Hidden Ecologies

Fostering activity, community, efficiency, sustainability and equality

NanoCity will be a city of planned complexity. The mixed-use infrastructure of its four districts will foster lively pockets of population and activity throughout the city. The many parks and green open spaces will add a dash of color to the urban backdrop and reinforce a sense of community amongst residents. Reliable public transit options and thoroughfares will keep people and places within reach of each other. Sustainable technologies and eco-friendly living will protect the environment and generations to come. Land banking practices and builder’s towns will make the city a place of equity and inclusion. All of these values, conveniences and amenities have a place in the master plan for NanoCity. This is the future of urban living.

Fostering activity, community, efficiency, sustainability and equality

A City Of Economic Opportunity

The arrival of NanoCity will generate a vast quantity and variety of employment opportunities in the state of Haryana and beyond. For every high-tech employment position introduced, three low-wage or informal sector jobs will be created. The master plan of the city is designed to accommodate this incremental population growth and economic development throughout all of the city’s high-density, mixed-use districts. These concentrated areas will be urban agglomerations of residential, commercial, business, institutional and industrial infrastructure. This means that people will be free to attend educational institutions, shop for daily needs, participate in public functions or partake in religious services, all in the same convenient location. The districts will house a number of unique neighborhoods and will be connected through a comprehensive system of roads and public transit options. Each district will also have an industry to pursue and advance. These specific economic drivers, in addition to geographical differences and changing urban designs, will give these areas their own unique feel and appeal. The districts will unite people with shared interests and give them a singular purpose: innovation.

• Information Technology District

IT developments are traditionally found in the suburbs that lie to the periphery of cities. This placement is outmoded, as it disconnects businesses from the wealth of human capital situated in the city. It forces employees to make long, expensive commutes to work on a daily basis. NanoCity will put an end to this inconvenience. The Information Technology District will be located downtown. It will serve as the central business precinct of the city, as well as the hub of all corporate research and development. It will also be the location of a world-class golf course and The Promenade, the premier place to shop, dine and entertain in the city.

• University District

The destination for informed living will be NanoCity. For this reason, the highest quality education will be offered in the city’s University District. From elementary through higher education, an inquiry-based curriculum will foster learning and achievement. This academic environment will increase the cultural and intellectual value of the region, as well as push innovation, offer employment opportunities and provide nearby businesses with collaborative research partners.

• Airport District

If NanoCity aspires to become the world’s leader in information technology and research, it will need global connectivity beyond the World Wide Web. The NanoCity International Airport will be the city’s hub of exchange and communication by providing convenient and direct access to other cities around the world. The Airport District will also offer convention centers, five-star hotels, restaurants and bars to cater to the professional and personal needs of the traveling class.

• Biotechnology District

High quality healthcare is a basic human right and will be a top priority in NanoCity. For this reason, leading hospitals equipped with cutting-edge medical resources will be located in the city’s Biotechnology District. Beyond providing excellent medical care, these institutions will team up with university faculty and students for research synergy and innovation. The district will also house an Eco-Park, which will serve as an experimentation and demonstration place for new sustainable technologies. Once these technologies hit the market, NanoCity will export its methods of sustainability to other cities around the globe.

NanoCity will also offer plenty of ways for residents to make the most of their free time. Whether they find themselves in need of an exquisite meal, a midnight work out, a lively place to gamble, or a club to dance, NanoCity will have it nearby. If residents are game for competitive sports, they will have a ball on the public tennis courts or cricket fields. If a rural retreat is needed, a resort and spa in the wooded countryside will provide a place for rest and relaxation. The many waterside theaters, museums and art studios will provide shows and exhibits to entertain and inspire. The discriminating shopper will not be disappointed with the goods for sale at the local boutiques, high-end retailers and outside marketplaces. Institutions of worship will foster spiritual growth and active faith-based communities. Most of these amenities will be conveniently integrated into the fabric of office and residential space, so that one can work and play, all in a day’s time.

Innovation is the motivation for NanoCity’s four districts.

A City Of Parks And Public Open Spaces

NanoCity will cultivate a rich environment of living green and environmentally intelligent open space. Half of the city will accommodate parks and other grassy, tree-lined areas, and this percentage of green space increases when the plentitude of shared residential courtyards and roof gardens are taken into consideration. Only local, self-sustainable vegetation, requiring little care or attention, will be planted in these landscaped areas. A park will be less than a five-minute walk away from any starting point in the city. These parks will host bike and jogging paths, playing fields and other outdoor leisure opportunities. They will infuse the city with fresh air and mitigate carbon emissions. They will also serve as gathering places for celebration and community building. NanoCity will foster an urban atmosphere on an eco-island of living landscape.

Nature takes residence here.

Half of NanoCity will be green

A City Of Comprehensive State-of-the-Art Transit

The pedestrian has priority in NanoCity. Tree-lined streets, green storefronts and narrow, shaded sidewalks that are sensitive to India’s arid climate will ensure a pleasant walking environment throughout the entire city. To further dissuade a “car culture,� a state-of-the-art public transit system, featuring electronic schedules and real-time updates, will be on the move. Modeled after successful systems around the world, NanoCity’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will be clean, fast and solar –powered. Two citywide loops will allow the city’s high-speed rail and bus system to connect all city centers and districts in a convenient and efficient manner. Public transit stops will be located within a five-minute walking distance from every starting point in the city. For this reason, it is estimated that the NanoCity public transit system will serve around 300,000 riders per day.

If one must journey by car, a comprehensive network of streets will provide an easy and comfortable commute. The roads will have separate and clearly defined lanes for the safe passage of public transit vehicles, automobiles, two-wheel vehicles and pedestrians. An expressway will link the city to nearby Chandigarh and Delhi, and the NanoCity International Airport will access the rest of the world.

A City Of Sustainability And Sustenance

Global warming and climate change make the contemporary urban agenda a global one. The first step in building environmentally intelligent urban space is preserving the naturally existing resources of the land. NanoCity will take advantage of these limited resources by integrating site-specific hydrology and agricultural patterns into the greater design scheme. During the annual monsoon season, water will be harvested from underground sources for retention and use throughout the year. The seasonal rivers that border the city will become part of the perennial public waterway. These naturally existing rivers will not only beautify the city, but will provide a local, sustainable solution to offset India’s national water shortages. The water reclaimed from these rivers and other natural sources will undergo intensive bioremediation to make it safe for consumption. The water from the rivulets will also be used for district and passive cooling strategies, local crop cultivation and the production of bio-energy. The city will be outfitted with a dual distribution piped water system to separate drinking water from reclaimed greywater used for non-potable purposes. In addition, Living Machine technology will provide NanoCity with the capacity to convert all wastewater into chemical and odor-free drinking water.

Half of the energy used in the city will come from renewable sources, such as windmills and photovoltaic technologies. Energy efficient infrastructure, equipped with carbon capture solar paneling and sensitive lighting systems, will use half the energy required by conventional buildings. The result will be an 80% reduction in total energy costs for the city and its inhabitants. Buildings will also utilize climate responsive design techniques, such as sun shading, cross ventilation and direct evaporative cooling, to reduce the need for air-conditioning.

At least 70% of the city’s waste will be recycled or composted. The residents of NanoCity are estimated to consume 20 times less resources than those living in other cities, and the city will have the smallest per capita carbon footprint in all of India. NanoCity’s implementation of environmentally sustainable measures will serve as a testament to the financial feasibility of these efforts, and will demonstrate the broad benefits such living can have for all of society.

A City Of Inclusion

Local villagers are expected to remain on the land to live and work as the first residents of NanoCity. They will be encouraged to gain employment through local construction projects and live in the builder’s towns. These towns will provide technical training, low-cost housing, electricity, safe water and education for children. They will also offer temporary commercial outlets for the sale of building materials and storage space, as well as everyday items and refreshments. As the city grows outward and the need for construction diminishes, the builder’s towns will be integrated into the greater urban fabric of NanoCity.

It takes a village to build a city

A City Of Equity

To provide fair and affordable housing to all residents, NanoCity will implement a system of land banking during its development. Selective plots of land, strategically located throughout the up and rising districts, will belong to the NanoCity Non-Profit Housing Corporation. This non-profit group will leave the land undeveloped and encourage local villagers to use it for agricultural farming. The crops produced will benefit the whole community and the villagers will profit from their cultivation. Moreover, these efforts will keep the land fertile and robust in the interim between its time of purchase and development. This will also create leasing arrangements to transition the land into the urban real estate market. Land values are expected to increase significantly as the city grows and when the time is right, the undeveloped property held by the housing corporation will be sold at high profit rates. This revenue will then be used to build low-income, affordable housing in NanoCity.

A City That Will Grow Over Time

NanoCity will employ three phases of development over a 30 year time period. 11,000 acres is a great expanse of land and the city will develop incrementally to ensure that each of its regions is a thriving, self-sustaining entity within the larger city. This phasing strategy will allow the development process to be flexible and responsive to changing needs over time. The first phase will build the IT and University districts on a 3,800-acre plot of land. To meet the travel demands of future residents, the second phase will create the Airport District on 3,750 acres of land. The third and final phase of development will establish the 4,450-acre Biotechnology District. Once the construction of a particular phase of development is completed and the area proves itself capable of prospering on its own, the next phase of development will begin. It follows that each district will uphold and advance the NanoCity ideals of sustainable, walkable, workable and enjoyable living.

A flexible growth plan that is responsive to changing needs over time

The Gateway To The New City

NanoCity will first break soil in the Information Technology District. The immediate goal is to create a high-tech hub that will generate business and employment in the area, attract international talent, and represent the greater city to come. The “live-work-play-learn� environment in the IT District will make it an appropriate gateway to the city. It will forge new living patterns by integrating offices with commercial retailers with residential housing, all of which will create streetscape diversity and activity throughout the day. The synergies between public and private spaces in the district will serve as models for the whole of NanoCity: where there is productivity, there is leisure; where there is proximity, there is accessibility; where there is sustainability, there is informed living.