Mixed Land Use in Delhi: Impact on Infrastructure and Environment and Suggestions for Sustainable Planning

Mixed-use has been a part of our cities since historic times where retail, workshop, etc. all co-existed with the residence. Industrialization and associated adverse impacts led to overtaking of mixed-use concept by zoning. However, the ills of segregation started showing in the cities, and urban planners, sociologists and anthropologists started advocating in favor of re-introducing mixed-use. Now it is being planned worldwide to attain vibrant and cohesive urban development. Despite the well-established benefits of mixed-use, the Master Plan of Delhi’s approach of increasing the ambit of ‘permitting’ mixed-use as against the strategy of ‘planned mixed-use development’ adopted in other global cities makes us question the likely impacts of this liberal shift. Thus the study aims at investigating the environmental implications of such mixed-use development in the city of Delhi. From the assessment of two case study areas, it can be inferred that the nature and magnitude of impact on a mixed-use area is determined by the type of mix and its intensity, for example, in Lajpat Nagar numerous retail establishment led to vehicle-related issues while in Naraina the issues were infrastructure-related due to type of activities. It was recommended that the policies guiding the mixed-use development are in dire need of a mechanism to assess the impacts, identify demand-supply gaps and future needs, and thereafter augment accordingly to mitigate the implications in a case-specific manner.