This proposal developed collaboratively was judged the SECOND WINNERS in the Co-(Vai)-Design Competition, and the team was contracted to prepare the Neighbourhood-level Master Plan and Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a pilot project.
Loops as Leverage positions ‘circularity’ at the core of urban development and leverages the loops of PEOPLE, WATER, FOOD, and ENERGY to move towards a sustainable future. The project is built on the idea that 'Urban Circularity' as the core lifestyle and planning value can amplify synergies and accelerate the goals of regenerative ecology, inclusive society, and a productive economy.
Toolbox for Circular Neighbourhoods
The concept of ‘Urban Circularity’, translated as 'Circular Covai Vision', aims to redesign the flow of resources such as water, food, energy, waste, building materials, and so on, that drive urban activities in Coimbatore (Covai), a second-tier city in India. The overall goal is to transition from a linear model of resource flow (make, use, dispose) to a circular model of resource flow (make, use, reuse, and recycle), by nurturing social and spatial transformation at the neighbourhood level.
Circularity, though the most relevant philosophy in today’s world to fuel our growth in an equitable manner, is not a common concept in the spatial planning and design domain. Hence, in order to simplify the complex boundaries of circularity, burst the myths around it, and make it part of the regular planning and design vocabulary, the Circularity Toolbox has been developed.
The four loops and the twelve guiding actions, provided with three tools each, collectively form the Circularity Toolbox with 48 tools. A tool here stands for specific planning or design interventions.
Tools for People Loop
Tools for Water Loop
Tools for Food Loop
Tools for Energy Loop
Pilot Project - Circular Market
In Koundampalayam (the pilot neighbourhood in focus), rethinking of resource usage is already happening in the form of existing solar plants, mound parks, and waste management units. The Coimbatore Corporation has also identified a property in this area for relocation of Dr. MGR wholesale market. The proposal leverages existing assets and positions the market project as the anchor for redeveloping the neighbourhood with circularity functions and values.
Concept visualisation for plaza design as part of the Circular Market proposal.
Concept visualisation for street redevelopment as part of the Circular Market proposal.
‘Loops as Leverage’, as a spatial framework for circular neighbourhoods is an attempt to approach the conventional city planning exercise as an accessible and collaborative activity, through the toolbox. The project has also looked at ways in embedding system thinking; both at concept development (eg: from water collection to recharge) and strategic implementation (from piloting catalyst projects to expanding networks).
Bi-lingual pamphlet for stakeholder engagement by further simplifying the concepts of urban circularity.
Project Details and Credits
Background: National Urban Design Competition Winner (Hosted by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)
Status: Completed (Dr MGR Wholesale Market Master Plan, Detailed Project Report for Pilot)
Client: Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) and GIZ India
Collaborators: Ganesh Babu, Mona V, Preetika B, Rohit Lahoti, T R Radhakrishnan, and Yash Gogri
