November 2017 Issue 03

NEWS LETTER

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GUEST LECTURES @ FP In this issue

Editorial Team

Upcoming Events

Strike the Right Note

The World Health Organization estimates 2.6 billion people lacking access to adequate sanitation. It is observed that grass root movement in urban and rural sanitation is the need of the hour.

Urging to raise debate over the pressing issues in sanitation, Faculty of Planning organised a lecture on “Why Urban Sanitation is a hard sell? And what can planners do about it?”. Prof. Barbara Evans from Leeds University was called upon on 4 November 2017 to deliberate on her research work in sanitation, hygiene and water services in the global south.

Ms Evans made an empirical statement that, in India, the subsidized program of Urban Sanitation is merely a number game, citing examples of Dhaka and Chennai. The emphasis is majorly on rolling out a gamut of monetary benefit for setting up infrastructure, and a complete ignorance toward behaviour change in the community. While expensive Wastewater Treatment Plant is a classic example of failing practice in the rural setup.

Secondly, she pointed out on the less successful institutional framework - education and governance - where advancement in technology and process of execution aren’t going hand-in-hand.

She had a heart-to-heart conversation with the students on striking a right size Urban Sanitation model that encaptures political agenda, limitations in governance and the demand of the community.

At the end, she implored to the students to look at the urban/rural sanitation, not in terms of infrastructure intervention but a paradigm shift in the planning attitude in terms of changing behaviour/life of a community. She emphasised that the need of the hour is for a green economic solution that safely manages sanitation issues.

Aditi RaiAnupama V.S. Apoorva NandishArnav PrakashChiara C. DCruzGauri VarshneySabareesh SureshSupriya SwarupYash Sugandhi

Guest Lectures................ 1Academics ......................1Extra Curricular.............3Know Your Alumni........3Ongoing research...........5FP in print media............5

End Semester Juries

Dedication, consistency and everything crisp. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect output for the juries. But CEPTians also added an extra ingredient to the concoction – chemical smartness! Thus the end semester juries were surpassed with much fervour and excitement.

The normal end of the semester crunch is characterised by external juries which are looked at enthusiastically, both by the students and the faculty. The catch is that the entire semester’s work is to be presented within twenty minutes. This time though, it wasn’t just that! The evaluation was split into two parts – external juror’s review and portfolio. Multiple skillsets such

Ms Barbara Evans sharing the frame with the students of Water - Sanitation studio

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ACADEMICS @ FP

fp -semester -exhibhition

winter school beginsDecember 1st - 3rd, 2017

December 4th, 2017

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as communications, presentation, graphical representation, data analysis are all put to test at once. Students on the other hand get exposed to both academicians as well as professionals from the field, and are presented with the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of experts and learn from their experience and knowledge.

Some of the eminent jurors for the 2nd year M.Plan students were – Dr. Vatsal Patel, Chief City Planner, AUDA; Utkarsh Patel, SP Patel Architects and Planners Pvt. Ltd.; Ms.Niki Shah, HCP Design Planning and Management; Mr. Rajesh Phadke, Chief Architect and Planner at GIFT city; Mr Himanshu Thakker, Architect Planner at AUDA; Mr. R.K. Sama, Ex. Project Director WASMO; Mr. Neerav Kothari, MD, JLL; who judged the students based on the projects carried in their respective specialisation studios. Such diverse jury panel was set up to acquaint students the ground realities; to provide professional experience to the students; and to flag critical implication of their interventions.

While the 2nd year M.Plan students were lauded for their commendable work in each of the studios, some of the students from 1st year M.Plan had the opportunity to present the output of their Foundation Studio to multiple external jurors. The students were introduced to the renowned jurors like Mr. Lohia, Ms. Deepa Dave, Ms. Shreya, Ms. Bindu Nair, to name a few, and the jury style at CEPT which proved a learning experience to all. Students benefitted from the inputs and encouragement received, which helped reflect on the journey traversed during the entire semester. Amidst the celebration

The Metropolitan Lab

With a deviation from the conventional Regional Planning studio which was offered by the Faculty of Planning in previous years, the Metropolitan lab focused on the study of the planning approaches and questioning the suitability of the plans at the metropolitan scale in India. The studio process was divided into four modules which studied the delineation of the metropolitan boundary, transport infrastructure at the regional scale, governance and an identification of a strategic project vital for regional development. For the purpose of study, two metropolitan regions in India namely Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR) were taken up.

There was an extensive exploration of the regional plans of these two regions, the functional role of the regional planning authority and the relevance and importance of governance and institutional framework in the planning and The first year MURP students after the jury session ; PC: Apoorva .N

of what seemed like the end of another era, opinions of students voicing the paucity of time to justify the magnitude of work carried out throughout the semester, within the given span of time for presentation, were seen trailing behind.

Studio curriculum for Bachelor’s of Urban Design at CEPT University

Curriculum, sounds rigid but is rightly flexible when linked to Urban Design. The course Bachelor’s of Urban Design (B.U.D) provides a platform to explore arenas at varied levels.

The mind is allowed to think and re-think about various possibilities of real and anticipated scenarios. This enhances the ability to understand and analyse site specific situations. Further the analysis is thrown open for tangible solutions which may improvise the existing condition and pave way for a better future. The Studio curriculum is based on such situations which trigger the mind to understand people and its overlap with other users of the same space. Continuous analysis with rigorous discussions in such a format improvises the designs over a period of time and help bring in various perspectives on a single topic which helps in better understanding of the given subject.

The domain of working in the studios ranges from group work to individual level analysis. As it involves wide variety of learning and a better exposure towards understanding, the creativity is not capped. Group work teaches at large in terms of cooperation, understanding, togetherness, patience, team work, decision making, and determination

working as a whole towards a goal. Taking a step ahead, individuals can put forward ideas regarding the subject as per analysis. The ideologies are then presented to a set of jury members in the end. The panel consists of experts from diverse backgrounds who deliver their opinion based on their knowledge.

Above all when it comes to design thinking, there are no limitations. The creative mind is not held back and the budding ideas are moulded into feasible possibilities and the modified dynamics are then taken forward aiming towards a better scenario.

BUD Foundation Studio Jury PC: Yash-Sugandhi

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involves working on environmental compliances. Alongside, I look after Green Building Certification and Solid Waste Management, right from the design to implementation, including setting up an organic treatment facility and handing it over to the facility management team.

AVS: Sir, can you briefly explain your work profile?

VCS: We are involved at every stage of the project, right from acquiring land till handing over the project to Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA). This is because it is important to look at the land from the environmental, wildlife and forestry’s perspective. We also carry out environment impact assessment studies, green building certification and as per the statutory requirement, we are required to submit compliance reports at various stages of the project such as 6 monthly EC compliances, Environment Statements, CESS, returns, green building compliances etc. The process is a continuous loop until it is handed over to the RWA. We are also equipped to give technical support to the RWA, if required.

There is constant interaction with the all teams working on the project whether it’s the Land Team, Design Team which includes Architects and MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) Team, Landscape Team and the Marketing Team. Sometimes, we cater to technical queries of customers that are forwarded to us via our customer experience team.

AVS: It’s been a long time since you graduated. But if you try to recollect, how was the transition from academics to profession?

VCS: I must say that I was way too

KNOW YOUR ALUMNI EXTRA CURRICULAR @ FP

CEPT Football League (CFL)

Night outs, submissions and juries did not hamper two weeks of cheer that the CEPT Football League(CFL) brought about.

Sports do not build character, they reveal it. Putting their skills to test, the 15 day tournament fostered sportsmanship and teamwork. With a fully-fledged participation from the various departments in CEPT, the ten teams put forward their best show. Each team played a total of 9 matches each. Based on the prior grading of the players and the tryout scores of the fresher’s, bids were made at the CFL auction. Each team having a total

score of 1400 points and 11 players each. The league commenced on the 24th of October with four matches being played every week day. The bustle in the dust with a lot of hustle in between indeed livened the spirits on campus. Not to mention the preparation and the incessant practice workouts which was a proof of the love for the game.

With a twist from the conventional league tournament, the teams at the top four ranking proceeded on into a cup tournament format where a elimination was at place in every round.

At the end of a series of neck on neck matches, FC Sparta battled out Trident at the finals. With a victory of one goal, Sparta emerged as champions of the league. The accolades handed out were the Player of the tournament, the golden boot, golden glove and the coveted Winner’s trophy.

Events like these help break the monotony of the curriculum. Although the title was singular, no one left empty handed in terms of skills and a new experience to remember.

Vikas Chand Sharma

Mr. Sharma is an alumnus of Faculty of Planning, CEPT University. He has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering and graduated in 2002 with specialisation in Environmental Planning. He likes to call himself an “environmentalist”. He is currently located in Gurugram, working at IREO Pvt. Ltd. for the past 8.5 years.

AVS: How are you associated with the profession currently?

VCS: I am an Environmental Engineer-Planner, working with the IREO Pvt. Ltd. at Gurugram. I am heading the Environment Division, which

The winners “ FC Sparta ” with the trophy ; PC: Tulika Nabar

implementation process of urban development. Different international case studies and best practices were considered.

Sometimes a comprehensive appro-ach like a regional plan does not address many emerging issues due to the lack of assessment studies and the failure of governance. However, complementing the regional plan with some strategic project may increase the effectiveness of the plan. Transportation development is a good example in which new transport network or infrastructure can have a multiple spillover in land, employment and the well-being of the people.

The lab set to explore how strategic planning can lead to an integration of different sectors and be effective in today’s scenario where urbanization has led to multiple problems like environmental degradation, traffic congestion and lack of affordability in cities like Mumbai and Bangalore. Thus, a project was identified by each of the group and its implementation through proper institutional design and policy measures was evaluated.

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GV: How are you associated to the profession currently?

NK: At Liases Foras, I coordinate the technical support for feasibility studies, research and valuation. It is a common perception that in real estate sector, your usual work divisions are brokering and transaction, but this being a non brokerage firm we are purely into research related to housing. A lot of times we directly apply things we learnt as part of housing studio such as housing demand estimation, list down what are the catalysts and growth drivers in the city, to see if any employment opportunity has come up or whether there is going to be a demand for housing that the developers propose to build. Subjects like project appraisal and finance and hand on exercises conducted by Mona Mam are still fresh in my mind as we use them on day to day basis. We are also working with National Housing Bank to revamp the housing index where in a lot of statistics knowledge is coming handy. (Giggles...wish I was more attentive in Mahroof sir’s class). Apart from these there are many indirect associations with planning.

Some of the public-sector organisations we are working with are National Housing bank, Land pooling feasibility Vishakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, Housing demand for Central Government Employee’s welfare housing association. But most of the work is for private sector, though we

Naimun Khan

South Lead, Research and Consultancy, Liases Foras, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

are slowly orienting towards public sector as well. It’s important to understand that the private sector contributes to large chunk of housing and land supply for development. For example, when we do large scale projects which involve about 400-500 acres of land with private developers then we try and convince developers to also develop public domain such as look into street design, create footfall, make people centric designs etc. Most of the times, we forget the transition between public and private spaces and make just buildings and boundary walls which is a failure of planning and real estate price growth as well. MWCC Chennai is an example where we came across this urban design issue wherein all the elements are present be it Residential, Schools, IT and manufacturing sector , more than 50,000 employees but yet the city is dead. The only reason being that it is not walkable. Gradually the private sector is also coming forward to work on these concepts to sustain the real estate growth too. So, to be able to influence them and make a difference is what I thrive for.

GV: It’s been a long time since you graduated. But if you try to recollect how was the transition from academics to profession?

NK: In academics its different, you are so passionate about doing things right with the idealistic approach, but professionally, you realise that it is not a straight forward process. To be able to give up what you believe is right and settle for something which is just for everyone is something that you learn professionally. I feel it is more to do with interpersonal skills, how you communicate. It is not always what you desire but it’s a trade-off between different stakeholders such as the people undergoing redevelopment, developers and the city at large.

GV: Share some of your non-academic experiences from your days at Faculty of planning.

NK: I can’t pinpoint any one but some of the things I would mention are – one of the best memories was to watch the cricket world cup together, the sports day, the garba. People watching is one thing I miss about CEPT campus. Simple things like exchanging glances and smiling, knowing a person all your academic life and at the same time not knowing

technically oriented when I completed my engineering. CEPT broadened my vision on the qualitative front. This was possible because of the practical knowledge we gained through labs, site visits, etc.

When I started my career with LASA, I was sent to the site directly, where I felt like I was “thrown into the sea”. And there, my transition started with focus on resource management, economics, and interaction with the Govt. Officials where I met lot of renowned people of this sector. From over 10 years, I’m working with the real estate associated with the environment sector, which has its own sets of challenges, responsibilities and every day is new learning for me. So yes, I’m still learning and evolving.

AVS: Please share some of your non-academic experiences from your days at Faculty of Planning.

VCS: I specifically remember the site visits and the labs that were conducted in our days. There was a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) exercise, where we visited the GSIDC. An interesting memory I have of, during our urban lab exercise, I think, was that we used to make hand-drawn charts since there wasn’t any software like AutoCAD in those days. We engineers weren’t equipped with using software to put color into these sheets. One of my architect friend showed me how to render the sheets and make it more presentable. And then there was Sociology class. It was a big struggle for me (chuckles).

AVS: Lastly, I would like to request you to share a message for students.

VCS: When we were studying, there was limited source of information, either through the books, newspaper or interaction with teachers and seniors. But, in today’s world, the students have exposure to social media, thanks to ‘Google Uncle’. There is a platform to express whatever one wants to. So there comes a natural tendency to express ideas and thoughts, without having prior knowledge and experience about a certain aspect.

My advice to the current students is to read and abreast oneself with the latest advancements in the fields they are interested in.

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Ongoing Research at Faculty of Planning, CEPT University

CEPT University always encourages intense research and study in all the fields related to human habitat. There are a myriad of interesting research carried out by students and faculties alike in the Faculty of

Planning. Recognition of quality work comes through awards and similar acknowledgments frequently, adding to the repository of achievements. The month of November saw two such major accomplishments.

Kinjal Prajapati, first year student of MURP received the prize for the best paper at the 2nd National Conference- Innovating for Development and Sustainability by Navrachana University, Vadodara, for her research on the topic- Rental Housing for Female Students: A Case of Western Ahmedabad under the guidance of Prof. Madhu Bharti.

Driven by her curiosity to explore why females that migrate into Ahmedabad for education or work purposes face problems related to accommodation, Kinjal emphasized on the need to provide solutions to accommodate this influx of migratory population in her paper. It focused on understanding the issues concerning rental house accommodation for female students in Ahmedabad and suggested possible methods to provide the same. The paper identified local influences on rental housing like demand and supply, suppliers’ lobby and students’ preferences. The study drew inferences from primary surveys conducted and concluded in policy interventions to facilitate rental housing for women.

Later, at the 10th Urban Mobility Conference 2017 held in Hyderabad, Anuja Kothawala, and second year student of Masters in Urban and Regional Planning received the second prize for the best research paper for her research on the topic- A Critical Evaluation of National Urban Transport Policy. She was guided by Prof. Abhijit Lokre.The

paper encapsulated all nuances of the NUTP- highlighting its merits and demerits. The paper acknowledged that the policy is well written and the objectives are interlinked to its vision. On the flip side, it pointed out that some projects focus more on private rather than public transport and NMT- indicating a clear gap between the policy and its implementation through a four-step approach. The first step looked at case studies of various countries to understand their policy structure and implementation. In the second step, research is carried out of different evaluation frameworks and implemented urban transport projects. For the third part, semi structured interviews of academicians, practitioners and students of the planning discipline is carried out to identify gaps within the policy and its relation to plans and projects. At the end, an evaluation framework was formulated and the evaluation of NUTP was finally carried out along with recommendations to bridge the gap between the policies and practices in India.

Ongoing Research

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FP alumnus bags the prestigious Ozone Award at Montreal, Canada

The alumni of Faculty of Planning leave no stone unturned to make CEPT University proud. Adding yet another feather on the hat is Mr. Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General at CSE New Delhi, who was honoured with the prestigious Ozone Award in Montreal, Canada on 24th November, 2017.

The Ozone Awards is given in recognition of the exemplary roles played by individuals, groups or organisations that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and contribution to the progress and achievements of the Montreal Protocol in the past 10 years. Mr. Bhushan was given the ‘Partnership Award’ for providing the policy and research support to the negotiations for the Kigali Amendment.

This newsletter is a student body initiative. For any suggestions, feedback and queries write to us at -fp.newsletter@cept.ac.in

them at all. Another good memory was, campus placement photo shoot day. We could see faces we had never seen before- well groomed and prepared to take over the world.

GV: Lastly, I would like to request you to share a message for students.

NK: One should make most of your time when you are at CEPT. Always look out for what other people are doing. Interacting with other studios, attending other department’s juries, learning from seniors and your juniors. You should read more make use of the library. Although that is something I regret not doing while I was at CEPT. And last but not the least be passionate about what you are doing.

To sum up the conversation, its important to emphasize the fact that your interpersonal and negotiation skills are one the most important things that would make you a good planner. Another important take home is to understand that it is always going to be pareto efficiency i.e. it is impossible for us as planners to allocate resources in a way that it makes someone better off without making the other worse off. Therefore, its important to strike a balance and satisfy as many people as we can.

Mr. Chandra Bhushan receiving the prestigious ozone award ,