Floor Space Index and Liveability of Residential Neighbourhoods Establishing Linkages for Retrofitting

Abstract

In the recent years, India s urbanization has rapidly increased. With increasing population densities in the Indian cities and limited resources, the challenge to provide liveable communities is becoming aggravated. Many cities of the world are striving towards improving the living environments in tandem with growth. Guidelines related to Floor Space Index or Floor Area Ratio, eventually results in the total built up area allowable on a plot and resultantly, directly influences the average floor space available per person is taken as the primary focus of investigation in this research which attempts to see its relation with liveability. The research contribution in this context, to the existing literature is threefold. It takes up the city of Vijayawada and studies its residential neighbourhoods of varying character to arrive at an understanding of the relation between FSI and liveability. Firstly, the study takes up the factors presently in use in Indian cities to regulate FSI as a critical parameter of urban development, which is not explored much in the literature available on Indian cities. Secondly, the study takes up various indicators of measuring Liveability in a residential neighborhood at the sub-city level, both physical and perceptional, and assimilated to define the parameters that fit best in the Indian context. Most of the Liveability indices and ranking methods prevalent in literature consider indicators of Liveability at the city newlinelevel whereas, this research explores assessment of liveability at the ward level. Taking Vijayawada as a case study it explores variation of liveability at neighbourhood levels with respect to the morphology of the neighbourhoods.(read more please see in abstract page) newline newline