Are individual plotted layouts the best way for our cities to grow?

The real estate boom gripping our cities

Owning a piece of real estate is a strong aspiration for many. Many actively invest in real estate through individual plotted layouts, and many more aspire to own even a small piece of land. As our cities grow, new roads get laid, and in anticipation of the reach of essential services such as water, sewage, and electricity, potential real estate prospects start to prop up. Just driving past any city, we can see how this exuberance is displayed in the many advertisements for the ‘nagars’, ‘cities’, ‘enclaves’, and so on and so forth. One can even say that the city expands without deliberation through these kinds of plotted layouts rather than through any planned vision.

Plotted layouts and the city’s expansion

The most predominant and familiar method by which peri-urban areas are developed and cities expand is through these individual plotted layouts. Often left to the means and devices of enterprising real estate developers, these layouts are typically laid out without proper urban design or without a vision of the kind of built environment they create. But how did this approach become the standard for urban growth?

Plotted layouts – origins

The roots of plotted development trace back to the English Bungalow—a standalone residential structure surrounded by expansive gardens and enclosed by compound walls. These bungalows were often set within acres of greenery. Indeed, remnants of the bungalows can still be found in some of the older parts of the city developed during the colonial era. In recent years, however, many of these bungalows have been demolished to make way for apartment complexes, capitalising on their large plot sizes.

The concept of individual plots with standalone buildings and surrounding setback spaces also stems from colonial notions of health and hygiene. Regulations mandated these designs to ensure adequate light and ventilation throughout the building.

The current problem with the plotted layout approach

The colonial intent of providing light and ventilation was the driving factor to create independent plots and setbacks within them. It’s reasonable logic if the plot sizes were generous and the density manageable. Yet, when plot sizes shrink to as small as 700 sq.ft., as is often the case in many of the current real estate developer layouts, the original intent of these setbacks—ensuring light and ventilation—is lost.

When plot sizes shrink to as small as 700 sq.ft., as is often the case in many of the current real estate developer layouts, the original intent of these setbacks—ensuring light and ventilation—is lost!

Moreover, with minimal oversight beyond basic regulations, setback areas are frequently built over or encroached upon. This results in neighbourhoods lacking characteristic open spaces and narrow roads congested with private vehicles. However, as our cities become denser, it becomes important that the rare and costly resource – serviced urban land – is used judiciously and effectively while improving livability.

The uncontrolled development of these real estate-driven plotted layouts reflects a failure of good urban planning

Plotted developments reflect a failure of development authorities to ensure well-designed urban environments. It is also a symptom that highlights the lack of vision we have of our built environments. Instead, it only parcels land, without any thought on the overall output.

Plotted developments reflect a failure of development authorities to ensure well-designed urban environments

Plotted developments reflect a failure of development authorities to ensure well-designed urban environments. It is also a symptom that highlights the lack of vision we have of our built environments. Instead, it only parcels land, without any thought on the overall output.

But what if there are better ways to design our neighborhoods—one that balances density, livability, and open space? What if the unregulated real estate sector could be regulated to create livable and well-managed cities? All that needs a high level of urban planning effort from the development authorities, and above all, a clarity of vision and aspiration from the people on what kind of neighbourhoods they would like to live in.

Can we make our cities humane and livable?

There are several alternatives to plotted development layouts that we see, which would result in well-developed urban neighbourhoods which can be a separate post in itself.

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