Hill Towns Research Articles

Formulating Contextual Building Regulations for Hill Towns of India: The Case of Shimla

Hill towns of India are best known for their salubrious climate, scenic beauty, picturesque setting and healthy living environment. Hill towns have been experiencing high pressure for development for the last three decades and as a result, are facing numerous problems related to new development that is contextually inappropriate and leads to deteriorated living conditions and poor environmental quality. Most of the issues of existing development are due to contextually inappropriate building regulations, which are formulated without consideration of the geoenvironmental and developmental context of environmentally sensitive hill towns. Moreover, no scientific and systematic approach is followed for the formulation of regulations. A new approach based on various intrinsic characteristics and factors is required for formulation of building regulations in the particular context to hill towns of India. The relevant issues related to building regulations are highlighted in this paper along with the identification of a more suitable building regulatory system for the specific context of hill towns. The article suggests a new approach for the formulation of building regulations for hill towns, based on various intrinsic characteristics and different factors, which are crucial for contextual development in hill towns.

Building Regulations Related to Energy and Water in Indian Hill Towns

Building Regulations Related to Energy and Water in Indian Hill Towns

Peri-Urban Matters. Changing Olive Growing Patterns in Central Italy

For centuries, olive growing has played a major role in the central regions of Italy, with hectares of olive groves surrounding hill towns and hamlets as part of a strong deep-rooted farming tradition. With reference to Lazio and Abruzzo, this article makes use of historical documentation, geographical surveys and in-depth interviews with professionals and experts, in order to provide evidence of how olive growing, once of the mixed type, now with specialized cultivations, has somehow challenged the structural features of traditional landscapes. In some cases, this ancient farming tradition has been awarded the ‘Protected Designation of Origin Brand’ according to strict technical production policies. Besides intensive crops, today also practiced on flat ground, for some years now, olive trees have been cultivated by ‘hobby farmers’. This is frequent in fringe areas, threatened by urban sprawl, within small plots belonging to detached family homes conferring a sense of rural ‘revival’. Whether all these diverse settlement patterns are socially and economically sustainable is debatable. Definitely, such persistence in land use, which now and again can be read even as a material survival of certain tree specimens, allows for olive farming as an enduring cultural practice in the face of increasing urbanization.

Tourism Induced Challenges in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Hill Towns: Case of Pahalgam

Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the crucial urban basic services which influence the public health and environment of a town. While hill towns in India are already facing tremendous pressure due to lack of infrastructure, unfavourable climatic condition, difficult terrain, and public apathy towards waste management, Tourism induced challenges further aggravate the issue. Although in case of hill towns, tourism has a profound impact on the economy of the town, it comes with new challenges in terms of waste generation resulting into negative impacts on the sensitive hill environment. It is in this context, an effort has been made in this paper to examine the current issues and challenges in MSWM practice in Pahalgam, a small hill town located in the state of J&K, commonly known as “Mini Switzerland”, with special reference to impact of tourism on overall MSWM of the town. The methodology adopted includes review of case of SWM in other hill towns in India, and the legal and policy aspects at the national level. Primary survey of households and hotels was conducted by using stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected through structured questionnaire containing key information related to the issues and challenges in MSWM with special focus on tourism. Interview of city officials was conducted to capture institutional perspective.The study revealed that, in Pahalgam, tourism sector is the major generator of solid waste, Religious-touristic activities during the peak season. The study also finds crucial issues related to lack of capacity of the local body and the issues related to lack availability of plain land, improper location of waste collection infrastructure due to undulated terrain and inadequate collection capacity. The study also finds very strong correlation between unscientific disposal of MSW and degrading surface water quality and increasing occurrence of water borne diseases in the downstream during the peak tourist season.

Approach to formulate setback regulations for Indian hill towns

Abstract Urban settlements in India are growing tremendously and have critical issues related to uncontrolled and inappropriate development, environmental degradation, pollution, high energy consumption, and inefficient infrastructure which results in deteriorating living conditions. Therefore, achieving systematic and contextual development is the most challenging concern in all urban developments. This scenario is most critical in environmentally sensitive hill towns which have witnessed huge inappropriate development in last few decades. However, to achieve systematic and contextual development different building regulations like, floor area ratio (F.A.R.), setbacks, ground coverage, and height of building are enforced, but the problem of inappropriate development persists. Setback is a regulation which controls the spacing between buildings to have adequate solar exposure and ventilation. Presently, setback regulations are enforced uniformly throughout a hill town for a particular use which results in inadequate solar exposure to buildings, high energy consumption and unhealthy living conditions. This paper attempts to highlight a new approach to formulate setback regulations based on topography, slope direction, building height and access road for specific context to Shimla (the largest hilltop town of India) after the in depth study of problems of existing setback regulations in Indian hill towns.

Impact of building regulations on Indian hill towns

Unique development pattern is evolved in response to various geo-environmental constraints which include difficult topography, complex geological structure, adverse climate and fragile ecology in Indian hill towns. These hill towns have been experiencing high pressure for development due to rapid growth, increased employment opportunities and increased tourist influx from last few decades; as a result, tremendous development has taken place in these environmentally fragile hill towns, which has drastically changed the overall environment in and around hill towns. Different building regulations are enforced to guide and regulate developmental activity in hill towns and minimise the impacts of development on fragile and attractive environment of hill towns. But, as evident from existing development these building regulations are ambiguities and fail to address challenges for development in peculiar hill context and consequently have enormous impacts on the urban environment of hill towns.This study attempts to highlight various issues of existing development pattern and existing building regulations of hill towns along with various factors responsible for building regulations. Various impacts of building regulations on urban environment of hill towns are also highlighted in this study.

Mechanical properties of a weak pyroclastic rock and their relationship with microstructure

The geotechnical behaviour of very weak pyroclastic rocks controls both the failure mechanisms at the margins of rock mesas, where historic hill towns are often sited, as well as the stability of old underground cavities in urban areas of Central Italy. The study focuses on the mechanical behaviour of one of the pyroclastic materials forming the Orvieto mesa (pozzolana), not unlike other pozzolanas in Central and Southern Italy and other pyroclastites from volcanic districts worldwide. The mechanical properties under static conditions of this weakly cemented rock are reported. A petrographic and physical characterization of the material was preliminary conducted, followed by a wide range of mechanical tests: oedometer, uniaxial, and isotropic compression tests and indirect tensile tests. The stress–strain and strength behaviours of the pozzolana are highlighted and compared with those of the rock materials of the pyroclastic formation (tuff). The mechanical behaviour of the pozzolana is related to its physical and textural characters, with special reference to continuity of the groundmass and porosity. Finally, the role of the material behaviour at the field scale is discussed.

Building regulations for hill towns of India

Pressure for development on preferred locations in the Himalayan regions has increased during the last few decades due to urbanisation, population increase, and high influx of tourists. These preferred locations are converted into hill towns, making them preferred tourist destinations and the main economic activity generators of the hill regions of India. As a consequence of these factors, during the last three decades development activities have tremendously increased in these seismically vulnerable and environmentally sensitive hill towns. This unprecedented development has resulted in deterioration of living conditions, and environmental and visual quality in hill towns. Building regulations are enforced in hill towns to control/regulate the ever-increasing demand for development in hill towns but, as evident from the existing conditions, hill towns are experiencing numerous problems and concerns due to inappropriate and non contextual urban development buildings, thus highlighting inappropriateness of existing building regulations in the context of hill towns.This paper discusses existing development scenario and issues to accommodate future development in hill towns located in Indian Himalayan region, also highlights the state of existing building regulations through an in-depth study of building regulations in major hill towns, and briefly discuses possible approaches to change existing building regulations for achieving contextually appropriate development.

Building regulations for environmental protection in Indian hill towns

Environmental quality of a settlement is outcome of natural and built environment, which is crucial for sustainable development and maintaining ecological balance, and one of the most critical concerns faced by settlements in India. The degrading environmental quality of settlements is collective result of rapid development, increasing population, depleting vegetation and water resources, excess pollution and waste generation and results in ecological imbalance and climate change at large. The problem of degrading environmental quality is most crucial in hill towns of India which are ecologically most fragile and undergoing rapid urbanization.

Été 70: The Plein-Air Exhibitions of Supports-Surfaces

In the summer of 1970, artists of the collective Supports-Surfaces installed ephemeral works across the French Mediterranean coastline, a prelude to their first Paris exhi-bition as a named group. Curated by Claude Viallat and Jacques Lepage, and entitled Intérieur/Extérieur, artworks were situated on beaches, hill towns, riverbeds and landscapes in the lower Alps. This article examines how this peripatetic exhibi-tion, and its subsequent re-installation in Travaux de l’Été 70 (1971) at the Jean Fournier Gallery, interrogated the conventional practice of painting by dismantling its material components, challenging its social and political ideology, and sanction-ing artistic autonomy.

The evolving Incidence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Italy

Dear Editor, The epidemiology of chronic liver diseases (CLD) in Italy is changing. This is due to the decreasing rate of viral hepatitis [1] and the increased number of steatosis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cases, which are emerging as a new epidemic with a wide spectrum of metabolic disorders [2]. This scenario reflects what has occurred in Italy over the last few decades, as the vaccination program against the Hepatitis B virus (HBV), mandatory since the 1991, has helped to achieve complete immunization of newborns, adolescents and young adults [3]. Simultaneously, the epidemiology of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has evolved, due to factors such as increased blood transfusion safety, improvements in healthcare conditions, continuing expansion of intravenous drug use (IDU) and immigration from endemic areas. The lack of a prophylactic vaccine or universally active therapy has made the prevention of this chronic infection extremely important. Identification of infected persons and of the risk factors associated with acquiring a HCV infection may allow the development of strategies to reduce its incidence and control the resulting epidemic [4]. The prevalence of the HCV in Europe is nearly 1%, but this varies geographically along a north-south gradient, ranging from approximately 0.5% in Northern countries to 2% in Mediterranean areas [5]. In Northern Italy, the Dionysos study collected data regarding 6,917 inhabitants of two towns (Campogalliano and Cormons). The overall prevalence of positivity to the HCV antibody was found to be 3.2%. When the prevalence was analysed according to different age groups, it was relatively low ( 70 years [8]. The incidence of HCV infection is very difficult to estimate accurately because many patients with acute HCV infection are asymptomatic, and thus, do not present themselves for diagnosis [4]. Data from the US suggests that the annual incidence of HCV infection fell from 230,000 new cases per year in the late 1980s to approximately 35,000 new cases per year in the 1990s [4]. In Northern Italy, Mazzeo et al. carried out a study on the ten year incidence of HCV infection in a representative cohort of 1,646 adults from the general population of two Apennine hill towns. The incidence was 50.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants/year while 16.9% of anti-HCV positive subjects spontaneously cleared the virus while 7 out of 11 also lost HCV-RNA from both serum and leukocytes [9]. Although Italian scientific literature is rich with controversial epidemiological data obtained in limited populations, the pattern of HCV infection in the whole population overall is poorly defined. In a recent issue of Hepatitis Monthly, La Torre et al. estimated HCV infection trends in Italy during the years 1996-2006 [10]. To evaluate the incidence rates, the authors integrated specific ministerial data (Ministry of Health) with population data from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a public and independent research organization. A strong reduction was observed in the analyzed years (-12,45%), distributed equally among males (-12,23%) and females (-12,8%). Considering all age groups, the incidence rate decreased from 2.02 to 0.55 per 100,000. This reduction was significant in all age groups [10]. Reported prevalence and incidence rates of HCV infection in the community vary, not only depending on the specificity and sensitivity of the method used, but also according to the study design, geographical origin, and other characteristics of the included populations [4]. Many studies have been carried out in blood donors or in other specific populations (for example intravenous drug users). Scarce data is however available in the general population. The strengths of the study by La Torre et al. lie in the study design, which included the whole population over a long period of follow-up, and in the use of the joinpoint regression method. The latter is useful in determining the occurrence of changes during distinct periods of time in trend data. Thus, it identifies the calendar years in which statistically significant changes in the trends occur, and the annual percentage of change within the identified period. On the other hand, the potential limitations, as reported by the authors, are the poor quality of reporting. In conclusion, studies such as that of La Torre et al. [10], are crucial in increasing our knowledge of worldwide HCV infection rates and to plan health policy strategies.

Landslide susceptibility mapping of Tevankarai Ar sub-watershed, Kodaikkanal taluk, India, using weighted similar choice fuzzy model

This paper deals with the landslide susceptibility zonation of Tevankarai Ar sub-watershed using weighted similar choice fuzzy method in a GIS environment. There has been a rapid increase in landslide occurrences in the Kodaikkanal town and area surrounding the town specially in the settlements around the town and road links leading to and from the town. This necessitates a detailed study of slope instability problems in this area. It is observed that these incidences occur frequently during the monsoon and summer showers. Rainfall is identified as the prime triggering factor. Eleven physical factors that cause instability are identified as causative factors from the field investigations and landslide occurrences. Land use pattern, slope gradient, curvature and aspect, weathering index which are evaluated from the weathering ratios of different chemical constituents of the three major lithological variations, soil type, hydraulic conductivity of soil and soil thickness, geomorphology, drainage, and lineament have been utilized to prepare the spatial variation. A weighted similar choice fuzzy model which ranks a set of alternatives by identifying the similarity between the outcome of alternatives and outcome of ideal alternatives is used to rank the causative factors. Each causative factor is classified into sub-categories and rated based on their effect on stimulating the landslide event using qualitative judgment derived from field studies and landslide history. The prepared thematic maps of causative factors are integrated, utilizing the GIS software Arcmap. The outcome has projected the low, moderate, high, and very high landslide susceptibility zones. The high-hazard and very high-hazard areas fall in the northwestern part characterized by croplands and agricultural plantations, while the moderate hazard zones are seen in prominent settlements and low-hazard zones are observed in the sparse settlements and zones of less agricultural activity. The model is verified using the relative landslide density (R) index, and the susceptibility map is found to be consistent with the mapped landslide incidences. The results from this study illustrate that the use of weighted similar choice fuzzy method is suitable for landslide susceptibility mapping on regional scale in growing hill towns as Kodaikkanal town.

Indicators of waste management efficiency related to different territorial conditions

The amount of waste produced and the control of separate collection are crucial issues for the planning of a territorial Integrated Waste Management System, enabling the allocation of each sorted waste fraction to the proper treatment and recycling processes. The present study focuses on assessing indicators of different waste management systems in areas characterized by different territorial conditions. The investigated case study concerns the municipalities of Emilia Romagna (northern Italy), which present a rather uniform socioeconomic situation, but a variety of geographic, urban and waste management characteristics. A survey of waste generation and collection rates was carried out, and correlated with the different territorial conditions, classifying the municipalities according to altitude and population density. The best environmental performances, in terms of high separate collection rate, were found on average in rural areas in the plain, while the lowest waste generation was associated with rural hill towns.

Modernist Versions of Pastoral: Poetic Inspiration, Scientific Expertise, and the "Degenerate" Farmer

The well-known opening poem of Robert Frost's North of Boston, “Mending Wall” (1915), centers on a confrontation between the poet and a local farmer from “beyond the hill,” a description that marks its specific place in the hill towns of late nineteenth-century New England (11). “Good fences make good neighbors,” the farmer intones, his sole utterance punctuating the poem with emphatic and redundant assertions of individual separateness (12–13). The farmer's independence has been understood to signal Frost's concern with self-reliance, and such accounts capture a crucial element in his poetry. But the poem also bears the mark of a conflict that I will argue is central to the ongoing work Frost provisionally titled “Fairy Tales of Farming” (Frost, Notebooks 17). In the image of the farmer's resemblance to an “old-stone savage” (North 12), we see echoes of such writings as Henry Osborn's Men of the Old Stone Age: Their Environment, Life, and Art (1915), in which rural, agrarian “types” are seen as “pagan” and “heathen” (Weber 3). The poet's depiction of his farmer neighbor—“he moves in darkness”—mirrors the belief, widespread among Frost's contemporaries, that there was something “savage” (12) in what were termed “rural habits of mind.”1 In the evocation of the farmer's resolute separateness, as well as the intimation of agrarian devolution, we see the poem's direct engagement with contemporary scientific conceptions of rural inferiority and backwardness.

Classic English Hill Towns: Ways of Looking at the External Appearance of Settlements

Developing earlier publications on the external appearance of English hill towns, this paper examines in depth three such towns. The discussion focuses on four features that give rise to the distinct identity of ‘classic’ English hill towns in the landscape: the shape of the underlying landform; the way that the built form of the town has responded to that landform; the influence of this relationship on the external appearance of the town; and the visibility of the town in the wider landscape. A model is offered to explain the relationship between these four features, with particular attention being paid to the need for a realistic appraisal of what people can actually see of the town from surrounding viewpoints. The analysis reveals significant similarities between the towns but also crucial differences that mark out their individual, unique identities. More broadly, the analysis is relevant to appraising the external appearance of a wider range of settlement types, whether in England or internationally, that might in turn inform planning design policies.

Solid waste management techniques for the waste generated and brought down from campsites in the hill spots, trails and expedition tops

The increasing self-generated solid waste from the visitors in the hill towns, trails and expedition tops is one of the most adverse forms of human impacts in mountain environments. The direct managing authorities, such as municipalities in the hill spots, have no proper places to dispose of municipal waste nor the other infrastructure required nor adequate funds. The trekking and expedition areas are entirely dependent on the moral responsibilities of the local people, as well as visitors, because these locations are in remote areas, outside municipal boundaries. Based on five major case studies representing the Himalayas, the status of solid waste generation, its physical composition and management options in tourist [Kullu: 1,219 metres above average sea level (m), Rewalsar: 1,300 m, Manali: 2,050 m], trekking (in and around the Valley of Flowers: 1,830-4,330 m) and expedition areas (Pindari valley: 2,300-5,500 m) were studied. The inflow of visitors ranged from 150,000 to 1,140,251 in the hill spots, and from 25,000 to 116,392 in the expedition and trekking areas, respectively. The capita = t day 1 waste generation varied from 200-300 g in hill spots and from 200-288 g in expedition and trekking areas, respectively. Biodegradable waste varied from 65.2 to 83.1% of the total waste generated and was of greater quantity than non-biodegradable waste in expedition areas. Non-biodegradable waste was the predominant form in the expedition (66.4%) and trekking areas (84.5%). The ultimate aim of the study is to make the concerned local people, visitors and government aware of the need to harness energy from waste. This can be done in various ways including biocomposting, and the reuse and recycling of waste otherwise considered valueless and useless.

English Hill Towns: Some Further Steps in Appreciating their Identity in the Wider Landscape

The notion that English hill towns can be identified as a particular type of settlement is reinforced and a systematic analysis of the characteristics that contribute to their identity in the wider landscape is undertaken. Fourteen towns that meet the working definition of an English hill town are examined in terms of four sets of characteristics that constitute their distinctive features: the continuing imprint of their origins, location and early functions; the influence of natural physical features on their founding and subsequent development; their morphological form; and the visual characteristics that are the medium through which their identity is mainly experienced — pre-eminent amongst these are a town's visual profile, its figure – ground relationship with the landscape, and its skyline. Groups of hill towns with consistent characteristics are identified, including ‘classic’ English hill towns. While the analysis is not directed explicitly towards the development and implementation of planning policy, the fuller understanding of hill towns gained through the analysis should enrich the policy process.

The Appearance of English Hill Towns in the Landscape

England possesses its own distinctive type of modest hill town. One of the attractive features of these towns is that the whole settlement can be seen as an entity in the wider landscape. In the context of an increasingly positive approach to the regeneration of market towns, hill towns will be subject to development pressures. Planning policies will need to pay explicit attention to their appearance in the landscape. This paper explores the characteristics of English hill towns that contribute to their visibility, distinctiveness and attractiveness. It points towards positive planning policies for protecting and enhancing their appearance in a context that encourages appropriate development, while expressing concern for the quality of design in the countryside. Indicative components of a method for appraising the appearance of hill towns in the landscape that might be considered for use in preparing design policies are explored.

The "Angel Delusion" of 1806-1811: Frustration and Fantasy in Northern New England

In the spring of 1805, William Smythe Babcock-an itinerant preacher of morbid temperament and hypochondriacal tendencies-was a troubled man. For four years he had been struggling to build up the Freewill Baptist connection the hill towns of Vermont and New Hampshire, traveling many 1,500 miles and preaching some 300 sermons each year. Babcock had a sound New England pedigree, including a degree from Yale College, but by 1801 he had forsaken the bustling seaport of New Haven for the remote reaches of Vermont after experiencing a profound spiritual transformation (inspired, he later said, by the mysterious sound of dripping water on a dry night). Like so many eager men, he found the northern frontier a more hospitable environment for his deepening faith than the staid Congregationalism of old New England. But, also like so many other New England migrants, he found that his personal demons followed him to the frontier. Poverty, prolonged dependence on his father, and sheer loneliness conspired to create Babcock a state of arrested sexual and emotional development that would serve the backdrop to one of the more bizarre episodes the history of northern evangelicalism: the Delusion of 1806-11, which an entire community of Freewill Baptists-led by Babcock's wife-conversed regularly with an Angel of God and did his bidding.1 When William Babcock first encountered the woman who would become his wife and chief spiritual adviser, he was forty years old. In the fourteen years since his removal from New Haven to the rugged Vermont hill country, he had failed to establish himself either a minister or a man. Babcock's authority within Vermont's Freewill Baptist community-- a sect notorious for its internal squabbling-was never secure, parishioners repeatedly questioned his moral fitness and pastoral abilities.2 In May 1802, rumors of sexual impropriety dogged Babcock on his itinerant travels, the story spread that he had in the very midst of engagedness while preaching stopped and walked to the opposite side of the room & kissed a woman. Despite his excuses (I told them the woman desired it & I felt it duty to gratify her), listeners stayed away. In February 1804, he was still complaining that there were few or no ears-Some stood & heard a while & then went out, & had a hearty laugh, others were indifferent others hard a Mill-stone... all I said served to offend and harden. By the summer of 1804, William was thoroughly alienated and prayed to be delivered from his burden: hatred & Unbelief & Drunkenness & every evil reigning the house I dedicated to God ... deliver me & house from evil.3 Even more discouraging was his failure to find a wife. Still unmarried and unsettled at an age when most men were beginning to build families and reputations, he confided his sexual insecurity and spiritual doubts to the diary that he had begun keeping soon after his removal to Springfield, Vermont. Sounding very much like a frustrated schoolboy rather than a mature preacher of the Word, he recorded his unfulfilled ambition (I dreamt this Morning I was a Gen Officer, the Service of the Late Catherine of Russia), unsatisfied lust (I lay awake the greatest part of last night... vexed with the flesh, and indulging evil thoughts & suggestions), and childish fears (stories of hobgoblines, impressed upon mind when very young recurred often enough as almost to unman me). Obsessively cataloguing the many aches and pains that afflicted him over the years, Babcock is a study of a man deep emotional and physical distress. Every few moments Mind would be filled with hateful obscene Ideas-Beastly, dirty & mean, he confided to his diary the dark days of July 1801, when what he called my lonely Situation Life.... Without Mother, Brother, Sister, Wife, Children, House, Land, or any proper home became almost too much to bear. …

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy

Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescoes beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to celebrate the pleasures of Italian life.