MULTIFUNCTIONAL AND MULTILAYER DIMENSIONS OF EVOLVING CITIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE LIVINGDr. N. Sai Bhaskar ReddyCEO, Geoecology Energy Organisation (GEO)

EMERGING URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS2009 CONFERENCEMultilayered Cities and Urban Systems30th July'2009 - 9th August'2009HyderabadAndhra Pradesh

3rd August 2009

About

•To understand the multifunctional and multilayer dimensions of evolving cities for a sustainable living.

METHODOLOGY

•This paper is based on the secondary information collected from various sources.

•Multifunctional aspects serve a purpose, whereas multilayer encompasses the functional dimensions of a city.

FUNCTION

DISTINCTION OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL AND MULTILAYERS OF A CITY

MULTIFUNCTIONAL

MULTILAYER

MULTIFUNCTIONAL MULTILAYER

MULTIFUNTIONAL DIMENSIONS• Architecture• Basic amenities • Building practices • Business• City layout • Commerce• Communication

channels• Density of population• Development Plan• Disasters • Disease• Diversity • Economic development • Educational institutions• Electric lights• Employment• Environment• Factories • Fire stations• Fishing• Food• Government• Government centers

• Health• Health benefits• Historic cities• Homes• Hospitals• Immigration • Import and export of

goods • Industries • Infrastructure • Knowledge creation • Landscape• Libraries• Livelihoods • Living conditions • Living space• Markets• Meeting places• Military• Mobility of goods,

people and thoughts• Natural• Naturally found

ecologies

• Offices• Open space• Parks• Place• Playgrounds• Political• Population• Population density• Population growth• Post offices• Railroad• Resources. • Sanitation• Schools• Secondary and tertiary

activities• Security• Shopping• Shops• Social• Social remediation • Society elites• Specialized skills• Standards

• Sustainability• Technology• Telephone• Tertiary needs• Theaters • town hall• trade• trading• traffic• transportation routes• travel• urban lands • urban organization• urban technologies• utilities• vertical development of

buildings• water• wealth creation• wealthy patrons• work

MULTILAYER DIMENSIONS• Adaptability• Aesthetics• Art• Beliefs• Clothing• Coexistence• Comfort• Communication

channels• Communities• Coping• Crime• Culture• Customs• Disasters • Disease• Diversity • Economic development • Educational institutions

• Emotions• Environment• Events• Family Structure• Feelings• Food• Generations of people • Habits• Health• Historic cities• Historic rulers• Immigration • Industrial revolution • Innovation• Intellectuals

• Landscape• Language • Leisure• Livelihoods • Local dialect• Love• Mobility of goods,

people and thoughts• Place• Place of execution,

battle, violence or death

• Political• Pollution• Rebellions and wars• Religion

• Religious places• Remembrance• Resilience• Security• Sense of place• Sensitivity of the

people• Sharing• Shocks• Shopping• Social impacts • Social remediation • Spirituality• Standards • Stories • The access to power• work

MULTIFUNTIONAL / MULTILAYER DIMENSIONS

• Adaptability

• Communication

channels

• Disasters

• Disease

• Diversity

• Economic development

• Educational institutions

• Environment

• Food

• Health

• Historic cities

• Immigration

• Landscape

• Livelihoods

• Mobility of goods,

people and thoughts

• Place

• Political

• Security

• Shopping

• Social remediation

• Standards

• work

Hyderabad

• The historic factors, among others, contributed to Hyderabad

developing into a multi cultural society that is peculiar and unique.

• Hyderabad boasts of a rich cultural heritage.

• Being ruled by the Asaf Jahi dynasty, it came to be known as the

"city of Nizams".

• The contemporary world sees this city as a blend of unique

cultures with a touch of modern lifestyle.

• Hyderabadi people are regarded as very friendly and hospitable.

……………

• They take immense pleasure and pride in conversing in their local,

characteristic and vibrant Hyderabadi language, a mix of Urdu,

Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, and some words from Persian, Turkish,

and Arabic.

• Hyderabad is a city where there is an exemplary amalgamation of

Hindu and Muslim cultures.

• Present day Hyderabad is a healthy mixture of diverse religions,

castes, and creeds.

CONCLUSION

•Urban population greater than 50% of the world population.

•Urgent challenge for urban organization and sustainable development.

•The processes relating urbanization to economic development and knowledge creation are very general, being shared by all cities belonging to the same urban system and sustained across different nations and times.

• Cities in the last few centuries have evolved coping with changes mainly in

social, economic, cultural, aesthetics, utility, historical, political,

natural and environmental factors. Coping in the long run have become

adaptation strategies, leading to sustainability of the cities.

• There is always an interface between the interests of old and new

generations of people sharing the same space. The old buildings have

more life and each building is at least able to provide space for at least two

generations to live, as compared to new buildings, which last just 20 to 40

years. The comfort levels of one generation and the next are different in

same space.

• The infrastructure is also changing at a rapid phase as the

transportation means and systems are changing.

• The access to power, drinking water, and open spaces for cultural

and social events, educational institutions, markets, etc. are also

impacting the living space.

• The security and basic amenities are the main factors of

consideration of people for not moving away from the congested

cities.

• There is always an overlap of old and new adaptation factors,

creating resilience for coexistence.

• The remembrance of a space and events occurring in a city in

once own life time impact the people, and they love to continue in

similar space. There is a kind of energy that one gets, while

returning to the same space, it is often seen that the old people

prefer living in the space they are used to and they often live longer

too.

• There are emotions too acting up on the life of the people.

• Considering all the above factors, each city can be considered a

single organism, having its own identity and highly adaptive.

• There are various diverse spaces within a city for everyone to

make a living. It is like a human body as a single living thing, but

various parts of the human body function and perform for the

happiness of the whole.

• There is a need to understand these multifunctional and

multilayer dimensions of the cities, for making a sustainable

living within the cities.

Thank you……