Envisioned as a solution to the urban chaos and liveability challenges prevalent in many cities, Palava City stands as India’s first integrated greenfield smart city and serves as a model for sustainable urbanisation. With nearly 175,000 residents, it is built on the concepts of self-sufficient neighbourhoods, providing easy access to health, wellness, retail and transportation.

Twin Pillars of Sustainability

Palava City shares Lodha’s environmental sustainability policy, built on the twin pillars of decarbonisation and resilience. This approach aims to mitigate impact on climate change while safeguarding against its effects.

Decarbonisation

The city’s approach to decarbonisation begins with a focus on emissions, specifically related to construction materials such as cement, concrete, steel, glass, aluminium, other metals, plastics, wood, and more. Palava City has been built with material efficiency, which involves efficient designs and waste-limiting construction processes.

Palava City implements the grid-iron principle of urban planning, organising streets and buildings in a grid-like pattern to maximise space, facilitate navigation, and simplify utility and service implementation. Aligning the grid to true north/south orientation has been crucial for climate responsiveness of the buildings, improving daylight ventilation and reducing the heat gain in buildings. This alignment also optimises solar access and natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting and heating. It also enhances passive cooling and ventilation, which lowers air conditioning needs and energy consumption. With over 5 MWp of installed solar photovoltaic panels on rooftops and solar water heaters in each building, there are provisions to reduce dependency on fossil-fuel-based grid energy.

Planned with 25% green spaces and ample open areas, Palava City provides 8 square metres per person of open area, four times more than the average in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The city follows a 5-10-15 neighbourhood planning principle, which prioritises the importance of having daily necessities like play areas, convenience retail, schools within a 5-minute walk, recreational and entertainment venues within a 10-minute walking distance and

necessities like healthcare facilities, banks, and offices within a 15-minute walk. This approach is supported by wide, pedestrian-friendly walkways, shared bike stands, functional EV charging infrastructure, and public transport connecting the city to transit stations and commercial centres, reducing reliance on personal vehicles.

Resilience

Palava City’s designers have proactively incorporated measures to ensure the city is equipped to handle the impacts of climate change. With projections indicating a potential increase of up to 3°C, extensive physical climate risk assessments were conducted using global climate models.

A comprehensive approach was taken towards city water management to address challenges like heavy rainfall, water supply stresses, and wastewater treatment and reuse. Although Palava City currently relies on the regional water authority for supply, efforts are underway to continually develop local water sources to enhance supply diversity and resilience. The city also treats and repurposes all greywater (from sinks, baths, washing machines, etc.) and blackwater (comprising human waste and water) on-site. This treated water is used for purposes such as flushing and irrigation, contributing to sustainability efforts.

Solid Waste Management at Palava City

Designed to handle 60 tonnes of residential waste, the solid waste management plant installed at Palava City goes beyond recycling and focuses on innovative concepts of upscaling the waste. The plant is divided into six upscaling sections - waste to energy (biogas plant), green waste to fuel (bio pellet plant), coconut processing plant (100% use of coconut waste), biogas sludge plant, greenhouse and polyhouse, and an education centre that can train 50 students per session, about waste segregation and processing, paper and coir pot crafting, and the benefits of organic farming.

A real-life laboratory for the future

Palava City also serves as a living lab for the Lodha Net Zero Urban Accelerator, run in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Institute, a US-based think tank and Palava City’s knowledge partner. The Accelerator tests and scales pioneering initiatives towards a net-zero urban future for the built environment. With the unprecedented scale of urbanisation expected in India, it is critical to share this work at the Accelerator and Palava City as a template that demonstrates that growth decoupled from emissions is possible.

Global Cooling Prize

This international competition, which concluded successfully in April 2021, has spurred the development of air conditioning units that are substantially more efficient than traditional models and have a significantly lower climate impact. At Palava City, we are currently conducting tests on these state-of-the-art air conditioners to establish new performance benchmarks that reflect real-world conditions.

Accurate Benchmarking: Elevating Energy Awareness in Indian Homes

In an attempt to curb the household energy consumption and carbon emissions, the UrjaAnk initiative has been introduced to address and transform energy consumption patterns in Indian homes, particularly operational homes at Palava City. It will empower homeowners, developers, and policymakers with data-driven insights, fostering targeted energy-saving measures such as appliance upgrades, improvements in building design, optimised heating and cooling systems, and study usage patterns to induce any necessary changes in the behaviour of consumers.

Palava City exemplifies sustainable and high-quality construction, setting itself apart with inclusive governance through citizen councils with a sense of personal responsibility. It sets an example as a unique community, consequently ensuring that Palava City remains at the forefront of eco-friendly urban development.