ITDP India

Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide

COVID InFocus: How will COVID-19 shape urban planning?

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The COVID-19 pandemic has monopolised public attention for the last few months, changing the ways in which we live, work, and navigate the world. Experts predict that the periodic lockdowns and social distancing measures we have instituted may need to stay until the development of a vaccine. Cities, which are home to over half of the world’s population, have been the worst affected by the pandemic and these mandates especially with respect to access to economic, education and social opportunities. It is important to understand how urban planning is connected to the spread of diseases and how pandemics can reshape our cities.

The current crisis raises several questions about our cities. Many have been quick to jump at blaming population density and compact urban form for contributing to the spread of the virus. Is this really the case? How can we ensure equitable access to open spaces, and help build immunity and health? Can active mobility play a role in the designing and restructuring of urban spaces? To address all these aspects in the long-term, cities must holistically consider the people, economy, and the environment. The lessons from COVID-19 present an opportunity to rebuild inclusive, compact cities that lead to healthier ways of living. We take a look here at how urban spaces will transform post-pandemic and how our response to these changes can ensure long-term benefits. 

COVID-19 is an issue of unsustainable urbanisation

South Korean soldiers attempt to disinfect the sidewalks of Seoul’s Gagnam district in response to the spread of COVID-19
Source: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Throughout history, pandemics such as the Black Death, Cholera, and SARS have reshaped the planning, management, and sanitation systems of cities. COVID-19 will add to the list, influencing key aspects at the intersection of urbanism and diseases. This pandemic tells the story of rapid urbanisation and human encroachment on natural habitats, which leave us increasingly susceptible to unknown pathogens that originate in animals. However, it also illustrates the tale of how actions are no longer restricted to a local effect. “COVID-19 is really a story of peri-urban and rural-to-urban connections, in places that are often not on the global map…So sure, you have some of the global connections at airports, but it’s a much more complex urban system”, says Micheal Acuto, professor of global urban politics in the School of Design at the University of Melbourne.

The megacities of our times ensure that the entire world is connected through a series of transport, production, and consumption networks. The digital revolution has also brought the world together, making this pandemic different from previous ones. The advancements in urban data have allowed people to track the virus seamlessly and could inform city planning in the coming years. “Modern planning and civil engineering were born out of the mid-19th century development of sanitation in response to the spread of malaria and cholera in cities. Digital infrastructure might be the sanitation of our time”, he infers. Read the full interview with CityLab here.

Why Density Matters

An empty street in Dearborn, Chicago which is usually bustling with people and vehicles
Source: Tannen Maury/EPA, via Shutterstock

As the world scrambles to maintain distance from each other, the shortcomings of density during a pandemic has been raised persistently. This is because the need for social distancing during these times is against any fundamental philosophies of urban spatial design, which typically celebrate the dense nature of cities. However, it is important to note that compact cities have several economic and environmental benefits. Dense environments foster health and build resilience, preventing the growth of sprawling, car-centric cities. The array of options – medical, transit, and housing available in these areas allow users to make the switch, when one system fails or proves to be unfeasible. “Density makes mass transit possible. It allows for more affordable housing. It creates environments where people can walk and where children can find playgrounds…It allows us to curb climate emissions, which present a public health problem of an entirely different kind”, reports the New York Times.

The increase in bike-sharing in New York in March, when public transit shut down, illustrated that services in dense neighbourhoods can usually be accessed by walking or cycling. Further, compact cities are more favourable to services from the private sector – such as food, retail, hospitality, and leisure. We should also remember that stories of citizens delivering essential goods to people in need, and checking up on the elderly have shown that tightly wound social networks can save people, especially during emergencies. “…It will be a shame if we come away from this moment skeptical of density itself, or if some of the benefits of density, like mass transit and bustling commercial corridors, suffer lasting damage”, writes Emily Badger for the New York Times. 

The need for sustainable mobility-oriented city planning

Photo of public bike sharing system in Bandung, Indonesia
Source : Madan Bandhu Regmi

The lessons in urban planning from COVID-19 are also connected to the opportunities for the transport sector. The importance of ‘hyper proximity’ – the Parisian idea of 15-minute mixed-use neighbourhoods that provide all amenities while being connected by walking and cycling, can lead to safer, cleaner streets that prioritize pedestrians. This is also evident from the staggering increase in active mobility during the lockdown, which has been prompted further by various initiatives from local governments. “A supply side intervention, such as the provision of interconnected infrastructure for active mobility, could influence travel behavior of urban residents. Types of infrastructure that promote active mobility include exclusive walking and cycling lanes, walkways and wide footpaths, cycling tracks, interconnected parks and resting areas along the routes” suggests The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). 

It is also important that these are backed by policies, funding, and advocacy to ensure a long-term framework for the city.  The connection between infrastructure, active mobility, and health can then be used to build resilience against future pandemics and emergencies. UN ESCAP presents five key strategies – 

(1) Plan compact cities based on public transport and active mobility, 

(2) Prioritize active mobility as part of public transport, 

(3) Plan and develop related infrastructure for active mobility, 

(4) Develop resting areas and public parks, and 

(5) Improve environments along walking/cycling routes by planting trees and beautification.

Read the full article here.

Steps ahead for Planners

An aerial view of Chennai’s floods during 2015 
Source: Veethika, Wikimedia Commons

For cities to prepare themselves in the future, CityFix proposes five strategies that planners must keep in mind – 

(1) Focus on Access to Core Services – Access to services such as water, housing, and healthcare should be a key component when planning for density. This will ensure that all people in highly crowded cities are able to handle pandemics effectively. 

(2) Affordable Housing and Public Spaces – There will be an additional 2.5 billion urban dwellers by 2050 and it is important that cities frame laws and policies to improve existing informal settlements and to provide access to affordable housing and healthy living conditions. 

(3) Integrated Green and Blue Spaces – The coordination between green spaces, water systems, and built infrastructure will avert natural disasters, build resilience, and lead towards climate change mitigation and environmental sustainability. 

(4) Increased City-Regional Planning – Integrated economical, social, transport, and energy planning of regional areas will ensure that the ripple effects of local actions are foreseen and controlled.

(5) More City-Level Granular Data – Strong digital infrastructure through the integration of public and private sectors at the local level can inform long-term planning through a data-driven approach. 

“As lockdowns stretch on in many places, we are only beginning to understand how COVID-19 will affect how we approach urban planning. Planned for properly, density is a good thing for cities, and it will be again. We will rebuild our crucial economic and social fabric. It’s our decision to rebuild better”, concludes CityFix.

A resilient future

We need to make our cities resilient. This pandemic has highlighted some weaknesses of our approach and offers us the possibility of reorienting ourselves. We can act now to make our cities resilient not just to deal with a pandemic, but to mitigate the worst effects of the climate emergency. Countries around the world have only 10 more years to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and it is imperative that urban resilience acts as a pivot to achieve them. 

Long-term solutions must focus on the vulnerable, integrate decision making, and encourage local leadership in our fight against climate emergency. The transformations in mobility, retail, office culture, food dependency, and data privacy must combine equitable advantages for the society and the environment. As cities adopt a slew of policies to bounce back better and faster, the ones that focus on adaptability and environmental resilience will be the ones that survive. 

Compiled by Aditi Subramanian

Cover image source: Srini Swaminathan

This article is the third part of a series on the impact of COVID-19 on our cities and mobility. Check out the first part on the response of transit agencies to COVID-19 and the second on the impact on the environment and climate change.

COVID InFocus: What are the impacts of COVID-19 on the Environment and Climate Change?

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Cover image source: CNN

Clearer waters in the canals of Venice, a view of the Dhauladhar mountains from Jalandhar after 30 years, and increased bird sightings in our cities — we have been flooded with reports of environmental triumph over the last few months. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unexpected news along with the burgeoning number of cases across the world — of a cleaner climate and wildlife rejuvenation.  

In the last three months, industries around the world have shut down or phased operations, vehicles have been banned on roads, and air travel has decreased, leading to a drop in global air emissions, for the first time since 2009. While people have been rejoicing this change, a study by Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health has revealed that people in cities with higher pollution levels are more vulnerable to the COVID-19, stressing the importance of clean-air regulations and policies. We see how our environments have been responding to the pandemic and what this means for the long-term goal of climate emergency.

Pollution levels drop across India

Average daily nitrogen dioxide emissions in March, micrograms per square metre
Source – Centre for Research on Clean Air and Energy, Central Pollution Control Board 
Graphics – Natalie Leung; Natalie Croker, CNN

In India, which has 21 of the 30 most polluted cities, the lockdown has resulted in a dramatic decrease in harmful microscopic matter and nitrogen dioxide levels. “During the first three weeks of March, the average nitrogen dioxide levels declined by 40-50 percent in the cities of Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad, compared with the same period in 2018 and 2019…The nationwide curfew in India on March 22 also resulted in the lowest one-day traffic pollution levels on record”, reports CNN. At New Delhi, which was the most polluted capital city in the world in 2019, the air quality index (AQI) levels dropped from the typical 200 to under 30, signifying that the city’s 11 million registered cars are key polluters to the environment. 

This is crucial information as India has one of the highest rates of respiratory disease in the world, as well as the highest number of tuberculosis cases, increasing the risk of deaths from coronavirus infection. COVID-19 comes as a much-needed wake-up call to take action towards climate emergency and to invest in a cleaner future. After the pandemic, the country must consider sustainable alternatives to fossil-fueled industries and governments must uphold existing policies to ensure any progress towards climate change is not reversed, says CNN. 

Pandemics can nudge behavioural changes towards sustainability

Empty motorways in Auckland after the New Zealand Government tightened travel restrictions
Source – Getty Images

The fall in pollution levels across the world can be attributed to the closure of industries, as well as transportation, the latter constituting 23% of all global emissions. “Driving and aviation are key contributors to emissions from transport, contributing 72% and 11% of the transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions respectively”, says BBC. While these numbers have dropped currently, people could lapse back into frequent flying and travelling after the lockdown, causing emissions to rise again. In the past, there have been many cases where a pandemic has caused a change in atmospheric carbon levels, but the environmental impacts of COVID-19 seem similar to the Great Recession of 2008. While overall emissions dipped in that period, it rebounded to an all-time high in 2010 as the economy recovered. 

However, the pandemic can also be used to elicit subtle behavioural changes that push people towards long-term sustainability. A study after the London Tube Strikes of 2014 found that it brought lasting changes in behaviour, as those who had sought alternative travel means during the strike were less likely to return to their pre-strike commute. “A 2018 study led by Corinne Moser at Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland found that when people were unable to drive and were given free e-bike access instead, they drove much less when they eventually got their car back. So times of change can lead to the introduction of lasting habits.” offers BBC.

Green transportation infrastructure builds resilience

The role of resilient public transit has become more essential during the pandemic
Source – Wikimedia, Robert McConnell

Pandemics and deadly diseases have shaped human history in significant ways, often forcing cities to reimagine their socio-economic systems, such as the 19th century outbreak of Cholera that stressed on the importance of modern water and sanitation infrastructure. Currently, one of COVID-19’s biggest takeaways has been how our economy must evolve to prioritise the environment and public health, moving humans into more sustainable habits. Decarbonising transportation is important to this change, as seen by the increase in cycling and walking during the pandemic. “Questions around investing in new kinds of transportation infrastructure, such as Complete Streets projects that are gathering popularity at the city-level but struggling to gain a national foothold, should be raised, according to Jacqueline Klopp with Columbia University”, says Chris Teale. 

While countries are talking about federal stimulus packages and a rescue plan for the economy, advocates believe this should be directed toward environmental-focused efforts such as transit funding and alternative greener modes, which in turn will stimulate jobs. “The cities that pursue these green measures following this disaster will be the ones that are best positioned in the next disaster, said Michael Berkowitz, founding principal at the Resilient Cities Catalyst”, reports Smart Cities Dive. 

Lessons from COVID-19 can prompt a quicker response to Climate Change

Top 10 risks over the next 10 years, of which Environmental risks form 50 percent
Source – World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2020

COVID-19 has shown us how governments and businesses can respond to crises in a matter of weeks, offering an insight into how our long-term battle towards climate change can look. “There is a risk that as the immediate crisis wanes and its economic consequences become clearer, we cast aside longer-term aspirations in pursuit of short-term easy fixes, many of which would have adverse environmental consequences”, infers the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

For cities to strategise transformation after the pandemic, WEF presents five possible points of actions – (1) Rethink risk, (2) Listen to global perspectives, (3) Make people the top priority, (4) Trust experts, and (5) Make a cultural shift. “With scientists warning we have 10 years left to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, this could offer an opportunity to fix the climate crisis before it’s too late… It is clear that we have many of the tools to make major advances in addressing climate change; what we need now is the political will to apply them”, concludes WEF. Read the full article here.

The lessons from this period are also steeped in better governance — one that can manage a pandemic, cooperate quickly, and formulate an effective plan for a rebound considering the people, economy, and climate. In India, which has seen environmental disasters frequently in the last few years, there is a need for strategic policies that promote cleaner cities through new energy systems and decreased congestion. A push towards better walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure can grant us cleaner surroundings, not necessarily in the wake of a pandemic.

Compiled by Aditi Subramanian

This article is part of a series on the impact of COVID-19 on our cities and mobility. Stay tuned for part three.

Cities for Women, Cities for All

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International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action to accelerate gender equality. This year, the theme for the day is #EachforEqual. Women’s equality cannot wait. It is going to take everyone to be conscious and inclusive – all the time, everywhere. The ITDP India Programme is taking steps towards making urban streets and transport safe and comfortable for women. 

Over the last decade, there has been mainstream media acknowledgement of the sexual harassment faced by women and girls in public transport and on streets in cities around the world. The fear of crime is widely recognised as a barrier to public transport use. Yet, our mobility plans continue to remain gender-blind, as they do not measure the level and extent of harassment faced by women and girls. The normalization of harassment puts the onus of safety on women and girls, thereby restricting their behaviour and mobility. The role of transport planning in alleviating or exacerbating sexual harassment and violence has not yet percolated within mainstream discourse and into the minds of decision-makers.

While mainstream media has focused on gruesome incidents such as rape, violence against women and girls also includes groping, molestation, staring, stalking, stealing, cat calls and acid attacks. In Delhi, a 2010 study with over 5000 men and women showed that over 95% of the women had experienced harassment in the past year and public transport, buses and streets were identified as the most vulnerable spaces. While women of all ages faced some form of violence or sexual harassment, school and college girl students in the 15-19 age-group were the most vulnerable. In Mumbai too, 95% of the women respondents reported sexual harassment, 46% reported facing harassment inside buses and 23% while waiting at bus stops.

Sexual harassment is prevalent and underreported, both in developed and developing countries. In New York City, it is estimated that 96 percent of women face sexual harassment and 86 percent of sexual assaults in the subway system are unreported. Similarly, in Baku, Azerbaijan, while 80 per cent of 200 women surveyed had faced sexual harassment in the metro, none of them reported it to the appropriate authority. In Brazil, it is acknowledged that more than half a million women suffer some sort of sexual violence, every year.

Four stages of public transport journeys

Cities need to collect gender disaggregated data and measure sexual harassment on their streets and in the four legs of the public transport journeys to develop clear actions. These can range from reserved seats, permitting women, girls, and the elderly to board or alight from buses in between stops in the night, providing real time information on the arrival of public transport vehicles amongst others. The gender disaggregated quantitative data from travel surveys must be complemented with focus group discussions to understand men and women’s perception and experience of the public transport journey across socio-economic groups.

Gender safety audits must be mainstreamed in the assessment of transport infrastructure. Safety audits evaluate the physical and social aspects in creating safer streets. The results of the audits provide valuable information to improve the quality of walking infrastructure and crossings, continuous and consistent street lighting, access to facilities such as public toilets, increasing “eyes on the street” (through police personnel, patrolling vans, men or women street vendors) and designing inclusive streets.

Transport service providers, bystanders and police personnel must be interviewed to understand their awareness of the frequency and causes for sexual harassment and their role in preventing or addressing it. Behaviour change is a long process involving progressive legislation, law enforcement and change in social norms. However, cities can create standard operating procedures along with gender sensitization workshops to train the police and transport workers / operators to prevent and address sexual harassment. Cities can create campaigns to communicate a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment, encourage women and girls to report incidents of sexual harassment and bystanders to intervene. Women need to be at the centre of the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of transport policies and projects as partners, professionals and as decision-makers.

The ITDP India Programme has led work in India to address the issues of safety, comfort, convenience and affordability of urban transport. Even though women use public transport modes for four out of five work trips, surveys indicate that they feel most vulnerable in public transport and public spaces. In the next few years, cities will need to make a concerted effort to improve women and girls’ experience of sustainable modes of transport to achieve a target of 40 percent of all trips. To address this, as a first of its kind, the ITDP India Programme and Safetipin created a policy brief on Women and Transport in Indian Cities. 

The launch of the ‘Women and Transport’ policy brief

The policy brief fills this gap by providing a framework to integrate technical and social, quantitative and qualitative approaches for enabling this transition. If women perceive public transport and public spaces as unsafe, it affects their access to work, education, and social opportunities. The brief provides recommendations on policy interventions to improve walking, cycling, and public transport for women.

In line with the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, the ITDP India Programme is proud to continue to work towards making transport systems safe, accessible, and reliable for women. A city safe for women, is a city safe for all. We are proud to be involved with female change-makers and organisations from across the world working towards making this a reality. 

Compiled by Aila Bandagi

Edited by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Chennai’s Streets for People: The journey

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Infographic Blog

In an era of vanishing footpaths and widening carriageways, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has been introducing a host of initiatives prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users — giving these social heroes their due. From adopting a progressive policy that makes walking and cycling its priority in 2014, to rigorously implementing the policy through its Chennai Street Design Project and the Smart City Mission over the last five years, the city has been transforming itself from a car-centric to a people-friendly city.

Scaling up the street transformation work in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation launched the Chennai Mega Streets Programme to create a city wide network of streets with a lifespan of at least 30 years – prioritising Liveability, Mobility and Utility. The success of the street transformation works and the Mega Streets launch was reflected in the Tamil Nadu Budget announcement in February 2020, with the allocation of funds for the preparation of DPRs and commencement of work.

With the Mega Streets Programme now set in motion, Chennai is now gearing up to become the “Walking Capital of the Country”. Learn more about the city’s journey of making Streets for People in the infographic below.

Conceptualized by: Aswathy Dilip, A V Venugopal, Santhosh Loganaathan

ITDP India Programme: A Decade of Impact

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Infographic Blog

“All urban residents of Indian cities should have access to jobs, education, and recreation through means of mobility that are safe, affordable, resource-efficient, environment-friendly, and accessible to all.”

Over the last 20 years, the ITDP India Programme has worked with nearly 40 cities across the country to make this vision a reality, impacting the lives of millions. 

We celebrate the completion of a glorious decade of work, and welcome a new one with renewed excitement and anticipation of the possibilities ahead. 

Designed by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Conceptualised by Aishwarya Soni, Keshav Suryanarayanan

Pune lights the way for child-friendly cities

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Pune is leading the country in creating a city that is inclusive of the needs of infants, toddlers and their caregivers. The ITDP India Programme, with the support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), initiated work on a programme with the Pune Municipal Corporation that aims at ‘Transforming Urban Mobility to Nurture Early Childhood Development in India’. The initiative was launched by the Additional Municipal Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation on the 9th of December 2019.

“Are our cities designed for children?”

This is an easy question to answer. Streets are designed as corridors for motor vehicles and very rarely even have safe walking space for adults, let alone children. People have to compete with cars and two-wheelers for space to move through the cities. Very little infrastructure is designed keeping in mind the needs of young children.

Designing for children with their limited range of travel and slower pace, can simultaneously address the needs of other vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled. Then, should we not be prioritising the needs of the youngest among us while building our cities, ensuring that children can travel around our cities freely, safely, and without fear?

This brings us to another important question, “How can our cities be designed for children?” 

A question that was on everybody’s minds at the launch of the initiative aimed at ‘Transforming Urban Mobility to Nurture Early Childhood Development in India’  under the Bernard van Leer Foundation’s (BvLF) global Urban95 initiative for children between the ages of 0-5 years and their caregivers. Launching the initiative in Pune on the 9th of December, Rubal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said, “Pune is a pioneering city in many ways and we welcome initiatives such as Urban95 to transform urban areas and make them children and caregivers-friendly. We are proud to launch the project in Pune in collaboration with ITDP and BvLF and look forward to participating in nurturing early childhood development.”

Rubal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner- PMC, launching the initiative

Speaking at the launch, Shreya Gadepalli, South Asia Programme Lead, ITDP, presented the vision for the city and the initiative, “In India and across many fast-developing countries, the ever-increasing investments are not focused enough on incorporating the needs of infants, toddlers, and caregivers. Under this programme and with BvLF’s support, we hope that cities like Pune become lighthouses for other cities in Maharashtra and the country to incorporate the needs of young children and families in their mobility policies, plans, and projects.”

Shreya Gadepalli speaking at the launch

The event was also attended by government officials from the Roads and Family Planning Departments. Representatives from local organisations such as MASHAL, Centre for Environment Education, Parisar, Prasanna Desai Architects, and Shelter Associates suggested various ways for Pune to become a child-friendly city. The discussion brought up many important factors and considerations for the initiative to focus on. 

The presentation session was followed by a panel discussion with Shreya Gadepalli, Rushda Majeed – Country Representative for India BvLF, Cecilia Vaca Jones – Progamme Director BvLF, Dinkar Gojare- Executive Engineer, PMC Roads Department, and Milind Khedkar- Medical Officer, PMC Family Planning Department, and moderated by Aswathy Dilip, Senior Programme Manager, ITDP India Programme.

The panelists and members of the audience had an active discussion that brought up many important factors and considerations for the initiative to focus on. The panellists emphasised the need for all developments to be done with a holistic and integrated approach. Policies and guidelines are necessary, but it is also the responsibility of citizens to participate in the process, demand, and ensure the  maintenance of facilities used by the children. Members of the audience also highlighted the importance of scaling up the initiatives to the city level through quick steps like Tactical Urbanism interventions.

Panel discussion on creating safe and inclusive cities for children

Speaking about the factors to ensure scaling up of the initiative, Cecilia said, “It is vital to have continuous documentation of what is working and what is not, and a good communication strategy to scale up the work at the state and national level. Understanding the financing of such initiatives is also very important for a long term engagement.”

Speaking about the importance of safe and high quality urban mobility to ensure the wellbeing of children and their caregivers, Rushda Majeed said, “Babies and toddlers are dependent on their primary caregiver, be it mothers, fathers, elder siblings or grandparents, to get around. If walking conditions and public transport are poor, they are less likely to be able to go out with their parents and grandparents, have uncomfortable or long commutes, be exposed to unsafe environments, and have limited options for physical activities.”

Mobility policies that focus on ITC would equip decision makers to invest in sustainable mobility – walking, cycling, and public transport – with specific interventions and improvements dedicated for early childhood development to increase safety, convenience, and vibrancy of public spaces, and improve access to childhood services such as health care, education, and play.

The event received support from representatives of organisations in Pune

With several developments to make the city more inclusive, Pune is already on its way to becoming a “City for all”. Highlighting the work done in Pune, Dinkar Gojare said, “The PMC has already adopted the Urban Street Design Guidelines, a “Pedestrian First” policy, and implemented several road safety improvement projects. 100 km of street redesign is already on its way. A Children’s traffic Club has been initiated, along with other place making projects. Open spaces are available but they are misused. We should begin with freeing up about 25% of them for projects that ensure early childhood development.”

Participants at the launch event

The programme that is now set in motion will build on this work and see Pune transform itself into India’s first safe and accessible city for infants, toddlers and their caregivers and a model for other cities to emulate. The ITDP India team and BvLF will support PMC to make this dream a reality. 

With a clear vision and people’s support, Pune is building a future where cities are designed for children. After all, a city for children is a city for all! 

Written by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Making Places for People: The Launch of the Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza

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The Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza, one of Greater Chennai Corporation’s most anticipated projects, was launched with much pomp and show on the 13th November, 2019, by the Hon. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami. Spanning over 700m on Sir Thyagaraya Road, the plaza has successfully transformed one of Chennai’s busiest and car-centric shopping streets into a pedestrian promenade by prioritising people over vehicles, and opening up new ways of experiencing the space. With wide and safe pedestrian walkways on both sides, ample shaded seating, beautiful landscape, and colourful play elements, the plaza was designed as a space accessible for all, including women, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. 

Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza takes off !

A couple with a stroller walks past the parade of shops, the infant’s eyes light up at the brilliant display of wares. A group of young women store-hop, hands full with bulging shopping bags bursting at their seams, but they still want to shop more. An elderly man on a wheelchair swiftly moves through the teeming crowd, pausing at places to enjoy the sights and sounds of the promenade. Musicians take over the streets as people walking by stop to listen, curious and pleasantly surprised. Two generations of family converse over fresh filter coffee, while the third-and the youngest- runs around and plays on the see-saw by the footpath.

Vibrant, attractive, lively, with spaces to walk, run, play, socialize, sit, linger and observe.

A street full of people. A street for people.

This is the New Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza! 

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The Pedestrian Plaza project was conceived with the intent of enhancing the unique shopping experience that Pondy Bazaar offers, by reclaiming public space for the shoppers. For the first time, Chennai is looking at a street as not just a mobility corridor, but as a social, public space for everyone, be it families, children, and the elderly.

An open-air mall in the heart of the city! 

Before and after conceptual street sections highlighting the space reclaimed for the pedestrians

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With the success of the pedestrian plaza, the city now plans to scale up the work by redesigning and developing streets in Chennai to be future-ready and Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) friendly incorporating various aspects of mobility, utility and livability.

The first phase of the Mega Streets project envisions the creation of a network plan and redesign of over 110 km of streets spread across six different neighbourhoods. The network plan will prioritise shaping spaces accommodating the needs of all road users.

G.Prakash, IAS – Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation is all praise for namma Pedestrian Plaza!

With more neighbourhoods set to see a similar transformation, Chennai is surely moving towards better and livelier streets for all!

Written by Aishwarya Soni
Sketch by AV Venugopal
Videos created by Aishwarya Soni, Kawin Kumaran.
Photographs by TD Achuthan, Santhosh Loganaathan

Edited by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Check out our previous blog on how the Pedestrian Plaza reclaims the street for pedestrians and shoppers.

A Tale of Two Cities

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Chennai passed the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) Act in 2010 and the Government of Tamil Nadu greenlit its operations earlier this year. Cities like London and Singapore with highly sophisticated city-wide transportation systems today, were in a similar condition to Chennai when they developed their own transportation authorities. As Chennai looks at creating CUMTA, there are many lessons that can be learnt by looking at the challenges cities like London and Singapore faced and how they moved ahead to where they are now.

Chennai’s bus system (Credit: The News Minute)

“Has your daily commute in Chennai changed in the last ten years?”

Most people asked this question today would feel it has changed, but can we say it has changed for the better? Chennai spends more time now being stuck in traffic than a decade ago. Public transportation can be uncomfortable and irregular. Last-mile connectivity options are few, expensive, and often frustrating for most modes of public transportation in the city, including the metro. There is also the problem of the paucity of information. At a time when most of us have smartphones and data plans make it possible for us to live stream a cricket match on them, we still lack real-time information on when the next bus or train on a particular route might arrive. Why is this so? How can we start to address these problems? 

Technology in Transportation

Public transportation schedules available on smartphone app in Singapore (Credit: The Strait Times)

There are several steps that can help overcome this: accurate live route information for public transportation, a common electronic payment mechanism, and the creation of fare zones- a section of travel within which a set fare is charged. These are neither unreasonable nor unique demands. In Singapore, for example, the smartphone application for live route information also indicates the availability of seats on a bus. London, meanwhile, is moving towards contactless payments. Imagine being able to pay through your debit card or smart watch on the bus or metro or train instead of using different payment cards on each public transport mode. 

How have these cities been able to do it all? What can Chennai and other Indian cities learn in order to make these necessary technological interventions and create a world class public transportation system?

One City, One Transport Authority

Central to addressing these issues is understanding the importance and role of a single city-level institution dedicated to the governance of various public transport systems in the city. Chennai today has 10 different agencies running public transportation: one each for the bus system, the suburban rail and metro rail. In addition, there are different agencies in charge of roads, enforcement, etc. One of the key challenges is the lack of coordination between the various departments. Several government agencies are responsible for individual aspects of transportation and there needs to be effective coordination between them for smooth progress to avoid delays and inefficiencies. This can be facilitated by creating a single agency to bring the different departments together. In creating such an agency we can look to different cities which have tried and achieved this. Consider the example of London, the default case study for efficient urban transportation today. 

London’s transformation

London’s bus system (Credit: The Evening Standard)

London’s transportation landscape was as fragmented as Chennai’s today. London faced similar challenges, and different companies were responsible for operating the public bus, underground train and tram services. Further complications arose due to the existence of several train and tram companies in London.

In 2000, London created Transport for London(TfL) to bring them all together. TfL is responsible for the day-to-day operation of all public transport networks in London and the city’s main roads. The public transportation system of London was completely transformed by working under one institution, resulting in the integration of these different modes and their access through one common mobility card called Oyster. TfL’s Open Data policy has also enabled software developers to create apps that people of London can use to access real-time information for public transportation and plan their journey.

London is not the only city with a common authority for urban transportation though. Many cities around the world – including Singapore, New York, Lagos – have one. Many Indian cities, including Chennai and Bangalore are now considering a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA).

CUMTA moves ahead 

First described in India’s National Urban Transport Policy, 2006, the Government of India recommended an UMTA be set up in all million-plus cities for “coordinated planning and implementation of urban transport programs and projects and an integrated management of urban transport systems”

Finding merit in the concept, Chennai passed the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) Act in 2010. The strength of CUMTA will lie in its ability to bring together the multiple agencies that are represented on its board. As a coordinating body, it can help institute integrated transport planning and decision making for Chennai as a whole. CUMTA can help give direction to the individual agencies and to the government’s overall transport strategy. 

Earlier this year, CUMTA’s operations were greenlit by the Government of Tamil Nadu. As the institution comes into service, Chennai has the opportunity to radically transform its public transportation infrastructure. Learning from cities like London and Singapore which have overcome their fragmented systems to become leaders in the field of urban transportation will benefit both CUMTA and Chennai greatly. 

Written by Varun Sridhar

Edited by Keshav Suryanarayanan, AV Venugopal




Upcoming: Part 2 of the CUMTA series

ITDP spoke to Mr. Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Customer Experiences at Transport for London, about CUMTA’s role in defining the future of mobility in Chennai. Watch out for our next blog that will describe Mr.Verma’s inputs and recommendations/directions for the city and the institution.