School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi

About: School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi is a education organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Smart city. The organization has 278 authors who have published 347 publications receiving 1665 citations.

Improving outcomes for socioeconomic variables with coastal vulnerability index under significant sea-level rise: an approach from Mumbai coasts

Abstract: Climate change has led to increased sea levels, which are caused by a complex interplay of the physical environment components from coastal areas, causing the rise in storm surge, erosion and flooding. In this scenario, the low-lying topography of the Mumbai region is highly susceptible to sea level-induced flooding and coastal erosion due to the increasing number of economic activities. The unsustainable urbanization, unplanned development, and huge land conversion lead to the destruction of this region lead to the destruction of mangroves and filled waterways with construction debris which makes the region more vulnerable to flooding due to inadequate drainage, overflow and absence of natural protectors. These human-induced factors and their impacts remain unknown. Therefore, the study uses four socioeconomic variables (CVI4) with five geological (CVI5) and three geological variables (CVI8; with integrating CVI5) to assess the role of developmental and socio-economic activities in overall coastal vulnerability (CVI12) analysis. To quantify the importance of the combined variables and understand the response, random forest (RF) model was also used. This study selected four different iterations with integrating the pixel-based differentially weighted rank values of all variables to determine the significant causes behind that have an impact on coastal vulnerability index (CVI). The results show that CVI5 and CVI8 contributed 7.8% and 36.9%, respectively, whereas CVI4 contributed 55.3% to the CVI12. The response curve shows that the influence of these variables is an increasing trend to CVI12 and the results of CVI12 are highly correlated with socioeconomic index variables (r = 0.84, p = 0.001) which indicates the socio-economic variables played a major role towards the coastal vulnerability of the region. It suggests that unsustainable urbanization, unplanned development and coastal erosion increasing pressure make Mumbai and Kurla region more vulnerable to flood. Accordingly, CVI12 results show 55.83 km of the shoreline surveyed, being very low vulnerable, a moderate vulnerability of 60.91 km, while a high vulnerability of 50.75 km is considered to be very high. The results may be used as a guide in formulating policies to mitigate and adjust the Mumbai coast as the rise in sea level is expected to cause more frequent coastal floods, etc.

Review of the Effectiveness of Arbitration

Abstract: Disputes are common and unavoidable in any construction project. These must be resolved in a timely manner lest they adversely affect time and cost aspects of the project and even affect its economic viability. Arbitration has been used as a means of dispute resolution as it is considered to be a speedier and more cost-effective way of conflict resolution than litigation. However, the arbitration process has often been marred by delays leading to time and cost escalation, thereby failing to meet the very purpose of relevant legislation. With the construction sector undertaking more complex projects, disputes will require an efficient redressal mechanism. The present study has been undertaken to understand and evaluate the effectiveness of the current arbitration procedure in India, specifically those under the public sector. An assessment has been done to determine its adequacy to meet the complexities and challenges of the contemporary construction sector. A total of 22 cases of arbitration from ...

Urban heat island intensity and evaluation of outdoor thermal comfort in Chennai, India

Abstract: The variation in the atmospheric conditions of urban areas to the fringe areas is termed as urban heat island and is attributed predominantly to the differences in the pattern of built environment. The aim of this study is twofold; firstly, to assess the heat island intensity in the tropical city of Chennai through traverse method and secondly to establish the relationship between the built environment and its contribution in altering the microclimate parameters. Air temperature and relative humidity were measured across the city through traverse survey. The data were analyzed by generating temperature and relative humidity isopleths, and hotspots in the city were identified. Eight fixed stations were located in Thyagaraya Nagar—one of the identified hotspots to study the spatial distribution of climate parameters using ENVI-met simulations. The study confirms the presence of UHI in Chennai with an intensity of 4.5 °C in winter and 2.5 °C in summer. At the micro-scale level, the study establishes a difference of 6 °C during daytime. The study revealed a maximum physiological equivalent temperature (PET) difference of 22 °C between the locations. The findings of the study would enable urban planners to develop comfortable newer neighborhood with thermally comfortable outdoor environments which will help in increasing pedestrian comfort.

Methodology for Estimating the Cost of Delay in Architectural Engineering Projects: Case of Metro Rails in India

Abstract: Development of a nation is directly related to the accomplishment of public infrastructure projects. They cater to the objectives of sector-specific demand and accrue benefits in other related fields. These architectural engineering projects contribute to the overall development, which is complex to measure in tangible terms alone, but call for establishing indicators for measuring intangible benefits as well. Delay in projects is considered to affect the tangible cost benefits. It is, however, a limited perception of delay consequences. The cost of delay (CoD), therefore, can be determined by considering the overall impact of tangible and intangible benefits of such projects. This paper brings out the framework for determining the CoD for the selected case study of a metro rail project. It reflects the consequences of delay in overall development prospects and high-level infrastructure objectives by establishing the CoD. The cost thus established can serve as the basis for mobilizing additional resources and strategic decision making in the best interest of overall benefits. The outcome of the study creates an opportunity to manage metro rail projects by mitigating the negative consequences of time overruns.

Coastal flood management in rural planning unit through land-use planning: Kaikhali, West Bengal, India

Abstract: The Indian subcontinent is highly prone to the detrimental impacts of hazards viz. cyclones, floods and storm surges. Of late, these events have become extreme in nature and intensity. While occurrence and severity of the events is being linked to the phenomenon of climate change, their devastating potentialities are also getting triggered due to lack of resilience and coping capacity of the human community. That in turn depends on distribution of activities over the land i.e. land use pattern, affecting the socio -economic conditions directly. A coastal village often lacks infrastructural support, administrative attention and planning standards compared to a coastal city, thereby making it more vulnerable to disasters like flood. In a coastal city it is easy to govern and manage livelihood as land use depends highly on anthropogenic decisions. While in a coastal village, activities would highly depend on its natural characteristics viz. coastal geomorphology, soil, vegetation cover i.e. governance of livelihood by the eco-system. Hence, managing disaster through in-situ pro-active or developmental measures in a rural planning unit though imperative, is a challenging task. This paper focuses on spatial planning techniques for Restoration of ecological buffers and livelihood enhancement that would sustainably combat the impact of flood at village level in a coastal area. Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques have been used extensively in this study as application tools.