SUCCESS STORY SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION URBAN SETTLEMENT LANDSCAPE 13

SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION, URBAN SETTLEMENT-LANDSCAPE - Gorai Dumpsite Closure

SUCCESS STORY

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Technique:SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION, URBAN SETTLEMENT-LANDSCAPE Project:Gorai Dumpsite Closure Site:Mumbai, India Location Click the globe to see the technique on Google Earth Continent: Asia Country: India Site: Gorai, Mumbai, India Coordinates: Lat.: 19.23 Long.: 72.81 Brief introduction The neighbours of Mumbai can once again open their windows, which had been closed for more than two decades, thanks to the closure of the Gorai landfill site and the methane capture project. 19 hectares on which tons of waste were dumped have been transformed into a large green space, the air is decontaminated and the citizens’ quality of life has increased. The closure of the landfill site is an example of urban rejuvenation. Problems, causes and effects Since 1972, in Gorai, a suburb to the west of Mumbai, there had been a giant 19-hectare landfill site immediately adjacent to a residential area, blighting the lives of the neighbours. Owing to the pollution and the fetid air, many of them suffered respiratory problems and the hygienic and aesthetic conditions degraded the life of the district and the city. The Gorai Landfill Closure and Gas Capture has put an end to this situation. Mumbai, with its 17 million inhabitants, is one of India’s main generators of solid waste. Every day since the Gorai landfill site opened, 1,200 tons of waste were deposited there. In 2009 the accumulation of 2.34 million tons reached a height of 26 metres. However, until very recently, environmentally- and citizen-friendly waste management was not a municipal priority. This changed in the year 2000 with the Municipal Solid Waste Rules that made it compulsory to collect, transport and treat solid waste in hygienic, sanitary sites and not in open-air landfills. Over the years the waste rotted and the site emitted toxic gases that spontaneously combusted, leading to major fires and also poisonous liquids that polluted the groundwater and the surroundings.Therefore,in 2007 the Mumbai Supreme Court ordered the ambitious task of closing down the Gorai landfill site and transforming it into a green space to improve the neighbours’ quality of life and move forward towards a more environmentally friendly city. Over the next two years the Municipal Brihanmumbai Corporation planned the closure, decontaminated the area and transformed the space. Methane and lixiviate emissions were brought to an end and once the surface was covered in vegetation the bad odours, rodents and insects that populated the site disappeared, improving its hygiene. A project, which is still underway, was also started up to burn landfill waste and to generate electrical energy to supply the entire suburb with the evolved methane gas. Solutions/Project description A great green 19-hectare park was inaugurated in 2009. This is a truly charming space affording the best views of the city and of the Vipassana Buddhist Pagoda. The quality of life in Gorai is better and has pushed up the price of housing. The temperature in the area has dropped by several degrees and the clean air no longer reveals the history of this place nor the reasons why the neighbours used to complain. Conclusions The execution of the project is a good example of how scientific urban waste management is viable and decisively contributes to the construction of more sustainable urban settlements and landscape. Mumbai is currently starting to close down Deonar, the city’s oldest landfill site. Images     TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUE DATA Technique SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION, URBAN SETTLEMENT-LANDSCAPE Icon Cathegory E - Settlements, architecture and movable handworks Identification code E10 Other Success stories RELATED TECHNIQUES Author: Borja M. Iglésias [Author of the Form: Alanna Gerardi] Reference: Gorai Dumpsite Closure http://fad.cat/citytocity/5/en/ DeepeningDownload PDF