10th National Conference on Technological Trends (NCTT09) 6-7 Nov 2009

Planning for Historic Cities A Case Study of the Historic City Area of Madurai
P.Shabitha, Dept. of Architecture & Dr.S.Nagan, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai For the last two thousand years it has been Introduction a great centre of south Indian culture and India, a land of great civilizations has its civilization. It is one of the few cities to have highest institutional expression in cities where its enjoyed a continuous history which can be traced magnificent tradition was elaborated and refined. back to pre historic times, the origin traced back The traditional Indian city has had more than one to the 6th century B.C. function and reason for its existence, as capitals, pilgrim, temple, educational centers etc. Many Politically Madurai was the capital of a such cities still thrive with activities and have single dynasty, the Pandyas who ruled become a part of the larger cities. All such continuously as far as is known from the early traditional inner city areas apart from being years of Christianity down to the 14th century. historical documents are an expression of This fact more than anything else is enough to diversity and values of traditional cultures. But gain for Madurai a unique place. Even after the today many such areas are being threatened, Pandyas, Madurai has continued as the capital of physically degraded, or destroyed by the impact some dynasty or other for four centuries more. It of haphazard urban growth. has therefore had a continuous history as a political capital for eighteen centuries. At the Temple towns are one such type where the present day Madurai is still one of the premier temple had played a vital role in shaping the cities in the State next only to Chennai in social structure of the place. These areas have importance. been places of life, vitality, wealth, power, enlightenment and culture. However, the Madurai is considered to be designed traditional values of these inner city areas have according to the Rajdhani plan, described in been marginalized in the process of urban growth. Manasara, one of the Shilpasastra, and has the The personality and character of a city is the result fivefold concentric rectangular formation with of centuries of growth in the course of which new Meenakshi- Sundareshwara Temple at a very elements are juxtaposed with the older ones. center point. It is regarded as the most typical city reflecting the ideal concept. Madurai is a city Temple cities in South India whose formation was mostly reconstructed in the The temple cities in south India are formed 16th century by the Nayak as a new ruler after the with the enlargement process of the principle Muslim invasion. Therefore, it is comprehensible temple as the center. In and around Tamil Nadu, that the Hindu ideal city plan was applied for the there are several temple cities of the shape of a revival of Madurai, and Hinduism, too. It is concentric rectangle with a large Hindu temple as considered, at the same time, to have its center. They are regarded as the cities synchronized with the trend of social constructed according to the ideal city plan reorganization based on the cosmology, which described in Shilpasastra, the ancient Sanskrit had been driven by the tie-up between the Royal texts. There are few cities representing such a Power and the Temple. clear concentric form, which symbolizes the structure of the Cosmos, on a city scale, though cities and temples reflecting the cosmology are The present Scenario The city has flourished as the cultural, often observed. economic and politic center of Southern India from ancient times and still keeps active urban Madurai life. The city well maintains the traditional Madurai, well known as a pilgrim centre festivals in which the processions are performed today, is one of the oldest cities in south India. along the concentric streets.

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Kuyavar palayam Rd

Munichalai

Kamarajar Salai

1.

Meenakshi Amman Temple

Ri ve r

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N Masi Street

Va

eet irai Str N Chit

S Peru mal Mai stry Str eet S Marre t St S Veli Street

2
reet N Veli St

St ola i Mo van

Maistry St

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At present this historic core is functioning as the Central Business District of the city and covers an area of 2.5 Sq.Km (8.5% of total city area) and has a population of approximately 1 lakh against the cities total population of 9, 23,000. Thus the inner city area has a distinct character as the commercial (32.5 % share of commercial activity) and a religious center. The Inner historic city The old city of Madurai was a well planned one with bazaars and many broad streets with high and luxurious mansions on both sides. The city was built around the temple complex as the focal point with a combination of a concentric street pattern. The streets concentric to the temple complex formed the major streets viz., Chithirai Streets, Avani Moola Streets and Masi Streets. The next order of streets is perpendicular to the above streets and lead to the temple entrances.

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E Veli Street
E Marret St

2. Kali Kovil

Palace Road

3. Iyanar Kovil 4. Vinayakar Kovil 5. Kariamal Perumal Kovil Tank 6. Kudal Alazhar Temple
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10. Holy Emmanuel Church 11. St George's Church

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Arupukottai Rd

12. Kajimer Mosque 13. Pudumandapam 14. Raya Gopuram 15. Nagara Mandapam 16. Anna Kuli Mandapam 17. ThirumalaiNayakar Mahal 18. Pathu Thoon Street

S Avani Moola St

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W Avani Moola Street

Khansa Mettu St

21 11 23 7
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Pandian St

Vadampoki St

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19. Rani Mangammal palace 20. Mangammal Choultry 21. Vadugar Palace

20
W Veli Street Railway Station Railway Junction

Map 4.2 HERTIAGE ZONE A

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TPK Road

22. Vilaku Thoon 23. Khadi Bhavan 24. Remain Of Fort Wall 25. School In N Veli St
To

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26. Brahmin Cluster 27. Chettiar Cluster 28. Sourastra Cluster 29. Yadava Cluster

7 e NH nelv iru Th

Periyar Bus Stand Thiruvalluvar Bus Stand

40 20 0 50 3010

The developments within and beyond these streets are on an irregular pattern. A definite hierarchy of street pattern was adopted with the width of the Streets decreasing as they branched out, ending up in stone paved streets and lanes - the width of some being just 0.60 m. The entire city was enclosed within the fort walls and surrounded by a moat. The fort walls have been razed down and the moat filled up to form the present day Veli Streets. Besides the temple, the palace towards the south east of the temple formed the major structure of the town. The bazaar activities were concentrated around the temple and palace and continue to the present day.

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1372 - Captured by Vijayanagara King Whole Madurai Divided into 72 Divisions 3 Major Communities Migrated 1559 - Nayak Dynasty 1801-1947 British Colonial Rule 1837 - Demolition of Fort Wall Head Quarters for South zone

HISTORIC CITY 1757

RIVER VAIGAI

MADAKULAM SETTLEMENT HISTORIC CITY

PALACE AREA

1875 - Railway - Industrial Development Migration from Rural Communities Core - Remained Compact
TANK TEMPLE

PALAGANATHAM SETTLEMENT

ANNUPPANADI

DURING EARLY CENTURIES SETTLEMENT

Houses - Traditional + Colonial Arches Northern Part - Institutions Victor Mayer Bridge Across Vaigai Palaces - Adminstrative Offices Outer Street - Veli Veedi Vacant Plots in Core Area - Religious Inst & Com Markets
CHANNEL

TEMPLE

PALACE AREA

6th Century BC - Prehistoric Settlements 9th Century - Settlement Between 2 Branches of Vaigai Fortified Capital Of Pandian Kingdom City Plan - Around Temple ( Kings Palace) - 4 Main Streets - Occupied by different groups After Independence Phenominal Urban Growth Area - 51.82 Sq Km
VAIGAI RIVER

VAIGAI RIVER

1970

Source: Heritage Development plan for Madurai prepared by DTCP 1998

Unpublished Thesis Conservation Plan for Historic City of Madurai by G.Balaji, 2002, SPA
1857
COMMUNITIES PERUMAL TEMPLE CHANNEL MUGHAL SETTLEMENTS

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PALACE AREA

FORT WALL

TEMPLE

COMMUNITIES

CHANNEL

0 0 1 2

1 3

2 4 5

3 6 7

4 8

HISTORIC CITY 1560

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Streetscape The buildings in the inner city area are continuous row types, varying from single floor to seven floors, irrespective of the width of the street thereby changing the scale of the streets. Approval has been given for many buildings in the contravention of building regulations that imposes curbs on elevation of such structures to ensure the clear view of the Meenakshi Temple and its majestic towers. The concentric streets were once to human scale but as one enters the inner streets, the human scale is lost. The high rise commercial structures and advertisement hoardings dominate the area. The visual quality of the temple gopuram has become less important. Land use The major functions of the area include the temple, whole sale market, Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal, Head Post office, Bus stand, Railway station, Hospitals, Cinema Halls and tourist lodging facilities. The floating population is more than 1.5 lakhs per day. Due to the existence of non-confirming and conflicting land uses within the area such as whole sale market, lorry booking offices, godowns, government offices etc., the area has lost its sanctity and badly needs conservation. Commercial land use is in the form of linear strips along major & minor roads typical of any traditional Indain city. Some shops cater to pilgrims, tourists and local people while the others irrelevantly cater to the whole region. The whole sale markets along masi & avani streets are 3000 in number, occupying an area of 51.62 hectares. The first floor of houses is used for storage for shops. Surveys show that about traders willing to shift 67% out side the CBD. Traffic and transportation The CBD acts as a central magnet in attracting traffic from all directions. The Veli streets on all four sides carry the maximum traffic. The traffic analysis on all the CBD cordons indicates that truck traffic is predominant in all the radial corridors. The in and out flow of commodities has to necessarily take place along these streets. The Madurai CBD which is also a

centre for religious activities, with the increase in population and consumption, the demand for large scale movements of goods has also become necessary. Parking of vehicles poses a serious threat to the effective utilization of road and street Space particularly in the CBD of Madurai LPA. The entire network within CBD is named as 'Street'. A Street by definition is to provide access to all the properties and ensure smooth movement of people and certainly not intended for high volume vehicular movement like roads where access is controlled. While the streets for the CBD do provide the necessary access to a large number of properties (primarily shops and residence), the intrusion of vehicles both fast and slow moving vehicles on a large scale has tampered not only easy movement of people but also defeated tile very basic function of the street. The vehicles not only require space for movement but also space for parking. In the absence of organized off street parking, the only alternative left in CBD is to utilize the street space for parking. This has greatly, hampered the efficient movement of traffic within CBD. The vehicles which are used by the local residents of Madurai city and the vehicles used by private operators by the floating population demand parking space in the CBD as it comprises of both commercial and religious activities. Heritage Elements Madurai as a whole is of great cultural and heritage importance. However the originally planned town around the Meenakshi Temple is the most important from the heritage point of view. There are a number of religious and cultural buildings in the area. Based on various studies of the history of the city, the various cultural and architectural elements of the area various heritage elements have been identified. The heritage elements include Temples, churches, mosques, tanks, mandapams, palaces, heritage elements of historic value like fort wall remains, buildings associated with important events and residential clusters of various communities with distinct architectural character. High market value has made the houses a source of income. There is a
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steep increase in commercial use for which plots are sub division and there is an increase in vertical height. This results in more crowd and vehicular movement. The traditional residential clusters are used for rental purpose. The longer plots are used, as godowns and the traditional maadams are rental areas. 90% in residents in the cluster have shifted out and a number of shopping complexes have come up in these clusters. The carrying capacity of historic houses is a maximum of 20 and an average of 8. The open spaces are rented. The open space ratio is 0.6. The extension beyond fort walls and establishment of railways led to economic development high-density development the higher income group migrated out. During the Chithirai festival in April May, the whole of Madurai celebrates the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Kalyanam. The idol of Sundararajar, Meenakshi's brother is brought from the Alagar temple and the festival goes on for ten days and witnessed by thousands of pilgrims from all over India. This festival takes place at Meenakshi Amman temple south of River Vaigai. During the Chithirai festival, in order to entertain the people thronging in lakhs, an exhibition at Tamukkam ground is also conducted. The seasonal problems arise mainly on account of devotees coming during festivals. The important aspects to be looked into are water supply, solid waste management, public conveniences, eviction of encroachments and improvement of roads. Drinking water to be provided for during festival days for pilgrims along the route (Alagar kovil road) through which the deity is taken. This would necessitate the provision of public water fountains / water taps, which could be used by the local population supplemented by water tankers during festival days. The solid waste generation during festival periods is very high. To counter this problem, additional collection and dumping points need to be identified along the procession routes, with use of tipper Lorries and temporary staff for its disposal. Another requirement to the floating population during festivals is public conveniences. To ease the problems to the

devotees thronging the route of procession and near the temple it is suggested to set up permanent public conveniences with flush toilets and mobile toilets. In the approach to protect the cultural resources inside the historic city of Madurai that involves complexes like temples, communities, palaces, market palaces streets and open spaces, tanks etc it is essential to demarcate the heritage zone in the master plan. This zone should be much more specific than urban renewal plan. This provides greater control over the buildings within the zone There are two development plans laid for the Madurai core area namely The Urban Renewal programme for Madurai, 1998 and the Integrated Development Plan for the Heritage Town of Madurai, 1999. These two plans almost follow the master plan strategy and they concentrate on the religious and monuments only leaving the settlement alone. The delineated boundary of the plans totally leaves the historical boundary of the area leading to the ignorance of the area. The reason for the neglect was not given or even stated by the programme. The two plans concentrate only on the monuments and religious building leaving the rest of the town. The word heritage to them becomes restricted to the buildings only. Recently the heritage plan for Madurai has been prepared under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Shifting of non-confirming uses and incompatible activities of the area can help in decongestion of the city. But the alternative use of these areas must be considered. The planning and development of the historic city area can be oriented towards adaptive reuse projects of significant buildings/ landmarks with the involvement of public/private sector investment. Tourism development projects generating profits that can be channelised to finance other interventions/investments. Home improvement loans through cooperative (as for repair of chawls in Mumbai) can be provided. Along with infrastructure and up gradation schemes for inner city/ heritage zones, area based
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transformational urban renewal of dilapidated/old area and public housing could also be considered for the historic area of the city. The tourism potential of the city has also not been explored its fullest. Some initiatives have been taken up recently. Since the city doesnt have much major industries and the tourism industry can be developed to benefit both the people of the city and the tourist as well. It is clear that the temple being the major centre of attraction; it will continue to attract more and more people from within and outside the city. The activity not only needs but also promotion so as to attract more tourists to sustain the core city as a prominent activity centre and also preserve the heritage quality of the area. Hence a comprehensive approach to planning of such heritage areas is the need of the day were heritage conservation, land use planning, roads and traffic management and tourism should go hand in hand. Sustainable development of heritage cities like Madurai depends upon the commitment and involvement of local communities. Hence the planning should also take into account peoples participation and should be from the grass root level. The city is a thriving city and the development process needs to be looked at not just form the heritage point of view. The major areas that need attention are proper land use planning, infrastructure specially improvement of roads as the historic city faces huge traffic issues due to narrow roads and lack of good mass transportation system as in big cities, creating work opportunities for the local people, and development of the tourism industry and hence accentuating the historic significance of the city. The planning process should have an integrated approach with long term vision. Issues regarding the development process should be linked and analyzed specially in historic cities since the city has been planned hundreds of years back. Hence planning for such a city taking into consideration contemporary needs and issues and integrating the solutions in such a way that the historic significance is not lost is important. The development process should however not be

curtailed as it is important that the city is home to a huge population.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Madurai through the Ages by Dr. D Devakunjari The Great Temple of Madurai by K.Palaniappan Thalai Varalaru by R. Panchanatham Pillai Town Centre Approach to Urban Renewal Ministry of Housing & Local Government, UK 5. Thesis - Conservation Plan For Historic City of Madurai by G.Balaji, 2002, SPA, New Delhi 6. Thesis - Study of Spatial Formation of Madurai by Ayako Ostuji, 2003, Kyoto University 7. Documenting Heritage: Some Observations on the Indian Situation by Dilip K. Chakrabarti 8. Article on The case for an Indian charter by A . G . Krishna Menon 9. Traffic Improvement Schemes for Madurai City Study Report by Prof. Dr. N.S.Srinivasan 10. Heritage plan for Madurai 1998 - DTCP

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