Background
‘kada veedhi’ or ‘Street of Shops’ holds a strong connotation to Tamil culture. Station Rd at Tambaram Sanatorium is one such ‘kada veedhi’. Small shops and street hawkers line these streets, and it depends on a strong pedestrian traffic to provide economic opportunities. With the changing times, and increasing suburbanization of Chennai, the focus is on these ‘kada veedhis’ especially the ones in the hinterland of the rail network. The fact that a drop in pedestrian traffic on these streets and an increasing automobile culture and emergence of big box stores challenges the economic feed to these streets notwithstanding, these streets face the pressure of rediscovering themselves, and doing so rapidly. With ‘global warming’ and ‘peak oil’ talks doing the rounds increasingly these days, these markets are at an advantageous position to capitalize on the under-utilized rail network of the metropolis and provide a much needed fillip to development trends. Transit-oriented development is certainly the thing for the future to alleviate the traffic and environmental problems of the city, and Station Rd at Tambaram Sanatorium has the unique opportunity to provide a genesis to this line of thinking. With the construction of the flyover on Station Rd almost coming to a close, this provides the right opportunity to explore pedestrian-oriented development for transit-towns in Chennai.
‘kada veedhi’ or ‘Street of Shops’ holds a strong connotation to Tamil culture. Station Rd at Tambaram Sanatorium is one such ‘kada veedhi’. Small shops and street hawkers line these streets, and it depends on a strong pedestrian traffic to provide economic opportunities. With the changing times, and increasing suburbanization of Chennai, the focus is on these ‘kada veedhis’ especially the ones in the hinterland of the rail network. The fact that a drop in pedestrian traffic on these streets and an increasing automobile culture and emergence of big box stores challenges the economic feed to these streets notwithstanding, these streets face the pressure of rediscovering themselves, and doing so rapidly. With ‘global warming’ and ‘peak oil’ talks doing the rounds increasingly these days, these markets are at an advantageous position to capitalize on the under-utilized rail network of the metropolis and provide a much needed fillip to development trends. Transit-oriented development is certainly the thing for the future to alleviate the traffic and environmental problems of the city, and Station Rd at Tambaram Sanatorium has the unique opportunity to provide a genesis to this line of thinking. With the construction of the flyover on Station Rd almost coming to a close, this provides the right opportunity to explore pedestrian-oriented development for transit-towns in Chennai.
Goal
This project is intended to be the genesis of land-planning for transit-oriented development in Chennai. The scope of the project has intentionally been kept to Station Rd to keep the scale small. The intention is to thoroughly analyze issues and intended results based on this kind of development. The key issues to be focused on include feasibility of a pedestrian-based development with increased use of mass transit and mix local business with big box retail while providing street hawkers an opportunity to ply their trade.
Role of MEPZ
MEPZ and the IT companies in the SEZ provide majority of the pedestrian traffic on Station Rd, and have immense potential to increase their usage. MEPZ and its IT companies have signaled the change in demographics on Station Rd, and dictate the market as can be seen by the emergence of Sony World, Emerald Park and a few other hotels and restaurants in the area. While it would benefit the local businesses to capitalize on the new business opportunities, MEPZ stands to gain in image, productivity and competitive edge by investing time, money and interest on this project. It is a unique opportunity for MEPZ to take Tambaram Sanatorium along to the global map.
Role of employees at MEPZ
The employees single-handedly have the chance to make a difference to the way this city functions. By pioneering the use of trains and mass transit they could change the way development in this city is perceived. With MEPZ being as well connected as it is to the rest of the metropolis via mass transit, it is imperative to find raw data on the usage of mass transit and all issues related to it. Providing a world class experience and addressing any issues faced by the employees is one of the major goals of this project, and the survey response plays a very crucial function in the success of this project. Every employee can make a difference and together we can make Chennai the greenest city in India.
Role of local businesses
Local businesses are at the cross-roads with the opening of the flyover. Change is in the air, and the time to act is coming on very fast. Potential for increased businesses through the changed demographics of the floating population in the area are waiting to be exploited. Potential for increased business by creating a pedestrian-oriented development is also waiting to be exploited. Though Sony World is not a direct competitor for any of the current local businesses that do not sell electronic equipment, it has prompted a change in image of the area and with new businesses flocking to the neighborhood. A change in the built environment on Station Rd and increased pedestrian traffic could provide opportunities for increased rental income from these new businesses. Direct competition from the new businesses with better brand names is sure to have an impact, and the opportunity cost of lost rental income and increased pedestrian traffic on Station Rd will rankle the local business community in the near future if not acted upon now. It is time to redefine the built-environment on Station Rd, and the local businesses could assist the morphosis by investing in change and patronizing this project.
Role of policy
Policymakers couldn’t do better than by patronizing development policies that reduce use of personal automobiles. Tax incentives for use of mass transit may be a little far-fetched in the current highly subsidized and underutilized mass transit scenario, but could be revisited on a case-by-case basis to assist in promoting transit-oriented development. Tax incentives for local businesses and IT companies for investing in transit-oriented development could go a long way in catalyzing the change. Redefining the ‘kada veedhi’ is an important step in realizing transit-oriented development, and policymakers could assist in the process by making policies that assist in amalgamating fragmented property on these streets. This alone has tremendous potential to change the built-environment on ‘kada veedhi’. Strict enforcement of development control rules would be necessary to maintain the sanctity of the built environment. Policies to assist street hawkers would also provide a low-cost business opportunity for the urban poor, who do not get access to opportunities otherwise open in this tertiary sector driven economy.
Methodology
A survey of the IT companies in MEPZ would provide insight into the level of commitment of these companies to develop their immediate neighborhood and patronize sustainable development. A survey to identify number of employees using the rail network to commute to work and the issues connected with it would provide raw data on the issues currently faced on Station Rd. A survey of the local businesses to identify the concerns and threats faced by the changing demographics and the level of acceptance to new concepts in development would provide data on the changing demographics and help identify a future course of action. Explore the possibilities of a three-tier retail system consisting of the local businesses at the pivot, big box retail and street hawkers that would provide an ideal mix of economic opportunity on ‘kada veedhi’ without leading to marginalization or gentrification. The local businesses would be given the first opportunity to comment and act upon such a system. Once the data has been analyzed and the level of interest in such a project gauged, policymakers and planners would be approached to help in the implementation of the project. Once implemented, key drivers like usage of trains and mass transit, changing image of the area identified through the changes in rental value and demand for rental space and level of synergy among the three tiers of retail providers identified through the success or failure of any of them would be studied and data analyzed to help in future projects.
