Akshaya R

UP4002

City is a place where people agglomerate to live, form communities and establish their identities. It is of various layers of physical and social infrastructure which overlap to function as a whole. Ahmedabad, a heritage-rich city is traversed by River Sabarmati into East and West. It has grown in form of circular rings around the walled city(East) area which is the traditional central business district. New western zone evolved as a result of urbanisation. The old and the new city has varied characteristics in terms of infrastructure, density and livelihood patterns. Such diverse nature of the city was studied as a part of the Foundation studio - “Understanding the City” at CEPT University. Varied Precinct samples of 1 Sq.Km was studied individually by each student covering various aspects. The precinct of the study documented in this publication lies in Ramdev Nagar, on the western fringe of Ahmedabad along the SG Highway. It is located 8km away from the Ashram Road and 3.5km closer to the SP Ring Road. It is a suburb with increasing urban quality consisting of predominant residential land-use. The western fringe has a greater affluent character with high-income population and surging demand and land prices. It has transformed over a period of 20 years due to the development along the SG Highway. Affordability and increasing urban quality of living in the western fringe are checked to know what made it a people’s choice. Shift of the city’s centre to the suburb is observed due to agglomeration of job centres and economic activities which emphasises the polycentric nature of the city of Ahmedabad.