URBAN PLANNING

Imagine this: all of your regular go-to destinations — from shopping areas, schools and colleges, workplaces, healthcare centres and other recreational hangouts — are just a 15 minute-walk or bike ride away. This concept, dubbed ‘15-minute city’, following its successful implementation in many parts of Paris since mid-2020, has led to many global cities considering adoption of the same. This raises the question, can Chennai, too, become a 15-minute city? Proposed by Carlos Moreno, a professor at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in 2016, the idea has gained a lot of traction, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is being…

Translated by Sandhya Raju வாய்ப்புகள் தேடி மக்கள் நகர்ப்புறம் நோக்கி நகரத் தொடங்கியதில் உலகம் முழுவதும் நகரமயமாக்கல் வெகு விரைவாக முன்னேறியுள்ளது. பெருகி வரும் மக்கள் தொகைக்கேற்ப நகரத்தின் உள்ளேயேயும், அதனை சுற்றியும் விரிவாக்கம் செய்யும் நிர்பந்தத்திற்க்கு தள்ளப்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், வெப்ப நிலை மாற்றம், சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதிப்பு, அதிக மாசு என அதன் தாக்கம் பல எதிர்வினைகளை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. 2001 ஆம் ஆண்டு 6.6 மில்லியனாக இருந்த மக்கள் தொகை 2011-ல் 8.6 மில்லியனாக (சென்சஸ் படி) அதிகரிக்க, சென்னையும் இந்த மாற்றத்திற்கு விதிவிலக்கல்ல. சமீபத்தில் வெளியான ஆய்வின் படி, 1991-2016 ஆண்டில் சென்னையில் கோடை வெப்பம் (மார்ச் - மே) 5.8 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் வரை உயர்ந்துள்ளது. மக்கள் தொகை ஏற்றம், சீரற்ற நகரமயமாக்கல் ஆகியவை இதற்கான முக்கிய காரணியாக அமைந்ததாக குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ளது. நகர்ப்புற விரிவாக்கம் மற்றும் இரண்டு இந்திய மெகாசிட்டிகளுக்கான மேற்பரப்பு வெப்பநிலை மற்றும் அதன் விளைவுகள்:…

Urbanisation has been progressing at a rapid pace globally, as people flock to cities in search of better lives and livelihoods. Cities have to 'create spaces' within and outside themselves to accommodate the growing population, but ad hoc expansion leads to environmental risks, high pollution levels and climate change. Chennai, where the population grew from 6.6 million in 2001 to 8.6 million in 2011 (as per the Census figures), has been no exception: The population explosion coupled with unplanned urbanisation raised land surface temperatures in Chennai during summer (March - May) by as much 5.8 degree C over the period…

Popular imagination would have it that campaigns begin and go on until their objective is achieved or rejected; and then they wind up. Not quite, says Tara Krishnaswamy, a veteran of several civic campaings in Bengaluru. Campaigns are seldom linear and their chronology is almost always chequered. Tara was among many citizen activists who had pushed for the bus priority lane (BPL) along the Outer Ring Road (ORR). That was back in 2017. The world over, giving priority to public bus movement -- through dedicated bus lanes or more complex systems like BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit Systems) -- is acknowledged…

City authorities tell us that over 50% of Delhi’s urban area is regarded as “open” and more than 20% is “green”. Yet, those keeping a keen eye on the city and its development say “we are far from providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces”. This is one of the many issues of concern in India’s capital that is sometimes boasted of as being world class — thanks to iconic British era structures, Mogul monuments and the Delhi  Metro — and yet very difficult for the average Delhiite to be comfortable in. Will that change? More importantly,…

June 25th, 2021 marked the sixth anniversary of the launch of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). Positioned as a game changer by NDA-1, the terminology and packaging of the scheme caught public attention as a novel idea for urban development. Rankings were announced to mark the anniversary in which Indore and Surat were declared the country’s best smart cities, and Uttar Pradesh the best state. This is the first time that states have also been ranked, with Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu ranked second and third. The Centre also announced joint winners under the COVID innovation category — Kalyan-Dombivali and Varanasi.…

With COVID, lockdowns, unemployment, heartbreaking journeys of migrant workers back to their villages, news of illness and death making headlines every morning, this year has taken its toll on all of us. Hunkered down in our houses, distanced from family, friends and colleagues, we had few reasons for cheer. But even amid this seemingly incessant gloom, we found some inspiration from the citizen engagement and impact that we saw in several spheres. Though the government failed us consistently and abysmally, warriors among us arose to take control of the situation. Men and women across the country organized toolkits, Twitter drives…

Cities, past and present, have been often created in the image of its rulers. Indian cities, in particular, have been witness to the rise and fall of dynasties and empires, reflected in their ever shifting character. However, amongst all its grand constructions for the people, there exists within the urban fabric a continuous patchwork of creations by the people.  While the concept of a planned city traces its roots to ancient civilisations like the Indus Valley, Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations, the scale of modern cities is unprecedented. Burgeoning populations and rising densities created the need for a visionary document to…

Over the last few years, the city of Bengaluru has been growing beyond its potential. As a city with educated and active citizens, civic activism has been a significant decider in how the city develops.  One of the citizen activism initiatives has been developing the existing railway network to boost the suburban rail project.  A few years ago, the Government of Karnataka (Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Company (K-RIDE)) started developing a plan for the extension of these railway networks. It recently announced that the 48-km Baiyappanahalli-Hosur railway line will be double tracked by 2022.  Public Notice issued by Department of Forest…

Bengaluru has a planning history spanning more than fifty years. The first step towards planning for development of Bengaluru City was initiated with the Outline Development Plan prepared by the Bangalore Development Committee in 1952.  The city’s planning got statutory backing in 1961 when the Karnataka Town And Country Planning (KTCP) Act, 1961 was enacted.  The history of planned development in Bengaluru is seen in the timeline below. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is entrusted with the task of preparing a Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) as per the KTCP Act. Throughout Bengaluru city's planning history, thought to its future industrialisation,…