Title: Greening the roadway: an assimilated planning approach and techniques based on spatiality

Authors: Tamosi Bhattacharya

Addresses: Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Private Limited, A-8, Green Park, New Delhi-110016, India

Abstract: The special attribute of environmental parameters having no spatial or temporal boundary is what caters to the inter-relationship between various kinds and patterns of adjoining land uses. Understanding of the magnitude and directional flow of impact has given rise to an interlinked conceptual base to plan for a greener roadway in an Indian perspective. The inter-linkages as established in this study are between road runoff and liquid waste from adjacent settlements; vehicular emission of greenhouse gas, air pollutants and noise and exposure of road side dwellers to the same due to lack of adequate sink or abatement measures; huge amount of ground water extraction for road construction at a time and conflicts with local users, etc. These parallel moving issues have been addressed through simultaneous multi-approach (SMA) solution. It involves meticulous spatial arrangement of paved and unpaved surface within the right of way (RoW) and use of integrated management system for tapping road runoff and creating emission sink; utilisation of special material combination for reduction in air pollutants; innovative techniques and simultaneous approaches to manage liquid and solid waste generated in the vicinity; devise reparation activities to compensate for usage of natural resources, etc.

Keywords: simultaneous multi-approach; bio-retention; carbon footprint; percolation ponds; spatial planning; greener roads; road greening; India; road runoff; liquid waste; vehicle emissions; greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; air pollution; air quality; noise exposure; groundwater extraction; paved surfaces; unpaved surfaces; integrated management; waste management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2016.079478

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2016 Vol.15 No.4, pp.352 - 368

Accepted: 18 Sep 2015
Published online: 29 Sep 2016 *

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