Old Markets, New IdeasRevitalization for Aminabad, Lucknow.

byMamta Prakash-DuttaBachelor in ArchitectureSir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy College of Architecture, Bombay, IndiaApril, 1992.

Submitted to the Department of Architecturein partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies

--. at the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyJune, 1999.

@ Mamta Prakash-Dutta 1999. All rights reserved.The author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper andelectronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.

Signature of the authorMamta Prakash-Dutta

Department of ArchitectureJune, 1999.

MA~SA.CHUSETTS INSTUTE Certified byOF T fEJC y 1 Julian Beinart

Prdfess of ArchitectureThesis Advisor

LI;- ARESAccepted by

Roy StricklandAssociate Professor of Architecture

Chairman, Department Committee on Graduate Students

1

John de MonchauxProfessor of Architecture and Urban PlanningDepartment of Urban Studies and PlanningDirector, SPURSReader

Hasan KhanVisiting Assoicate ProfessorDepartment of ArchitectureReader

Figure a: street facade 1

Contents

AcknowledgementsAbstract1. Introduction2. The city and the historic core3. Analysis of the site and the situation4. Factors contributing to the current situation

Indian Real Estate Market SystemPublic Agency structure

5. Five approachesConservation planResidents Community planMerchants Community planTourism planTransit oriented development

6. Proposal for AminabadIntegrated plan for the areaImplementation strategiesConclusions

7. Bibliography & Illustration credits

Acknowledgements

dedicated to my maternal grand motherMrs. Prabhat Rastogiwho is directly responsible for my being here today,

Towards the end of this thesis, I stand humbled, knowing that it would never have been possiblefor me to have done it on my own. Even before my formal thanks to people who have beeninstrumental in my thesis, I would like to acknowledge all my friends and some near strangerswho quite unconditionally gave me little words of encouragement and little deeds of kindnesswhich kept me going at very crucial times.

My thanks are due to:Prof. Julian Beinart for patiently guiding me through this work. In our long discussions, he asked mesome tough questions, making me question my naive optimism and conventional procedures.Prof. John de Monchaux for his astute observations always managing to see the situation fromanother angle and his positive comments on my writing. In very subtle ways, he nudged me tobecome more specific and clear in my comments.Projjal for his continuous support and immense patience with my blundering ways and unrealideas. His comments on my thesis greatly informed it, adding value and a healthy dab of skepti-cism.

my father, Mr. Yogendra Prakash, and his brother, Mr. Narendra Kumar, for sharing their passionfor Lucknow with me and making this thesis happen.my mother, Mrs. Shobhna Prakash, for her constant support and encouragement.Robert Cowherd for listening to me and advising me as only he could.Rachel, Geri, Brent, Kristin and Maggie for listening to me and helping me out each time I gotstuck.

all my friends in the Thesis Studio - Rob, Jing, Michael, Hector and Malina for their encourage-ment.

Michelle, Alberto and Bob at the Aga Khan program office for being so supportive as I tunedinto a growly bear towards the end of my thesis.Sunitha for her last-minute help.Kavita, Kartik, Dada and Sue for their love and support.Prof. Jerold Kayden for his brand of realism.and Prof. Michael Dennis - for his invaluable help in letting me use his office on the last day toprint. If it w asn t for him ..........................

4

Figure b: street facade 2

Old markets, new ideas:Revitalization of Aminabad, LucknowbyMamta Prakash-Dutta.Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 20th, 1999, in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Architecture StudiesAbstract:Several cities in Asia are facing the same dilemma faced by Europe in the early twentieth centu-ry and the United States in the fifties. This dilemma is how to improve the 'blighted' old city thatgot left behind with its narrow streets and old ways. The symptoms and diagnosis are similar butthe prescription will vary. In the light of old precedents; the background information of currentAbstract urban theory; a different economic and demographic situation; and the addition of new para-meters like sustainability and good community life; a new strategy needs to be devised.This thesis addresses the historic core of the city of Lucknow. Lucknow is the capital of the largeststate in India, a secondary level city. Its old city is, at once, the vibrant commercial center andthe point of discontent with the low quality of life it offers. This thesis shall analyze the currentforces of change and the problems it faces and work out a strategy for its redevelopment. Thegoals of this project are to improve the quality of life and to preserve the special characteristicsof this area like heritage, diversity and density while pursuing the ideals of efficiency, ecologicalsoundness and social equity in the planning. The idea is to retrofit the old city to accommodatecontemporary living and working while retaining the positive characteristics. The strategy tries todirect market forces to create a change in the area.For the revitalization of Aminabad, this thesis explores a methodolgy that uses five classic revit-laization strategies which suggest different priorities, modes of implementation and sources offunding. These include -conservation planning, tourism planning, residential community plan-ning, mercantile community planning and a transit oriented plan. This thesis then develops anintegrated plan which considers the congruencies and conflicts of the different strategies. It alsoexplores implementation and management strategies for this plan.

One of the concerns of this thesis is to arrive at a strategy which can be replicated in other Indiancities and locations. In real terms, this refers to the revitalization of an average city center withalmost no external funding.

Thesis Supervisor: Julian BeinartTitle: Professor of Architecture

15

Introduction

'Saha, Shovan K. Conservation based developmentof Shahjahanbad: the historic capital city of India.

The historic centers of many Indian cities giveone a glimpse into a past of grandeur, of acertain way of life and community that can-not be found in the modern new develop-ments most middle-income children grow upin. The quality of life offered by these oldareas is extremely low, even in smaller towns.These areas have not been able to keep upwith changing times and cannot cater to ourpresent standards of living. Unfortunately,these areas saw a long period of neglectwhich began in British times and has contin-ued until quite recently when conditionsbecame so critical that the city had to beginto pay attention to them.I am concerned about the trends of deterio-ration in these old parts of Indian cities. Theseareas are associated with the identity of thecity and a nostalgia for the past and are animportant part of Indian heritage.Revitalization of these areas needs to beaddressed in a more comprehensive and sus-tainable way and this imperative drives mythesis.

Current situation in severalIndian citiesThe structure of many Indian cities today isvery similar, Many large and historic Indiancities such as Delhi, Bhopal, Agra, Ajmer,Udaipur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ujjain, Gwaliorand Lucknow can be divided roughly intothree different areas - the old historic core,the British area and the new developmentsince independence in 1947 - each with itsown unique character' .Out of these three, the historic area has seenmaximum disinvestment. The city authoritieshave chosen to spend most of their resources

on the newer developments and the ArmyCantonment Board looks after the canton-ment areas. The historic city, although it pro-vides commerce, employment and housingto a large part of the city's population hasbeen largely ignored. The old city wasexpected to perform the same functions asthe rest of the city with no concern for itsunique features or historicity. The historic cen-ter was the core of the pre-British city and thecenter of governance, nobility and com-merce. It still has remnants of traditional hous-ing, narrow winding streets and historicallyimportant buildings. This part of the city has avery high density and is usually a very unpleas-ant place to be in. The streets are congestedand unclean and the informal market placecreates a dense shopping area. The commu-nity that lives in this part of the city today con-sists of very few old traditional families. Most ofthese families have been replaced by low-income people when they have chosen tomove out to newer developments at theedge of the city that offer a better quality oflife.The British area includes the Civil Lines, thearmy cantonment and the Railway Station.This was a very low density area with widetree-lined streets and large open park areas,bungalows with very big yards and sports andleisure facilities like clubs, polo grounds, golfcourses and such.The Civil Lines housed British citizens in theIndian Civil Service. The Army Cantonmentwas the military base and was taken over bythe Indian Army after independence. There isusually a small market area close by calledthe Sadar Bazaar which was the commercerun by Indian merchants to fulfil the needs of

i-igure i. i: view of uia LUCKnOW - a marKeT STreeT.

the British Army. The Railway Station was sur-rounded by the houses of the Railway person-nel - the Indian Railway Service being a com-plete institution by itself.New developments after Independence liesomewhere in the middle of the two. To pro-vide housing for the large number of refugees,who had arrived from Pakistan, areas wereplanned with small plots and simple houses.Later developments designed for mediumdensity, divided into high, middle and low-income groups with provision for schools,parks and community centers. Further popula-tion growth kept pushing the edge of the cityoutwards.As a result, most cities today have a historicarea that is perceived as a problem. High lev-els of congestion, very high density of people,unclean environs and poverty has turnedsome of them into unlivable spaces. Historicareas seem to follow a trend. This trend canbe clearly seen from the example of Delhiwhere the ingress of refugees in 1947 led to asevere increase in the population in Old Delhiand in new developments, In later years,development of newer areas in South Delhiand an increasing commercialization in thehistoric area, lead to the slow outward migra-tion of residents. These fleeing residents wereconstantly replaced by poorer people oftencoming from rural areas. High-end retail alsofollowed the same path. Slowly retail in thehistoric areas became no longer profitableand wholesale trade took its place. Wholesaletrade unlike retail does not try to make theplace pleasant for shoppers and is particularlyindifferent to physical environs. This in turn ledto the mass exodus of residents from the area;even the families of the merchants themselves

moved out. The empty houses were notabandoned or burnt but were re-occupied bypoorer people much like American cities. InIndia, the old city has slowly turned into anarea that houses immigrant workers and verypoor dwellers.City planning authorities have been slow toreact to this downward trend in the area andvery little has been done to improve the situa-tion. Small improvements like moving outwholesale trade of messy and loud trades likevegetables and fruits, grain and iron and steelmade some changes in the area but notenough to reverse the trend. Often the mer-chant communities resisted change as theysaw this affecting their short-term profitability.Different cities in North India are at differentstages of this curve. Lucknow itself is on thebrink of a major change. The shift from retailto commercial trade has not happened yetbut can be seen as a possibility in the nearfuture. Lucknow has recently seen rapiddevelopment at its outskirts giving peoplemany new options for locating their houses.

Need for interventionThe current trends if allowed to take theircourse would result in a situation similar toDelhi where wholesale has largely replacedthe retail trade, the residential communityinhabiting the area is extremely poor, traffic ischaotic and the quality of life is very low. Itwould thus be appropriate to intervene toalter the current trend.This thesis attempts to look at strategies thatwould alter the path for Lucknow, andimprove the area of Aminabad.

GoalsThis thesis will examine a revitalization strategyfor Lucknow. The main goals of the proposedstrategy are:1. Improvement in the quality of life the areaoffers.2. Preservation of the character of the area, interms of its heritage, density and diversity.Parameters that further qualify these goalsare:

Creating functional and economic efficiencyfor the entire area.Designing an environment that is ecologicallysound and encourages good environmentalpractices.Reinforcing social equity by including weakerstakeholders.

Organization of the thesis:After the thesis and its goal have been identi-fied in the Chapter 1, Chapter 2 describes thecontext - the city of Lucknow and the com-mercial area of Aminabad where the thesis isfocussed. Chapter 3 goes on to analyze thesite and the physical, social and economicaspects of the area - focussing on strengthsand weaknesses of the site and the opportuni-ties and threats they pose. It also defines theforces of change and the current trends in thearea. Chapter 4 explains the background ofthe peculiarities of the Indian real estate mar-ket system and the public agency structurewhich have been strong influences in creatingthe current situation and will continue toeffect future changes. Chapter 5 discussesthe application of five different approaches

for revitalization of the area. These representfive different advocacy groups and are con-servation, tourism, residents, merchants anda transit oriented plan. The last chapter bringsthese approaches together in am integratedplan and discusses the process of implemen-tation and ends with conclusions.

Reasons for selection ofAminabad, Lucknow as thefocus for this thesis.The area of Aminabad is an old market place.Almost all other cities in India have a similarmarket place that is very important to the cityfor the commerce it offers and generates, butis neglected and poorly-maintained by thecity. Often the tourist appeal in these places isvery limited and tourism is not a tool that candrive the revitalization. The reason for theselection of this marketplace Aminabad in asecond level city of Lucknow - is to developea process that could be replicated in othercities in similar situations. The method of usingfive different plans to reach the main planallows for variations in emphasis and interven-tions to suit different situations.Larger cities like Delhi or Bombay are specialcases where the scales of operation are verydifferent. Forces like government or com-merce are much greater and the interven-tions that work there cannot be readilyapplied to other cities. The aim of this thesis isto try and work out a framework or a processof analysis and implementation that could beapplied to almost any city in India with modifi-cations.

8

0

L U C K N

The city andthe historic

core

Source: Census of India, 1991.

o WIntroductionLucknow is the eleventh largest city in Indiawith an estimated population of over 1.6 mil-lion people in 1991. It is the capital city ofIndia s most populous state Uttar Pradesh (UP)and the seat of the state government. Itwould be categorized as a mid-size Indiantown. It was established in about the seventhcentury and located on the banks of the RiverGomti - an important tributary to the RiverGanges.In the eighteenth century, under the patron-age of the Nawabs, the city of Lucknow flour-ished as a center of a unique culture knownfor its exotic cuisine and its very rich languageand poetry. It is still known for a style ofembroidery called Chikan exquisite lace-likeembroidery on soft white muslin and for itsperfumeries that create a range of perfumesand oils. All together these aspects mesh intoa culture which is very rich and characteristicof this city. Lucknow still retains this image of avery genteel and polite place, a relaxed cul-ture that is at the same time very beautiful.The city has an aura of royalty, an air ofurbanity in the ways of greeting and thedialect that is spoken here -a mixture of Hindiand Urdu - Hindustani. The city is also knownfor its old monuments and the gardens thatsurround them.Geographic locationLucknow is located at 26 degrees North lati-tude and 80 degrees East longitude and is atan average height of 403 feet above sealevel. The city has a very small gradienttowards the Southwest at a slope of one foot

for one mile. The urban area of Lucknow isnow situated on both banks of the RiverGomti. It has a north-south extent of about sixmiles and east-west extent of about sevenmiles. The total area within the city boundaryis about 40 square miles.Lucknow is well connected to all the majorcities of India by road, rail and air. It is 49kmsfrom Kanpur, a large industrial center, 490kmsfrom the capital city of Delhi, 970kms from thecity of Calcutta and 317kms from the religiouscenter of Varanasi. The climate of the city is atemperate or sub-tropical monsoon, withextreme summer and winter temperaturesand a substantial rainfall in the rainy season.History and development ofLucknowLucknow has never been the capital city of alarge and important kingdom and thus thereis no strong urban and architectural expres-sion of power. Instead, it developed throughspontaneous additions and accretions byconsecutive rulers over the centuries. The riverimposed an order on the city and importantbuildings and complexes were located on itsbanks. The meandering of the river organizesthe city structure in a gentle curve.Lucknow dates back to the seventh centuryBC, though there are no existing structuresfrom this period. It was originally a Hindu citynamed after the valiant brother of the mytho-logical king Ram Chandra, Lakshman. Therestill exists a mound near the river called theLakshman ka Tilla that is a reminder of thecity's origin.PRE-BRITISH PERIODHistoric records of Lucknow are available from1031AD when Lucknow was attacked by a

10

Figure 2.1: Map of India showing the location of

Figure 2.2: The Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow.

2"Vestiges of its fame persist in the present." Sinha,

Amita and Kant, Rajat. Urban Evolution andTransformation in Lucknow, India - a comparativestudy of its streets" in Traditional Dwellings andSettlements, Working Paper Series, Vol91. IASTE,Berkeley, 1996.

Muslim king for the first time. The Afghan mili-tary leader Syed Salar Masud attacked thecity and the surrounding area of Awadh orOudh under the orders of Mahmud Ghazni,Thereafter Lucknow had a series of Muslimrulers, several of which were representativesof the Tughlaq and Lodhi rulers in Delhi at thattime. During the Mughal reign in Delhi, theEmperor Humayun occupied Lucknow for ashort period before the Afghans reoccupiedit.In 1530, the Afghan ruler in Delhi, Sher ShahSuri established a silver and copper mint inLucknow. This was in operation even later inthe reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar inDelhi until about 1595. The city grew rapidly atthis time and several important buildingsincluding the Machhi Bhawan and the PanchMahal were built. It flourished as a center fortrade and commerce and it added somenew residential areas under the next emperorJehangir. During the reign of the KingAurangzeb in Delhi, the staunch Muslim king,a mosque was built on the famous mound,the Lakshman ka Tilla, replacing the originalHindu shrine.In 1720, Saadat Khan was the appointed rulerof Lucknow and a representative of one ofthe last Mughal kings, Muhammad Shah. Itwas in 1728 that he revolted against the rulefrom the Empire in Delhi and refused to takeorders from the Mughal court. He founded theAwadh or Oudh dynasty and proclaimed him-self the Nawab (nobleman) of Awadh. Thismarked the beginning of an important time inthe history of Lucknow when it was no longera subordinate province of Delhi. The Nawabsleft an indelible mark on Lucknow s history.Even till today the city is referred to as the cityof Nawabs and fragments of the culture still

remain with the people and the place2.In 1754, he was succeeded by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula who refused to transfer revenues toDelhi. He moved the capital to the city ofFaizabad about 80kms away. Lucknowbecame a much smaller town, with two mainareas of living one near Chowk and the otherclose to the Machhi Bhawan. The rest of thecity became overgrown and covered by ajungle.His successor Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula movedthe capital back to Lucknow in 1775. Hemade extensive additions to the city buildingseveral buildings and gardens. Some of theprominent tourist locations in Lucknow todaywere built in his reign, including the Asafi Kothi,the Bara Imambara, and the Rumi Darwaza.His successor Nawab Saadat Ali Khan wasannounced by the British in 1798 and was suc-ceeded by his son Nawab Ghazi-ud-dinHaider in 1814. Lucknow flourished and grewtowards the southeast part of the city. SaadatAli who enjoyed hunting built the huntinglodge at Dilkusha and his son built the Haidercanal - an important canal even now(though it unfortunately caries sewage ratherthan clean water).At this stage, three areas of the city could beseen: first, the homes of the merchants, anarea of narrow streets, congestion and smallmarketplaces within residential areas; second,the newer city built by Nawab Saadat AliKhan with a wide street a mile long with mar-kets and houses of the nobility; third, the quar-ter closest to the river that consisted ofmosques, palaces, gardens and pavilions thattogether formed the royal quarter.Ghazi-ud-din was succeeded by NawabNasir-ud-din (1827-37), replaced by

Lucknow City Level Plan I _ .... -Historical DevelopmentFigure 2.3: Map showing the development ofLucknow in three stages:Development under the Nawabs.Development under the British, 1858-1947Development after Independence, 1947 onwards.

Figure 2.4: A birds eye view from the Roomi dar-waza - a historical gate

Mohammed Ali Shah (1837-42), by Amjad AliShah (18420-47) and finally by Wajid All Shah(1847-56) the last Nawab of Oudh. The mostsignificant additions to the city in this lastphase were the Iron Bridge across the riverGomti and the Hazratganj market.THE BRITISH PERIODThe British influence in India began in the late1600s. After agreeing to have a British residentas his guest in 1763, the Nawab Asaf-ud-Daulabuilt the British residency in Lucknow(1780-1784). In 1765, the British signed a treatyfor free trade in Awadh and asked theNawab to pay Rs.5,000,000 towards warindemnity. This was to be paid partly in cashand jewelry and the rest over 13 months. TheNawab was also not allowed to employ for-eign mercenaries in his army and was forcedto support the British army in Lucknow. Overand above that the British company reservedthe right to interfere in the day to day affairsof Awadh.The soldiers' revolt or the first war of indepen-dence was in 1857. The British were kept pris-oner in the residency and other English homesfor several days till military support arrived tohelp them. The city of Lucknow was takenover by the British East India Company andWajid Ali Shah had to sign a treaty surrender-ing the exclusive governance of his territoriesto the East India Company. This concludedthe Muslim dominance in Lucknow. The Britishproceeded to make several changes in thecity of Lucknow. It was made militarily safefrom the British perspective and two-fifths ofthe city was demolished. New roads werebuilt and all buildings, with the exception ofold historic buildings, within 300 yards from theriver were demolished. A number of militaryposts were established. In this period, the pop-

ulation of Lucknow dropped from seven hun-dred thousand to a mere two hundred andforty thousand. The floods in 1915 alsodestroyed large parts of the city. The 1930ssaw more expansion in the city. TheSecretariat and other offices, the new CivilLines, the Mall Avenue and the Cantonmentwere constructed by the British.AFTER INDEPENDENCEWhen India got its Independence in August1947, Lucknow saw a great increase in popu-lation due to migration of refugees after thenational partition. Hasty unplanned arrange-ments for them resulted in haphazard organi-zation of uses. Congestion in older parts of thecity further increased. Over the decadesLucknow has grown stronger as an administra-tive town. The main economic basis ofLucknow has been administrative, judicial andinstitutional functions and other services andbusinesses they support. It has very few indus-tries - mostly some large public sector indus-tries.Master Planning for LucknowBrief Planning HistoryAfter the flood in 1915, Patrick Geddes and H.V. Lancaster were invited to make a Townplanning and improvement scheme for thecity (1916-19). Geddes brought his surveybased planning to use and conducted sever-al surveys in Lucknow where the team lookedat the different problems in the city. He madea set of drawings for the city and prepared areport that had recommendations for differ-ent areas like the conservative surgery for theold city area of Chowk. His suggestionsranged from creation of parks, planting trees,introduction of balconies in houses, creation

"In the Lucknow metropolis plan and the planningpolicy, Lucknow has been conceived as a singegreat entity with one main center, a transportationsystem providing radial movement to and from themain center, and a conical density pattem highnear the center and falling off with greater outwarddistance, a more or less definable outer edge to itsphysically built up spread and approximately encir-cled by a substantial green belt."Master Plan of Lucknow, 1975.

of rotaries at congested intersections,improvement of housing and introduction ofurban agriculture. The Lucknow ImprovementTrust was founded in 1920, which undertookdevelopment schemes for opening up con-gested areas, preparation of new buildingsites, improving communications and demar-cating areas for heavy industries and markets.Very few of Geddes s suggestions were actu-ally taken up by the Improvement Trust.After India s independence, The Town andCountry Planning Department was set up in1950 to deal with the problems of the urbanareas and make comprehensive plans for allthe cities. The first Master plan for Lucknowwas prepared for the period from 1965 to1995. Even as the plan recognized the historiccharacter of the city, it did not make any spe-cial provisions for it.Master Plan of Lucknow 1975The next master plan for the city of Lucknowwas drafted and passed in the year 1975. The1975 Master Plan document defines the mas-ter plan as:In this plan, efforts were made to retain thecharacter of the city, which is famous for itsgardens and open spaces. Some of the majorproblems as seen by the city are:e High density ranging from 200-250 personsper acre in some areas* Scarcity of land within a reasonable dis-tance* Rising cost of land and servicesThree different types of residential areas wereidentified: high density closer to the city cen-ter (151-250 persons per acre); a mediumdensity further out of 101-150 persons per acrein developments around the old city and a

low density of 51-100 persons per acre in thecantonment area and at the edge of the city.The main commercial areas in the city areChowk, Aminabad and Hazratganj. The lattertwo have been recently declared as a com-bined Central Business District and a specialzoning plan is being prepared for that. Apartfrom these, there are other commercial areasthat are smaller and form the district andneighborhood commercial areas.The Corrected Master Plan 199231 amendments were made to the 1975Master Plan before a corrected plan waspassed by the state legislature in February1992. There is a proposal for a new masterplan to be prepared in the next year or so,probably by external agencies or a privateplanning firm.The corrected master plan updates the physi-cal plans and facts as stated in the 1975Master Plan and proposes several improve-ments within the city. The main problems inthe city according to the plan are the lack ofa transit system, lack of adequate housing,and the lack of a good economy. Among itsmany proposals are the improvement of cur-rent streets, building of three flyovers, an ele-vated expressway built over the historicHaider Canal, five bus/truck terminals on thecity edge, a light rail transit system, improve-ment of the historic/cultural zone for touristand recreational purposes. Proposal for com-merce included the designation of the mainmarket areas as the Central Business district,creation of district and sectoral commercialareas, and demarcation of bazaar streetswhere the buildings on the edge would bedesignated commercial use. One of the mainreasons for congestion as stated here is the

Figure 2.5: Image of the old market in Chowk.

Lucknow City Level PlanGeneral Structure

North 0 1km Am 3km

Figure 2.6: Lucknow: general structure and land-marks of the city.

centralized nature of commerce and officesthat causes a lot of unidirectional commutingduring peak hours. Inadequate mass-transitfacilities, level crossings of railway on primaryroads, 16% through traffic, 12-15% congestionduring peak hours, unauthorized encroach-ments on streets and the lack of proper park-ing spaces add to the congestion and delayin travelling in the city.1. Zonal division and general structure ofthe cityThe present city of Lucknow lies on both sidesof the River Gomti and the various uses aredistributed evenly over the entire city. The his-toric areas, the important retail, wholesalemarkets, the main government institutions,educational institutions and offices lie on theSouth bank of the river. On the North bank liethe main Lucknow University and other edu-cational colleges, several hospitals and shop-ping areas and a large residential area lead-ing outwards. The central area of the city thusforms the focus for hospitals, universities, col-leges and schools and the area around theseuses houses the residential population and theretail, schools and health services that providefor them.Southeast of the main city center lies a largearea with very low density, wide tree-linedstreets, and bungalows with lavish yards. This isthe cantonment that hosts the military estab-lishment, the governor's estate, the chief min-ister s bungalows and other prestigious gov-ernment residences. Some small pockets inhere are more densely populated and have ablue-collar civilian population.The main commercial areas of the city areHazratganj, Chowk and Aminabad. Togetherthese cater for almost 85% of the cities retail

14

'Amitabh. Urban Land Market and Land Price change.Alsted Publishing House, England, 1997.4Tempos seat eight persons(sometimes more) run ondiesel and are usually badly maintained. As a result,they produce almost black smoke.'Almost all of the short terms projects were begunand completed by early 1999. These included:e Traffic improvement in the form of road widening andalignment in many areas, widening of bridges that hadbecome bottle-necks and improving the traffic signal sys-tem.* Green area improvement that included renovation ofdilapidated parks, traffic islands and fountains.* Infrastructural improvements in some areas like addition ofsewer and water lines, removal of poles, building/mainte-nonce of sidewalks and road dividers and provision ofimproved cleaning equipment to the municipal staff.* Creation of the first heritage zone in the city and itsimprovement in coordination with the Department ofTourism.@ Relocation of the Bus Terminus proximate to the RailwayStation.

Long-term goals were initiated during his term but have notbeen fully achieved yet. These included:* Completion of the Ring Road around the city." Building of several fly-overs to reduce congestion at inter-sections." Creation of a privately run bus/taxi service." Improvement of an old market as a tourist attraction." Improvement of the electricity supply situation to the cityespecially during peak demand time in summer, possiblecreation of a refuse-electricity plant," Setting up a passport office." Fast connections by rail to the other cites in the regionand more rail-reservation offices in the city.* Increase in the number of telephone/internet lines servingthe city." Improvement of small industries.* Education and information regarding the culture ofLucknow to the citizen of the city.

and 95% of its wholesale market. Shoppingcomplexes and markets located near newerdevelopment cater for a lot of their residents'immediate requirements. A large belt alongthe southern bank of the river extendingalmost the entire stretch of the city encom-passes most of its historical monuments andhas recently been declared a conservationzone. Special guidelines for these are in theprocess of formulation.The new development in the outer ring forma-tion is mostly single storied single family housesthat are quite densely planned with very smallyards. Even in these areas there is a generalproblem of cleanliness and informal marketscreating a very disorderly appearance.Lucknow has traditionally been a center ofeducation and political debate. It hosts a veryprestigious medical college called the KingGeorge Medical College, the LucknowUniversity, the Isabel Thoburn College forWomen, the Pantnagar Engineering Collegeand a branch of the Indian Institute ofManagement. It also has a very good networkof private and public schools.2. Current trends of growthIn recent years, the city of Lucknow hasencouraged housing development andgrowth towards the south of the city. Landwas offered to private developers at a marketprice to develop, subdivide and sell as plots ofland or built houses. Meanwhile semi-govern-ment housing agencies developed housingtowards the northeast section of the city. Thisgrowth averaging about 63% in the last cen-sus decade (from 1981 to 1991) is the result ofboth natural increase and migration.A large part of the localized growth is due topeople moving out of the central residential

areas to better housing and lifestyles in thesuburban areas. The outward growth hasmostly been residential accompanied bybasic services and there has been no move-ment of jobs to these areas, dramaticallyincreasing the number of commuters. This isvisible both in the form of two-wheel vehicleson the road and pressure on the public trans-port service. Many cultural institutions havebeen given land in the eastern area to devel-op their institutions. A five-star hotel has alsobeen established on the banks of the Gomti.It should also be noted that there has been amajor increase in slum population in Lucknowand about 39% of its population live in slums.This is a reflection of the slow growth in thelocal economy of Lucknow. Lucknow is cur-rently suffering from a range of urban prob-lems relating to unemployment, housing,transport, water and electricity provision, envi-ronmental pollution and crime. A chart show-ing the growth of population in Lucknow inthe last five decades and the phenomenalgrowth in the last decade by 63%3:1951 1961 1971 1981 19910.50 m 0.66 m 0.81 m 1.01 m 1.67 million3. Public transportationLucknow s urban transport consists of a fleetof privately run small coaches called temposthat ply along designated routes stoppingand starting as requested by the passengers.These routes have been decided by the cityand licenses are given for running these vehi-cles as taxis. Although not a very efficient sys-tem this is a popular and effective mode oftransport. There is a small fleet of city busesbut these are not as frequent and have notbeen very popular. Although these temposprovide an important service to the city, they

Figure 2.7: Image of the Bara Imambara - the mainhistocal tourist attraction in Lucknow.

6Geddes, Patrick. Town Planning in Lucknow: a reportto the Municipal Council. Murray s London PrintingPress, 1916, page 43.

greatly add to congestion and pollution4 onthe streets.4. Political situationAs the seat of the State Government,Lucknow is also very rife with political tensions.Politicians try to make changes in the way thecity is operates, disrupt the normal city life withlectures and rallies and try to cajole votesfrom the residents with false promises. Themajor universities are treated as traininggrounds and many student activists becomepoliticians or socially disruptive elements.Unfortunately their strong presence in the cityhinders the decision process and the smoothfunctioning of the developmental bodies. Theex-Prime Minister of India, Mr. Atal BihariVajpayee, was elected from the city ofLucknow. He initiated a very ambitiousimprovement plan for the city of Lucknow in1998. A beautification drive was launched inLucknow that included several short and longterm goals that addressed all the main con-cerns of the citizens of Lucknow today5 .5. Political Administrative StructurePlanning, development and maintenance ofthe city are carried out by different agencies.The Lucknow Development Authority is con-cerned with all new construction. They set theFloor Area Ratio and the DevelopmentControl Rules and are responsible for theMaster Plan. However, the Master Plan wasprepared by the Town and Country PlanningOffice. The state agency of Housing andDevelopment is builds and sells new housingto the city dwellers. The Municipal Board is incharge of the maintenance of the infrastruc-ture and the services. There is a separateTransportation Office that is in charge of theplanning and development of roads and the

transportation network. The work of theseagencies, although connected, is not carriedout with enough coordination often leadingto situations where they are working at cross-purposes.THE HISTORIC AREA:AMINABADDescription of the areaAminabad is a major commercial area ofLucknow, built under the reign of Amjad AliShah between 1842 and 1847. It is located onthe southern side of the River Gomti, to thewest of the new market area of Hazratganjand south of the conservation zone. His minis-ter Aminuddaullah conceived it as a grainand vegetable market. Long rows of shopsand warehouses were built with a rose gardenin the rear. In later years, however the grainmarket moved out to other locations and it isnow the largest clothes and general mer-chandise shopping area for the city. It is linkedto other smaller markets around it - the hard-ware market on Sri Ram Road, guns and bul-lets on Latouche Road, small knick-knacks inGarbarJhala and vegetable markets inNazirabad and Qaiserbagh. All these togeth-er form a major destination for the people ofthe city.The market area is concentrated around twomain parks. These parks form large openspaces around which commerce can flourish.Half the area of the main Aminabad Park wasconverted into small temporary shops for therefugees who moved to the city after thePartition in 1947. This has now assumed a morepermanent nature. The park behind has amain temple and a clock tower, which were

16

both major landmarks in the area once. Nowthe park is neglected and the shops havealmost enveloped the temple having extend-ed even into the basement area of the tem-ple.The second and larger park is called theAminuddaulah Park that once had the tombof Aminuddaulah in the center. In 1997, thispark was transformed into a multilevel under-ground parking and shopping complex com-missioned as a public-private project by thecity. It shall house about 500 new shop andprovide parking for 100 cars. This concretestructure projects above the ground for about5 feet and has a central glass atrium and fourtraditional looking staircase structures on four

!d i sides to allow access. The structure is nearlycomplete, but construction has been stopped

ah Pak' and occupation denied by a stay order fromintersection the Supreme Court of India in response to ait shops public-interest litigation. The appellant hasquestioned the incorrect interpretation and

application of landuse zoning by the city.Buildings of uniform color and style surround

th this park on three sides: predominantly institu-tional buildings on the north side, large resi-dences on the west side and storefronts onthe south side. The area surrounding theseparks and edging the streets traditionally hasbeen commercial. Beyond this layer, howev-er, there co-exists a traditional residentialcommunity. Its streets are irregular, curvingand private serving courtyard houses. Twoother smaller parks existed here, one for chil-dren or private use and the other only forwomen. This area though is seeing a hugeexpansion in commercial activities and thetwo activities are in conflict,

Figure 2.8: Detail plan of the site- laduse

17

Figure 2.9: Condition of buildings in Aminabaad

Heh of bulig==abd, =uknW

Figure 2.10: Height of Buildings in Aminabad

7in other cities like Old Delhi, there has been no netdecrease in population since 1970 but the afflu-ence and quality of life offered by the area hasdecreased in a major way.8This is what happened in Delhi, whereShahjahanbad is a very big wholesale market forthe Delhi region. With the expansion of the city, theretail trade moved out to other more convenientand modern locations with beter services. The oldcity bcame a stronger center for wholesale trade.(Saha, Shovan K. 1995).

Master plan landuse recom-mendations for the areaRegarding the historic areas of the city, thecorrected aster Plan expresses major impedi-ments in improvements. The reasons statedare very high levels of population density inthe old areas - they occupy 4.57% of the city sarea and support 27.5% of the city s popula-tion - a gross density of 415 persons perhectare. In some localities the density isalmost as high as 1000 persons per hectarecompared to the average density of the cityat 69 persons per hectare. The high densityand the activity this generates put a lot ofpressure on the old infrastructure and theroads.This area has historically been a mixed-usearea and supports a variety of activities thatoverlap each other s boundaries. There arebusinesses with residential on the upper floorsand homes that are also cottage industriesduring some hours and so on. Thus being a his-torical area, it is difficult to rezone it to any sin-gle use. The corrected Master Plan has regula-tions allowing mixed use in these areas suchthat buildings could be commercial use in thelower floors and residential on upper floors.However contradicting that, the correctedMaster Plan has also declared Aminabad andHazratganj to be the Central business Districtof the city of Lucknow and allowed anincreased Floor Area Ratio from 1.2 to 2.5 toaccommodate the expected growth toencourage intense commercial use. It propos-es that conflicting uses like the wholesale veg-etable and fruit market and the grain marketbe moved to other locations at the outskirts ofthe city. These areas shall be replaced byparking and resettling informal shops. The sur-

rounding area has been declared largely ashigh-density residential area and mixed usetowards the west, where the market is current-ly seen to be moving.Back in 1918, Patrick Geddes s plan for thearea included recommendations for connect-ing these two parks visually. He regretted thebuilding low-quality retail structures on theroad dividing the two parks. He suggested theremoval of "four middle stores on each side ofthe road"* as to "give a pleasant peep ofeach, and access from one to the other." Healso suggested the planting of flowering treeson the edges of this road. At this timeAminabad was not such an important part ofthe city. This area between the two parks wasthe location of the cloth market. In theAminuddaulah Park, the planning principlewas " to give the park variety with minimumexpense". He prepared a tree-planting planwith palm trees around the tomb (this tombno longer exists), improvement of the centralfountain and planting flower shrubs at theedges to brighten the park.Site details1. Buildingsa. Condition of buildingsOn looking at the general condition of build-ings in the area- one can see that they arevisibly in a poor and shabby condition. Thereare several older structures that are fallingapart and badly in need of repair. Althoughthe ground floor space may be used andmaintained by the person running the store,often the second floor level is dilapidated.The cause for this in many cases is the difficul-ty to evict old tenants, to increase rents forthe stores on the ground floor and the high

18

: 0 ,, -1-", 1010 -15t "s wft.

Traffic Study sh Relative Traffic VolumeAminabad, Luckol

Figure 2.11: Traffic volumes in Aminabad.

Figure 2.12: Image showing the use of the street forstorage of wares during the day.

cost of repair. Low residential rents or vacan-cies due to dilapidated premises on upperfloors and multiple ownership further intensifiesthis problem. Upgrading the building stock isan important part of revitalization and goodhousing is essential to attract people to live inthis part of the city.b. Height of buildingsAll buildings in this area are traditionally builtup to ground and two floors or in some casesground and three floors. The attached planwill show that most buildings along a singlestreet are of a similar height.Newer construction has been allowed anincreased FAR of 2.5 and a ground coverageof 65% which means that buildings are nowallowed to go up to four floors and a base-ment, since that is not counted towards FARcalculations. Most new construction is beingbuilt with a plinth height of 1.5m and a lowerground floor that is at -1.5m level. This allowstwo levels of retail floors on the lower groundfloor and the upper ground floor. The thirdfloor and above are then used for residentialor office uses.Any interventions planned in this area willhave to understand the regulations currentlyin place and new compatible uses for higherfloors would have to be worked out. Newdesign guidelines are required to maintain thecharacter of the area - buildings without set-backs and similar heights as the adjacentplots.c. Demolition and ReconstructionRepair and remodeling is not regulated andthere are no existing building codes or devel-opment rules for these. Cases of demolitionand reconstruction, however, have to complywith the bylaws and need approval from the

city. To avoid the cumbersome and expensiveprocess of approval by the city, constructionis done secretively without permission by brib-ing the building inspectors. The constructioncost in this area reflects this aspect and is veryhigh -approximately Rs55O-600 per sq. ft.compared to the usual cost of Rs300 per sq. ft.in the rest of the city. New buildings are beingbuilt with a basement and a ground floor forcommercial retail use and a second floor thatcould be used for retail, offices or residentialuse. Usually the third floor is not built.Our vision for the future has to shape our pub-lic policy and design regulations. If we wantour buildigns to be preserved as they are, ourdevelopment control rules have to reflectthat. New incentives need to be created toalter the current trend of transformation andthese should pay attention to the marketforces.2. Traffica. Intensity of useLike old towns all over the world, traffic is avery major issue in this area. The problem ofcongestion is much more acute on the mainstreets and intersections which get veryclogged between 1 1.00am to about 7.00pm.The traffic consists of many categories includ-ing pedestrians, handcarts, bicycles, pedi-cabs, scooters, mopeds, motorcycles, carsand small pickup trucks, sometimes even big-ger trucks. The mix of traffic combined withnarrow streets, unauthorised stalls and hap-hazard parking at the edge of the streetintensifies the problem. A large number ofpedestrian shoppers add to the mix andchoke the traffic completely. Most of this traf-fic is destination traffic to this area and can-not easily be diverted. A general alck of park-

10

Figure 2.13: Image showing pedestrians on thestreet.

Figure 2.14: Image showing poor condition of build-ings in Aminabad.

'A shopping complex in India would mean a struc-ture which would have a many shops on differentfloors connected by common spaces like lobbies,staircases and corridors. Even here, retail is only ontwo floors, other floors would have office uses.Usually the shop sizes are small, as the market forsmaller retail is much higher than large retail. Thecommon areas are poorly lit and maintained andthe stores themselves do not have any natural light.

ing sace for the shoppers, residents and shop-owners accompanied by a alck of enforce-ment of parking rules leads to very erraticparking.The city has responded by creating unidirec-tional traffic flows in most of the area and des-ignated parking areas but that has not com-pletely alleviated the situation. Enforcementof fines and other disciplinary measures needto be taken. This is one of the most importantbarriers which stand in the way of better lvingand shopping in Aminabad.b. Variations during the day - intensity, useand typeThe traffic peaks in the hours between11.00am to 7.00pm. In the morning till about11.00 the main activities in the area is theopening of shops, deliveries of goods to thestores and other preparations for the shop-ping hours. Stores open at about 11.00 andshoppers begin to arrive- peaking at about1.00pm when the streets get full of peopleand shopping and eating is in full swing. Thenumbers begin to recede in late eveningaround 6.30pm when most people begin tohead homewards. Traffic management of thearea should acknowledge this pattern andrespond to it by pushing some activities to lessbusy hours.3. Landusea. Variations in the area - physical locationand percentagesAminabad is an area of mixed and intenselanduse. It has historically been an area ofcommerce - wholesale, retail, warehousesand cottage industries coexist with residentialand institutional uses. The percentage ofareas occupied by different uses in 1990 was:

CommercialOfficesResidentialService industriesInstitutionalGovernmentalRecreationalOpen spacesCirculation

17.0%5.0%

42.0%3.5%7.5%1.5%

10.0%5.5%8.0%

This shows a very low percentage of circula-tion space that refers to the narrow streetsand high density of built-up area. The per-centage of commercial activities is rapidlygrowing taking over areas from residential,open spaces and circulation. Other uses likeoffices - both private, institutional and govern-mental have also been on the decrease andare moving out to better locations in otherparts of the city. Recreational uses like movie-halls are also facing a very low market andconsidering changing to other uses.The affluent residential population that onceproudly owned houses in this district has nowopted to leave the area for a better quality oflife in newer areas of the city. Between theyears 1971 to 1981 the population declinedfrom 23,000 to 13,000 persons. Since thisbrought prices down in the area, this popula-tion was replaced by less affluent personswho prefer to be near their place of work andfor whom the lower quality of life is not anissue'.It is evident that the current trend is movingthe area from its original mixed use to a morehomogenous commercial use and the masterplan recommendations are aiding theprocess. The sentiment of the city authority

2C

Figure 2.15: Image showing the vibrant informalmarket in Aminabad

10 1 US dollar = Rs. 43/-"Refer chapter 4 for an overview of the peculiaritiesof the Indian real estate

reflects that of the business community and isencouraging commerce by putting in thenew market, changing the area s denomina-tion to a BCD and increasing FAR. High resi-dential density (200-250 persons/hectare inAminabad but higher in other adjoiningareas) is seen as a problem and this is seen asone way to reduce the intensity of land-usage.b. CommerceAminabad accounts for about 40% of theretail trade of Lucknow. The area presentlyhas about 2000 shops and provides employ-ment to 3,000 persons and this number isgrowing per year by about 1.8%. Retail andwholesale trade is segregated by type intodifferent parts of the market. The ratio ofwholesale to retail is 1: 5 reflecting that retail isa large part of the commercial activities ofthe area. Businesses were originally concen-trated around the parks and along the mainstreets. Now, it is expanding into the residen-tial areas beyond that. Businesses in this areaare very satisfied with the way things are sincetheir stores are doing well. Almost all traders inthis area from very small to big do not wantany changes in their set ways.These statistics reflect two important aspectsof commerce in the area - first, that the cityof Lucknow depends on this area for its retailand wholesale needs and second, that evennow the percentage of retail in this area isvery high. These two facts indicate that this isa popular shopping area for a large numberof Lucknawi citizens. Lower quality of shop-ping experience coupled with a mushroomingof smaller markets all over the city are predict-ed to reduce the attraction of the area for alarge number of shoppers. The market is likelyto respond to this by switching to being a

largely wholesale market 6. As a result, theconcern for a better environment inAminabad will be greatly reduced. This isbecause unlike a retail market, the success ofa wholesale market is not related to the physi-cal surroundings of the store but the prices itcan offer. A better managed and morepleasant market area would be beneficial forboth the shoppers and the shop-owners.However, most shop-owners in Aminabad aresuspicious of any interventions and resistchange. Any interventions suggested shouldtake the merchants into the planning processto win their confidence in the project.c. Vertical differences in uses and intensityThe distribution of uses and their intensityvaries floor-wise. The ground floor is usedmainly for retail or small industries dependingon the location of the building. On the sec-ond floor the use is secondary retail, smalloffices or light industrial use such as a clothesmanufacturer or a courier's office, a smallhotel or a residence. Traditional industries likechikan embroidery and cane furniture-makinghave been replaced by more profitable busi-nesses. The upper floors are then residential orsometimes part of a small hotel or inn.The intensity of commercial use on the groundfloor in prime locations is very high and everysquare foot of space is used. This includescovered sidewalk areas, side alleys and loftsfor activities like temporary storage of goods,installing a sewing machine during the day,keeping a water-cooler and so on. Smallstores have been illegally constructed usingthe edge of the park as a rear wall andnumerous temporary stalls are set up duringthe day. Many stores spread their wares ontothe sidewalk during the day and fold it upwhen they close their stores.

yue of z.a.n od usewigcal use of an old house.

e intensive commeri-

New uses for the under-valued floors,improvement of the residential market, andthe issues of the rights in a public space areimportant questions to be addressed here.4. Basic InfrastructureThe infrastructure in the area is inadequate forthe new uses and population that the areanow supports. This includes access by roads,condition of streets, parking area, electricalwiring and street lighting, water and sewageconnections and open spaces. All these infra-structures are supporting a load that is muchhigher than the designed capacity. There arethus many cases of breakdown and upgrada-tion is badly required.Currently all infrastructure is owned and oper-ated by the city. The city organizations sufferfrom corruption, inefficient management,poor collection process and the lack ofresources for maintenance and up-gradation.Any improvement in the area will be incom-plete without improving the basic infrastruc-ture system. For more efficiency or the needof capital for improvement, this might involvethe privatization of the infrastructure.5. Real Estate MarketThe real estate market for retail on the groundfloor (mostly small shops) is strong. The mostpreferred area for stores is around theAminabad Park followed by Latouche Road,Pratap Market (around the smallerNeighborhood Park) and Gwyn Road (areafor the book wholesale trade). There weremany more small hotels located on higherfloors in Aminabad about ten years ago.These were used by travelling businessmenwho came to the city for a few days to tradecommodities. However their numbers arediminishing due to construction of better

hotels in other parts of the city and anincrease in business conducted on tele-phones reducing the need for travel.The residential and office real estate marketsin Aminabad are not performing as well as theretail and it is almost impossible to sell this kindof development. Some developers that con-structed third and fourth floors for offices havenot been able to sell their property.The main reason for this depressed market hasbeen sited as congestion, choked roads, lackof parking, noise pollution and air pollution.The cost of land (Rs900 per sq. ft.) is also muchhigher in this part of the city compared tonewer areas (Rs500 per sq. ft.). These aspectsmake the area unattractive to most peopleother than those who feel they need to behere due to the peculiarity of their businessand the importance of clustering in the Indianwholesale market system.Large building complexes combining residen-tial and office uses and fitted with facilities likeelevators are not considered feasible in thearea, though some shopping complexeshave been built. Demand for space on thesecond floor is nominal. Areas on the secondfloor, given out on pagi fetch a nominal rentof Rs200-300 0 a month.To circumvent the low and unrealistic rents setby the Rent Control Act, the prevalent systemof trade called the pagri system I is used. Inthis system, the building is rented out on theregular minimal rent and a large cash downkey payment at the time of signing the rentpapers. This money is unaccounted for andbecomes a part of the parallel economy(black market). It is not taxed and no benefitsof this deal come to the society.In this entire system, the owner of the proper-

Figure 2.17: Image showing the surrounding of aneighborhood park by small commerical stalls.

ties is the most disenfranchised link. He has noincentives to undertake the repair and main-tenance of his properties since he would stillget the low rents. Although 30% of the keymoney is paid to him, he has no reason toinvest that in the property as that has no eco-nomic benefits for him. Hence the buildingssee repairs only as they are seen fit by the ten-ant-occupant of the structure. Parts of thebuilding which need bigger repairs, or are notused or valued by him get neglected.Interventions in this area would have to cre-ate the incentives for maintaining a building ingood condition.The selling price for shops located on the firstfloor or the basement are on average, as fol-lows:12-15 ft x 10 ft @ Rs25000/- sq. ft. or pagriRs22000/- sq. ft. + Rent25 ft x 10 ft @ Rs22000/- sq. ft. or pagriRs20000/- sq. ft. + Rent40 ft x 10 ft @ Rs16000/- sq. ft, or pagriRs12000/- sq. ft. + RentThese rates clearly show that the demand forsmaller shops is much greater than that forlarger shops and are selling for higher prices.One such project on a narrow plot and nearthe Aminabad Park has set the sale prices forits property as:Lower ground floor/Basement @ Rsl 200/-sq.ft.Upper ground floor/First floor @ Rs3000/- sq. ft.Second floor @ Rs700/- sq. ft.Third floor @ Rs600/- sq. ft,Fourth floor @ Rs500/- sq. ft.The difference in the prices for the lower twofloors and the upper floors clearly shows thedifference in demand for retail versus that of

other uses.This survey of the real estate market in thearea clearly exhibits the economic dynamicsthat work in this area. Any interventions pro-posed could use these dynamics in a positiveway and then make changes towards a morebalanced real estate demand.6. Environmental concernsEnvironmental concerns in this area include ahigh level of noise air pollution. The chiefcause for this is traffic congestion and the lackof trees in the area. Ecologically-safegarbage and sewage waste disposal systemsare lacking in the city and should be consid-ered as something that could be addressed.The existing public transit systems is not anenergy efficient system as it is not really amass rapid transit system but a slow, lowcapacity system. The coaches that are usedare based on a diesel engine that is highlypolluting and fuel-inefficient. Since the systemis not well-regulated, it does not serve theentire city uniformly through all hours of theday. It also causes problems of parking at thepoints of termination and starting of theroutes. This system would need to beimproved, managed and coordinated tomake it fit better with the city.7. CommunityApart from the physical ecology there isanother community ecology that should beaddressed. Does the community work welltogether? In this case, the answer is negative.Although the relationship between com-merce and residence started as a symbioticone, now there is a conflict between the two.Resolution of this conflict would lead to a har-monious existence of diverse uses and peoplein the area.

Analysis ofthe site and

the situation

Refer Chapter 2 for the historical background ofLucknow and Aminabad.2The Mughals were known for the beautiful parks theybuilt in several towns all over India, a tradition brought byEmperor Babur from Afghanistan to India. These parkswere associated with the concept of paradise and weredesigned in the pattern of a square divided into fourequal squares - the charbagh and planted with fruittrees. These parks were, however, almost always builtfor the enjoyment of the royal family or in associationwith a royal monument like palaces, tombs or simplyroyal gardens located in exotic locations.

This chapter analyzes the different aspects ofthe market area of Aminabad, that were dis-cussed in the last chapter, in order to under-stand the process and direction of currenttransformations. In view of future changes andtowards benefiting the largest number ofplayers, this chapter lists the relative strengthsand weaknesses of the site leading to ananalysis of the current trends, the stakeholdersand the factors that affect these trends. Thischapter is aimed to lead us towards identify-ing the main forces of change, the need forintervention and possible methods of influenc-ing the trends in a more desirable direction.It is arguable at this point that the positive andnegative aspects of Aminabad as they arecategorized here do not express a universalview. This categorization is based upon cur-rent planning ideas and minimum standard ofliving accepted by international organiza-tions. Realizing that there may be someaspects that may be considered positive bysome groups of the society and negative byothers, categorization is based upon values ofsustainability - equity, benefit to a large num-ber in the society, efficiency and economy.

Positive aspectsHistoric /heritage value and char-acter, urban identityAminabad is a market area that was estab-lished by the minister Aminuddaulah in theseventeenth century .The area was designedto have two parks - the Aminabad Park andthe Aminuddaulah Park -with the market andthe residential area surrounding the parks. A

special vegetable market was also designedin the vicinity. The street intersections werewell detailed and all the buildings on thestreet followed strict urban design rules to cre-ate a coherent and continuous facade. Thiswas an important part of the city and manynoblemen had their residences in this area.Exquisite architectural details can be seen inmany buildings that remain from that period.For the people of Lucknow, Aminabad isclosely related to the identity of their city. Thisarea holds for them the nostalgia of theiryounger days, the embodiment of the oldand the traditional and the association withhistory. Unlike the more archaeological rele-vant monuments, this market and the urbanfabric around it, is the living and continuousheritage for Lucknow.Parks and open-spacesApart from the two main market parks -Aminabad Clock Tower Park and theAminuddaulah Park, there are two smallerparks in the area - a more intimate neighbor-hood park and the Ladies Park - that had arestricted use only for women. These have his-torically been very important open spaces inthe middle of the city2Vibrant commercial areaThis area of Aminabad is one of the mostvibrant places in the city of Lucknow. Thestreets are lined by stores, informal vendorsselling colorful household ware, food, toysand clothes. As the day progresses the marketattracts more and more shoppers, till at aboutmidday or early afternoon the streets com-pletely fill up with shoppers. The noise of themarket place, the colors and smells are remi-niscent of an old traditional bazaar3.

24

Figure 3.1: an informal bangle market.

Figure 3.2: a traditonal house with new uses.3'"Aminabad, which was developed primarily as a whole-sale grain market, is currently the focus of all activites ofthe middle-class salaried city with anything and eveyht-ing available there. Although the linkages to Aminabadare cumbersome(due to traffic densities), Aminabad isenjoyable not because of the formal activities alone butmore importantly, because of its intense variety and con-trast which the informal sector provides. Aminabad with-out its street vendors is no place to be in."Kant, Rajat. "The Urban Character" in Architecture +Design: A journal of Indian Architecture, Vol. XV, NO. 2,Mar-Apr 1998.

Retail and wholesale trade centerfor the city, job centerAminabad is the largest market district in thecity of Lucknow catering for over 40% of thetotal retail trade of the city and serving about3000 shoppers everyday. It has 4000 big andsmall businesses, approximately. These busi-nesses employ approximately 15000 persons.These include the families that own the bigbusinesses, the small entrepreneurs runningtheir own stores, the informal sector peoplerunning their own roadside stalls. Many ofthese stores employ people as managers,salesmen, accountants, oddjobsmen, deliveryboys and watchmen at night. Apart fromthese directly employed people the marketalso gives indirect employment to many char-tered accountants, tradesmen, delivery boys,rickshaw-pullers, tempo drivers and porters.Interestingly, this is still a very traditional mar-ket4 where there are very few jobs for women.Good informal economyAs is true for all cities and markets in India, thenumber of informal businesses is equal to ormore than the regular businesses. The mainreason for this is that informal businesses donot need to go through the expensive processof buying a store where real estate in primelocations is expensive. It is cheaper to open astall at the edge of the street (where the costis the bribe paid monthly/ weekly to thepolice as permission to operate). This row ofstalls adds to the strength of the market asgoods of all costs and kinds can be availablein the same place making it more attractiveto the shoppers.Over time such a stall evolves from a tempo-rary covered structure, to a semi-permanent

structure. Investments in a permanent struc-ture are only made once the owner feels rea-sonably confident that the municipal demoli-tion squad will not threaten him. In thisprocess, the community of these businessmenalso becomes stronger and negotiates foritself as a collective group with the city andthe police.Negative aspectsOver commercializationOver the past few years, this area has seen atremendous increase in the commercial activ-ity and the shopping crowds it supports eachday. Previously commerce was restricted tothe street edges and the main market areaand there was a symbiotic relationshipbetween the traders and the residents whereresidents enjoyed the services of the marketat a short distance and the traders enjoyedthe residents patronage. However, now com-merce is rapidly extending into the residentialareas. It is no longer a local market place buta market whose hinterland is the entire city. Itis thus expanding at a rapid speed andreplacing other uses like residential or institu-tional that do not want to share the conges-tion of people and traffic at a daily basis. Thisis changing the mixed-use character of thearea to solely commercial.Deterioration of building stockDue to the old age of the structures, multipleownership of the properties, low rental rates6,and the rejection of upper floors by the retaildominated real estate market, many buildingsare seeing serious deterioration especially onthe upper floors.Congestion on streets

I2

Figure 3.3: mixed traffic and congestion.

Figure 3.4: commercialization around the parks.4In this part of India, both Hindu and Muslim familieshave been traditionally protective of the women in theirfamily. In recent times, education of women has seen arise but they are still essentially home-makers. Someyoung girls do move out of the society to become profes-sionals but this is a small percentage. In the marketplace, there are very few women sales people - in gov-ernment run stores, for some feminine articles, or as tai-lorslseamstresses and beauticians operating out of theirown homes.-Refer Chapter 4 for details on multiple ownership ofproperties.6Refer Chapter4 for details on the pagri system.

The disorganization of the market hasreached chaotic proportions in recent. Thehordes of shoppers, bicycles, scooters andrickshaws together on the streets cause thestreets to completely clog up years - conges-tion is almost 50% over the carrying capacityat peak hours. At the intersections, there areconstant traffic jams with people and vehicu-lar traffic vying for space and jostling to getfrom one point to another. This also gives riseto several petty crimes, squabbles, pick pock-eting and eve-teasing' which is becoming amajor deterrent to the more sensitive andhigher-income shoppers.GarbageThe intense use of the area generates a largeamount of waste. Although the formal storesare kept clean, the informal stalls have no sys-tem of cleanliness and litter piles up on thestreet, The system of municipal cleaning isinadequate and garbage has becomeanother issue that mars the environment ofthe market.Unfit for contemporary livingAlthough quite densely poplated at 200-250persons per hectare, Aminabad supports alow to middle income class population. Thosewho are in a position to choose their residen-tial location have been steadily rejecting thislocality as an appropriate area for dwellingand choosing to live in newer and less-con-gested areas on the outskirts of the city.Contemporary living styles for the middle andhigher income group of residents is muchhigher than the area has to offer. Apart formthe lack of cleanliness, noise and congestioncreated by the market area, residents areinterested in clean parks for their children,safe and secure environs, proximate parking

and school and health facilities. Although theIndian suburbs are a far cry from an ideal pic-ture, they still win over such areas asAminabad.Lack of parkingShoppers, shop-owners and residents with carswould greatly appreciate to be able to parkclose to their destinations and be able todrive in and out at their convenience. This isabsolutely impossible in this situation. Most resi-dents and shop-owners occupy the roadsideparking near their houses or shops at an earlyhour and leave their cars there. Consequentlyand clearly the demand for parking is far inexcess of the supply. Regulation, when pre-sent, is too lax thereby inviting drivers to parkillegally causing disruption to easy movementof traffic.Parks surrounded by commerceThree out of the four parks in this area aretotally enveloped on all four sides by stallswhich have their rear walls attached to thepark fence. All construction of this nature andis illegal and happened incrementally. Thepark is thus completely cut-off from the mainarea. The fourth park has been converted bythe city into an underground parking andshopping area- a structure which protrudesabove the ground by about five feet. Thestructure has six entrances and a central atri-um, which project out much higher. Althougha lawn was created on the top, the area hasno trees.Safety and security concernsDue to a large transient population in thearea, there are many incidents of theft in thearea. Parents do not feel safe sending theirchildren out by themselves and they have to

Figure 3.5: Deteriorating buildings especially on thefirst floor.

'Eve-teasing refers to a phenomenon in Indian societywhich refers to teasing and harassment of women inpublic places by young men. The range of teasing couldextend from mere words said to being touched or fon-dled in a crowd. Under Indian law, it is a punishableoffense.'it is important to note that in the Indian market there is ahigh premium for land. The highest component of thevalue of a property is the land not the construction.

be escorted to their schools or their friendsplaces.Current trendsThe current trend in Aminabad suggests a fur-ther decline in the quality of life it offers its resi-dents as well as in the quality of experience itoffers its shoppers. Although the area has arich heritage, a vibrant street and market life ifleft to market forces the area would becomemore and more unpleasant.Changing from a mixed-use to single-usecommercialThe displacement of residential activities isapparent since almost fifty percent of theoriginal residents have moved out of the area,These movers often include the families of thetraders themselves. Between the years of 1971to 1981 the population here declined from23,000 persons to 13,000 persons and hassince declined further. This reduction isaccompanied by a partial replacement ofthe original population by less affluent per-sons. The main reason for this is the reductionin the quality of life offered by the area incomparison to newer areas being developedaround the city.On the other hand, the number of commer-cial establishments, especially low and middleend, in the area have more than doubled inthe last decade. There is a large disparitybetween the real estate prices of retail on theground floor and offices and residences onupper levels signifying the wide variance inthe demand for commercial and residentialspaces. The market s preference for retail usesin this area is clear by the high cost of retailproperty. The higher land cost' in Aminabadcompared to other parts of the city reflects

the high density in the area and the highdemand for ground floor commercial space.Change of area from high income to lowincomeThe high-end commercial stores are also mov-ing out. Most of them have opened branchstores in other parts of the city to augmenttheir sales and income. The shop-ownersbelieve that the main shoppers in Aminabadare the middle and low-income group andthat these shoppers are more price-sensitiveand less environment-sensitive. Their strategiesare thus to place themselves in two differentmarkets and offer a range of goods thatwould satisfy all types of customers.Congestion on the streets and an increase ofcommercial activities has greatly reduced thequality of life that the area offers. The housingstock in the area has seen drastic transferringof property from higher income groups tolower income groups.Deteriorating building stockThe buildings in this area are very organizedand exhibit coherence in their facades. Theyhave been built to a similar height and styleand it is evident that there was a strong urbandesign control especially on the streetfacades. The buildings show great architectur-al character, a sense of scale and proportionand are well designed. The materials rangefrom wood to bricks to stone carving in someplaces. However, these are rapidly deteriorat-ing and there is no concern for maintainingthem. Problems like those of the social struc-ture; multiple ownership, absentee landlordsand disputed properties have led to a largepercentage of blighted buildings in the area.Low rental rates and long term leases give lit-tle incentive to landlords to invest in mainte-

nance and repairs of the buildings. This is cou-pled by factors like age of buildings, high costof repair, low rent for upper levels and thehigh degree of difficulty faced when evictingtenants.On the main streets linking various bazaars90% of the buildings have changed from resi-dential use to commercial use. In the shop-ping areas, about 20% of the buildings havebeen rebuilt with new basements. Many suchconversions have been taking place in theinterior parts of this district. All new construc-tions are not making a profit. There seems tobe some saturation in the market now, whenlarger stores are finding it difficult to attractnew clientele and sustain old clientele sincethe area is unattractive to rich shoppers.Smaller stores are waiting and watching.StakeholdersThe merchants communityThe merchants' community is the most impor-tant and influential community in the area.They are the also the biggest stakeholders inthe improvement of this area. They control thetrade and the money in the area. Noimprovement in this area would be possiblewithout the participation of this group. Theyare currently organized into a merchantsorganization called the Aminabad VyaparMandal. This organization looks after the eco-nomic interests of the merchant community -represent the community in city meetings orwith politicians to get any improvementssanctioned for the city or opposing anychanges that may have negative repercus-sions on the commerce in the area. The com-merce supports about 5000 merchants and15,000 persons directly employed by them.

At a more fine-grained level, the merchantcommunity can be categorized in severalways - wholesale and retail merchants; bigand small merchants; and formal and informalmerchants. An upward swing of the marketand a move towards regularizing the informalmarket may not be a positive change fromthe perspective of the small and informaltraders.The smaller traders benefit from the low/mid-dle income shoppers of Aminabad. Thy alsokeep no formal records of their sales and payno taxes. Regularizing their trade and upgrad-ing the market may show negatively on theirbooks. Where retail traders would be con-cerned about making the area cleaner andmore conducive to high-end shopping,wholesale traders may not share the enthusi-asm as his trade would not change by achange in the composition of the areas shop-pers. Similarly stores run by the public sectorfor causes like local/rural handicraft promo-tion may not be able to contribute to a localfund and this should not exclude them,It would be important to retain the diversenature of the market and the shoppers thatvisit the area. Interventions should be sodesigned so as not to alienate any of thegroups but reach a solution that accommo-dates the diverse needs and does not alien-ate any particular group.The residential communityThe residential community also has a largestake in the area as it affects their immediatesurroundings and the quality of life they lead.Any changes in this area would directly influ-ence their lives. Although their stake is almostas big as the merchants, they may not havethe wherewithall to support programs mone-

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Figure 3.6: image of a traditional house inAminabad

tarily. The residential community is not ahomogenous mix. It is divisible into tenantsand owners; older and newer reisdents; andpoorer and richer residents. Improvement ofthis area and increased real estate priceswould be a positive change for owners butwould have a negative connotation for ten-ants whose rents would go up. Higher pricesmight tempt low-income owners to desert thearea too and encash on the price rise. Forowners, higher prices and higher rents maymean higher property taxes. There is a highrisk of displacement of the poorer community,both owners and tenants, and this should beguarded against. Older residents might bemore resistant to change rather than newerresidents and this could be a possible point ofconflict. Interventions would thus have to lookat the aspect of fairness and equity and havea policy of inclusion.There is no social organization that unites theentire residential community in Aminabad.During festivals or other community events,people come together as communities basedon religious or the regions they are originallyfrom. Organizations are temporarily made forthat event but are inactive at other times.The shoppers/ visitorsThe shoppers or the visitors to this market getthe maximum advantage of this area - theyenjoy the richness and variety of the waresoffered in the market while they live in betterconditions in other parts of the city. However,they suffer from the congestion, petty crimeand unclean conditions in this area. In gener-al, any improvement in this area wouldimprove their shopping experience greatly.One should however distinguish between lowincome and high-income shoppers. Moving

the market towards the high end may deprivethe low-income shoppers of a market gearedto their needs.Tourism industryCurrently this area attracts no tourism.Lucknow is not on the international tourismmap and very few tourists come here. Of thedomestic tourists who come here, very fewcome to Aminabad. Most people only visit themonuments that are located on the riveredge and some go to Chowk - the older tra-ditional urban area in the city. If this areawere to become a major tourist attraction,the tourism industry in the city would greatlybenefit. This would include the hotels andguesthouses, travel agencies and restaurantsprimarily and the shop-owners in differentparts of the city.The local politiciansCurrently the politicians support the mer-chants in not wanting any change in thearea. Although they would definitely supporta general improvement of the area, it isunlikely that they will support any structuralchanges in the area that may have negativeimplications for any component of the localcommunity. It is important for any project tohappen with the goodwill of the local politi-cians to be assured of their support. Successfulprojects in their area would reflect well ontheir public images.The city agencies / the municipal corpo-rationThe city agencies are very important stake-holders. Since they currently invest very little inthe area, improvements in the area mightactually mean that it is demanding moreattention. Initial expenses on facilitating and

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Figure 3.7: Image showing the tempo in the fore-grouind and an old street facade in the backgroud

9 The goals of this project as stated in Chapter 11. Improvement in the quality of life the area offers.2. Preservation of the character of the area, in terms ofits heritage, density and diversity.Parameters that further qualify these goals are:e Creating functional and economic efficiency for theentire area.e Designing an environment that is ecologically soundand encourages good environmental practices.* Reinforcing social equity by including weaker stake-holders.

managing changes in the area might be seenas a possible block. Agencies like theMunicipal Corporation would benefit from abetter collection of bills and management ofservices and higher property tax revenues. Thiscould in turn subsidize other improvements inthe area or support low-cost housing.The state governmentSince Lucknow is the capital of the state ofUttar Pradesh, improvements in the city ofLucknow would directly benefit the stateimage. In the current political situation, beingthe ex-Prime Minister's electorate, visibleimprovements would give the state a lot ofprestige.Forces of changeCommerceToday, commerce is the factor that drives thisarea. It effects the area in many positive andnegative ways as discussed above. There isgreat potential in the way this force canaffect the area in a positive way. Methodsand processes need to be put in place forthis.Distance from the suburbsBeing in the center of the city is a disadvan-tage for this district in some ways since thecenter of development, growth and invest-ment has shifted to the suburbs. The area nowneeds to reinvent its purpose to the city andre-create its economics.Public transportA lack of public transport to come to this areahas lead to an influx of private vehicles tryingto reach this area leading to an acute prob-lem of traffic congestion and parking prob-lems.

InfrastructureThe infrastructure like roads, parking places,electrical and water supply and garbage dis-posal services are inadequate to handle thegreat demand for their use.Need for interventionThe current trends as pointed out earlier in thischapter point towards a future scenariowhere there would be a vibrant commercialcommunity serving the middle and lowincome section of the society; some marginal-ized low income housing groups; very fewoffices or better housing in the area; and ageneral air of deteriorating buildings and aheritage that once was. This is a scenario thatwould come about from the combination ofcurrent building regulations by the city andthe response of the private sector to that rul-ing.Cyclical processes or a downward spiralcould also be predicted where repeatedoffenses of neglect or bad planning for thearea would cause further deterioration of thesituation and hasten the process of deteriora-tion, This seems to be an appropriate point forintervention to gently change the direction ofthe trend to a more positive direction.We need to devise an intervention that ismulti-dimensional and can include all thestakeholders interests. Preferably it should bemodel which includes citizen participationand allows the players to participate in thedecision-making process and the selection oftradeoffs. Although the actual interventionschosen for the site would be based upon thegoals9 of the project, the ease of implementa-tion and the resources available, at this pointone can outline the possible areas that need

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Figure 3.8: Image showing the multiple uses of acolonnade.

addressing:Maintaining the historical mixed-use charac-ter of the area. Education and importance of the historicurban fabric* Economic incentives for reuse/repair of oldbuildings. Information about relative advantages ofmixed use vs. single-use area- Improvement of the area and policies toattract residential and office uses.Retaining the mixed-income aspects ofthe area.* Improvement of housing for all income levels. Income generation for the area. Increasing the affordability of the lower-income groups - appropriate jobs, transit,housesImproving the building stock in the area -historical as well as new.. Appropriate uses for upper floors. Economic incentives for reuse/repair of oldbuildings. Design guidelines for repair and constructionof new structuresGeneral improvement.- Cleanliness, safety and organization ofspaces. Provision of basic infrastructure - water, elec-tricity, waste, sewage, telephones. Traffic managementAddress the environmental concerns- Environmentally sound - waste, energy, pol-lution, transit* Mass transit system. Increasing the green component of the citySocial and community concerns* Community cohesiveness and participation

in matters of area-improvement. Places of entertainment and cultural centersStudying this list of possible interventions, it canbe noticed that a number of the interventionsunder different objectives overlap, This isbecause some interventions would clearlyachieve several objectives. For instance, agood mass transit system would connect low-income people to job in other parts of thearea, improve the traffic and pollution condi-tion and be environmentally beneficial to thearea as it is more fuel-efficient. Such overlapsmake the interventions more valuable to thecommunity.

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Factorscontributing

to the currentsituation

'This is a fairly typical scenario in any North Indiantown with a population over 50,000 persons.

This chapter analyzes the different compo-nents and the unique features of the realestate market system in Lucknowl in order tounderstand the development of the city andhow it would affect future interventions. Futureinterventions would have to work with thesefactors, effect policy or legal changes andincentives to break out of the system.Indian Real Estate MarketSystemSocial aspects1. Fragmentation of propertiesOld properties have over the years been frag-mented due to tenancy or hereditary situa-tions. A fixed property would thus get dividedbetween different members of the family and