φ = angle of repose of earth
Stability of retaining wall
The assumed trial section of the wall shall be checked for stability. Stability check is required for (i) overturning and (ii) sliding. In both the cases the factor of safety shall not be less than 1.5.
1. Factor of safety for overturning
(Moment due to load of wall)/(Moment due to force P) ≥ 1.5
