Table Of ContentContemporary Urban Affairs
2017, Volume 1, Number 2, pages 57– 68
Density, Energy and Metabolism of a proposed smart
city
*
Dr. Anindita Mandal 1 and Dr.Hugh Byrd 2
Luleå Tekniska Universitet, Sweden 1
School of Architecture & Design, University of Lincoln, UK 2
1 E mail: [email protected] , 2 E mail: [email protected]
A R T I C L E I N F O:
A B S T R A C T
Article history:
This paper reports on a detailed analysis of the metabolism of the Island City of
Received 2 June 2017
Mumbai should the Indian Government’s proposal for ‘smart’ cities be implemented.
Accepted 13 June 2017
It focuses on the environmental impact of increased population density achieved by
Available online 16 June 2017
demolishing existing medium-rise (3-5 storey) housing and replacing it with the
Keywords:
Smart cities; proposed high-rise (40-60 storey) towers. The resulting increase in density places a
Energy; burden on the demand on such things as electricity and water and simultaneously
Waste; increases the output flows of drainage, solid waste and greenhouse gas production.
Blackouts; An extended urban metabolism analysis is carried out on a proposed development in
Density; Mumbai (Bhendi Bazaar) that has been put forward as an exemplar case study by the
Mumbai; Government. The flows of energy, water and wastes are calculated based on precedents
Globalization; and from first principles. The results of the case study are then extrapolated across the
Urban sprawl. City in order to identify the magnitude of increased demands and wastes should the
‘smart’ city proposals be fully realised.
Mumbai is the densest city in the world. It already suffers from repeated blackouts,
This work is licensed under a water rationing and inadequate waste and sewage treatment. The results of the study
Creative Commons Attribution - indicate, on a per capita basis, increasing density will have a significant further
NonCommercial - NoDerivs 4.0.
detrimental effect on the environment.
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CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2017) 1(2), 57-68.
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Copyright © 2017 Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved
1. Introduction photovoltaics to charge electric vehicles (the
In the study of the relationship between urban more likely technologies of the future) (Byrd et al
form and resource consumption, there are 2013) are widespread and there is empirical
differing conclusions concerning the impact of evidence demonstrating that compact
dense urban form. For example, reduced residential building forms are less energy efficient
transport energy consumption has been shown to (Myers et al, 2005; Byrd et al 2012).
correlate with increased urban density (Newman However, policies on urban form tend to favour
& Kenworthy, 1989), household space heating compaction but there is little evidence of what
energy consumption reduces with compact densities urban form should target to optimise
house forms (Rode et al, 2014) and more general resource consumption (Steadman, 2015). While
unsupported claims are also made (Leung, 2016; some studies have indicated an optimum density
Albino et al, 2015; Nia, 2017). However, other of about 18 dwellings per Ha (Gosh et al, 2006)
studies have indicated that CO emissions from most policies advocating increased density
2
transport and electricity consumption per capita (Sridhar, 2010) stay clear of a density target which
show little correlation with the density of urban
areas (Hammer et al, 2011) and there is evidence
*Corresponding Author:
that dispersed urban forms are more energy School of Architecture & Design, University of Lincoln, UK
efficient when disruptive technologies such as [email protected]
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
can result in the impression that the denser; the sustainable, environmentally friendly and ‘smart’.
more efficient. If that is the case, the This research indicates the opposite may be more
consequences of urban forms of very high- likely.
density need to be understood and the 2. Background to the development Proposals
implications back-casted to inform cities with The Island City of Mumbai trebled in population
policies of increased compaction. over a period of about 50 years (1931-1981)
mainly due to rural-to-urban migration (Census of
This research concerns the densest city in the India, 2011). The population peaked and has
world, Mumbai, and the environmental impact of subsequently experienced a marginal decline as
the proposed redevelopment proposals that are the suburbs have grown. The migrants into the
likely to increase densities from about City were protected by the Mumbai Rent
3,500persons per hectare to about 5,000, Restriction Act (1939) limiting returns on landlord’s
achieved by demolition of existing 3-5 storey investments and resulting in disrepair of the
height buildings and replacing them with towers housing stock. As a result, in 1969, the “cess” tax
averaging 40 floors. What has become known in was introduced and a levy placed on landlords
Mumbai as ‘vertical with a vengeance’ (Rathod, by the municipal authorities who took over
2012). property repairs. Regulated rent levels combined
The study investigates the environmental impact with the ‘cess’ tax made redevelopment
of a proposed redevelopment of a 16.5-acre site. financially unattractive. Added to this were
Of the many redevelopment proposals in limitations on the ratio of site area to floor area of
Mumbai, this is in the most advanced stage and developments (FSI). In the first Development Plan
is an exemplar for both Mumbai in its ambition to of Bombay (1964), FSI was limited to 1.66. But with
become a ‘global city’ and the Indian few new developments and, in order to try and
Government who have identified it as a key encourage developers, this was eased to 2 in
development in their proposal to achieve 100 1984 and then 3 in 1991 and 4 in 2009. These
‘smart’ cities (Government of India, 2015). inducements had little impact and relatively few
The study firstly compares the existing urban form high-rise housing was built. The ‘cessed’ property
with the proposed form. For example, numbers (generally 3-5 storeys) predominated (Bertaud,
and heights of buildings, density of dwelling and 2013).
population, parking provision, open space, The cessed properties did not conform with the
landscaping and street frontages. It uses the image that the municipal authorities wanted to
extended urban metabolism model (Newman et see of the City that was the financial capital of
al, 1996) as a basis of analysis and predicts the India. In 2011, Mumbai hosted the Tall Building
flows of water supply (reticulated and rainwater conference and announced its proposals to
harvesting), drainage, solid waste, electricity redevelop the city by demolition of cessed
supply, potential for solar energy, fuel for property and replacing it with towers with the
transport, carbon dioxide production and intention of being perceived as a “global” city
sequestration. (CBTUH, 2010). Further FSI incentives were again
From the results of the 16.5-acre site, the analysis introduced in 2009 by Development Control Rules
is then extrapolated to the overall impact if similar (DCR 33(9)) provided developments were of a
developments were to be carried out, as is significant scale. This triggered new development
proposed, across all of the Island city of Mumbai. proposals and one of the first and largest
The results indicate that metabolism does not developments was proposed at Behndi Bazaar,
increase linearly (on a per capita basis) with Ward C in the Island City. A 16.5 acre site
density but accelerates instead. The results also containing 247 buildings (typically 3-5 storey) are
indicate that the compact urban form increases due to be demolished and replaced by 30 towers
dependence on infrastructure security and that of between 40 to 60 floors (a built-up area of
the increased demand of water and electricity is almost 11 times greater than the site area).
unlikely to be supplied in a reasonably reliable
and secure manner. Furthermore, the outputs 3. From global to smart city
(waste water, solid wastes, and carbon dioxide In 2015, the Indian Government proposed 100
production) would increase disproportionately “smart” cities (Government of India, 2015a) and
resulting in both health and accelerated climate named Behndi Bazaar as its exemplar
change issues. The Indian Government (2015) has development that was a flagship of ‘smartness’.
claimed this type of development to be Although the definition of a ‘smart city’ can be
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 58
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
vague (Albino et al, 2015) the Government has provided the master plans and area statement
clearly defined their intentions (Government of for the Bhendi Bazaar case study. Surveyors for
India, 2015b)) that are summarised below: the Bhendi Bazaar project provided detailed floor
i. adequate water supply plans and area statements of the existing
ii. Assured electricity supply buildings on the site and a master plan of the
iii. Sanitation, including solid waste management proposed development.
iv. Efficient urban mobility and public transport This data allowed an analysis of the physical
V. Affordable housing, especially for the poor characteristics of the existing and new
Vi. Robust IT connectivity and digitalization developments. A three-dimensional model of
vii. Good governance, especially e-Governance both the existing and proposed developments
and citizen participation, was constructed (Figures 1 & 2). This was used to
viii. Sustainable environment establish the morphological changes (building
ix. Safety and security of citizens, particularly heights, street widths, parking provision, roof
women, children and the elderly areas, open space, landscaping and other
X. health and education aspects of built form). Demographic changes
xi. Reduce congestion, air pollution and resource (population density, total population) were
depletion based on census data for the existing and the
At least half of these criteria are environmental developer’s calculations for the proposed
objectives, which can be measured and development together with an assessment of
reasonably accurately predicted. Because, population based on space provision.
governance, health and education policies
could be implemented without redevelopment,
this study focuses on all the environmental
elements that are a direct result of the
Governments ‘smart’ proposals.
4. Method of analysis
In order to test the claims that the exemplar
development met the ‘smart’ criteria put forward
by the Government, the study was undertaken in
three stages:
1) analyse the physical characteristics of the
new exemplar development and
compare these with the existing, Figure 1. The existing site at Bhendi Bazaar on the Island City
2) evaluate the environmental performance of Mumbai.
of both the existing and new for
comparative purposes,
3) Extrapolate the results of the case study
across the whole of the Island City to
establish the full impact of a ‘smart’ city.
5. Data collection of the development
Data was collected from various primary and
secondary sources including; physical surveys
during site visits, from local government agencies,
NGOs, the construction industry and desk-based
research.
The Mumbai Transformation and Support Unit
provided information and maps of cessed
properties of the seven wards on Mumbai City
Figure 2. The proposed development that is claimed to be an
and data for the 1,135 projects approved for
example for ‘smart’ cities in India.
redevelopment, under DCR 33(7), in the Island
city. These data were used in extrapolating the
Understanding the magnitude of the built form
result of the case study to the district level. The
and population increase of the development
Building Proposals Department of Mumbai
allowed an analysis of the additional resources
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 59
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
required for the new development and hence calculated including, for example, private and
and assessment of the environmental impact. common lighting, air-conditioning, air extraction
in basement car parks, pumping of water,
5.1 Measuring the environmental impact passenger lifts. The energy use was calculated
The method used to predict the environmental based on the energy rating and hours of
impact of the development proposals was based operation. The carbon dioxide emissions form
on the extended urban metabolism model. This electricity generation are calculated based on
provides a basis for measuring flows of resources electricity consumption and the carbon emission
that are both consumed by and flow from the content of the generating fuels (mostly coal in this
city. The study focused on the operational flows case). Transport energy was based on the
rather than embodied resources in the materials number of private vehicles (both cars and ‘two-
of the buildings and infrastructure. While the latter wheelers’) in the development, their travel
are of importance, they are relatively small over frequency and travel distance. While frequency
the lifecycle of urban structures and the study and distance of travel was considered to be
does not question whether or not redevelopment similar for both the new and existing
should occur; only the appropriateness of the developments, the number of car parking spaces
proposed built form. in the proposed development is significantly
The flows of resources consist of water and greater. The potential of renewable energy from
energy as inputs and wastes and pollution as photovoltaics (PV) was calculated based on
outputs. Water inputs include reticulated supplies available roof area and typical efficiencies of PV
from the various dams outside the City as well as installations. Similarly, water consumption was
rainwater harvesting. Energy includes electricity based on the number of occupants, type of
from the grid as well as potential electricity appliances and duration of use and wastewater
generated from roof-mounted photovoltaics. It calculations are directly related to water supply.
also includes fuels required for transport as well as
carbon sequestration by landscape proposals. 5.1.1 Environmental dynamics
The outputs include wastewater, solid wastes and Increased consumption of resources and
carbon dioxide production. production of wastes is not necessarily linear with
If the Government’s claims are correct, then the the increase in population. The provision of new
compaction of built form should result in a facilities induces an increased rate of
proportionate reduction (or at least no increase) consumption. Anticipated resource efficiency
of the inflow of resources and outflow of waste from the technologies of the new development
products per capita due to efficiencies of scale are unlikely to be achieved due to behavioural
and improved infrastructure. responses; an issue in Mumbai identified by Yelda
Since the development has not been (2006) concerning the dynamics of
constructed, the flows for the proposed environmental problems in Mumbai.
development were predicted based partly on For example, the provision of additional 3,000
empirical evidence from precedents and new car parking spaces in a city that has few
supported by calculation from first principles. The existing parking spaces, induces people,
full extended urban metabolism analysis together particularly in a developing economy, to buy a
with the calculations and resulting data can be car. As a conservative estimate, this study
viewed at Mandal (2015). assumed that only 80% of the new parking spaces
For example, the predicted electricity would be filled. However, since car ownership in
consumption was based on the empirical the City was restricted due to a lack of car
evidence of energy use in different residential parking spaces, the new provision has significant
built forms in Sydney (Myors et al, 2005), a sub- consequences on energy consumption and
tropical climate. This research found that subsequent pollution.
metered energy use, in a sample of over 3,500 Similarly, a significant increase in energy use is
different house units, increased with the height of attributed to air-conditioning due to a
residential developments due mostly to energy combination of an increased size in residential
consumed in common areas (corridors, car parks, units, increased cooling loads because of the loss
pumping of water and wastes). of mutual shading from low to high-rise built form
Therefore, in order to calculate the energy use in and an increasing ownership (for both status and
the proposed development of the Mumbai case comfort purposes) of air-conditioning units
study, all the energy use in the building was (Tembhekar, 2009). This is also apparent in the
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 60
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
retail areas of the development where the
20
traditionally naturally ventilated shallow-plan
retail spaces along street frontages are replaced,
s
r 15
in the new development, by deep-plan retail e
w
outlets that are necessarily dependent on air o
t
conditioning. fo 10
In the case of water consumption, the increase re
b
will not be linear with the additional population m
u 5
since the new development offers significant n
additional means for water usage. While many of
the existing cessed properties have communal 0
washing facilities, the new development offers Existing Proposed
each individual unit outlets for toilets, showers
Figure 4. Comparison of the number of residential towers for
and washing facilities. Showers and washing the existing and proposed development.
machines. This results in not only an increase in the
number of water-consuming appliances but also These statistics explain why the development
offers the opportunity of increased duration of proposals have been named “vertical with a
use. vengeance” and the increase in FSI, to almost
In the common areas, the increased amount of 4.8, is indicative of the financial incentive that has
container planting (used as a mechanism to been historically hampered by restrictions on the
comply with planning requirements for increased permitted FSI.
landscaping) demands an additional water Related to this is the density of the development
supply, unlike trees planted in the ground. The (Figure 5) that has increased by over 25% to
significant increase in the number of cars also almost 1000 units per hectare. However, the
results in a proportionate increase in car washing. population density of individual units is likely to
decrease as the unit sizes have increased by an
5.1.2 The results; spatial and demographic average of 20%. This potentially results in more
characteristics. space per person in the units but assumes that the
With the exception of the existing religious increased space standards will be realised rather
structures mosque and one tower block, the than increased numbers for each tenancy to fill
whole site is to be demolished and rebuilt. Figure them up to previous standards.
3 compares the number of existing and proposed
buildings on the site. The fine urban grain of the 1200
cessed buildings is lost to large individual buildings
resulting in a tenfold reduction in the total re 1000
p
number of buildings. Figure 4 indicates the st 800
number of proposed tower blocks the highest ine
ur
b eing 62 floors. laitnatceh600
e 400
d
300 is
e
R 200
s 250
g
n
id 200 0
liu Existing proposed
b
f 150 Figure 5. Comparison of the density of residential units per
o
r hectare.
eb 100
m
The external open space of the proposed
u
N 50
development is greater due to the site coverage
0 slightly decreasing from 90% to 73% of the total
Existing proposed site. However, the open space per person has
reduced to 1.07 sq. m per person, from 1.27 sq. m
Figure 3. Comparison of the number of buildings for the per person which is only about 1/7th the
existing and proposed development.
recommendation of the World Health
Organisation (sustainablecitiesnetwork, 2011).
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 61
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
The large podiums have replaced the small roof area of 32% with the same decrease in
streets and alleyways resulting in a significant rainwater harvesting potential (a mandatory
reduction (63%) in the perimeter length (active requirement in Mumbai) resulting in less than half
frontages) of all buildings at ground level, much (45%) the potential amount of rainwater per
of which is dedicated to small commercial person (Figure 7).
enterprises in the existing development. This is
150000
likely to reduce the number of small retail g
businesses that spread onto the pavement and nitse.ap m 100000
result in larger units that are spread deeper under v
ra.u 50000 (cid:8)Existing
the new blocks and become dependent on air- hC
conditioning and artificial lighting. ret lait 0 (cid:8)Proposed
an
The number of trees on the site has increased by we
over 700 with about 40% of these being in niatop
containers on the roofs of podiums. These trees R
will assist with planning compliance for the
development, but trees in containers on the flat Figure 7. Comparison of rainwater harvesting potential.
roofs of the podiums will offer little beneficial
cooling or carbon sequestration due to their 5.2.2 Sewage and wastewater
limited size. They will also require constant Related to the additional water consumption is
watering outside the monsoon period. the sewage and wastewater generated by the
new development. Sewage will be proportional
5.2 Environmental consequences to the increase in population. However, there will
5.2.1 Water collection and consumption be significantly more wastewater related to the
Water demand in the new development (Figure increased appliances and change in lifestyles.
6) is calculated to be more than double the The increased population on the site, with
existing (232% increase). This is partly due to the consequent increased wastewater and sewage,
cleaning required to the increased amount of results in a sewage volume that has more than
common areas and also the amount of trees and doubled (234% increase) and reached 4.64
shrubs (above ground level) that require irrigation million litres per day. At present the sewage
outside the monsoon period. However, the bulk treatment plant for the zone (Worli) manages to
of increased water usage comes from greater treat less than 20% of the sewage, the rest is
use within apartments. The reduction in shared pumped directly to the sea without treatment.
bathing/toilet facilities, increased number of The increased sewage volume will result in less
private water taps (sink, basins, showers, washing than 10% being treated unless there is sewage
machine) and the ‘take-back’ effect of treatment on site.
potentially more efficient water control systems
being offset by a change of behaviour in the use 5.2.3 Electricity consumption
of the appliances (duration of use of bathrooms Residential electricity is the largest consumer on
or use of washing machines). the site and almost doubles (196% increase) in the
proposed development (Figure 8). This is
combined with two new loads incurred by the
development: i) lighting and ventilation to
basement and podium car parks amounting to
about 6% of the total residential load and ii)
electricity use for other communal facilities that
include; pumping water to the towers, lifts and
lighting of corridors all of which amount to about
9% of the total residential load.
Figure 6. Comparison of existing and proposed water
demand by different users.
The reduction in site coverage and the taller, but
fewer, buildings results in a decrease in overall
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 62
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
10000000
9000000
8000000
7000000
a 6000000
p
h 5000000
W 4000000
k
3000000
2000000
Existing
1000000
0
Proposed
e g s g t n
n n e n n o
ihcam gnih itaeh retaW cnailppa ne ithgiL emniatretn cria & snaf F Oigtuhree r9 . Cmoimscpealrliasonne oof aulsl eleacptrpicliitay nuscees.s include the
saw hctik e em increased use of computers, display screens,
o electronic retail systems and signage. All of these
h
not only directly increase the electrical load but
Figure 8. Comparison of residential electricity use.
also increase the cooling load within the retail
and commercial spaces. Although refrigerators in
The increased residential electrical load is due to
retail areas may become more efficient, they are
several factors. The average floor area of each
also likely to increase as the area will become
unit has almost doubled which results in
more affluent and increase the demand for more
additional lighting, fans and air-conditioning use.
pre-prepared food.
Dedicated water heating with larger volumes of
water results in increased hot water usage
5.2.4 Carbon emissions
especially with individual use of modern washing
Considering only the carbon emissions in the
machines. Household appliances (e.g.
operation of the development, the two main
microwaves, home entertainment and larger
contributors are the carbon due to additional
television screens) are likely to become
electricity generation and the emissions due to
commonplace and used more frequently.
the additional private vehicles that can now be
However, air-conditioning is likely to become the
housed on the site (Figure 10). The carbon
single largest consuming item as the demand for
emissions in electricity generation in Maharashtra
increased comfort and status that comes with air-
average about 0.9 tCO /MWh reflecting the high
conditioning spreads (Tembhehar, 2011). 2
proportion of coal-fired generation.
Electricity consumed by commercial and retail
spaces will more than double (226% increase) in
the new development (Figure 9). This is due 2500000
mainly to the configuration of the commercial
areas that, although having the same overall 2000000
floor area as the existing development, have an
external perimeter that has decreased by 63%. ap 1500000
This reduces both daylighting and cooling by sn
o 1000000 Electricity
natural ventilation resulting in increased use of T
fans and air-conditioning as well as artificial Vehicular
500000
lighting (Byrd, 2012). Although the light fittings
may tend to be more efficient, this is likely to be
0
offset by the opportunity for increased display O2x2 O2x2
COOO COOO
lighting in retail areas. CNS CNS
Proposed Existing
Figure 10. Comparison of Greenhouse gas emissions from
electricity production and private vehicles.
The total additional electricity use for the
proposed development is 18,326 MWhrs/year
that equates to16, 494 tCO per year. However,
2
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 63
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
only a proportion of this is directly due to the greenhouse gases released from their
nature of the development. The operation of the decomposition. The overall increase in solid
car parks (extraction fans and permanent waste is anticipated to increase by 30% per
lighting), lifts, pumping, common areas, air- capita due largely to increased affluence (Figure
conditioning and lighting, for non-residential, and 11).
a proportion of air-conditioning for residential are
directly attributable to the nature of the
300000
development.
250000
This amounts to approximately half of the a
p
additional electricity load, making the sn 200000
development attributable to 8,247 tCO2 per year ot- 150000 Existing
c
due to the increased electricity demand. irt 100000 Proposed
e
The amount of carbon emissions as a direct result M
50000
of providing car parking spaces, where there
0
were none previously, will depend on the type of
Existing Proposed
vehicles and their travel patterns. The reduction
in emissions due to changes of fuel (in particular
Figure 11. Comparison of solid waste generated.
CNG) has been assumed to be offset due to an
increase in congestion as car ownership grows 6. Extrapolating the results across the Island City
rapidly. Assuming 16 km/litre of fuel, the average The results above are for the 16.5-acre site,
carbon emissions per vehicle are 200gCO2/km. It Bhendi Bazaar that has been named as an
is assumed that 80% of the 1400 car parking exemplar development for the proposed ‘smart’
spaces are occupied and used regularly and cities in India. To investigate what the impact
that the average travel distance is 6km per day would be if the development was replicated
for recreation, occasional shopping and school across a city, the analysis was extrapolated
drop-offs. This amounts to 25 kg per day or 491 across Mumbai’s Island city.
tCO2 per year. The development potential of the City is related
to the number of ‘cessed’ properties that can be
5.2.5 Solid waste demolished and redeveloped. Figure 12
The per capita generation of solid wastes in indicates the increase in population in each of
Mumbai has been steadily increasing and the City’s wards should the Bhendi Bazaar project
reached 0.63Kg/person/day in 2004 be replicated. The different proportions of
(Mahadevia, Pharate, & Mistry, 2005). It should be increased growth relate directly to the proportion
noted that in addition to the land required for of cessed properties in each ward. The case
dumping the waste, a considerable amount of study area considered above is in Ward C.
energy is spent in sorting, transporting and
processing the waste in addition to the
1200000
o
t
e 1000000
u
d
ntn 800000
oe
itm 600000
a
lupo Increased
pole 400000
p nved 200000 Existing
i eer
g 0
n
a A B C D E F/N F/S G/N G/S
h
C
Wards in Island City
Figure 12. Increased population across the Island City if ‘cessed’ properties are demolished for the ‘smart’ development proposals.
Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 64
Overall, the results indicate that the intensification degree of resilience by its ability to collect energy
policy in the Island City would result in 1677 new and water from individual roofs and food from
tower blocks averaging 40 storeys high, 51,780 individual gardens, vertical urban form offers little
additional car parking, a reduction in open space resilience (Byrd & Matthewman, 2014b).
per person from 1.27 to 1.15sqm, a new 100 MW While demand is increasing for resources to ‘feed’
power station (probably coal-fired (Gosh, 2010)), a the metabolism of Mumbai, supply from the
new 100 million litres per day dam to supply water, hinterland is struggling. In the case of electricity
160 million litres per day of sewage to be supply, the state of Maharashtra consumes almost
processed, 3570 tons per day of CO2 production 12% of India’s electricity, having the highest
and many more adverse impacts. All this will be consumer base in the country, it also tops the list for
added to a City that, due to inadequate resources more deficit compared to other states.
and difficult geography, already systematically Consumption of electricity is growing faster than
rations electricity by blackouts (Byrd & production capacity. The depletion of ‘easy to
Matthewman, 2014a), rations water to a few hours find’ coal combined with higher energy demands
per day, and where 80% of sewage is untreated from industry and air-conditioning is leading to
and washes up on the shoreline (Mandal & Byrd, electricity blackouts on a regular basis (BBC News,
2013). 2002; BS Reporter, 2006; Rediff News, 2007).
In the case of water supply, the city of Mumbai is
6.1 Per capita impact facing water shortages, with parts of the city
In order to compare the environmental impact of receiving direct supply of water for only a few hours
the new development with the existing, it is useful in the day and water connections to any new
to measure it in terms of change (increase or tower, clusters or townships being suspended till the
decrease) per capita or unit floor area. Middle Vaitarna water supply project is completed
Since the redevelopment of the site results in an (Sen, 2009). In the case of solid waste, most of
increase in population of about 25% greater than Greater Mumbai’s collected solid waste is disposed
the existing, the consumption per capita results in of as mere dumping and levelling at the landfill sites
the following. at Deonar, Mulund and Gorai that have almost
Water consumption as well as wastewater outlived their carrying capacity. Though the
(including sewage) per capita is likely to increase Government of Maharashtra has allotted a
by 155% and potential rainwater harvesting is likely disposal site in Kanjur Marg, it is likely to be
to reduce to less than half (45%). inadequate for the projected solid waste
Residential electricity consumption per capita is generation (MCGM, 2005 to 2025 a).
predicted to increase by 30% while electricity in In the case of drainage, the discharge of all the
commercial and retail spaces will more than storm water and treated sewage is into the Arabian
double per unit of floor area (226% increase) Sea. Tidal variation has a major bearing in the
Carbon dioxide emissions, due to total electricity system of storm water drainage resulting in flooding
consumption, more than double which results in and water logging during heavy rains and high
CO2 emissions per capita increasing by 43%. tides (MCGM, 2005 to 2025 b). This is likely to get
However, C02 emissions, due to transport increase worse with the risk of sea level rise due to climate
by 176% per capita. Solid waste increases by about change. The sewage system of Mumbai is
100%. inadequate, resulting in discharge of large
amounts of untreated sewage into creeks, causing
7. Discussion degradation of coastal water quality and
With policies of compaction and constraints on the contamination of the adjoining beaches and
dispersal of cities, urban form will inevitably grow seafronts (Kumar, Subramaniam, & Patil, 2000).
vertically. With verticality grows dependence on The pursuit of cities to become ‘smart’, ‘world-
centralised ‘flows’ of energy, water supplies and class’, ‘liveable’, ‘green’ or ‘eco’, has been
waste disposal. Dependency leads to vulnerability promoted alongside increased population
and insecurity and, while suburbia offers some densities and urban compaction. This planning
65
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS, 1(2), 57-68 / 2017
goal must reach a point where resources are BBC News. (2002, May 30) Indian state curbs
inadequate for the fully functioning metabolism of electricity to industry BBC News. Retrieved from
a city. While case studies such as Bhendi Bazaar http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2016611.st
offer an exemplar for the 100 ‘smart’ cities planned m
by the Indian Government in terms of increased Bertaud, A. (2013, June) Mumbai Far/Fsi
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Using the Indian Government’s own definition of a power shortage, Business Standard Retrieved
‘smart city’ and the exemplar development that is from http://www.business‐
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obtained from Governmental agencies, a low carbon Auckland. Working Paper.
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with data based partly on empirical evidence from dark future of electric power. New Scientist
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This research did not receive any specific grant Remaking Sustainable Cities in the Vertical Age.
from funding agencies in the public, commercial, Retrieved from
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Anindita Mandal, Hugh Byrd 66
