Opinion | From individual houses to planned communities

A shift towards compact, well-planned housing can conserve scarce land while bringing schools, parks, healthcare, transport and community facilities closer to everyday life.

Kashmir’s relationship with the house has always been deeply emotional. A house is not merely a structure of brick, concrete and timber. It represents family, security, inheritance and a sense of belonging. For generations, families have aspired to build their own homes, often on individual plots surrounded by walls, gardens and narrow access roads. But as population grows, land becomes increasingly valuable and settlements expand, this traditional pattern of development raises an important question: can Kashmir continue to build one independent house after another without putting unnecessary pressure on its limited land?

The answer may lie in changing the way housing is planned. Instead of treating every family plot as an isolated unit, future housing development could increasingly move towards planned communities and apartment-based settlements — where several families share green spaces, parks, community halls, parking, waste management, security and access to public transport. This does not mean abandoning the idea of a comfortable family home. It means rethinking the amount of land required to provide that comfort.

Official housing data underline the pressures already identified by planners, even if the figures now need updating.

6.5 Average household size (Census 2011); 6.9 in urban areas

2M+ Households recorded across Jammu & Kashmir

54% Of houses in good condition — 42% liveable, ~4% dilapidated

24→27% Rise in urbanisation noted in the Srinagar Master Plan

The Srinagar Master Plan recorded an urban housing stock of about 4.96 lakh units against 5.17 lakh urban households, and noted that the apparent gap did not fully reflect actual demand — because of dilapidated structures, multi-family housing and single-room accommodation.

The bigger concern is not simply the number of houses. It is the amount of land consumed by scattered construction. A family building on a separate plot needs land for the building, a boundary wall, access, parking and open space. Multiply that by thousands of families and the cumulative impact is substantial: agricultural land and orchards disappear under uncoordinated construction, roads narrow, drainage suffers, and public services grow more expensive to provide.Scattered plots 6 plots · walls, private access roads, no shared land One planned complex shared green space Same 6 families · one footprint · land left overSame number of families, two ways of using the land beneath them.

The idea is not unfamiliar to government planning. Jammu and Kashmir’s building regulations already recognise apartment houses and prescribe requirements for land use, coverage, floor area, setbacks, open spaces and parking. The Housing and Urban Development Department also runs an online building permission system covering urban local bodies and development authorities. The next step is to think beyond individual buildings and plan complete communities.Imagine a housing complex where a child does not have to cross a busy road to reach a playground. A small library or coaching centre within walking distance. A health centre, pharmacy, grocery shops and prayer space built into the settlement. Designated parking instead of vehicles on every roadside. Rainwater management, waste segregation and pedestrian paths planned before families move in.

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hared infrastructure can lower the cost of providing roads, drainage, electricity, water and waste collection — a concentrated settlement is simply easier for public authorities to serve than a scattered one”

The national policy framework is already moving this way. PMAY Urban 2.0, launched in 2024, includes affordable housing in partnership, affordable rental housing and beneficiary-led construction among its four components, with support intended for one crore additional eligible beneficiaries over five years. For Kashmir, the objective should go beyond simply adding units — housing policy must account for landscape, climate, traditional settlement patterns, disaster risk and the protection of productive land.

Compact housing should not mean concrete jungles. Buildings packed too closely, inadequate sunlight, poor ventilation and no open space can make life uncomfortable — density has to be accompanied by thoughtful design. The model should stay low- and medium-rise where appropriate, climate-responsive and surrounded by adequate greenery. Children need safe places to play, older residents need accessible walking areas, persons with disabilities need to move independently, and emergency vehicles need proper access. Fire safety, seismic considerations and snow management belong in the design from the start.Jammu and Kashmir’s strengthened digital building permission system — with automated scrutiny linked to GIS-based master plans — shows that the technical capacity for a more coordinated approach already exists, provided planning stays transparent and focused on public need.

There is a social dimension too. A shared park can become a meeting place for children; a community hall can host local programmes; common spaces can encourage interaction while individual apartments keep their privacy. For many, the biggest barrier will be psychological — the sense that an apartment is somehow less of a home than an independent house. That perception can shift as the quality of apartment living improves. Ownership does not have to mean a plot of land with four walls around it. It can mean a well-designed dwelling within a professionally managed community.The transition should be gradual and voluntary wherever possible. Existing settlements cannot simply be replaced, and rural villages have different needs from growing urban centres. The goal is for new development, from here on, to be planned intelligently from the start.

Every new residential project should ask a simple question: how much land are we consuming, and what are we creating in return? The house will remain central to Kashmiri life — what needs to change is the way we imagine the space around it.

sheikhnazirmehdi@gmail.com