A Carbon Neutral Koyambedu Market

Okapi is collaborating with IIT Madras and Centre for Urbanisation, Buildings and Environment (CUBE) to prepare a Detailed Project Report for (re)developing / reinvigorating the Koyambedu Wholesale Market as a Carbon Neutral Zone. This work is commissioned by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. While other IIT teams are developing solutions for carbon neutrality for various verticals that include water, waste, energy, building structure, etc., Okapi is responsible for incorporating social and stakeholder assessment in this work to make the overall project more relevant and sustainable for the end-users.

We recognize that the social context including the policy and governance structure, the stakeholders’ perceptions, preferences, and practices are critical for any technical solutions to be successful. For example, consider waste management – unless shopkeepers are on board, it is impossible to implement proper source segregation practices which can be a threat to efficiency of any waste management solution.

Okapi’s role in the project is to examine the social context of the Koyambedu market to understand who (formal and informal) use, manage, govern and therefore affect and are affected by changes in the market place and its sustainability; what are the perceptions of key user groups about current challenges and future changes and; what is the policy context shaping the marketplace and its affairs.