December 2017 Issue 04

NEWS LETTER

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SUMMER WINTER SCHOOL @ FP In this issue

Editorial Team

Upcoming Events

Indian Planning Narratives

Urban and Regional Planning in India has picked up its momentum, more than ever, since the surge of Smart City mission by the Modi Government. But very little of it has been exploited in practice, thus far. On the other hand, how is academics keeping pace with the changing dynamics in the Indian politics and governance (not to be less considerate with a two-year master’s program)? Here, at CEPT, the Faculty of Planning constantly thrives at addressing this vortex of Urban Planning through a myriad of programs around the year.

Speaking of which, the Winter School 2017 offered diverse courses in India spanning across changing geographies of the country. What better way to understand the nuances of Planning if not through a cross-regional study? Isn’t Planning all about context? The courses were lined-up to inform students on the complexity of the climate crisis, ecological resilience, cultural geomorphology and self-sustaining urban park in the uncharted plains of Aravallis, Dwarka, Majuli and Auroville. In addition, the School opened an opportunity to CEPTians to work together with students of Kingston University in studying the articulation of Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) in Ahmedabad.

The courses’ curriculum invoked grassroots questions among the students by exposing

them to communities in despair and as well as to those of crusaders. And helped them to comprehend the ecological dimension in an urban settlement, the underlying socio-cultural anthropology, the transitional landscape of a Rurban setting and to re-imagine cities as a well-balanced functional landscape.

Guided by eminent practitioners, academicians and researchers, the students believed to have experienced a paradigm shift in their perspective towards Planning. Adding to their experience, the students were certain to extrapolate the learnings in their future studios.

In a nutshell, the Winter School program is like adding treacle on the porridge. With such intriguing programs, one can rest assured of the future of Urban and Regional Planning in India.

Aditi RaiAnupama V.S. Apoorva NandishArnav PrakashChiara C. DCruzGauri VarshneySabareesh SureshSupriya SwarupYash Sugandhi

SWS CEPT........................ 1Academics ......................2Know Your Alumni.........3Ongoing research..........4FP in print media............4

Illustrated by Aditi Rai

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CEPT Roots 2018

20th January 2018CEPT 12th Convocation

Grow Harvest Celebrate:SWS Auroville 2017; PC: Drashti

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Faculty of Planning| CEPT University|Newsletter November 2017, Issue 4

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Travelling is learning

Summer-Winter Schools encourage multi learning experiences. And what’s more better than to learn from the best practices around the world?The faculty of planning hosted 3 international Winter schools in Thimphu, Bangkok and Angkor.

A country with negative carbon imprints, Bhutan is home to the happiest and most content people in the world.Conducted by Anil Kumar Roy and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, ‘Exploring the happiness in the Eastern Himalayan Wilderness’ was based in the Kingdom’s capital city Thimphu. Students engaged themselves in documenting the four pillars of happiness namely good governance, sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of culture and environmental conservation. The intangible element of happiness and its role in urban planning instilled a new perspective for the students.

‘Moving a Megapolis’ by Abhijit Lokhre and Sandeep Paul explored the multiple modes of transport and the interchanges in the city of Bangkok. An extensive mapping of the mass transit system along with a trip analysis, made the students realise the effectiveness of an efficient interchange and how it facilitates pedestrian movement. It was an experience for the students to learn from the practices of transit access in Bangkok and also a realisation of its aptness in India. The group was accompanied by Mr. Saurin Shah who is the Planning Manager of Ahmedabad Mass Transit System(AMTS).

With a network of large reservoirs and canals,Angkor the capital of

the Khmer Empire has a reputed heritage in water management. The winter school ‘Decoding Water Management’ headed by Mona Iyer and Karthik Raman documented the channel network of the 9th century empire. Site visits along the entire region sought to map this network and simultaneously apprehend the challenges faced in planning and managing water resources. Getting to Angkor by tuktuk till the Cambodia Thailand border then crossing over by foot was an experience to remember. The students also appreciated the hospitality offered by the tourism reliant economy.

Being Asian countries, the students could comprehended a practical relation to the context in India and its application to the scenario - with a whole lot of fun!

1.Exploring the secret of happiness in the Eastern Himalayan Wilderness: The Kingdom of Bhutan (team) PC: Gary Naveen; 2. Decoding Water Management Heritage: Angkor (Winter School 2017

Exhibition); PC: Aditi Rai; 3. POPS Ahmedabad Team ; PC: CEPT University

academics @ FP

Moving a Megapolis, Bangkok (Winter School 2017) Team; PC: Yash Sugandhi

FP Monsoon Semester End Exhibition 2017

Monsoon semester, 2017 concluded with students displaying work done by them through out the semester. It was a three-day event held from December 01, 2017 to December 03, 2017 at FP double height, FP 201, CEPT University, Ahmedabad.

The exhibition was a result of work done by students both from undergraduate (Bachelors of Urban Design) as well as post graduate programme (Master of Urban and Regional Planning) during studios and electives throughout the semester. Some of the studios which were offered were Urban Expansion Planning and Design Studio, Aerotropolis Metropolitan Project Development Studio, Water Sanitation Studio, Foundation Studio, Streets and the City to name a few. It was a collaborative effort by students and faculty members to put up panels and exhibits. The exhibition was open to all and visited by various people such as educators, jurors, citizens of Ahmedabad city, family and friends of students, and jurors. It was a great experience for students to interact with various people and explain their ideas to people outside CEPT academia.

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10 office locations of JLL across India, I am in charge of Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad offices, for all consulting services.

AVS: It’s been a long time since you graduated. But if you try to recollect, how was the transition from academics to profession?

SM: When I joined CEPT in 2003, I had already had 7 years of work experience. So, it was not exactly like a pure transition from academics to the corporate world; it was more like a 2-year break from my profession during which I am grateful to have gained numerous new ideas and learning. Since I had acquired new ways of looking at things, it was a refreshing experience when I re-joined the industry.

AVS: Please share some of your non-academic experiences from your days at Faculty of Planning.

SM: It is not possible to pinpoint a certain incident to describe my life at CEPT. If I start thinking about it, floodgates of memories will be opened *laughs*. My colleagues in my batch all had work experience prior to coming to CEPT due to which it was quite easy to strike a chord and work together.

CEPT provided us with an open environment and we could attend any lecture. There were lot of interactions with the visiting faculty and frequented organisations AUDA, BHUDA, B V Doshi’s office. Owing to the many seminars and lectures that we used to attend, overall it was a wonderful experience.

AVS: Lastly, I would like to request you to share a message for students.

SM: My message to the current students would be to make most of your time. There is so much to do at CEPT that 2 years is too small a time to do all that one aims of doing. Looking back, I wish I could have done more things! In a professional career, one doesn’t get time to experiment and interact and incorporate new ideas. The 2 years that one spends here makes the student stand out from the rest outside. Ultimately, learning is a continuous process and I advise the students to never stop learning, no matter what.

know your alumni @ FP

Subhankar Mitra

Mr. Mitra is an alumnus of Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, batch of 2005. He has work experience of over 19 years and currently works with the JLL, Mumbai.

AVS: How are you associated with the profession currently?

SM: At JLL, I look after strategic consulting, and work in the capacity of the local director. My main area of operation is West India covering the states Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Madhya Pradesh.

AVS: Sir, can you briefly explain your work profile?

SM: JLL is one of the oldest company in real estate and we boast of being listed with the New York Stock Exchange. We are primarily involved in project valuations, project management, transactions and capital markets; we also deal with land based infrastructure like airport, port, railway station. Although we do not do design, we prepare feasibility reports, business plan, divestment strategy etc. Out of the

Faculty of Planning Monsoon Semester End Exhibition 2017; PC: Yash Sugandhi

AVS: How are you associated with the profession currently?

RG: I work with the National Capital Region (NCR) Planning Board, which is an institute that offers opportunity to work on a regional scale. The National Capital Region is unique as it encompasses area from 4 states viz., Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Chief Ministers and top bureaucrats of these four States are members of the Board. It proves a bigger challenge since the expanse of the area is about 55000 sq.km, which is more than the area of some States in our country. NCRPB prepares the Regional Plan and coordinates with the participating States for the implementation of the policies and proposals of the said Plan. It is an intensive exercise. However, end of the day, even though one may prepare an ideal Plan, unless it is implemented in the same spirit, it

Ruchi Gupta

Ms. Gupta is an alumnus of Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, batch of 2003. She enjoys having experience of working with both the Government and the private sectors and currently works with NCR Planning Board, New Delhi.

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Wipro Earthian 2017

Since its inception 7 years ago, the Wipro Earthian competition emphasizes on building awareness as the first step to making a change. Like every year, the objective of Wipro Earthian’17 was to highlight important urban sustainability issues in one’s area or neighbourhood under any one of the themes- Urban Mobility, Water and Waste through research and field reporting.

This was the first time that students from CEPT participated in the competition, and excelled. Out of the ten entries slated to win, two teams from Faculty of Planning secured a win. The members of the first team were Pratiksha Surpuriya and Aparna Ramesh (first year, MURP), guided by Prof. H M Shivanand Swamy. Their report on ‘Road Safety in Ahmedabad: Every Life Matters’ highlighted sustainability issues related to mobility. The members of the second team were Prasenjit Shukla and Gargi Mishra (final year, MURP), guided by Dr. Mona Iyer. They presented their perceptions on ‘Sarkhej Lake: The Lost Heritage’ which highlighted sustainability issues related to water.

Each winning entry will be awarded 1.5 lakh rupees as cash prize and be felicitated by Wipro Chairman, Mr. Azim Premji at the annual Wipro earthian awards event.

This newsletter is a student body initiative. For any suggestions, feedback and queries write to us at -fp.newsletter@cept.ac.in

Ongoing Research at Faculty of Planning, CEPT University

Learning is a process which requires intense research to get in-depth knowledge about the subject. CEPT University, relentlessly urges its students to diversify their field of knowledge through research based activities.

Shreeda Goel, first year student of MURP got her paper’s abstract published at the 4th Conference of Transport Research Group held at IIT-Bombay, on the topic- Institutional Issues In The Integration Of Public Transport under the guidance of Prof. Abhijit Lokre.

The theme for the conference was Sustainable Transport (Track I), Transportation Modes, Planning & Demand Forecast (Track II), Traffic Systems Analysis (Track III) and Highway Materials & Pavement (Track IV). The research by Shreeda, was on the theme Sustainable Transport (Track I). It emphasises on the need of reducing traffic congestion due to

Ongoing Research

FP in print media

doesn’t bring out required results.

AVS: Ma’am, can you briefly explain your work profile?

RG: I am currently working in the capacity of the head of the planning team at NCR Planning Board. Since the Regional Plan-2021 is currently in-force, we are coordinating with the participating States for its effective implementation. The Regional Plan is reviewed every five years, and we therefore keep close interaction with the participating States to understand the issues being faced during the implementation of a plan. It is more like a continuous process. It is quite interesting to deal with all areas of work and co-ordinate with the member states.

AVS: It’s been a long time since you graduated. But if you try to recollect, how was the transition from academics to profession?

RG: Right after graduation I started working on smaller assignments of 6 months or 1 year duration. I have had the opportunity to work with NGOs, Research Institutions, Govt. and Pvt. Sector and Consultants, covering areas like infrastructure planning, industrial area planning, urban sector- township level planning etc. I have got the opportunity to work on small projects like rural water supply for villages and also large-scale projects like DMIC Investment Region in M.P. So,all in all, it has been a smooth transition for me. Once the area of interest is figured out, one can move into the specified fields. Every opportunity helps one grow and build upon what we have learnt earlier.

AVS: Please share some of your non-academic experiences from your days at Faculty of Planning.

RG: * pauses * I think every person from my batch will quote the Post Godhra riots as that one event which is deeply etched in our memories. It was a known fact that the faculty at CEPT were very helpful and forthcoming. But, during those riots, our faculty actually took students in and gave them shelter. Not everybody does that! I have not heard students from other institutes talk like this about their teachers. I still get goose bumps today, when I think about it. We had a senior, who was a Muslim, I still remember how

everyone helped him board a flight back home, when the situation was worsening at Ahmedabad. The one-on-one connection seen in CEPT is truly memorable.

AVS: Lastly, I would like to request you to share a message for the students.

RG: Students today expect to land a large-scale project and target big ticket opportunities, right after graduation. Especially the ones who have an experience of one or two years. This should not be the approach. There are innumerable things to be learnt on the professional front and not all can be learnt, right on the first day. I advise the students to start from the smaller opportunities, explore, and then try to focus on their area of interest. One should understand that academics gives one the freedom to experiment whereas that may not be the case in the professional world. A field visit conducted as a studio will be different when you do it for professional assignments. We should be fortunate that we have studied in Gujarat/ Ahmedabad, wherein numerous opportunities in this aspect exist. Students should tap the maximum benefit.

continuous increase in number of private vehicles on the road. It also gazes in to various parameters which are held responsible for dissuading people using the available modes of Public transport to commute on a regular basis.