Identification of Potential Neighbourhood Constraints of Demolition Process: A Case Study

Urban planners, government officials and business sectors’ vision of the future city have played a key role in shaping urban development. Several themes in urban development vision, policies and practices have recurred in different past and present cities, including growth of infrastructure. Recently, the new General Development Control Regulation (GDCR) has started to allow developers and property owners to construct 25-metre high buildings along the roads having width smaller than 18 metres. Therefore, demolitions of many high-rise building projects may come up in near future in Gujarat. Demolitions of structures are complex in nature, demanding greater skill, experience and precision because of various constraints adjoining to the surrounding (Douglas, 2002). Demolition is one of the most hazardous activities. It influences on operatives and surroundings in respect to the adjoining property and livelihood. The risk involved in these activities is extremely high, which is concerned with various accidents in its process. Demolition of buildings in especially high surrounding traffic area and highly dense area is onerous. So, it needs to identify the appropriate demolition technique with knowledge of different constraints and remedial measures. In India, demolition sector is still an unorganised sector. Demolition contractors and workers are not aware about the different risk associated with adoption of demolition techniques. Majority of the demolition contractors are from non-technical background. Due to the hazardous effect on the surrounding at demolition site, many guides have been prepared for health and safety to identify and assess their risks of occurrence (Fales, 1991). Thus, this paper shows the analysis of the demolition stages and neighbourhood constraints of demolition process in implementation considering negative impact on neighbourhood. The paper will also provide description of the tasks carried out during demolition based on the example of a multi storey District Court Building in Surat.