Vishwamitri: A River and its Reign

Abstract

In response to the degraded condition of the Vishwamitri River, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (Vadodara, India) commissioned HCP Design, Planning, and Management Pvt. Ltd. to develop a riverfront design. The resulting proposal, the Vishwamitri Riverfront Development Project (VRDP), intends to mitigate flooding, prevent human-wildlife conflict with crocodiles, increase water quality, and create opportunities for economic development. Since its release in 2014, however, the VRDP has received criticism from numerous NGOs, community activists, and local academics due to the negative environmental and social impacts. In collaboration with the ASP Foundation, a local stakeholder and VRDP critic, our interdisciplinary team of ecologists, landscape architects, and policy students, including a resident of Vadodara, developed an alternative design framework. To envision a nuanced, holistic future for the river, we first critiqued the VRDP based on current, peer-reviewed literature, regional and global trends in river development, and previous criticisms presented by stakeholders. After identifying overarching criticisms and a two month field visit to Vadodara, we crafted a plausible design framework for the Vishwamitri River that responds critically, creatively, and specifically to the human and ecological needs of Vadodara and the wider watershed context. In light of the growing body of knowledge in urban ecology, urban stormwater management, and watershed dynamics in India and beyond, in addition to local sentiments on the river’s identity and cultural importance, our work articulates a vision of complementary dynamism between Vadodara and the Vishwamitri. This vision will be used by our client as a starting point for a fully-developed alternative to the VRDP.