Necropolis of the Metropolis: Designing landscapes of the dead for their better integration in the city fabric.

Abstract

NECROPOLIS is word of Greek origin derived from nekros = dead + polis = city. Dictionary definition of NECROPOLIS is cemetery, especially one of large size and usually of an ancient city. METROPOLIS is also a word of Greek origin derived from mētēr = mother+ polis = city. Dictionary defines METROPOLIS as any large, busy city, sometimes capital. The houses of the dead are more permanent than the houses of the living, and in history the necropolis becomes a fundamental addition to the metropolis. They are placed on the boundary zone outside the city which led to the disassociation of death from the heart of the urban fabric and has led to the degradation in the layer of history and consciousness. Objective of this thesis is to understand the locational aspects of burial grounds in cities and their inter relationships with the city fabric. The outcome shall be aimed at igniting an initiation in making the resting places of the dead a part of the sustainable green infrastructure network of the city.