ITDP India

Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation worldwide

Accelerating Urban Transport Reforms for Effective City Level Action

by

As published in Observer Research Foundation

In the last decade, as India’s urban population surged by 26 percent,1 the use of personal motor vehicles (PMV) grew by 138 percent.2 India took 60 years (1951-2008) to reach 105 million registered vehicles and added the same number of vehicles in the subsequent six years (2009-2015), which put pressure on existing road networks and transport systems.3 The current urban transport governance framework is fragmented, with different agencies managing different aspects of the sector; in Delhi alone, over ten agencies handle transport, including three municipal corporations, the Public Works Department (PWD), national and state highways, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), and the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS).4  Such fragmentation leads to a lack of coordination and inefficiencies in project implementation and timelines.

There is an urgent need for reforms in India’s urban transport governance frameworks to ensure effective city-level action that can keep pace with the rapid population growth and its evolving needs. Such reforms will also require interventions at the national, state, and city levels.

National-Level Interventions: Setting the Vision and Funding Mandates 

The National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), issued by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in 2006,5 was aimed at bringing about comprehensive improvements in urban transport services and infrastructure. The NUTP transformed India’s transport priorities, focusing on the mobility of people rather than vehicles and paving the way for schemes and programmes to support states and cities in improving urban mobility, such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),6 the Smart Cities Mission, 7 and Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME I and II).8 However, the NUTP lacked a definitive vision with specific goals as well as a mandate to enable the funding of state- and city-level initiatives. Consequently, many states and cities struggled to meet the increasing demand for mobility. The approximately 30,000 buses that were introduced across India’s urban districts through schemes like JNNURM 9 10and FAME11 fell significantly short of the 200,000 requirement.12 Therefore, the NUTP highlights the need to establish a clear vision for urban mobility and mandate sufficient funding allocations in order to accelerate reforms.

The Cycles4Change,13 Streets4People,14 and Transport4All15 projects, which were initiated at the national level by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2021, demonstrated a welldefined vision for urban mobility. The programmes have sought to address funds allocation, peer learning, and institutional synergy.

Utilising a participatory approach, the initiatives provided step-bystep guidance to cities to improve their walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructures. They also included a funding component to test solutions in top-performing cities, fostering intra-state competition and enabling city governments to effectively scale up transformation. The effort led to Healthy Streets Apex Committees being formed in over 30 cities, which set goals for projects and programmes to promote walking and cycling.16

Simultaneously, Transport4All Taskforces comprising government and non-government stakeholders were created in 100 cities to improve public transport systems.17 The projects also facilitated knowledge exchange among cities, enabling them to learn from the experiences of others within and outside their state. This collaborative approach led to a rapid improvement in urban mobility infrastructure and services. 

Consequently, 15 cities adopted Healthy Streets Policies to establish a framework towards prioritising walking and cycling. Nineteen cities also developed three-year action plans that laid out goals and strategies to achieve the Healthy Streets vision.18 The plans included strategies and budgets for the city-wide expansion of walking and cycling initiatives, and clearly identified roles and responsibilities of various city agencies towards implementing these strategies. By fostering competition and knowledge exchange as well as providing cities with a clear roadmap and budget for improving sustainable mobility, the initiatives have inspired more than 100 cities to take proactive action towards transforming urban transport in their jurisdictions.19

State Level: Need for State Funding and City-Level Action Mandates

Some states have attempted to address specific aspects of mobility through policies—for example, on electric vehicles or those for transit-oriented development—which have independent agendas and visions. A holistic approach to sustainable mobility through a state-level Sustainable Urban Transport Policy (SUTP) that can guide city-level policies and projects could help these policies be more effective. Such an overarching policy can standardise regulations, allocate the required financial resources to ensure on ground implementation, and facilitate knowledge exchange to drive sustainable mobility initiatives. It can also mandate and monitor city-level actions, ensuring accountability and consistency across jurisdictions.

A few states in India are paving the way for effective urban transport initiatives in cities. In 2017, the Maharashtra Urban Development Department released the draft Maharashtra Urban Mobility Policy.20 Applicable to all urban areas in the state, the policy envisioned modes of transport that are safe, reliable, sustainable, and accessible for all citizens. The policy also included tangible metrics for infrastructure implementation that could measure its success.

To support cities in implementing sustainable mobility projects on ground, the Government of Karnataka set up the State Urban Transport Fund (SUTF),21 administered by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport. Mobilised from three sources—a 1-percent cess on Motor Vehicle Tax (MVT), a 2-percent cess on property tax, and budgetary support from the state—the fund promotes the public transport system in cities by assisting in the construction of city transit infrastructure, implementing non-motorised transport (NMT) systems, and developing projects and feasibility study reports, among others. In 2021, the Tamil Nadu Transport Department secured a loan of INR 1,600 crore (approx. US$200 million) from the KfW Development Bank to procure 2,000 e-buses by 2025 for three cities, including the capital, Chennai, to improve the quality of public transport in these cities.22 Large procurements of electric buses, which are expensive and often beyond the budgets of many cities, could be challenging without state support.

City Level: Need for an Institutional Framework, Policies, and Funding

  1. Setting up robust institutional frameworks The NUTP recommended setting up a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA)23 in all cities with a population of over one million. UMTAs were envisioned as nodal agencies for all mobility initiatives in a city in order to oversee timely implementation even with the involvement of multiple agencies. They can ensure transparency of decisions across different departments and the accountability of agencies responsible for project delivery. However, very few cities have established a functional UMTA due to the lack of regulatory mandates to form such an entity. 24The Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) Act, which was passed in 2010 25and has been operational since 2019, has brought key agencies and stakeholders together under a single roof, ensuring the seamless integration and implementation of all transport projects across various modes in the city. As a coordinating body, it has helped integrate transport planning and decision-making in Chennai. Karnataka also formed a Non-Motorised Transport Agency (KNMTA) in 2019 to implement a public bicyclesharing system in Bengaluru, alongside undertaking other NMT activities in the state.26 Similarly, Pune has set up taskforces and cells to oversee the planning, implementation, and maintenance of various NMT initiatives, including27 a participatory NMT Cell to support the transformation of streets across the city.28
  2. Adopting progressive policies and plans There is a need for specific policies and roadmaps that address various aspects of sustainable mobility in cities, including active transport infrastructure for walking and cycling, public transport, parking management, transit-oriented development, low-emission zones, and electrification. These policies must embed the principles of sustainable mobility into the city’s transport-related decision making. At present, Indian cities lack the processes that could enable data-based decision-making. Well-designed policies and roadmaps with clear, actionable, measurable targets can help cities monitor their successes and shortcomings, hold relevant stakeholders accountable for implementation, and ensure data-driven decision-making. For instance, Chennai and Pune have adopted urban mobility policies that prioritise walking, cycling, and public transport. Starting in 2014, Chennai adopted India’s first NMT policy, which inspired Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to adopt the same.29 In 2016, Pune adopted India’s first progressive parking policy,30 inspiring Chennai to also start a similar exercise. These policies have initiated a move towards sustainable mobility, created best practices and benchmarks, and inspired other cities
  3. Setting the right budget Cities remain at the forefront of implementing transport policies and projects, as they have a better understanding of their unique challenges and opportunities compared to other levels of government. Therefore, they are best positioned to efficiently allocate resources to meet ever-changing urban demands. City-level budgets are critical for public transport services. City-level budget allocation also reduces the burden on state and national governments. For example, the twin cities of Pune and PimpriChinchwad have consistently allocated at least 25 percent of their annual transport budget for the last five years towards improving walking, cycling, and public transport infrastructure.31 Similarly, the Greater Chennai Corporation launched the Chennai Mega Streets Programme 32 in 2020 to create a city-wide network of streets that have a lifespan of at least 30 years, with funds allocated in the 2020 Tamil Nadu budget for the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs) and commencement of work. 33

Addressing the complex challenges of urban transport governance demands concerted efforts at multiple levels of governance, from overarching national policies to city-level initiatives. The national government needs to set the right vision, backed by strong funding mandates for states and cities, while facilitating peer-topeer learning between cities and states to accelerate transformation. As demonstrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, it is critical for states to support cities in implementation through policy and funding and mandating city-level action. Additionally, cities need to set up strong institutions such as CUMTA, adopt progressive policies as in the case of Pune, and allocate financial resources to meet ever-changing urban demands to ensure effective action.

Learning from successful experiences can pave the way for sustainable, efficient, and inclusive urban mobility systems. The journey to transform urban transport is long, but with the right policies, funding, and city-level action, it is a goal that could prove to be within reach.

Written by

Sivasubramaniam Jayaraman, National Lead and Senior Programme Manager in charge – public Transport system and TDM

Vaishali Singh, Manager – Transport Systems and Electric Mobility

  1. World Bank, “Urban Population (% of Total Population) – India,” 2022,
    https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=IN ↩︎
  2. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, “Road Transport Yearbook(s), 2008,
    2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016,” https://morth.nic.in/road-transport-year-books ↩︎
  3. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, “Road Transport Yearbook(s), 2008,
    2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016” ↩︎
  4. “Too Many Agencies Monitoring Public Transport in NCR, Need Revamp: Panel,” The Indian Express,
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  5. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, National Transport Policy, Ministry of Urban
    Development, New Delhi, 2006, https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/TransportPolicy.pdf ↩︎
  6. Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation,
    Government of India, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Overview, New Delhi,
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  7. Smart Cities Mission, “Vision of Smart Cities Mission,” Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,
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  8. Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India,
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  9. K.C. Sivaramakrishnan, “Urban Transport: A Bus to Nowhere,” The Economic Times, April 20, 2009,
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    articleshow/4422393.cms?from=mdr; Ministry of Urban Affairs, Government of India, “Procurement
    of 10,000 Buses and Ancillary Infrastructure,” 2013. ↩︎
  10. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, “Recommendatory Urban Bus Specifications –
    II,” 2013, https://mohua.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Urban-Bus-Specifications-II.pdf ↩︎
  11. Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India, “Status of Sanction of Electric Buses Under FAME
    India Scheme II,’ Ministry of Heavy Industries, https://dash.heavyindustries.gov.in/dhieb ↩︎
  12. Calculated by ITDP India ↩︎
  13. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, “India Cycles for Change (IC4C) Challenge,”
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  14. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, “Streets for People Challenge,”
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  15. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India,
    https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1874732 ↩︎
  16. ITDP India, “10 Things that Shaped Out 2022,” https://www.itdp.in/itdp-indias-year-end-roundup/ ↩︎
  17. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India,
    https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1874732 ↩︎
  18. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Streets for People, Pathways of Change from India’s Smart
    Cities, New Delhi, 2023,
    https://smartcities.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-03/Street%20Compendium%202023%2018-12.pdf ↩︎
  19. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India,
    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1739905; Ministry of Housing and Urban
    Affairs, Government of India, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1790637; Ministry of
    Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India,
    https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1874732 ↩︎
  20. ITDP India, “Maharashtra Urban Mobility Policy,”
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  21. Directorate of Urban Land Transport, “State Urban Transport Fund (SUTF),” Urban Development
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  22. Julie Mariappan, “Tamil Nadu Receives Rs 1600 Crore from German Aid Agency,” The Times of India,
    September 27, 2019,
    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/tamil-nadu-receives-rs-1600crore-loan-fromgerman-aid-agency/articleshow/71319544.cms ↩︎
  23. Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, National Transport Policy 2006. ↩︎
  24. Dhaval Desai, “Lost in Transit: Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA),” Observer Research
    Foundation, January 8, 2022,
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  25. Government of Tamil Nadu, “Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority Act 2010,”
    https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13110/1/cumta_act.pdf ↩︎
  26. Directorate of Urban Land Transport, “Karnataka Non-Motorised Transport Agency (KNMTA),” Urban
    Development Department, Government of Karnataka, https://dult.karnataka.gov.in/127/knmta/en ↩︎
  27. ITDP India, “Chennai Non-Motorised Transport Policy,” ITDP India,
    https://www.itdp.in/maharashtra-urban-mobility-policy/https://www.itdp.in/resource/chennainon-motorised-transport-policy/#:~:text=The%20Chennai%20Corporation’s%20Council%20
    adopted,greenways%20and%20other%20NMT%20facilities ↩︎
  28. Pune Municipal Corporation, Pune Smart City, Pune’s Sustainable Transport Journey, Pune, 2021,
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  29. ITDP India, “Chennai Non-Motorised Transport Policy,”
    https://www.itdp.in/maharashtra-urban-mobility-policy/https://www.itdp.in/resource/chennainon-motorised-transport-policy/#:~:text=The%20Chennai%20Corporation’s%20Council%20
    adopted,greenways%20and%20other%20NMT%20facilities ↩︎
  30. Pune Municipal Corporation, “Public Parking Policy 2016,”
    https://www.pmc.gov.in/sites/default/files/project-glimpses/PMC-public-parking-policy-Englishrevised-March2016-Final.pdf ↩︎
  31. Keshav Suryanarayan, “Pune Leads India Towards a Sustainable Future,” ITDP India, January 2020,
    https://www.itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Pune-Leads-India-Toward-a-SustainableFuture-ITDP.pdf ↩︎
  32. Komal Gautham, “Greater Chennai Corporation Fast Tracks Mega Streets Project,” The Times of India,
    July 15, 2022,
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    articleshow/92885712.cms ↩︎
  33. “Chennai’s Streets for People: The Journey,” ITDP India, February 29, 2020,
    https://itdp.in/chennais-streets-for-people-the-journey/ ↩︎

How to create impactful national programmes – Lessons from the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges

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Four years. 

Three steps—Test, Learn, Scale.

Two national Challenges. 

One mission—to support cities across India to create Healthy Streets—streets that prioritise walking, cycling, and public transport.

With the wrap-up of the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges with the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in January 2024, we look back at the origin and impact of the two programmes. We also present five key lessons from the experience which can help shape any similar efforts to transform our cities at scale. 

Let’s go back to where it all began. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, all our lives turned upside down, and people HAD to adapt to survive. Amidst this chaos and uncertainty, we noticed something remarkable—people flocked to the streets to escape the four walls of their homes. Not only were they reclaiming their streets for fun and socialising, but people were now walking and cycling to access essential goods and services!

And that got us thinking—can we use this moment to get cities to create people-centric streets that could enable healthy lifestyles, and pave the way for a green recovery from the pandemic? 

The birth of the Challenges and its impact

Enter series two of the Urbanlogue webinars, launched by ITDP India in collaboration with the SCM, to provide expertise and spur conversations on best practices for travel and health in a post-COVID era. Over 5500 city officials attended these sessions to understand topics including COVID-safe public transport solutions, the need for street interventions to expand space for cycling and walking, and digital innovations for formal and informal public transport.

 

But talking wasn’t enough. We needed to see on-ground action.  And so, the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges were born. Launched by the SCM and ITDP India, these two Challenges aimed to support cities in transforming their streets into Healthy Streets in a holistic step-by-step manner. Cities were excited about this initiative and to our pleasant surprise, we had a whopping 117 cities signing up for these Challenges! There began India’s Healthy Streets Revolution.

Fast forward four years, 15 cities have displayed exemplary efforts and innovative solutions in their Challenge journey, and emerged as the Challenge Champions! These cities pushed boundaries and implemented unique ideas across three pillars—Action (infrastructure pilots), Foundation (institutional changes like policies, committees, and cells), and Communication (campaigns, consultations, and outreach). But the true force behind the success of the Challenges—every single participating city who contributed in different ways, from small-scale ideas to large-scale implementation, doing whatever they could do given their context.

To check out the entire journey of these cities, the impressive work done by them, and their way forward, check out our recent publication ‘Transforming Lives With Healthy Streets: Unravelling The Journey Of Creating Healthy Streets In Indian Cities’

Our learnings from the process

This journey, however, brought a lot of uncertainties that our core team—a six-member team doing the technical and coordination work—had to adapt to constantly. In such moments, as Dory from the movie ‘Finding Nemo’ said, we just kept swimming, and kept our eyes on the prize—supporting cities in creating Healthy Streets! 

Here’s what we learnt from the process: 

  1. Set the right expectations – We quickly realised that a nationwide Challenge approach was an effective tool to mainstream the conversation about a topic—Healthy Streets in this case. But, when it comes to implementation, cities were at different starting points with respect to their understanding, capacity, infrastructure, ecosystem etc. So, expecting the same level of results from all of them would have been unfair. Our goal was to get city officials to understand the concepts to at least start talking about Healthy Streets and the importance of prioritising them in their cities. By calibrating the expectations, we were able to achieve this by the end of the Challenges.
  2. Enable the right ecosystem – No matter how great the ambition to drive change, nothing is possible without the right kind of support. We saw how committed and proactive city leaders inspired action and were instrumental in getting things done. Not just that, the cities with a network of strong local partners—civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, resident welfare associations, Bicycle Mayors, etc—consistently surpassed expectations because of their unwavering support in driving the work forward.
  3. Ensure collaboration between multiple departments – Through the Challenges, we actively worked with the Municipal Corporation and Smart City Limited who took the lead in each city. Across the country, cities that stood out and implemented great infrastructure had one secret ingredient—engaging with multiple departments to ensure coordinated action and support for the project. Building the support and capacity of these various departments—including others like the Traffic Police and the Planning and Development Authority—is the only way Healthy Streets projects can be implemented holistically. 
  4. Establish a robust data collection and monitoring system – While cities worked towards the actions expected of them through the Challenges, they faced a major gap in setting up processes for data collection and monitoring. In addition to the technical guidance and resources we provided, supporting cities was crucial—to prioritise this action, identify a nodal staff person, and build their capacity to work with data.
  5. Promote behaviour change – Through the Challenges, cities were introduced to the power of campaigns. Cities went all out in hosting social media campaigns, Open Street events, and other events like walkathons, cyclothons, cycle rallies, etc. to mainstream walking and cycling among the public. But this by itself is not enough to get more people cycling. While one-off events are great for garnering public support, long-term campaigns with a lens of behaviour change, like the Cycle2Work campaign initiated by some cities, are the only way to nudge people to take up walking and cycling as a mode of commute. This is also necessary to ensure the infrastructure implemented by cities are used well—infrastructure and campaigns go hand-in-hand in ensuring successful Healthy Streets initiatives. 

Way Forward

We believe that the IndiaCycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges are an innovative step towards the larger vision of creating sustainable cities of the future. Cities have committed to continuing their efforts by identifying their short-term and long-term goals for the next three years, including plans to allocate budgets for Healthy Streets. We hope we can see many more cities embrace Healthy Streets and become lighthouse cities in the coming years!

Just like the Challenge cities, we also applied the TEST-LEARN-SCALE mantra in strategizing and developing the Challenges. We tested out this new format and gathered our learnings. Now, we can’t wait to strategize the next step—SCALE. We also hope that this format inspires other agencies and organisations, within the country and across the world. Stay tuned to see what comes next!  

Written by Smritika Srinivasan

Edited by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Persuade and they will do: Creating persuasive national programmes for cities

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The title of this article is a play on “Build it and they will come”, a phrase commonly used to describe the idea that if you create good projects, people will come to use them. This applies to much of the infrastructure cities create—well-designed Healthy Streets and vibrant public spaces can in turn bring more people to use them. Back in 2020, we launched two ambitious and experimental national programmes with the Smart Cities Mission—the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges. And we started by asking ourselves—how do we effectively persuade cities to do exactly that – build better streets?

In his pathbreaking work on persuasion, psychologist Robert Cialdini laid out six principles we can use to understand the two Challenges—as a national effort to persuade cities, their leaders, and their people to change their minds and their actions. We can then use this understanding to inform the design of other innovative programmes going forward. But first, we can start by seeing what the Challenges managed to achieve.

The impact of the Challenges

We wrapped up this four-year experiment in January this year. Of over 110 participating cities, 15 cities have emerged as champions of the two Challenges. While these cities have made the most progress across various factors, the efforts of the other cities have been nothing short of inspiring.

33 cities implemented over 350 km of improved footpaths and over 220 km of cycle tracks. Projects are underway to transform over 1400 kilometres of streets in 48 cities. In addition to implementing projects, cities have also institutionalised this change by setting up Healthy Streets Apex Committees and Design Cells, adopting Healthy Streets Policies, and developing detailed three-year action plans to continue this momentum.

We launched a comprehensive publication that documents detailed case studies of street transformation projects completed under the Smart Cities Mission, and learnings from their implementation. We’re very hopeful that this momentum will continue beyond the Challenges and that cities will go on to scale up their efforts rapidly in the coming years. 

As we brought the two programmes to a close at a national workshop last month and look back at the journey, one aspect stands out—the sheer scale of the effort from so many cities, their decision makers, engineers, urban designers, technical experts, and most importantly the people of these cities. How did the Challenges manage to make this happen? And how can this inform other programmes which also target city-level action? 

Using the six principles of persuasion

The psychologist Robert Cialdini published a book called ‘Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion’ in which he lays out six principles which can be used to be more effective when trying to persuade others to take a specific action.

The six key principles Cialdini identified are Authority, Reciprocity, Consistency, Social Proof, Liking, and Scarcity. Let’s see how each of them plays out in the context of the Challenges.

Authority 

Right from the get-go, the Challenges had the full support of the national Mission behind them. This was crucial to ensure cities took up the opportunity and maintained their momentum across the different stages of the Challenges. Having strong technical experts like ITDP India as a partner anchoring the programmes and several other experts as jurors also ensured the cities had access to credible and concrete guidance throughout the process. This helped build trust with the cities and helped get their active participation. 

Expert roundtables as part of national capacity building workshops

Reciprocity

At every step of the journey, we started by asking not what the cities could do, but asking ourselves what we could do for the cities, to make it easier for them to take action. We gave the cities various resources—bite-sized guides on various topics, easy-to-use templates, even a game to help cities understand how to create action plans—before asking the cities to act. In addition to all this, we also had the more tried and tested method of offering prize money to the top cities selected. Each of these had a role to play in how much effort the cities put in. 

Library of resources

Consistency

Expecting immediate and dramatic transformation from cities is asking to be disappointed. The goal was not to start sprinting and stop within a few feet gasping for breath, but to run a marathon. We broke down the actions cities needed to take, with monthly workshops along with resources to guide them on specific actions—one action after each workshop. In the spirit of an experiment, we urged cities to adopt a Test-Learn-Scale approach—try temporary and inexpensive solutions to improve their streets, learn from their experience and that of other cities, and scale these lessons into permanent infrastructure. With regular Open Street events and campaigns, the cities also gradually got their citizens on board with reimagining their streets. 

Actions in various stages

Social Proof

This principle was crucial. The Challenges were a unique mix of competition and collaboration. While cities were technically competing with each other to be selected as the top cities, we ensured that the cities build a strong culture of peer-to-peer learning by spotlighting the efforts of various cities through our workshops and site visits where other cities could learn from successful tests. We also created a progress dashboard of the cities so that cities and citizens could also look at how well their city was performing in comparison to others. 

Progress dashboard of cities

Liking

We can’t help it—we’re more likely to listen to the people we like. One of the main results of the programmes has been the creation of a strong community of champions for sustainable mobility. We heard heartening stories of officials from different cities reaching out to each other with questions, coming together to discuss ideas during workshops and in WhatsApp groups. We hope these relationships grow and they continue to inspire and motivate each other to make all our cities better. 

Creating a community of champions

Scarcity

Through a time-bound and stage-wise process, we also emphasised the urgency of action to the cities. Only the best of the cities could move to the next stages and continue to receive detailed technical guidance and support. This incentivised the cities to attempt all the necessary steps in each stage to make sure they could progress.

Persuasion is necessary, not optional

We designed the Challenges to get them to act quickly. And this is what we need as the nation grapples with the complex challenges of urbanisation, pollution, and climate change. Without persuasion, we risk momentum towards a greener future slowing down in the face of inertia and inaction. In India’s journey towards sustainable mobility, persuasion is not just desirable—it is a necessity. It can catalyse action, transform mindsets, and pave the way for a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow.

The journey of the cities will continue. Other national, state, and city-level programmes will be developed to prioritise sustainable mobility. And when they do, we hope they can build on these learnings and find other innovative ways to persuade and inspire cities to accelerate action.

Written by Keshav Suryanarayanan

Pimpri Chinchwad’s transformation: A story of perseverance and resilience amid urbanisation

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If there were a city in India ready to narrate an inspiring saga of transformation of its urban mobility, Pimpri Chinchwad would undoubtedly be at the forefront. Picture Pimpri Chinchwad as the protagonist in its own journey—a courageous figure embarking on a quest to create a better city for its people by persevering to transform the way people move, the way people experience their streets, and the way it sets the foundation for resilience. Pimpri Chinchwad’s quest remains a work in progress, with much more to be accomplished, but it has started its journey with a realisation—a realisation that change is necessary for the city’s future prosperity amid rapid urbanisation, which sparks hope. 

The plot: an ongoing challenge of traffic, poor air quality, and people’s safety

The plot of this storyline starts with the pressing issues of traffic congestion, declining air quality, and people’s safety, driving the necessity for change. The vehicle population of over 21 lakhs (2024) is racing to match that of humans, with projections suggesting that the city’s population has crossed 24 lakhs. Given the surge in vehicles, it comes as no surprise that in November 2023, the city’s PM 2.5 levels reached a staggering 103-121 µg/m³, well surpassing the prescribed daily average concentration limit of 60µg/m³. 

Safety in terms of public health and the risk to life from road accidents was also a significant factor in changing how people move. In 2022, Pimpri Chinchwad recorded 1051 road accidents, and over 370 lost their lives in road accidents—four times higher than in 2018. 

The silver lining: city leaders stepped up to initiate action

For more than a decade, these challenges have persisted, placing Pimpri Chinchwad at a perpetual crossroads where it must make a critical decision: either expand road infrastructure to accommodate the growing influx of vehicles or prioritise the safety and welfare of its residents.

In navigating this decision, a silver lining has emerged as Pimpri Chinchwad discovered a steadfast ally in its most important supporting characters—dedicated city Municipal Commissioners who have championed sustainable mobility since 2018. These city leaders embraced the pivotal role of crafting policies and implementing sustainable mobility interventions—the only way to reduce congestion, minimise emissions, and improve safety. They have done this by promoting public transport with 50 kilometres of the Rainbow Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), plying a fleet of over 450 electric buses, building over 100 kms of walking and cycling networks, and laying a robust foundation through policies—like a Non-motorised Transport Policy — and capacity building for the longevity of its efforts. 

The rising action: the city created better infrastructure to move people

One of the earliest and most significant actions in this saga was the city leaders’ initiative to take action on the ground. In 2018, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) successfully implemented the Rainbow BRTS connecting to its twin city, Pune. The BRTS changed public transport in the region, offering commuters a reliable, efficient, and sustainable mode of travel within and between the two cities. Operated by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), this system spans four corridors, covering a distance of 50.5 km and serving 2.88 lakh passengers daily within Pimpri Chinchwad’s city limits. The city, along with PMPML, is continuing to make improvements to the system by revamping corridor intersections, installing security cameras, and upgrading the Intelligent Transportation Management System (ITMS) to boost ridership. 

In addition to the BRTS, the electrification of buses serves as a pivotal turning point in the city’s storyline. It represented a moment of revelation, where the city realised the importance of embracing cleaner, more eco-friendly transport options. Between 2018 and 2019, 150 e-buses were introduced to serve the twin cities, and the fleet has since expanded to over 450, with an additional 200 in the pipeline. Over 70% of them are already operating on the BRT corridor. 

Around the same time, the city realised that relying solely on public transport wasn’t enough to create a captivating saga; it needed supplementary initiatives such as walking and cycling—after all, more than 30% of the city’s trips are by walk and cycle. The city’s Urban Streetscape Programme was launched in 2018, drawing inspiration from successful models of Chennai and Pune’s street programmes to improve walking and cycling infrastructure in the city. This impact of this programme, combined with the endeavours of Smart City Ltd, resulted in over 45 km of streets being revamped with wider footpaths, safer pedestrian crossings, and landscaping—Linear Garden, Patil Street, and Nigdi Road are great examples—with an additional 65 km in progress. 

Linear Garden Road designed by Prasanna Desai Architects

Additionally, Pimpri Chinchwad’s active participation in the national Streets4People and Cycles4Change Challenge, hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA), enabled them to develop innovative designs, employing a Test-Learn-Scale approach. This involved implementing tactical urbanism interventions on the ground to test out solutions and subsequently expanding successful initiatives.

Handle-bar surveys for Cycle4Change Challenge

However, as the city delved deeper into these initiatives, it became evident that these projects were not forming a connected network for pedestrian or cyclist movement which led to the inception of the ‘Harit Setu’ Masterplan, translating to ‘green connectivity.’ When implemented, it would transform the city into a 15-minute cycling-and-walking-friendly haven by enhancing existing connections and creating new green links. The pilot implementation in the Pradhikaran neighbourhood will serve as a learning experience to inform a scale-up strategy, enabling PCMC to expand walking and cycling infrastructure and transform one neighbourhood at a time.

The turning point: Pimpri Chinchwad implemented policies and strengthened the team’s capacity for resilience and expansion of its efforts

Pimpri Chinchwad recognised that while building infrastructure was vital, strategic planning for resilience and scalability was equally imperative. As the storyline progressed, Pimpri Chinchwad embedded policies to ensure stability and consistency in planning and decision-making to safeguard these initiatives against changes in leadership or priorities. 

As part of this effort, the city has begun addressing the significant challenge of managing on-street parking, which has been a major concern. The city remains dedicated to enhancing parking solutions through area-level plans and establishing a robust institutional framework. They collaborated with consultants to conduct comprehensive studies, serving as the foundation for the Parking Policy adopted in 2018. The city is looking to revise the policy in 2024 based on their learnings from parking management experience to date and make enforcement more stringent.

In 2022, they also adopted a Non-motorised Transport (NMT) Policy to achieve a target of 90% of trips made by public transport, walking, or cycling by 2036. The policy focuses on creating a safe, seamless, and pleasant network of top-notch infrastructure for walking and cycling in the city. It also goes beyond infrastructure development to integrate sustainable environmental planning and utility management to boost quality of life, spur economic growth, and preserve ecological well-being.

Adoption of Pimpri-Chinchwad’s Non-Motorised Transport Policy

The city needed internal capacity, skills, and expertise to implement policies and projects effectively, hence, investing in team development became crucial. In 2017, PCMC organised workshops and site visits to enhance skills and knowledge. Recently, city officials and engineers involved in mobility projects have pursued Masters programs in transport planning, completed national road safety audit courses, and participated in certified programs to build expertise further.

A twist in the plot: financing sustainable mobility projects

In Pimpri Chinchwad’s story, a pivotal plot twist arises, revealing a significant gap in financing for sustainable mobility projects. A staggering 58% of the total allocated transport budget of 1168 cr in 2024-25 was earmarked for vehicle-centric projects, such as grade separators and road development, which offer temporary remedies to congestion but exacerbate the problem in the long term. Consequently, just 5% (110 km) of PCMC’s streets have been transformed thus far. To meet the ambitious targets outlined in its NMT Policy, PCMC must strive to implement a minimum of 25 km of better streets every year until 2035, which requires an annual investment of 200-250 crore solely for street development.

Additionally, there is an urgent need to increase the number of buses, as the current ratio of 31 buses per lakh population falls short of the desired benchmark of 60 buses per lakh population set up by MoHUA. PMPML currently operates a fleet of 2,200 buses, while the benchmark suggests a fleet of 5,200 buses is necessary. Out of this, Pune requires 2,700 buses, PCMC requires 1,800 buses, and the Metropolitan Region outside both Municipal limits requires 700 buses. To address this demand, PCMC requires an investment of approximately 930 crore, solely for bus fleet augmentation. 

Shortfall of buses in Pimpri-Chinchwad

Presently, PCMC allocates 495 crore to street initiatives and public transport combined. While this falls short of the funds needed for street and public transport projects, it is a 100% increase in the funds allocated for such projects compared to the 2023-2024 budget. Amidst these challenges, PCMC is actively exploring diverse funding avenues, including the Smart Cities Mission, municipal bonds, and funding through development banks, in a concentrated effort to secure the necessary resources for its initiatives.

The climax

PCMC acknowledges the funding shortfall for sustainable projects but is working towards establishing a strong foundation to scale up efforts. It is initiating a Sustainability Cell to prioritise innovative and sustainable approaches in city planning, alongside the establishment of an Urban Mobility Department to consolidate mobility-related efforts. This initiative aims to enhance coordination within PCMC departments, and include various civil society organisations (CSOs) and experts to streamline collaboration.

The city has become a model of collaboration, working with CSOs and community groups to lead the shift towards sustainable mobility. It recognises that meaningful change requires involvement from all stakeholders sharing a common vision.

In conclusion, Pimpri Chinchwad’s tale is not just one of transformation—it embodies perseverance and resilience. With sustained efforts, the city is witnessing the results of its hard work. The city was recognised as one of the top 11 cities in the C4C and S4P challenge, as well as being selected as one of the 10 cities for the Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure (BICI). Instead of pausing, Pimpri Chinchwad is intensifying its commitment, evaluating the impact of initiatives like street assessments, and amplifying successful strategies. This forward-thinking approach reaffirms the city’s dedication to progress and prosperity, setting a promising course for its future.

Written by Kashmira Dubash

Technical inputs from Pranjal Kulkarni and Rutuja Nivate

Leadership Matters: Kunal Kumar IAS in conversation with Shreya Gadepalli

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How can Indian cities embark on a journey of sustainable development? What challenges do local governments face while implementing innovative solutions for urban development? How difficult is it to drive a national mission in a vast country like India? How can cities in India and across the world respond to climate change?

These are fundamental questions for any student of urban development. Kunal Kumar IAS, Joint Secretary, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of  Housing and Urban Affairs, discusses the roles, experiences, and challenges for government officials and institutions in an exclusive conversation with Shreya Gadepalli, the South Asia Programme Lead, ITDP.

Drawing from his early experience as the Municipal Commissioner of Pune, Kunal Kumar highlights the importance of democratic participation in the city’s meteoric rise as a haven for sustainable urban growth. Mr. Kumar especially stresses the need for administrators to build coalitions and act as anchors to achieve the grand visions for the city’s development. Most importantly, the effective use of communication in getting people to understand policies and governance measures go a long way towards their successful implementation.

In his current role in the national government, Mr. Kumar believes that strategic assistance—which involves giving freedom and enhancing the adaptive capabilities of cities to experiment—needs to be prioritised for the growth of the urban system as a whole. Moreover, Mr. Kumar also highlights how decentralisation must become a key feature of governance. The lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic confirm this trend. Cities that were flexible and adaptive enough to take decisions were able to effectively contain the spread of the disease. 

Lastly, Mr. Kumar argues that for the sustainable growth of cities in the country and across the world, there is an urgent need to leverage data and digital technologies today to enhance decision making. Evidence-based policymaking in a participatory manner must become the norm for policies and planning in the coming years. 

Written by Avishek Jha

This video is a part of MOBILIZE Virtual 2020: Building Collective Action for the Next Decade.

Spotlight on Pune

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Every year, the Sustainable Transport Award is given to a city that has implemented innovative projects to improve mobility,  reduce air pollution and greenhouse emissions, and improve safety and access for pedestrians and cyclists. Pune was awarded the Sustainable Transport Award 2020, making it the second Indian city after Ahmedabad to win this award. 

In the last two decades, Pune has shown an extraordinary commitment to improving sustainable mobility for its people by taking steps to improve walking, cycling, and public transport across the city. This transformation has only been possible through Pune’s relentless efforts to expand sustainable transport infrastructure by allocating resources, implementing institutional reforms, and building capacity. Over the years, the city has forged partnerships with technical experts, civil society groups, and educational institutions to transform Pune into a lighthouse for other cities.

In this video, Pranjal Kulkarni—Senior Research Associate, Urban Development at the ITDP India Programme—takes you through Pune’s journey of ensuring safe, affordable, and sustainable transport with a showcase of the city’s achievements in non-motorised and public transport, and exclusive interviews with the city’s officials who have enabled the city’s dramatic transformation.

Written by Avishek Jha

This video is a part of MOBILIZE Virtual 2020: Building Collective Action for the Next Decade.

Prioritising Streets for People: Reimagining Indian Cities

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The Smart Cities Mission launched another national green recovery initiative—the Streets for People Challenge—with an aim to make Indian cities pedestrian-friendly, lively, and safe. The Challenge was launched by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in a virtual event conducted on 11 September, 2020, and attended by key city officials, partner agencies, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders. 113 cities across the country have registered to transform their streets.

What is the Streets for People Challenge?

Across the world, COVID-19 has changed the way streets are used, highlighting the importance of streets for inclusive mobility, but also as public spaces for recreation, mental health, and to enhance the liveability of a city. The Streets for People Challenge follows on the heels of the India Cycles4Change Challenge to bridge this crucial gap in the way cities are envisioned and create streets that are safe, healthy, and happy, through quick, innovative, low-cost measures. The Challenge is an initiative of the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in partnership with the ITDP India Programme and supported by the Fit India Movement and Swachh Bharat Mission. It is open to all cities under the Smart Cities Mission, capital cities of States/Union Territories, and cities with a population of over 5 lakh population.

Launch of the Streets for People Challenge

Stages of the Challenge

The Streets for People Challenge will be conducted in two stages. Stage One of the Challenge requires cities to test at least one pilot intervention, comprising a flagship public space project and a liveable neighbourhood, along with the development of a conceptual city-wide scale-up strategy. 11 cities will be selected for Stage Two to further scale-up their transformation. Drawing cues from locations like the Pedestrian Plaza in Chennai and the Golden Temple Heritage Street in Amritsar, the flagship projects are imagined around markets, retail areas, transit hubs, and other prominent places in the city. Cities should also choose neighbourhoods, which can range from mixed-income areas, resettlement colonies, low-income neighbourhoods, and others. In these areas, cities can create pedestrian-friendly or pedestrian-only streets, convert parking spaces to pop-up parks, revitalise dead spaces, and create walking links between large urban blocks. 

Timeline of the Challenge

To ensure well-designed pilot interventions, cities will roll out a design competition for students and professionals across the country. The competition will be launched with a design brief and entries will be evaluated by local officials, citizens, experts, and other stakeholders. To place the community at the heart of the Challenge, the design competition will include a multi-step process, where citizens can take part in discussions and vote for the best entry through a community jury. Cities will also focus on citizen participation through activities such as events and campaigns. 

Cities will participate in a virtual Streets for People Festival in February 2021. Following this, 11 cities will be selected for Stage Two. In this stage, cities will commence implementation of their scale-up plan and work towards a long-term strategy to prioritise walkable and liveable streetscapes. Throughout the Challenge, the ITDP India Programme will provide remote assistance by sharing knowledge resources, conducting online training workshops, and facilitating peer-to-peer interactions between cities.

Taking the first step

The 113 registered cities have already kickstarted the process through the Online Workshop 1, which was conducted on 1 October, 2020, by the ITDP India Programme. Key officials from Amritsar, Chennai, Delhi, and Udaipur presented the learnings from the development of various pedestrian-friendly spaces in their cities. As the officials spoke about the transformation of spaces in these cities, they emphasised key factors such as community feedback sessions and tactical measures to ensure successful interventions. The session was led forward by the ITDP India Programme through a presentation that focussed on a detailed look at the Challenge process for the cities — expanding on their next steps to engage with their communities and begin the design process. 

To facilitate this collaborative transformation, cities are now calling upon passionate individuals to support their city in coordinating, volunteering, documenting, and sponsoring various elements of the Challenge. The city will closely work with these diverse group of individuals to efficiently manage the Challenge in multiple aspects, such as data collection, media coverage, and inclusive participation.

Streets for People, By People

Cities are now in the process of identifying their pilot sites, building support from the community, and gathering momentum through the ‘Open Streets’ Campaign. The campaign aims to showcase a glimpse into the Challenge, by opening streets to pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-motorised transport users. By asking citizens to nominate streets for the campaign and then organising events to bring them together, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kakinada, and many others are truly embracing this cause. The ITDP India Programme is proud to support the Smart Cities Mission in this national initiative and guide Indian cities to reimagine a future around the needs of people, not cars. 

Written by Aditi Subramanian

Edited by Avishek Jha

To support your city for the Streets for People Challenge, register here – https://smartnet.niua.org/indiastreetchallenge/support-your-city-2/

This article is part of a series of articles on the Streets for People Challenge.

Cycling with the citizens, collaborating with the community

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Cover image source: Ahmedabad

India’s journey with the India Cycles4Change Challenge

The Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the India Cycles4Change Challenge in partnership with the Fit India Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, and the ITDP India Programme to inspire cities to implement quick cycling-friendly interventions in the wake of COVID-19. The Challenge is gaining momentum with the 107 registered cities—including all 100 Smart Cities—pedalling their way forward in the first stage of the initiative. The ITDP India Programme, as the knowledge partner for the Challenge, successfully conducted three online workshops to give cities remote guidance on planning and implementation of cycling interventions, communications and outreach, and community engagement strategies. 

Cycle rally with citizens conducted by New Town Kolkata

The India Cycles4Change Challenge encourages cities to use stakeholder engagement and community participation strategies to involve people in the decision-making process. Over 2000 citizens and civil society organisations (CSOs) have registered so far to support their cities in the Challenge. Local cycle groups, corporates, and NGOs have also joined hands with cities in this cycling transformation. The participating cities have shown great enthusiasm and organised a range of innovative events, initiated cycling-friendly interventions, and employed creative branding strategies to win people’s support and get cycles back on the streets.

Kick-starting the Cycle of Change

The ITDP India Programme is the knowledge partner for the India Cycles4Change Challenge, helping cities implement their vision of cycle-friendly streets by building capacity through  regular interactive online workshops. The broad range of topics covered in the three online workshops thus far include ‘Planning Cycling Networks’, ‘Conducting Perception Surveys’, ‘Engaging with Citizens’, ‘Dos and Don’ts: Designing streets for cycling’, and ‘Building momentum for cycling’. Each workshop comprised expert discussions, technical presentations from the team at the ITDP India Programme, and peer learning sessions through panel discussions with representatives from various participating cities.

Speaking at the first workshop session conducted on 22 July 2020, Shreya Gadepalli, South Asia Programme Lead, ITDP, highlighted safety, continuity, comfort, personal security, and access to all as the key principles for creating cycling-friendly cities. She encouraged the cities to strive towards making these a reality through collaborative processes with citizens as partners.

Principles for creating cycling-friendly cities

Frontrunners such as Coimbatore, New Town (Kolkata), Chandigarh, Kohima, Surat, Bangalore, Aizawl, Nagpur, and Rajkot shared their experiences and learnings from implementing cycling initiatives in the past and the present. The diverse strategies used for citizen engagement shed light on the importance and possibilities of collaborative planning. 

Consultations, Campaigns, Cycle camps and clinics, and more!

Several cities have conducted regular brainstorming and consultation sessions with diverse stakeholders with an objective to build a unified vision for communication, outreach, and planning. More than 40 cities have formed core working teams with participation from citizens, experts, CSOs, corporates, and non-governmental organisations among others. The cities have made attempts to prioritise inclusivity in decision-making by ensuring representation from women and other social groups in their teams.

The cities are actively conducting outreach using social media platforms to share information about their progress and connect with citizens for public consultations. These efforts are being complemented with regular interaction with the print media, the use of banners, and localised campaign drives. 

Social media posts from cities across the country

Cities also launched a national ‘Cycle2Freedom’ campaign on 15 August 2020 to further deepen the partnership with their citizens vis-à-vis the challenge. Anchored to the nation-wide Independence Day celebrations, the campaign encouraged people to share stories on how cycles have empowered them, and given them freedom, along with their initial experiences with cycling. The ‘SheCycles4Change’ initiative was also launched as an integral part of the ‘Cycle2Freedom’ campaign to emphasise cycling as a safe and accessible option for women. 

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Stories from cities as part of the ‘Cycle2Freedom’ campaign

Cities also kick-started various cycling-friendly initiatives. In New Town (Kolkata), cycling training camps attracted commuters, especially women and children to pick up cycling as an independent mode of travel. Kohima launched free bike repair clinics to help citizens fix their cycles and get onto the streets. Faridabad tested out a pop-up cycle lane along one of its prime industrial corridors. Cities including Nagpur, Surat, Agartala, and Ahmedabad initiated active conversations with citizens through on-ground rallies and virtual consultations.

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Cycling-friendly initiatives from cities

Cities across the country have displayed utmost creativity and contextual diversity with their events, interventions, and strategies.  The ITDP India Programme is playing a pivotal role by sharing detailed guidance, resources, and templates for the successful realisation of the unified vision of creating cycling-friendly cities. The cities are well on the way to creating successful pilot interventions!

Are you a cycling enthusiast? 

Fix your cycle and get on to the street! The cities are geared up to TEST-LEARN-SCALE!

If you are a civil society organisation, consultant, corporate or concerned citizen eager to support your city in the India Cycles4Change Challenge, register here – https://bit.ly/30L0vnd

This article is part of a series of articles on the India Cycles4Change Challenge.

Read Part 1 in the series on the Launch of the India Cycles4Change Challenge

Read Part 2 in the series on 10 ways you can make India a cycling nation

Written by Balanagendran
Edited by Avishek Jha and Aditi Subramanian

10 ways you can make India a cycling nation!

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An infographic blog

If you are a civil society organisation, consultant, corporate or concerned citizen eager to support your city in the India Cycles4Change Challenge, register here – https://bit.ly/30L0vnd

This article is part of a series of articles on the India Cycles4Change Challenge.

Read Part 1 in the series on the Launch of the India Cycles4Change Challenge

Designed by Sujai Chandran and Aishwarya Soni

Chennai’s Streets for People initiative wins the Ashden Awards

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Over the last five years, Chennai’s Streets for People initiative has been instrumental in transforming over hundred kilometres of the city’s streets for more accessible and equitable mobility. An initiative of the Greater Chennai Corporation with technical support from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) India Programme, the Streets for People initiative has been selected as the winner of the acclaimed international Ashden Awards 2020 in the Sustainable Mobility (International) category.

Rethinking Urban Mobility

With citywide lockdowns and the suspension of public transport systems, COVID-19 has forced cities to rethink urban mobility. The pandemic has illustrated what streets without cars could look like, and people around the world have reclaimed their street spaces for mobility or access to essentials and services among others. More importantly, the lockdown has amplified the importance of walking and cycling as affordable, equitable, and sustainable modes of transport for a large section of the urban population. 

The Streets for People initiative in Chennai was aimed at improving walking and cycling infrastructure and enables people to move safely through the city. In Chennai, these streets proved extremely effective during the lockdown, enabling physical distancing and safe movement in neighbourhoods. As cities reopen and physical distancing becomes the new normal, the importance of such people-friendly initiatives for pedestrians and cyclists grows manifold.

The Ashden Award celebrates the city and its citizens for accomplishing such an amazing feat. In essence, the award recognises ITDP India Programme’s objectives to improve the quality of life in cities so that future generations inherit urban spaces that are liveable, equitable, and sustainable. The awards highlight sustainable solutions that tackle global issues such as climate change and create equitable societies. Chennai’s Streets for People initiative is among the 11 winners at the annual Ashden Awards, which was held on July 2nd 2020 in a virtual ceremony. The winners were chosen from over 200 applicants working on creating resilience, green growth, and fairer societies. 

The Chennai Streets for People Initiative

Since 2013, Chennai has been transforming its streets for safety, comfort, and inclusivity. In 2014, the city adopted the Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) Policy, to dedicate 60 percent of its budget towards NMT. Chennai was the first Indian city to adopt a policy of this kind. Since then, with the support of the ITDP India Programme, the city has – 

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Impact of the work 

Lauded as making Chennai the “walking capital of the country” by L. Nandakumar, Chief Engineer, Greater Chennai Corporation, these interventions have led to wider footpaths, cycle-sharing systems, and last-mile connectivity in the city of Chennai. The initiative has helped in transforming over 120 kilometres of streets to be safe and accessible for pedestrians across the city. The project has improved access to roughly 300 bus stops and over 60 schools. Moreover, it has also helped in the effective implementation of parking management systems in approximately 500 kilometres of streets. 

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Globally, cities like Paris, Milan, and London have allocated significant portions of their budgets towards creating walking and cycling-friendly infrastructure. Chennai has taken similar action through the Mega Streets programme, to create a city-wide network of streets with a lifespan of at least 30 years thereby prioritising ‘Liveability, Mobility, and Utility’. Launched earlier this year, the project aims to transform 1000 kilometres of streets in the city. The Government of Tamil Nadu, in its annual budget speech in February 2020, has expressed its intent to invest over USD $500M to replicate Chennai’s success in ten other cities, which will transform over 1600 kilometres of streets across the state.

A shining example for Indian cities

Chennai’s Streets for People initiative is a gamechanger in terms of transforming India’s cities into more equitable and people-friendly urban spaces. Moreover, the government’s intention to expand the project represents its potential to transform streets across Tamil Nadu for future generations. The Ashden award recognises and celebrates the success of Chennai’s Streets for People project done by the Greater Chennai Corporation supported by ITDP India Programme as not just the first step in scaling up across Tamil Nadu, but also as a lighthouse for urban development across the country. 

Written by Avishek Jha

Edited by Keshav Suryanarayanan