Want to get away from the city heat??….want to enjoy the rains with your loved ones????

But one second guys….yeah I know its hard to think of getting drenched in these polluted, unhealthy and not at all eco-friendly cities…And yes how to forget water logging…..?Oh gosh……..

Pompous promises made on building a better infrastructure which will not hamper the cities with water floods…But guys what happens when it rains heavily…..for instance 26^th July 2005???? What after that???

Every year in Mumbai you ought to face floods, long hours on the railway platforms and yes no electricity!!Phew…..

Today rains are a threat to our so called urban and high standard cities……

Wish all these obstacles just vanish. What if we had our office just next to our residence…no worries about heavy rains, frequent transport and all the required facilities just round the corner!!!

Been to Lavasa? Heavy greenery around……..clean and neat environment……eco-friendly surroundings….and yes no water logging problem at all !!! Lavasa cities are built in such an organized manner that in every city one need not go far than a kilometer away to fetch for things he requires.

From schools, corporate buildings, shopping centers,fun activities and all the daily requirements just round the corner…Don’t you think we need more such organized and systematized cities like Lavasa?? Check this out!!!

Wish to own a dream house here at Lavasa???Why wait..!!

Looking at the current errant situations in the State of Maharashtra, where power cuts are more regular than your local trains what could be worst than this!! The tiff over two powerful companies has taken a toll on our cities, soft target being our suburban cities.

What does a citizen ask for? What are the things that he needs the most??Well….at least in the summers we need electricity 24/7….I bet nobody would disagree with me on this!!

So why is the common man suffering? Why cant we have a government or a private sector promising us with the basic requirements like water, electricity etc…?

I guess we need more systematized cities where much preference is given to the basic requirements of a human being. We need cities that are built on the basis of how we live today. One such well organized city that awed me is Lavasa.

Lavasa

Infrastructural Planning at Lavasa is built on a foundation of sound infrastructure so that residents have access to the world class roads, water, energy & waste management. The whole concept of Lavasa, where the use of Biomimicry, well planned township, energy & waste management is truly needful in the times to come !!

Check out what Lavasa has planned in for the future!!

First the scare!

It is estimated that India’s population will increase to about 1.26 billlion by the year 2016.

In other words – we are going to overtake China as the most populous country in the world by 2050.

That’s not too far away folks!

And according to a vocal advocate of the sustainable cities movment, Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, chairman, Lavasa Corporation  – close to 400 million people are going to migrate to cities in the next 40 years.

That’s a lot of people folks!

What’s more, India’s existing cities ain’t getting any bigger – so that’s a lot of crammed people! Estimates suggest its more on the lines of putting 18% of the world’s population in 2.4% of the world’s total area.

Now, that’s what I call crammed!

THEN THE SOLUTIONS! (and boy do we need ‘em)

1) Efficient Sewerage and Solid Waste Management : Use of human sewage for irrigation & composting

2) Minimum green house emissions

3) Generation of energy through renewable sources

All three solutions are present in current day – ECO CITIES!

Eco cities

In the context of environmental enhancement, Eco cities pose an excellent solution to help combat climate change and ensure a good quality of life on a sustainable basis. These cities are designed to create a small ecological footprint by minimimizing pollution emissions, effective waste management techniques, and efficient use of land.

Got a eco/green tip to share?

How do dragonflies outmaneuver our best helicopters?

How do termites maintain a constant temperature of 86º F in their habitat through heat and cold?

How do hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than one tenth of an ounce of fuel?

“The answers to these questions will be the solution to so many of our problems. It is time we learnt about nature, not with an intention to control, but with an intention to fit in and last for good”  – says Janine Benyus, world-renowned biologist, innovation consultant and author of six books including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, addressing participants during her three day workshop at Lavasa City, March 10 – 12.

Speaking about Lavasa’s efforts towards creating an ecologically sustainable city, Ms. Benyus said, “Today, we need corporates and business leaders to choose the path less trodden. We need new ideas and we need to revolutionize the way we live, create and exist. Lavasa is a brilliant attempt towards creating a human dwelling to emulate nature’s ideas. We need many more Lavasas in the world in order to ensure we last longer on planet earth”.

Got a green idea to share?

Ta- da!

A first for India!!! – and its got nothing to do with pollution, population, number of slums, HIV stats or other aspects that we’ve become infamous for….

it’s a first to be proud of!

A city in India, becomes the world’s first – to adopt Biomimicry standards.

Lavasa city’s second town, Mugaon will become the world’s first region to draw inspiration from the concepts of Biomimicry in design and architecture.

So just what is Biomimicry and how will it be adopted in Lavasa?

Biomimicry in essence is a concept that uses nature as a Model, a Measure and a Mentor in creating specific design and process based innovation.

Mimicking nature, its ideas and its organisms can inspire human beings to evolve designs and processes that can solve problems we face everyday. This is Biomimicry!

And, Lavasa is vying to become the WORLD’S FIRST CITY to adopt Biomimicy standards.

Mr. Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman, Lavasa Corporation Ltd, said, “Right from inception, our vision for Lavasa was very clear. We wanted to create a living space where man and nature co-exist in harmony while ensuring both, economic and environmental sustainability. Janine and her team along with HOK have brought this vision to life. Today, we are working briskly towards building the world’s first model town based on principles of Biomimicry at Mugaon in Lavasa. We hope this experiment will be a precedent to many future towns and cities across the world”

Should we care?

Is Biomimicry significant in today’s times? Should we really care if some city is adopting these ecological standards?

Science says… but of course!

There is an irrevocable law of nature that says that a species cannot occupy a niche that appropriates all resources – there has to be some sharing. Any species that ignores this law winds up destroying its community to support its own expansion. Tragically, this has been our path and we are soon moving towards completely destroying our ecosystem and depleting our resources. Biomimicry can teach us how nature and living things have done everything that we want to do, without guzzling fossil fuel, polluting the planet or mortgaging their future.

So, whether you’re a part of the current generation at the helm….

or the generation in line to inherit the mess our planet is current in….

or if you’re the future generation arriving at a point when resources are non-existent and the ecological crisis is fullblown…

An ecologial solution such as biomimicry will hold importance for us all and will have an impact all generations in equal measure.

Wanna run the world?

First Learn from it!

Life has been performing design experiments on Earth’s R&D lab for 3.8 billion years…. all we need to do is pay attention to how nature designs, creates and operates – in order to create better, more efficient and sustainable technology.

Check out this incredible video on Biomimicry, the science of ‘learning from nature’ – by the founder of BioMimicry Guild; Jainine Benyus!

And Jainine,UNESCO Champion of the Earth recipient, will be conducting a three day workshop on Biomimicry at Lavasa this week!

Watch this space for the latest workshop updates.

Where did all the trees go?

Have some of our cities lost touch with Nature?

Growing up in a concrete jungle, do we even remember how green our cities once were?

What’s your take?

Do you feel the need for greener cities?

or don’t mind the concrete?

Here are the top 5 reasons why Lavasa qualifies as a city of the future!

In 5 major aspects of; city management, planning, infrastructure, technology and environment  – Lavasa is making major head-ways.

Check out how:

City Management

• Lavasa has designed its city management system for performance outcomes, linked to good governance and ‘livability’ criteria.
• Lavasa has put in strong performance monitoring and management systems to ensure above par service delivery to its citizens.
• Various citizen engagement initiatives are organized to ensure participative governance.

City Planning

• The city is designed based upon an award winning masterplan developed by HoK.
• Lavasa’s design is based on the transect model, wherein the development of the Hill City begins from a densely populated town center and gets sparser as it goes uphill. The manmade environment blends itself into the natural environs without disturbing the innate nature of the place.
• Development of Lavasa is planned across four town centers. Each town center has been planned not only to capture its own special charm but also to create a holistic fusion of country and cosmopolitan life experiences.

Infrastructure

• Lavasa offer’s its residents – something quite unique for India – Uninterrupted power supply! Thanks to its partnership with MSEB, as well as Tata Power.
• In addition, Lavasa also plans to build facilities to harness wind and solar power, apart from miniature hydro dams for additional electrical supply to ensure self-sufficiency.
• A Water Supply System with water supplied from the lake and a Water Treatment Plant that more than meets current international health standards.
• Smooth roads, leading in and out of Lavasa.
• A holistic transportation plan- encompassing public transport, parking and traffic management.

Technology

• Lavasa has many firsts – including being India’s first city to use a 3D-enabled Geographic Information System (GIS) and well as the first city to be completely e-governed.
• Lavasa has a state-of-the-art optic fibre cable network and telecom infrastructure to enable effective e-governance
• All residential units at Lavasa are designed as smart homes- offering enhanced security, automation, music and picture libraries, live and recorded TV, video on demand, games and much more

Environment

• Use of biomimicry in planning and creation of the city- insures a peaceful and harmonious co-existence of mankind and nature
• Till date, a total of half a million tree saplings have been planted at Dasve, with an average survival rate of 70%
• Minimizing soil erosion and facilitating ground water recharge by setting up a plantation of fast-growing shrubs,
• Implementing hydroseeding for the first time in India

So, now – What do you think? Do these five factors qualify Lavasa as a future-city?

It is really a city of the future? or just one more real-estate project?

Your say!

Got a crazy traffic commute story to tell?

Like this group that was stuck for over five hours in a traffic jam?

Ever witnessed a perfectly sane office going chap – suddenly go mental – on account of road rage?

How about the funniest ‘road rage fight’ that you’ve ever witnessed on the way to work – that made you forget about the fact that you were running late and stop to gap in amusement?

Got a story to tell…..???

Share it with us!