SHAPED BY WATER: The lexicon of built elements as a cause of changing water in the case of Dharavi and Kanpur

Abstract

Water plays a lead role in shaping urban waterfront territories. They are generally located in the central part of the cities and are burdened with environmental challenges. Climate change is expected to increase extreme weather events with a larger volume of change in water. Sea level rise, high tides, storms, and floods enhance the vulnerability of such areas along the water. Waterfront territories are more vulnerable to changing water as they occupy the low-lying marshy land. How humans respond to flooding is one of the most challenging questions. The response involves using various built elements embedded in the urban morphology of waterfront territories. The objective of the paper is to identify, systematize and categorize the built elements that exist as a cause of changing water in urban waterfront territories, in the case of Kanpur riverine area and Dharavi, Mumbai. The methodology, exploratory and investigative in character, involve assessment by direct observations and interpretation from the sites, collected images and literature review from the previous published research. The cases from two different territories; formal and informal, enable findings and lessons that contribute to research into the lexicon of built elements necessary for addressing floods.

Keywords: Adaptation; Floods; Built elements; Urban morphology