SUBMITTED TO-

Ar. Shruti Gautam

INTRODUCTION

• Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township in Viluppuram district

mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India with some parts in the Union Territory
of Puducherry in South India.
• It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (known as "the Mother") and designed
by Architect Roger Anger.
• Auroville is a universal township in the making for a population of up to 50,000
people from around the world.
• A site, approx. 20 square kms. of barren wasteland, some 10 km north of
Pondicherry and 5 km from the coast was chosen for the city.

• It is located in the sub-humid tropics and situated on a plateau region with its
maximum elevation of 32 m.
• Auroville has a country-side ambiance and consists of some 190 different
settlements/communities.

Plan of Auroville

How to reach Auroville?

Nearest international and domestic
airport : Chennai International Airport
Taxi rides are available from Chennai and
Pondicherry.
Bus route services are available from
Co-ordinates - 12° 0′ 25″ N, 79° 48′ 38″ E Pondicherry and Chennai
LOCATION MAP

NH 32
(TO CHENNAI)
SH 49
IRUMBAI ROAD(TO (TO VELACHERY)
AUROVILLE)

SH 136
(TO
MAILAM)

AUROVILLE MAIN
ROAD(TO AUROVILLE)
BAY OF
SH 49 BENGAL
(TO
PONDICHERRY)
NH 32
(TO
PONDICHERRY)
HISTORY

• Auroville was once a very dense forest, but that

changed in colonial times.
• The French bought Kalapet in 1700, and from its
forest trees of teak and rosewood, started building
Pondicherry. The forest was destroyed, and gullies
started forming.
• Then the British took over Pondicherry, and they Before After
took out all the wood, moving it somewhere else.
The French rebuilt Pondicherry with newly
harvested wood (teak and rosewood). The British
destroyed Pondicherry again, removed the wood
again. This happened three times.

Before After

The Banyan tree soon after the

Deforestation during colonial times Inauguration Ceremony. Lone tree in a Reforestation in progress Auroville in 1978
totally barren landscape.
DEMOGRAPHICS
• The township was originally intended to house 50,000
residents.
• In the initial 20 years, only about 400 individuals from 20
countries resided in the township.
• In the next 20 years, this number rose to 2,000 individuals
from 40 countries.
• As of January 2018, it has 2,814 residents (2127 adults and 687
children) from 49 countries with two-thirds from India, France
and Germany.
EXISTING LAND USE :
• Developed area is 40% Residential.
• Public spaces about 28%
• Commercial, manufacturing and other economic
activities constitute about 12%.
• About 13% is under roads and streets serving both
urban and non-urban uses.

Nationality demographics
CONCEPT OF THE CITY PLANNING :THE GALAXY CONCEPT

• In terms of physical development, Auroville aims at

becoming a model of the 'city of the future' or 'the city the
earth needs'. It wants to show the world that future
realizations in all fields of work will allow us to build
beautiful cities where people sincerely looking towards a
more harmonious future will want to live.
• In her 1965 sketch of Auroville, the Mother laid down the
basic concept for the city. This sketch delineated all the
important activity areas that would fulfill the vision of
making it a universal city.
• One of the most remarkable concepts of Auroville is its
master plan, laid out in form of a galaxy - a galaxy in which
several 'arms' or Lines of Force seem to unwind from a
central region.
Sketch made by The Mother

• At the center stands the Matrimandir, the “soul of

Auroville”, a place for individual silent concentration.
• The galaxy plan shows the four zones, which are
interconnected through the 'Crown', the second circular road
around the Matrimandir. From the Crown, twelve roads
radiate outwards as part of the infrastructure.
• Radiating out beyond the Matrimandir Gardens are four
Zones, each focusing on an important aspect of the
township’s life:
• Industrial (north)
• Cultural (north east),
• Residential (south/south west) and
• International (west)
Aerial view of Auroville
EXISTING DEVELOPMENT AND LAND USE
IDENTIFICATION OF THE CITY

ELEMENTS
PRINCIPLES ELEMENTS
(BY KEVIN LYNCH)

BUILDINGS PATH
CHARACTER

PUBLIC SPACES EDGE

CONTINUITY AND
ENCLOSURE STREETS DISTRICTS

QUALITY PUBLIC TRANSPORT LANDMARKS

REALM
LANDSCAPE NODES
EASE OF MOVEMENT

SUSTAINABILITY

DIVERSITY

ADAPTABILITY

LEGIBILITY
PATHS OF THE CITY
ROAD NETWORK OF THE CITY
STREET ELEMENT OF THE CITY
LEGIBILITY
There is a clear hierarchy of roads, streets,
cycle paths and pedestrian ways. The major
landmark, Matrimandir is well connected
with the streets making it the focal point
for all pathways.
According to people visiting, apart from
missing links in the outer circular road in
the eastern part of the township, the road
network in the township is devoid of street
furniture, signage and indicators.
EASE OF MOVEMENT
The campus is well connected with all the
spaces within 5-6mins of walking distance.
Traffic levels are well maintained with the
segregation of heavy traffic restricted to
the outer ring road and only pedestrian,
cycle and 2-wheeler traffic allowed in the
inner ring road area.
Provision for hiring bicycles, motorcycles
and electric vehicles is available for the
easy movement within the city.
Public transport also includes taxi and bus
services.
CONTINUITY AND ENCLOSURE
All the streets and cyclist paths are well
connected with all the areas of the city. It
has been planned in such a way that all
areas are within5-6 mins of walking
distances.
 BUILDINGS OF THE CITY CHARACTER OF THE CITY

CHARACTER
The character of the city is resembled by
the type of buildings or landmarks it
supports.
Auroville is more famous as the spiritual
centre of the world and so the character
of the city is rather on the spiritual side.
Majority buildings are made from organic
materials making it more closer to the
nature and making its way towards a
sustainable future.
MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY
Materials used include:
• Wood
• Mud
• Compressed stabilized earth blocks
SUSTAINABILITY
Many measures, tested and new have been • Ferrocement
employed in the city to reduce its carbon
Care is taken in utilizing low-cost, low-
footprint. Use of alternative energy sources carbon emission, local materials and
like solar, wind etc., waste water minimising the use of imported industrial
management, effective garbage disposal are building materials.
some of the ways in which sustainability has
been tried to be achieved in the city
LANDSCAPES OF THE CITY PUBLIC SPACES QUALITY PUBLIC REALM

QUALITY PUBLIC REALM

Matri-mandir serves as
the core public area for
the visitors as well as the
residents.
Along with this each zone
has its own parks and
spaces.

Most popular time of visit

are weekends; Saturday
and Sunday around
11AM.
EDGE OF THE CITY NODES IN THE CITY
LANDMARKS OF THE CITY
MAJOR LANDMARK: MATRI MANDIR

The Matrimandir is an edifice of spiritual significance for

practitioners of Integral yoga, situated at the centre of
Auroville, initiated by The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
It is called soul of the city and is situated in a large open space
called Peace. Matrimandir does not belong to any particular
religion or sect.

Architects – The Mother(Mira Alfassa), Roger Anger

Construction Duration -- 21 Feb 1971 – Feb 2008(37 years)

-Surrounded by 12 Gardens.
-The Geodesic Dome is covered by golden discs and reflects
sunlight
-Inside this central dome is a meditation hall known as
the inner chamber
-This contains the largest optically-perfect glass globe in the
world CONCEPT OF MATRI-MANDIR
DISTRICTS OF THE CITY ZONES IN THE CITY

ADAPTABILITY
Zones are well defined for the
city but still scope for
development is still kept in mind
with the green belt surrounding
the city as well as buffer spaces
within the zone.

DIVERSITY
Diversity is easily identifiable in
the city within the zones as well
as among different zones. They
have a mixture of good
amenities which not only
support their own requirements
but also reinforce the sense of
community.
RESIDENTIAL ZONE AREA : 533 ACRES (44%) PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

The location and point of intersection

between the radial on the periphery of
sector 1 and the outer ring road is located
in the forest of Samridhi – Anusuya;
bringing a feeder/distributor node into this
area is detrimental to the forest, besides
providing an opportunistic penetration
from the canyon path that links
Kuilapalayam village to the settlement of
Sangha. Additionally, extending this outer
ring road further, towards Revelation –
Minati settlement, will plug into the
network of the regional road
development.

The radial between sector 1 and the Gaia park cuts off the residents from the green space, while working as a singly loaded road, thereby
inviting bypass traffic from the outer ring road to the Industrial and Cultural Zones. This road is also placed over a high percolation area.

The location and point of intersection between the radial linking sectors 1 & 2 with the outer ring road is located on a fragile point of
convergence of the extracted flow area; this road will increase erosion as it will act as a water flow collector channel. Due to the level
drop from the node of the same radial at the crown to this point (+5m drop)
RESIDENTIAL ZONE AREA : 533 ACRES (44%) PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

This radial needs to be buffered

with a shelter belt plantation along
the southern edge to manage
surface and roof run-off, and it is
advisable to create water
catchment tanks by enhancing the
natural depressions at the merging
point of the extracted flows. These
interventions will create unique
urban landscaped spaces for the
settlements in sectors 1 & 2.

The issues at this node are similar

to the issues laid out in Point 3.
With development there will be an
increase in the impervious area,
which will increase the surface run-
off.

An outer ring road from sector 3 to 5 is superfluous given the existence of the panchayat road. The radial between sectors 4 & 5,
Providing a private outer ring road to control the traffic and prevent penetration into the city is wrongly placed in relation to the
when the gap between the two roads is no greater than a couple of metres to 15 metres is a surface water flow, existing forests
statement of the failure of cooperative planning with the region. With this road, we are stating and the head of the canyon of
that Auroville is only able to exist in isolation as an experiment in human unity. Aurodam. This radial should be
shifted or even
The radial between sector 5 and the park that buffers the International Zone is not only located
over an ecologically sensitive area but also denies the residents of this urban area an opportunity
to access a natural land feature that could enhance their quality of life. Furthermore, this radial,
like the radial mentioned in Point 2, cuts off the development’s access to the park while being
singly loaded, inviting bypass traffic.
 INTERNATIONAL ZONE AREA : 150 ACRES (12.3%) PROBLEMS
The radial in sector 5 is supposed to
have a link at this point over the
canyon to provide the main entry
point for the International Zone. Not
only would this be detrimental to the
green buffer that segregates the two
zones, but it would require extensive
barriers to prevent spillover of the
external tourist/service traffic into
the Residential Zone and the green
area.

This is the present vehicular link to

the panchayat road with two
cremation sites and a burial plot near
the point of intersection. This point is
also a low-lying area with water
flowing to Irumbai tank. It is 950 m
from Kottakarai and 800 m from
Ediyanchavadi on the panchayat
The land along the periphery of the International Zone, including the lands between the
road, with an established right of use
master plan 2025 outer ring road and the panchayat road, is low-lying with a high water table.
preventing any conflict with both the
This area is ideal for food growing, water harvesting with ponds, and for access to potable
villages in terms of spillover of
water when saline intrusion occurs towards the eastern side of the city.
commercial development benefits.
This is the edge of the International Zone with a radial marking it. The issue here is the
existence of the village of Bharatipuram, populated by people squatting on peromboke lands
without ownership documents.
 INTERNATIONAL ZONE AREA : 150 ACRES (12.3%) SOLUTIONS

Avoid having the entry to the

International Zone via sector 5 of
the Residential Zone and integrate
the forested area of Aurodam,
which can be developed as a
protected urban forest without
bypass traffic.

Use the present access from the

panchayat road as the main access
with a distribution ring that
connects to the crown to limit the
movement of the visitors within the
zone, while providing access to the
various projects from this ring via
spokes that are dead ends.

Integrate the present panchayat road as the outer ring road and zone the lands that lie alongside as low-impact development with
designated locations for waterbodies/mixed forests to improve water percolation and landscaping by urban agriculture, including
pasturelands and cows to build up soil fertility.

Finally, it is inadvisable, for socio-political reasons, to have any type of road planned, drawn or even indicated as passing through, near or
over the village of Bharatipuram, now or in the future, until there is a change of legislation on land-ownership and squatters’ rights in India.
INDUSTRIAL ZONE AREA :251ACRES (20.7%) PROBLEMS

The location of the outer ring road

and its intersection with the radial
is in a lowlying area, and it is too
close to the village of
Bharatipuram/Kottakarai. This is
an ideal location for water
catchment with ponds and shelter
belt plantation.

The access road for the Industrial

Zone is indicated at this point in
the master plan 2025. Of the three
intersection points between the
planned radials and the outer ring
road, this would have the least
collateral damage.

The planned outer ring road, as per the master plan 2025, that would link the Kuilapalayam – Allankuppam villages to the north of
Auroville would be strategically detrimental on many levels. This road would provide an easy and convenient bypass access from the East
Coast Road to these villages.

The Industrial Zone is on the top of the watershed of the village of Allankuppam, and the gully flow has created canyons over time that
need to be buffered with shelter belt plantations with a minimum width of 25 metres to prevent further erosion and build up the
percolation capacity and soil moisture.
INDUSTRIAL ZONE AREA :251ACRES (20.7%) SOLUTIONS

The outer ring road should be

merged with the panchayat road
from the Residential Zone to the
village of Allankuppam

Zone the lands bordering the

canyons as buffer zones with a
minimum width of 25 metres, and
undertake shelter belt plantation at
the earliest, so that when the
development of nearby land is
undertaken, Auroville will not have
to undertake post-development
remedial action for erosion from
the increased non-permeable
surfaces created.

Zone the lands between the canyons

for minimum and non-intrusive
development.

The lands beside the village of

Bharatipuram/ Kottakarai should be
zoned as outlined in recommendation -
4- of the International Zone.
TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Electric Vehicle (EV) Technology- Auroville is looking to

expand the use of electric vehicles (small electric cars,
electric bicycles and electric motorcycles).

Other Transport Services Include:

• Bus Service
• Bike/Scooter On Hire
• Taxi Services
• Autorickshaws

It Is Encouraged For The Use Of Bicycles And

Pedestrianisation.
Electric Vehicles Parade In Auroville
 SERVICES

1. WATER
• An average water supply of 3800 cu.m. per day, amounting to 1.4 million
cu.m. annually from almost 60 wells.
• The systems consist of – underground containment and prefilteration
tanks, and overhead oxygenating and polishing ponds. The resulting ’gray’
water from the system may then be reinserted into the water table, or used
for local irrigation purposes.
• Another technology used for wastewater treatment is effective
microorganisms(EM). It is an organic liquid composed of microbes, which
quicken the decomposition of waste and compose. When effectively added
to waste water, it reduces the amount of sludge in the black and grey water.

2. SEWERAGE AND SANITATION:

• All residential units have their own system for sewage disposal.
• There are about 20 community-level treatment facilities (for residential as
well as industrial and commercial units) consisting of septic tanks, Imhoff
tanks, baffle reactors, and root zone and lagooning systems.

3. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL-

• It is estimated that about 3500 kg of wastes are generated per week.
About 2000 kg. of this quantity is organic and generally composted at the
site itself.
• About 1000 kg. is recycled and the balance of 500 kg is incinerated in the
Health Centre at 800 °C.
Quarry used for a biological
wastewater treatment
(lagooning)

4. POWER:
• The total connected load is 3.17 megawatts,
of which 1.5 megawatts are domestic and the
rest is for industrial and commercial purposes.
• About 150 houses use solar PV electricity and
heaters for their energy requirements.
• In addition, there are about 140 solar water-
pumping systems and 30 wind-driven pumps.
• The power distribution of around 600
consumer connections is carried through a
system of 28 distribution transformers and 30
km of underground cables.
Wind Turbine
SERVICES
SUSTAINABILITY-
Within auroville, several research institutes are continuously working on innovative
processes to reduce energy and water use by modifying and integrating new and
existing technologies.
• Solar technology- for water pumping, water heating, street lightinng, and in some
cases electricity generation.
• Solar electricity- use of photovoltaic panels.
• Wastewater Technology- The Center for Scientific Research (CSR) has applied
innovative methods to customize the available wastewater technologies to fit the
various Auroville community needs. The CSR wastewater systems designs are based
around tenets of simplicity, affordability, and need for minimal energy input.
• Wind Technology- Few projects and communities within Auroville take advantage
of wind technology for energy production. The few projects that do take advantage
of this renewable technology use the power generated solely for their water
systems
The solar panel
 SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
• It demonstrates how 'urban' & 'rural' areas can
complementarily develop in an integral and holistic
way for their mutual benefit and well-being.
• The approach of its Master Plan is to create equitable
and economically sound society.
• It is a city that economizes on land needs by
introducing sustainable development approaches.
• Implications in terms of design and materials, of
reduction in energy consumption, and adoption of
eco-friendly practices.
OPPORTUNITIES
• It breaks new ground in settlement-planning a way as
to help other cities, which are experiencing high
urbanization trends.
• Integration of both city and environment for the master
plan.
WEAKNESS
• Apart from missing links in the outer circular road in
the eastern part of the township, the road network in
the township is devoid of street furniture, signage and
indicators.
• Geometrics of the major linkages to the township both
from the East Coast road and the Tindivanam-
Pondicherry road, as well as of the internal roads,
access and approaches need to be improved.
THREATS
• Even with the increasing tourist incoming into the city,
the traffic and parking facilities are not provided as per
the demand.
• With the increase in the development it may be
hazardous for the existing green belt way into the
future which has to be taken care of in further
development plans.
 REFERENCES

• http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/masterplan/phy_soc.htm
• https://www.auroville.org/contents/135
• https://www.auroville.org/system/file_attachments/files/000/002/658/original/AV.city.landuse.e
mail.ver.04A.pdf?1455605680
• http://www.auroville.info/ACUR/masterplan/development.htm#up
• http://www.green.aurovilleportal.org/agro/355-auroville-city-area-land-suitablity-and-land-use-
proposal