Training on Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) at Building and Neighborhood Scale

Date: September 17-20, 2018
Venue: Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Rajasthan (301405) 

School of Water and Wastewith Sustainable Buildings and Habitat Programme, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India organised a fourdays training programme on “Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) at Building and Neighborhood Scale” from September 18-21, 2018in New Delhi. 

The aim of the training was to mainstream decentralised WSUDP through capacity building of practitioners involved in planning and management of urban infrastructure.

The programme involved diverse group of 35participants with 45% of people from Government departments (CPWD, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority, Chennai Development Authority, Nagaland Pollution control board) along with participants from NGOs, private companies, universities, entrepreneurs and more. Some participants had significant experience in their respective fields, thus sessions were organized in a manner that encouraged peer-to-peer learning. The training programme included a mix of theory, practical sessions and it was conducted based on state of the art teaching – learning tools consisting of interactive sessions, experiential learning using detailed case studies, working in groups on planning and designing and class room lectures. 

List of Particpants

Over the course of the first two days, the program focused on the key issues in urban India in water and sanitation moving on to water and energy nexus. The program was initiated with a brief introductory talk by Dr. Suresh Kumar Rohilla, (Academic Director, School of Water & Waste, AAETI and Senior Director, Water Management Unit, CSE) with a brief introduction about CSE, its ideals and core principles, and how it positions itself to tackle ongoing issues in the water-sanitation sector today. He also covered the different dimensions of urban water management highlighting various issues and problems, along with responses and opportunities for improvement. This was followed with session of Rajneesh Sareen, Programme Director, Sustainable Building & Habitat Programme, CSE who discussed about water and energy as achievers for sustainable built forms are crucial in face of climate change. A familiarity with recent national and international/protocols/rating systems in regards to green buildings along with our legal and institutional capacity to address these challenges was also highlighted.  This was followed by presentation by Mr. Vishwesh Vishwanath, Architect and Urban Designer, Pradeep Sachdeva Design Associates, to provide an overview of the various green features of AAETI, along with an analysis of Pre and post AAETI development.The day ended with 'walk the talk' showcasing water sensitive features at AAETI.

The second day started with reflection session followed by session defining the scope of Water efficiency and conservation (WEC)planning at individual and neighbourhood scale. Ms. Chhavi Sharda, Deputy Programme Manager CSE gave an overview of tools & approaches for WEC planning and conducted exercise on exercise on water balance method / WEC measure with a case example of AAETI Nimli. The next session was led by Mr. Tanmay Kumar, Pavement Engineer, CH2M Hill on Permeable pavements: a water sensitive feature at building and neighbourhood level. It was followed by session on challenges and opportunities in WSUDP in India – Case study of Dwarka sub-city by Ms. Shivali Jainer, Deputy Programme Manager CSE. She explained the case example with an objective to increase its carrying capacity in terms of water with integration of runoff, groundwater and surface water management in urban planning and development process at three different scales (Neighbourhood scale, Catchment scale and Regional scale) for future demand. She concluded the day with session on compilation of SUDS Approach: planning and management.

The third day of the training, focused day long sessions on  planning, designing and maintenanceof water sensitive feartures at different scales, wherein Ms. Shivali and Ms. Chhavi explicitly talked about on sessions from  ‘Data required for designing water sensitive  building and neighbourhood’ to ‘Designing of water sensitive  building and neighbourhood’. These sessions were broken into intermediary exercises. The day also included session by Mayank Mishra, Principal Architect, SHiFt who highlighted the green features of IIT Jodhpur and conducted the exercise based on the site plan of the same.

The fourth day included a comprehensive session on Do-it-yourself (DIY) exercise on designing water sensitive site for Residence, Institute, Township and Hotel. The participants worked in groups using laptops and material given on and conducted group presentations to showcase the final output. This was followed by session on ‘Water and urban planning nexus’ by Architect Vinod Gupta, Founder, Space Design Associates who talked about the correct planning process for an urban area keeping water at the centre. He also highlighted the complexity in planning process given that the problems such as presence of toxins in waste water and limited water availability as challenging issues. The training ended with a dedicated feedback session conducted by Dr. Mahreen Mattoo, Programme Manager to understand the areas of improvement and identify participants who would be willing to be a part of long-term network with CSE. 

For further information please contact:

Shivali Jainer
Deputy Programme Manager, Water Programme
+91-11-40616000 (Ext: 244)
Email: Shivali@cseindia.org

Sugeet Grover
Senior Research Associate
Sustainable Buildings and Habitat Programme
Tel: +91 11 40616000 (ext 283)
Email: sugeet.grover@cseindia.org

Rudresh Kumar Sugam
Senior Programme Manager, Water Programme
+91-11-40616000 (Ext: 389), 
Email: rudresh.sugam@cseindia.org

Dr. Suresh Kumar Rohilla, 
Senior Director & Academic Director, 
(School of Water and Waste,CSE, AAETI).
srohilla@cseindia.org