URBAN PLANNING

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,…

“The number of women that appear in the public realm, during the day and and especially at night, is an indicator of the health of a society and the safety and livability of a city” -- Smart Cities Dive Bengaluru roads are unsafe, but they are even more so for women cyclists who have the double disadvantage of gender and their chosen mode of transportation. The number of women cyclists in the city are far fewer than men.  Women cyclists I spoke to complained about dug-up roads and inadequate safe parking spaces for cycles. “I’m always paranoid that someone would break…

Greater Chennai Corporation has kickstarted the vertical gardens project under 14 selected flyovers in Chennai. According to a news report, the spaces under the flyovers at IIT-M traffic junction, North Usman Road flyover, Mint, Doveton, Pantheon Road, Perambur, Mahalingapuram, Usman Road, TTK Road, Kauvery hospital, Royapettah high road, G P Moopanar flyover, LB Road and Gandhi Mandapam will get vertical green cover.  This is a utilitarian move aimed at better use of public spaces in order to mitigate carbon emissions on Chennai roads. GCC is following in the footsteps of developed cities such as Singapore that has made the concept…

Sample this: In a few years, people living in busy, congested neighbourhoods like Velachery, Mylapore, Tondiarpet will have safe and vibrant streets with spaces demarcated for walking, cycling, sitting, playing and street vending. Yes, this is how the Mega Streets project will reportedly transform our city. Six consultants have been roped in to redesign selective locations in Phase I of the project. But what is the project all about? Here is what we know about it till now. What is the Mega Streets project? This project aims to transform all the arterial and sub-arterial streets in the neighbourhood with three…

Children are often under-prioritized or even disregarded in urban planning and design. It’s estimated that up to 500 children die daily in road crashes around the world; thousands more incur injuries and psychological trauma from collisions with vehicles that can affect them for years. Whether on the streets or in public spaces, feeling unsafe or uncomfortable in outdoor spaces also discourages children from physical exercise at a time when 80% of children between ages 11-17 are not physically active, and 38 million children under age five are overweight or obese. The coronavirus pandemic has further highlighted the urgent need for safe outdoor areas for…