Starting from January 2020 till date, the Covid-19 has created havoc in the entire human world. The initial first wave in 2020 was defeated by strict national lockdown. However, this time, opportunity was lost during the year for creation of infrastructure in order to fight the 2nd wave wherein different mutations of virus by then had taken place. Now the viruses can be separately recognised of Chines, American, European, Asian, African or even specifically Indian mutant model. The lack of beds, oxygen and vaccine have increased pressure on the healthcare system and exposed the medical infrastructure in the country to it worst case scenario. The patients gasped for breath and oxygen. It exposed the hospitals both in government and private sector for lack of facilities in catering to the demands of the Virus struck population. The top most reason being that only 1.5% of GDP is spent on healthcare system in India which is extremely less as compared to defence budget. The Oxygen demand is crucial as hard core medical requirement. So pre-Covid19 negative status, one needs to adhere to social distancing, masking up, hygiene and vaccination but once declared positive, home quarantine or hospitalisation, medicines, ICU bed availability and oxygen/concentration facility become inevitable. From the last one month, the Indian experience of oxygen demand in hospitals makes one to think about oxygen supply in the surrounding in the environment. This provokes me to say that today there is a direct shortage of oxygen for hard core patients in hospitals because of a specific medical problem, tomorrow there will be shortage of oxygen in general to whole community/humanity because of environmental degradation, deforestation, increase in urban heat engine, pollution, destruction of natural habitats, consumption of wetlands/water bodies, etc. Before the oxygen less places/cities/regions evolve as part of pan-disaster happenings, let’s resolve to protect our natural habitats and plant trees abundantly.
Now let me connect COVID-19 with built-up environment. Usually Covid19 scenario demanded social distancing of human beings approximately six feet, wearing mask to protect mouth & nose, face shield to protect eyes and moreover, hand sanitization. This was based on the theory that the virus makes its headway through nose, mouth & eyes by way of sneezing, hand touching of surfaces but was not air born. However, nowadays, it is believed to be air borne also. Therefore, day by day virus is turning out to be monstrous. The hard-work of scientists made it possible to produce vaccine in a short record period of time. However, the quantity to be made available to all the world population is by itself a million-dollar question particularly when the virus is mutating regularly by different variants.
When I was asked about my job as a planner, I had to say that the main job is to ensure social distancing of buildings in an urban built-up environment and also make sure that masking is carried out in the surroundings. What does that mean? Every building in whatever form, and of whatever use, needs open spaces around it for air/ventilation, light/sunlight, fire/hazard gap, privacy cushion, rescue/scavenging space and most importantly to mask up in terms of plantation of trees, shrubs, flowers, greenery etc. Technically speaking, buildings are built to inhabit people to protect them from extreme weather conditions, raise families, ensure comfort, settle permanently and the walls which are constructed are the first solid masks to be erected and create/produce spaces out of nothing on a barren piece of land. The doors help in accessing those spaces for utilization and in the absence of windows, these spaces could turn out to be caves only. The placement & fixing of windows help in making light/sunlight to enter these spaces and multiple windows help in cross ventilation/air circulation, thereby enable living beings to breathe oxygen freely. The natural light/ventilation is a must for all buildings hosting people even if there is an availability of artificial light/ventilation through mechanised means. Therefore, open spaces around buildings to be maintained as “setbacks” are as important as the building itself. The blind buildings are good for nothing except for specific activity/use/security. Because of urban environment where congestion takes place due to scarcity of land, maintenance of open space around the building whether on all four sides/3 sides or even two sides as per planning norms, should be ensured to the fullest. The walls, windows, curtains and open space around with trees act as masks for collective protection for the inhabitants of the household and the community/society as a local/regional or urban level. Let’s say that the building does not have windows for cross ventilation and someone is sick with flue, we must imagine the spread of sickness fast in a close-knit suffocated environment. Similarly, if the buildings do have windows for light/ventilation but the structures are too close to each other that stops sufficient light and air to enter, then again the building is not appreciable. The closeness shall help to spread sickness from one building to another in such built-up environment. Apart from losing privacy and other associated benefits from the open spaces around, people should understand the importance of open spaces around the building for which huge investment has been made just to make it liveable for healthy life of its inhabitants. The landscape mask around the building/structure is necessary to create congenial environment, reduce carbon footprint of the building itself, reduce noise and air pollution and most importantly, trees act as dust barriers.
Construction of each building/structure or even making roads is anti-environment. It disturbs the natural environment as it involves removing natural material at one place and then fixing it at another for human comfort. This cause depletion of natural resources and changing its character for another use. This development though necessary for human habitation is responsible for environmental degradation. However, if planned in a sustainable and smart manner, it could be possible to reduce its impact to certain extent but it is never possible to reduce the impact to zero level. Each building/structure or even a road acts as a heater absorbing, reflecting or radiating heat and in case of buildings, it even releases extra heat/gases that is produced by electric lamps, blowers, room heaters, air & heat conditions, fridge/freezers, LPG cooking, Chimneys etc. Changing character of a natural barren piece of land into man-made built environment through development by way of construction makes it 100% anti-environment. However, if plantation/landscaping by means of trees/shrubs, greenery, waterbodies is made part of the newly formulated development, then to a smaller extent, it can be compensated. Therefore, plantation/green space is of utmost importance whether a building is constructed or a road is laid. That is why, only certain percentage of ground coverage is permitted with open spaces all around and also the height of the building is restricted as per FAR/FSI. These days there is a heavy thrust on green architecture/technology but in our part of the world, there is lack in research/development in this sector. Human greed has taken precedence over all other things related to development.
As said earlier, the need for medical oxygen in hospitals for individual patients has created havoc in the entire country, imagine a situation whereby because of negative development, the areas/territories in the form of villages/towns/cities/regions become oxygen-less and people start suffocating due to lack of it. The air pollution level day by day and carbon footprint increasing in an unprecedented manner is indicating towards grave concern of reduction in oxygen concentration in the built-up (man-made) environment. This necessitates that preserving natural environment in a sustainable manner is the need of the hour and reducing the carbon footprint through developmental initiatives makes it more of urgent nature.
Hygiene, health and happiness are fundamental to the good quality of life and these are dependent on surrounding environment, water & air quality. One can never be happy unless one is healthy and one can never be healthy, unless hygienic conditions prevail around. This necessitates to keep not only the physical body hygienic but even the interiors as well as exteriors of the building. The food intake is one of the reasons for falling sick of an individual but air/water and surrounding environment too affects the health of an individual or a community at collective level.
Concluding that one’s body and it’s health is the ultimate victim of a bad environment whether through intake of food having negative impact of pesticides/insecticides, polluted drinking water, bad quality of air/less oxygenated surroundings, haphazard urban planning, negative urban development, increase in industrial waste and waste products, depletion in natural environment/ecosystem, reduction in ecology- flora & fauna, de-forestation, climate change, ozone layer depletion, sea level rise etc. This in whole demands to focus on Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of villages/town/cities/regions or special areas which eventually leads to Health Impact Assessment (HIA). The soft medical treatment lies beyond hospital care wherein environment all around us is required to be clean which will thereby put less burden on hard medical care like hospitals. The open spaces, green vistas, greenery, waterbodies, forests, plantation etc. can all add value system to our health/medical care and as such the ecological audit of surroundings has become all the more necessary. We need to start making balance sheets of environmental debt than economic debt at rural/urban or district/regional or even state/national level. The sooner we do, the better it is.
Mir Ghulam Hassan is an architect and urban/regional planner and presently works as Joint Commissioner in Srinagar Municipal Corporation.