Based on the mandate given in SDG 11, calling for promoting an affordable and sustainable transport, globally all nations are trying to come out with an agenda and a vision for achieving carbon neutrality. Nations must make commitment to promote emissions-free mobility as a fundamental human right; doing the best things for humanity and society to lead towards a better and sustainable future and proactively promoting a paradigm shift towards electrification and creating a hydrogen based society for bringing sustainability. Sustainable transport is known for its distinct and numerous social and economic benefits for the communities, cities, environment and ecology. Studies made and analysis carried out has concluded that; Sustainable transport can help create large number of jobs; improve commuter safety through investment in bicycle lanes; reduce use of fossil fuel ; minimize pollution and congestion, making cities walkable; and making access to employment and social opportunities more affordable and efficient besides decarbonizing cities and making urban settlements more livable and sustainable. Sustainable transportation offers a practical opportunity and simple method of saving people's time, improving people’s health increasing household income and making cities great places for happy, healthy and more productive living besides making investment in sustainable transport, a 'win-win' option and opportunity for all stake holders.’ Decarbonizing, Carbon Neutrality and Zero-Carbon must remain the prime agenda to redefine, promote and achieve the sustainable transportation in urban areas and to achieve the mandate/goals given in SDG11. Planet earth looks at how nations can minimize travel and make it sustainable for making human settlements more peaceful and livable.
A presentation by Mr Neil Frost (CEO: iSAHA International), at the Transport Forum SIG: "Sustainable Transport" on 6 August 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Africa), or ITLS (Africa). The theme of the presentation was: "Sustainable Integrated Transport".
A presentation by Mr Neil Frost (CEO: iSAHA International), at the Transport Forum SIG: "Sustainable Transport" on 6 August 2015 hosted by University of Johannesburg's Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (Africa), or ITLS (Africa). The theme of the presentation was: "Sustainable Integrated Transport".
Urban transportation system meaning ,travel demand functions with factors, design approaches & modeling , types of mass transit system with advantages -disadvantages or limitations , opportunities in mass transport , integrated approach for transit -transportation system
MRT policy and city sustainability are inextricably linked. In the era of globalization, city authorities recognize the need for their city to compete in the global marketplace, and MRT is seen to be part of the ‘package’ to attract investment. The effectiveness of MRT will influence the city’s future. For a rapidly growing city like Dhaka, MRT decisions will undoubtedly be a great strategic approach. But the burning question for decision-makers is how to balance the sometimes conflicting objectives of poverty alleviation and controlling congestion with its associated pollution and safety costs within the means of government budgets. Large cities in developing world are centers of economic growth and magnets for poor people from the countryside. That is why, a research is urgent required to identify the deficiencies of existing mass transit system and to find out alternative options for solving the problems to improve the transport situation in Dhaka Metropolitan. So the development of MRT systems should be carried out in a favorable condition within the context of a city development plan and transport strategy.
“ Para-transit vehicles are a for-hire flexible passenger transportation that does not necessarily follow fixed routes and schedules. They provide two types of services: one involving trips along a more or less defined route with stops to pick up or discharge passengers on request. The other is a demand-responsive transport which can offer a door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area”
Paper is an attempt to showcase the role and importance of Green Transport in making cities sustainable. It tries to bring out issues facing the urban areas in transportation besides suggesting strategies to overcome them
Comact City as an Option for Making Urban India more Sustainable and LivableJitKumarGupta1
Cities and towns remain critical in chartering and scripting the development trajectory of any community/nation. Structural transformation of the economy, sustaining high rates of economic growth and realization of economic potential is largely contingent on the efficacy and efficiency of urban settlements and rationalization of the process of urbanization. Well-managed, urbanization is known to fosters social and economic advancement and improved quality of life. However, cities are globally facing greater threat and challenges in terms of growing number of urban residents living in informal settlements , inadequate urban services, climate change; global warming; exclusion and rising inequality and poverty; rising insecurity; growing migration, rising global carbon emission. The current models and framework/approach to urbanization and urban planning remains highly unsustainable. Majority of Indian cities lack planning, capacity and preparedness to manage and counter effectively the challenges associated with rapid and massive urbanization. Accordingly, new agenda will be essential and critical to defined /effectively address the emerging challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered by urbanization. The new urban agenda should promote human settlements that are planned, designed and managed to be environmentally sustainable; socially inclusive and economically productive. Compact city, as a role model of urban planning and development, offer enormous opportunities and options, to make cities more effective and efficient intense dense, efficient. Compact city is also known for its distinct quality of offering enormous opportunities to make cities more sustainable, socially interactive, walkable , cost-effective, land -efficient, productive, socially and environmentally, easy to develop/maintain. Accordingly, appropriate urban planning, development and management framework needs to be put in place and made operational on priority to make compact city model a distinct reality.
Urban transportation system meaning ,travel demand functions with factors, design approaches & modeling , types of mass transit system with advantages -disadvantages or limitations , opportunities in mass transport , integrated approach for transit -transportation system
MRT policy and city sustainability are inextricably linked. In the era of globalization, city authorities recognize the need for their city to compete in the global marketplace, and MRT is seen to be part of the ‘package’ to attract investment. The effectiveness of MRT will influence the city’s future. For a rapidly growing city like Dhaka, MRT decisions will undoubtedly be a great strategic approach. But the burning question for decision-makers is how to balance the sometimes conflicting objectives of poverty alleviation and controlling congestion with its associated pollution and safety costs within the means of government budgets. Large cities in developing world are centers of economic growth and magnets for poor people from the countryside. That is why, a research is urgent required to identify the deficiencies of existing mass transit system and to find out alternative options for solving the problems to improve the transport situation in Dhaka Metropolitan. So the development of MRT systems should be carried out in a favorable condition within the context of a city development plan and transport strategy.
“ Para-transit vehicles are a for-hire flexible passenger transportation that does not necessarily follow fixed routes and schedules. They provide two types of services: one involving trips along a more or less defined route with stops to pick up or discharge passengers on request. The other is a demand-responsive transport which can offer a door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area”
Paper is an attempt to showcase the role and importance of Green Transport in making cities sustainable. It tries to bring out issues facing the urban areas in transportation besides suggesting strategies to overcome them
Comact City as an Option for Making Urban India more Sustainable and LivableJitKumarGupta1
Cities and towns remain critical in chartering and scripting the development trajectory of any community/nation. Structural transformation of the economy, sustaining high rates of economic growth and realization of economic potential is largely contingent on the efficacy and efficiency of urban settlements and rationalization of the process of urbanization. Well-managed, urbanization is known to fosters social and economic advancement and improved quality of life. However, cities are globally facing greater threat and challenges in terms of growing number of urban residents living in informal settlements , inadequate urban services, climate change; global warming; exclusion and rising inequality and poverty; rising insecurity; growing migration, rising global carbon emission. The current models and framework/approach to urbanization and urban planning remains highly unsustainable. Majority of Indian cities lack planning, capacity and preparedness to manage and counter effectively the challenges associated with rapid and massive urbanization. Accordingly, new agenda will be essential and critical to defined /effectively address the emerging challenges and take advantage of the opportunities offered by urbanization. The new urban agenda should promote human settlements that are planned, designed and managed to be environmentally sustainable; socially inclusive and economically productive. Compact city, as a role model of urban planning and development, offer enormous opportunities and options, to make cities more effective and efficient intense dense, efficient. Compact city is also known for its distinct quality of offering enormous opportunities to make cities more sustainable, socially interactive, walkable , cost-effective, land -efficient, productive, socially and environmentally, easy to develop/maintain. Accordingly, appropriate urban planning, development and management framework needs to be put in place and made operational on priority to make compact city model a distinct reality.
Compact city as an Option for Making Indian Cities Smart and SustainableJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper, written jointly with Ar Anoop Sharma from SMVDU Jammu, tries to look holistically at the prevailing pattern of India urbanization and planning and designing of Indian cities. Paper tries to underline the problems faced by cities in terms of environment, pollution, land , slums, traffic& transportation, housing,services etc and tries to suggest solutions looking at the advantages offed by the compact cities in terms of optimizing land, minimising travel/pollution, making cities development cost-effective, efficient and promoting walking instead of using fossil fuel propelled mechanical transportation. to make cities more livable and sustainable, resilient, safe and inclusive
Strategies for Planning Smart Cities in IndiaJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper critically lookS at prevailing planning, development and management practices; re-define new order of urban planning, ; leveraging technology; rationalising travel; promoting governance and re-defining design strategies for built environment to make cities more humane, just, efficient, sustainable and happy place to live and work.
Paper is an attempt to define the role and importance of smart cities in the context of state of art planning and design to promote happiness among the residents and stakeholders of the city .
Re-inventing and Re-defining Urban Planning for Promoting Sustainable Mega Ci...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper make an attempt to understand the planning related issues and options for the mega cities with focus on capital City of Lahorein Pakistan, its growth and development post 1947 and the options which can be leveataged to make the city sustainable and livable. Paper looks at the good practices used in the planning of capital city of Chandigarh and also at the option of decentralising these cities. Look at the size, economic role and its criticality in the development of the state/region, --suggestion has been made to plan and devlop these mega cities in the regional/ national context.so as to enable them to play their designated role. However, these cities need to be made resilient to make them withstand any manmade/natural disasters. These cities despite their criticality and importance remain diffficult to manage and govern.
Planning Smart cities- Concepts and Practices.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Planning remains universal for making cities growth rational and logical. In the absence of planned development, cities cannot be made to grow in an orderly manner. Planners have been making cities different and distinct using different agenda for planning and development of cities. Currently planners are making cities safe, resilient, sustainable and livable. Many nations are vouching to make cities smart. Smart city is not a new concept .It has been followed globally to improve the quality of living and promote operational efficiency and productivity of the cities. It is an attempt to make cities more livable, sustainable and for creating a brand image to attract investment and make them a tourist destination. Globally , smart cities are characterized by high degree of environmental consciousness; using information technology to promote energy/ resources efficiency; creation of knowledge infrastructure; promoting sustainable economic development and high quality of life; ensuring wise management of natural resources through participatory action. According to Forbe, the structure of smart cities will have to be built on eight pillars involving: ‘smart governance, smart energy, smart buildings, smart mobility, smart infrastructure, smart technology, smart healthcare and smart citizens. Based on detailed studies and in depth analysis made of the most successful case studies globally, as how to transform cities into great places to live and make a city great, Mckinsey’s suggests three pronged strategies involving, achieving smart growth, do more with less and win support for change. Considering the entire gamut of urban settlements , a city can be made Smart only if it is planned smart, developed smart, operated smart, financed smart and governed smartly .
Strategies for Planning Smart and Sustainable CitiesJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Smart city remains a misnomer. No city on planet earth can claim to be smart. Experts are still searching the soul of smart city in order to precisely define it .Unfortunately smart city has become a money spending/spinning exercise for few individuals/agencies. Entire concept of smart city has been made technology centric, minimizing the role and importance of human beings. In addition, role of Town Planners in smart city has been totally marginalized. How can a city be made smart without intervention of planning and planners. Smart city as a concept has been copied globally to promote operational efficiency and productivity of the cities , with minimum concern for human growth and development. Addressing issue of poverty and making city livable for all should be the agenda of urban growth and development. In the face of homeless people , absence of basic amenities and facilities essential of human living, making city’s smart will be a fallacy and prove to be counterproductive. Cities do not exist in isolation and require the support of rural hinterland. Dealing cities alone by excluding villages will invariably lead to lopsided growth of cities because genesis of majority of urban ills has roots in the neglect of the rural areas. Urban areas must do handholding for the rural areas for synergizing mutual strength and to usher a new era of rational growth. Smart city concept must focus on empowering human being/ living, making them more skilled, create options for meeting the basic human needs and removing the curse of poverty and unemployment.
Paper is an attempt to look at the Indian urban settlements in terms of their planning, designing, travel, buildings etc, identify problems they have and options which can be leveraged to make them more effective, efficient, livable, productive and sustainable
Paper looks at the current status of cities and urbanization, issues faced by urban sector and suggest strategies to make cities more smart and sustainable.
Strategies for Promoting Urban SustainabilityJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper is an attempt to define agenda for planning sustainable cities using different options of planning, transportation, green buildings, ruralisation etc
Future of cities An initial perspective by Harry Rich Chief Executive RIBAFuture Agenda
An initial perspective on the future of cities by Harry Rich Chief Executive RIBA. This is the starting point for the global future agenda discussions taking place through 2015 as part of the futureagenda2.0 programme. www.futureagenda.org
Strategy for Promoting Sustainable Cities in IndiaJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Paper is an attempt to look at the options to make cities more livable, sustainable, productive, effective, efficient and inclusive in the face of rapid, massive,unplanned and haphazard urbanisation.
Paper tries to look at the planning, growth and development of cities and the manner in which they can be made sustainable in the context of 17 SDG. It tries to define agenda for their planning and governance while considering the new urbanism.
Similar to Planning for sustainable urban trasport (20)
Role and Relevance of Architects and architecture in SustainabilityJIT KUMAR GUPTA
This brief text on Role, Relevance and importance of Architects and profession of Architecture in making this world and human settlements more livable, climate responsive and sustainable has been prepared as commitment of the professionals and profession of Architects on this World Environment Day ; June 5th , 2024 , with the hope that profession would be understood, valued ,appreciated and empowered in the right context for enabling it play its designated role in making built environment qualitative, cost-effective, energy-efficient, eco-friendly, safe and sustainable.
Bridging gap between resources and responsibilities at Local level.JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Text refers to need, role, relevance and importance of empowering urban local bodies by bridging gap between resources available and responsibilities bestowed, for enabling ULBs to operate and function as institutions of local governance more effectively and efficiently.
Construction Industry Through Artificial Intelligence -.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Considering the role, relevance and importance of construction sector in promoting economy, generating employment and creating wealth besides providing infrastructures and amenities, there is need to make the sector more effective, efficient, productive and sustainable. Driven manually, construction sector remains in the slow lane of creating quality built environment which are cost-effective, energy efficient, least consumers of resources and generators of waste. Artificial intelligence can help and empower the construction to make it more valuable, productive and qualitative besides supportive of environment and ecology. However, construction sector must be ready to co-operate and collaborate with IT industry to look for options and opportunities to make construction sector more qualitative and productive. Majority of urban ills and climate related issues can be resolved if Artificial intelligence can be embedded as integral part of the construction industry right prom planning, designing, construction, operation and management of the built environment and infrastructures. Communities and nations will save lot of valuable non-renewable resources if the construction sector is transformed from human led to technology led by the induction of Artificial intelligence. However, Construction industry has to search the areas where Artificial intelligence can be used effectively and intelligently.
Making Urban India a Role Model of Planned Urban Growth a.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Known for productivity, promoting economy, employment and innovations cities, when properly planned, rationally developed and professionally managed, have been labelled and recognized as engines of economic growth. Prosperity and urbanisation are known to have positive co-relation with rational urbanisation, leveraging growth and development of any community, city, state and region. In majority of developing countries, where urbanisation remains unregulated, forced largely by rural push and less by urban pull, cities invariably remain in crisis, crisis of population, crisis of poverty, crisis of development and management. Cities need to be cared ,incentivized, empowered and made more productive, effective, efficient and humane.
Redefining Globalization, urbanisation and LocalisationJIT KUMAR GUPTA
If cities are to made more livable, humane and productive, it is time that intent, contents and scope of globalization must be revisited and reviewed, both critically and objectively. Globalisation would need redefinition for promoting universality and inclusiveness among people and nations to have basic amenities and quality of life for all its residents , including poorest of the poor to lead a dignified life. Failure to redefine globalization, rationalise urbanisation, restore localization empowering poor and promoting universalisation and inclusivity; will invariably lead to making SDGs merely a paper exercise. In addition, making the world, cities and communities sustainable, livable, safe and inclusive, would remain merely a dream and a mirage, for future generations and communities, making planet earth as their preferred place of residence.
Knowing, Understanding and Planning Cities- Role and Relevance Physical Plan...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Cities are known for its complexities and operational inefficiencies. cities remain dynamic ,ever evolving, ever devolving, never static and never finite.
All cities remain different, distinct, unique and universal. No two cities are similar. Each city has its own strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Accordingly, problem faced by any city cannot be viewed, dissected, analyzed and enumerated, while sitting within the four walls of the air-conditioned rooms and by the so called intellectual sitting in the so called offices determining the future of cities and towns. Neither the cities can be made more rational by limited knowledge agencies providing consultancy to cities , states and nations.
For realistically and rationally understanding, analyzing the cities and having simple, cost-effective and quality solutions to the problems and challenges faced , Cities have to be walked through and concerns of the various communities have to be properly understood and appreciated.
Prime reason for inability and lack of capacity on the part of majority of physical planners, engaged in the art and science of planning, designing and developing the cities, to address the issues and challenges faced by cities , realistically and rationally, has genesis in the lack of understanding of the origin, growth and development of cities.
Lack of capacity in majority of town planners, has roots in the quality of education imparted and seriousness and commitment on the part of both teachers and taught involved. As it stands today, majority of institutions involved in imparting education in planning are being run on an ad-hoc manner and by proxy. Only few institutions have regular teachers and regular students. Majority of planning institutions are being run on proxy with proxy students and proxy teachers. Education system including curricula used for teaching, needs, review, revision and redefinition to make it more relevant to rational for addressing the issues and challenges faced by the cities and towns.
Land as a Resource for urban finanace- 24-1-23.pptJIT KUMAR GUPTA
PPt tries to brief Land, as a gift of nature, is being grossly misused, abused , manipulated Land is globally used for providing platform for all human driven activities, based on living, working, culture of body/ mind and travel.
Limited availability, coupled with large number of human beings trying to source land, has invariably created large demand for land resource for human consumption. Land, in urban context, is required for meeting the specific needs of urban dwellers for residential, commercial, institutional, recreational, travel& traffic purposes besides providing space for infrastructures , amenities, services, trade and commerce etc. Land in urban context remains under large demand and command high price due to concentration of large population in small physical area, with stakeholders making competing claims.Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-division and illegal occupation of urban land. Unregulated and regulated pressure on land has largely been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban planning and development remains land based/ land focused. In order to make optimum use of land resource on 24x7x365; making city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational. realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and essential, that all ULBs are made to focus on eliminating culture and practices promoting un-authorized/ illegal sub-division of land for ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the cities. Land needs to be effectively leveraged to generate resources for ULBs to make cities vibrant.
COST-EFFETIVE and Energy Efficient BUILDINGS ptxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Built environment is known for its capacity, capability, role, relevance and importance to change the quality of life of the occupants and communities. Presentation focuses on options which need to be leveraged to make buildings sustainable, cost-effective, energy efficient, resource efficient, qualitative over its entire life-cycle through designing, construction, operation. It calls for making buildings green and sustainable.
Making Buildings cost-effective , Energy Efficient ptxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Presentation focuses on options which need to be leveraged to make buildings sustainable, cost-effective, energy efficient, resource efficient, qualitative over its entire life-cycle
Ppt briefs about role, relevance, importance of the rating systems applicable in India, criteria used in assessing
greeness, weightage allocated, , brief of how these rating systems are applied, parameters involved; weightage granted, levels of rating granted , incentives given by states for green rated buildings and brief of suggestions, how to make rating system more effective, efficient, objective and transparent.
The phenomenon of global warming remains more pronounced in the urban areas, for the reason cities house large concentration of people and activities in a small/compact urban space.Densely-built downtown areas tend to be warmer than suburban residential areas or rural areas.. UHI not only raises urban temperatures but also increases ozone concentrations because ozone is a greenhouse gas whose formation will accelerate with the temperature. Tokyo, an example of an urban heat island. Normal temperatures of Tokyo go up higher than those of the surrounding area. However, it needs to be understood and appreciated that climate change is not the cause of urban heat islands but it is causing more frequent and more intense heat waves which in turn amplify the urban heat island effect in cities. Major reasons for ever growing global warming and climate change can be attributed to the; Nature and natural; Human-Driven; population; Rapid Urbanisation; Irrational Urban planning; High Density; Inefficient Transportation ;Large generation/consumption of fossil fuel based Energy; Unsustainable Buildings; Polluting Industry & Manufacturing; Unsustainable Agriculture; Irrational Development; Large scale Deforestation; Lack of open spaces and individual life-choices;
Making and Unmaking of Chandigarh - A City of Two Plans2-4-24.pptJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Presentation is a narrative of a
capital city- known for its innovative planning, designing, construction and management of a new capital . It briefs about the principles used in the planning and designing of city -by the first team of planners led by Albert Mayer and Mathew Nowicki-- followed by the second team led by Le- Corbusier, P Jenerette, Jane B Drew , Maxwell Fry. It also details about the various aspects of the city planning, planning of the sector as a neighbourhood, typologies of
various developmental controls used for regulating the construction of buildings. Innovations used for regulating the growth and development of periphery; redensification of city in case city exceeds its planned population of half a million, creating a narrative of city and periphery, innovative landscaping, defining an edict for the city to educate the future citizens of the capital city to safeguard the future growth and development besides lessons learnt from planning and designing the new cities.
Planning and Designing Green buildings-.issues, options and strategiesJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Affordability and sustainable development are considered anti-thesis across the world. Generally there exists conflict between the approach to sustainable built environment and affordable buildings. Sustainable development is considered more expensive. According to Middleton, ‘Sustainability and affordability aren’t mutually exclusive goals. It’s not about adding extra, but thinking more carefully about the design of buildings and incorporating technologies that can offset the rising costs of energy, water and other services. Affordability and sustainability are known to fit together perfectly’.
Through excellent design, buildings can be made more sustainable and affordable. Smaller the footprint of buildings, lower will be the upfront costs and embodied energy and lower shall be the running costs of buildings. Looking at the entire context of health, rising cost of amenities/services; Sustainable/Green designs are now being increasingly adopted, to make built environment more cost-effective and affordable. Considering the enormous amount of built environment to be created, India will have no option but to tread the path of sustainability and sustainable development in the built environment. Sustainable built environment would also help in and go a long way in achieving the majority of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for the reason, built environment is known to be the largest consumer of energy, avoid wasteful use of resources and minimise generation of waste. Global sustainability will be largely contingent upon how effectively and efficiently we can make our buildings sustainable and qualitative through innovative/green design solutions based on local climate and culture, valuing site planning, embedding orientation, cross ventilation, using renewable/waste materials and involving state of the art building technologies.
_Neighborhood Planning in Capital City of Chandigarh- An Appraisal (2) - Copy...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Neighborhood as an idea, concept, option and strategy has been extensively used locally and globally by the Urban Planners to plan and decentralize cities, create cities within cities, promote self-contained communities and to make cities more humane, safe and socially vibrant. Neighborhood has also been used recently to define the city in terms of travel time - making 10/15 minutes city
Accordingly, large typologies of NH ,in terms of planning and designing , with varying shapes, sizes and contents have emerged in the urban context. Americans have used superblock and French using Sector for defining the neighborhood. Despite distinct advantages, holding high degree of relevance in urban and local area planning , NH planning has not been able to deliver the envisioned objectives of safety and social vibrancy. Cities in the process have been socially, economically and physically fragmented, leading to clear division of cities into different communities with little economical and social connectivity. Variance of planning and designing norms followed at NH and sub-neighborhood levels have promoted more dichotomy and contradictions with varying quality of life inducted at local level. Differential population and infrastructures have divided the city into the categories of high/low end NH units. Fabric and morphology of cities, in large cases, has been distorted with urban settlement emerging as a distinct social map of communities graded economically and socially,on the basis of area/location . In the process, the way NH planning concept has been used, neighborhood planning has emerged as an instrument of social and economic segregation/division. In fact in number of cases, concept has been used, misused, abused in intent and content to divide the cities into distinct social and economic layers. Instead of unifying , concept has led to division of cities.
Genesis of modern application of NH can be found in the planning and designing of Chandigarh where entire city fabric of capital city was woven around Sector as the basic unit of planning, concptulasied as self-contained and self-sustaining unit at the local level. However, the way sectors have been planned, it has led to dividing the cities into different and distinct communities. Individual status in Chandigarh can be judged from his/her residence. Concept of Sector has done more damage than good to the fabric of the city. Chandigarh is likely to face considerable problem in making city socially and economically cohesive/vibrant,. Sectors in Chandigarh remain anti-thesis to the basic concept of NH planning of safety, involving walkability, vehicular movement, putting commercial space in the centre. Considering role, relevance, importance and usability , NH needs to be planned, designed with care and caution, in order to make cities socially and economically vibrant, inclusive. NH planning deserves a new definition and approach to make it relevant and rational.
Reviewing, Revising and Redefining Master Plans and Development Plans to Ma...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Looking at its efficacy and efficiency, it can be seen and observed that Master Plans/ Development Plans have done more damage than good for the planned growth and development of the cities to which they have been made applicable. These plans have been violated with impunity both by the people, communities, cities and parastatal agencies; for the betterment/welfare of which these plans were prepared. These plans have been visualized as controller of development rather than promoters of development. Instead of planned development , these plans have been usherers of the unplanned development. These plans are known to be responsible for promoting large number of slums besides making quality of life poor for majority of the urban inhabitants. Cities under Master Plans are also known to promote exclusion rather than inclusion. Master Plans/Development Plans are known to promote prosperity for few and marginalize the large proportions of the local community by making them poor. Instead of catering to urban dynamism, Master Plans/Development Plans try to freeze the city, for next two decades, to which it is made to serve. Accordingly, these plans need to be reviewed , rationalised, revised and redefined to make them better Master Plans/Development Plans
Rationalizing the Planned Growth of Urban India- paper.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Rapid and uncontrolled growth in population experienced by urban areas has adversely impacted and generated considerable pressure on land resource in cities and towns , leading to large scale conversion, sub-division and illegal occupation of urban land. Unregulated and regulated pressure on land has largely been met by means of both formal/informal sub-division and development of land. Growth of the urban settlements and entire mechanism of urban planning and development remains land based/ land focused, based on a strategy of sub-division of the land, dictated by the economic forces prevailing in the market. Irrational and ineffective public policies of urban planning and land sub-division, devoid of prevailing ground realities, have turned out to be incompatible with the demands of urban expansion, leading to large scale un-authorized and illegal sub-division of land. In the process, valuable land resources, gift of nature, has been misused, abused and mutilated in this race of uncontrolled and irrational urbanisation. In order to make optimum use of land resource; making city planning, growth, development and management ,both rational. realistic, orderly and promoter of quality living, it will be critical and essential, that all urban centres are made to focus on eliminating the culture and practices promoting un-authorized/illegal sub-division of land for ushering an environment and era of planned urban development in the country.
Suggestion and Options for integrating villages. within the framework of the...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
Preparing Master Plans/Development Plans for any urban settlements, basically and essentially, involves declaring a planning area for which the said long term plans are prepared. Planning area invariably includes and involves, number of rural settlements, which comprise of the planning area besides the urban settlement. It has been observed that in majority of cases, while detailed studies and analysis are carried out of the urban settlements but villages in the study and analysis remain marginalized, diluted and muted. Despite the fact, villages have critical role in the rational development of the urban settlement, but in preparing Master Plans their role and relevance is not made part of the said plan. Accordingly, this text tries to bring out the typologies of villages falling in the planning area and the suggested framework to develop these villages in making Master Plans, better Master Plan. In order to improve Master Plan qualitatively, quantitively, both in intent, contents and scope, It will be appropriate that all the villages falling in the planning area must be studied , analyzed and made integral part of the final outcome of the proposals of Master Plan. In-fact one Chapter must be exclusively dedicated to detail out the issues faced by the Villages and options which can be leveraged to promote the rational growth of villages ,as an integral part of the long term development of the urban settlement , for which the Master Plan is being prepared. This will help not only in integrating the urban- rural settlements falling in the planning area, but would also go a long way in promoting and ensuring rational growth and development of the urban settlement, for which the Master Plan is being prepared.
Making cities Climate Responsive and SustainableJIT KUMAR GUPTA
“Decarbonization” of cities ,as an issue ,as an option and as a strategy , has been gaining currency in the parlance of; making planet earth livable and sustainable. “Decarbonization has been globally valued for keeping the global temperature below 1.5C, and achieving the agenda and goals defined in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, defined by UN for achieving universal sustainability. Despite distinct role and relevance, criticality and importance of decarbonization of cities has neither been properly understood and appreciated nor made integral part of the architectural practice and art and science of designing and construction of buildings. Consuming one -third of global energy (33%) and generating 39% of greenhouse gas emissions buildings have been considered as the major player in the domain of climate change and global warming. Since Architects and Architecture are
actively involved in the making and unmaking of buildings, accordingly it becomes important that planners and architects must play a significant role in making
cities and buildings least consumers of energy and generators of the minimum greenhouse gas emissions. This objective can be achieved if decarbonizing cities/buildings is made a distinct reality . Issue of decarbonizing the cities/buildings assumes importance for the reason, that world’s building floorspace is likely to be become double by the year 2060, with the addition of large number of newcities/ buildings due to rapid urbanization, population growth and economic development ; required for catering to
to the needs of additional population opting for urban living.
Managing Planning and Development of Citie- 26-2-24.docxJIT KUMAR GUPTA
Cities in India are known to be in perpetual crisis; facing numerous crises in terms of; crisis of rational growth, crisis of orderly and planned development; crisis of effective and efficient urban management; crisis of making provision of basic infrastructure and services; crisis of climate change; crisis of global warming; crisis of poverty, pollution and population and crisis of making human living and prevailing environment qualitative. These urban crises have genesis in the fact that cities in India, lack ownership, command, authority and lack of willingness to run and manage cities professionally and objectively. In majority of cases, cities in India are run by proxy. In terms of physical growth and development; large cities are marked by multiplicity of agencies claiming right/ownership of development over the urban areas, whereas smaller cities face absence of such ownership and are made to run, operate and function like orphans
Agenda, Approach and Options for Rationalising and Redefining Future Indian ...JIT KUMAR GUPTA
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• Target Areas: Polokwane, Tzaneen, Thohoyandou, Makhado, and Giyani.
2. Automotive Sector: Partnerships with Mechanics and Panel Beater Shops
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1. PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT
*Ar Jit Kumar Gupta
INTRODUCTION
Cities and civilizations are synonymous
because cities have existed as integral part of
human history. Cities have historically
scripted the growth of mankind right from his
inception. As per the U N Habitat Report on
State of the World Cities, 2008-09’, ‘Cities
are perhaps one of humanity’s most complex
creation, never finished, never definitive.
They are like a journey that never ends. Their
evolution is determined by their ascent into
greatness or their descent into decline. They
are the past, the present and the future’.
Cities are great places because they are not
only promoters and storehouse of ideas and
inventions but are also major contributors to
the national economy and global wealth
besides generators of large employment.
India is urbanizing rapidly under the impact of industrial growth and spread of service
sector. The pace of urbanization is picking up with more and more people making cities
as their preferred place of residence and place of work. In India, cities are on move and
are designated to play critical role in the growth and development of the country. As per
Mckinsey Global Institute Report - India Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities-
Urban India by 2030 will house 590 million people (as against 377 million in 2011),
which is twice the present US population. Cities will generate 70% GDP and 80%
revenue of the country. Share of Urban India in new job creation will be of the order of
70% (170 million) which India, as a nation will generate. Cities will also create enormous
wealth at the individual level with 91 million urban households joining the select band of
middle class, more than four times the number of existing households ( 22 million).
Number of metropolitan centres will rise to 68 (53 in 2011), which is twice the number of
metropolises entire Europe has (35) . However, investment to the tune of $ 1.2 Trillion
will be needed to meet projected infrastructure demand, whereas 700-900 million sqmts
of residential/ commercial area will be needed annually- a new Chicago to be created -to
meet the built area needs of the urban India. In addition, 2.5 billion sqmts of roads will
have to be paved, which is 20 times the road network created in last decade. 7400km
(350-400 km/year) of metro will be needed – 20 times created in last decade, to meet
the transportation demand of cities by 2030.
2. In this scenario of rapid and massive urbanization, cities have been found to be major
drivers of national economies using transportation to leverage their growth and
development . Movement of both people and goods, has been observed to be a necessary
and essential condition/component of development. Accordingly, traffic and
transportation, as a sector, has been gaining high degree of currency because of its critical
role in promoting economic development and social integration of a region and country.
In addition to bridging the gap between demand and supply of goods and services and
providing mobility for its citizens, transportation has been considered vital for leveraging
employment, promoting industries besides contributing to prosperity of a nation. If cities
are known as engines of economic growth, then transportation has rightly been called
wheels of such engine.
Role of transportation has been assuming critical importance in the urban areas because
of large concentration of population and activities leading to generation of high degree of
traffic volume and traffic demand. With rapid growth of population, sprawling
conurbation, scattered and unstructured physical expansion of urban centers in general
and metropolitan centers in particular, traffic volumes have been multiplying and
leapfrogging in these centers. The physical expansion of cities has led to increased
distances between place of work, place of living, place of trade and commerce, place of
leisure etc., placing large demand on transport network to ferry large number of people
and goods across destinations.
Transportation scenario in India is highly complex and is marked by large number of
dualities and contradictions. Despite low holding capacity of road network, numbers of
both mechanized and non-mechanized vehicles are increasing rapidly. Despite lack of
parking areas, more and more vehicles are being added into the cities occupying every
available road space including all possible open spaces. In the process, cities are marked
with high degree of vehicular congestion leading to long delays and raising the cost of
business; extremely low vehicular speed; high degree of air pollution threatening the life
/health of the people; large number of road accidents leading to loss of precious life and
property and emission of large volume of greenhouse gasses and global warming. Instead
of providing high degree of mobility and operational efficiency, urban transportation has
emerged as the major roadblock and threat to the economy, environment and
sustainability of majority of cities.
Transportation, besides having environmental implication, is known to impact society in
a large number of ways imposing social costs on individual , communities and cities.
Social costs imposed by transport include road crashes, air pollution, physical
inactivity, time taken away from the family while commuting and vulnerability to fuel
price increases. Many of these negative impacts fall disproportionately on those social
groups , who are unlikely to own and drive cars. Slowing the delivery of goods and
services, traffic congestion invariably imposes enormous economic costs on residents,
communities and cities by wasting their precious time.
3. According to World Resource Institute,’ Car-oriented cities have a number of costs for
citizens’ health and well-being besides social costs. Up to 75% of urban air pollution is
caused by motor vehicle fuel combustion, and in 2019, seven million premature deaths
across nations were linked to outdoor air
pollution. Numerous studies have also shown that sedentary, car-oriented lifestyles
contribute to higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and other associated diseases With millions
of precious man- hours lost in everyday travel, transportation is adversely impacting the
productivity of human beings. In the process, travel and traffic blues are fast emerging as
major threat to the effective and efficient functioning of the urban centers.
With Indian transportation scenario marked with large variety of heterogeneous travel
modes, of varying speed and characteristics, operating in the urban centers and competing
with each other for adequate space on already highly stressed road network, the problems
of traffic and transportation are assuming alarming proportions. Majority of problems are
concentrated in core areas of the cities, which house major urban activities besides large
chunk of population. With limited space, inadequate road network and limited holding
capacity, these areas are already under enormous stress, causing numerous operational
and functional problems.
Considering the role and importance in overall economic and social growth, it becomes
important that urban transportation, as a sector and as a essential human activity, is
critically looked at and appropriately addressed with rational strategies put in place, on
priority ,to make it safe, affordable, faster, comfortable, reliable, sustainable, effective
and efficient. This would be valuable for improving accessibility to jobs, healthcare,
education, recreation and other day to day needs of human beings. This would involve
looking objectively at the entire mechanism of transportation. Since transportation is the
product of rapid urbanization, fast expanding cities, increased travel demand, rising trip
4. length, typologies of vehicles used , existing mobility network and defined land uses,
accordingly it calls for making urban transportation integral part of urban planning,
development and management process. In addition, it would also require re- defining our
travel options, transport priorities and planning strategies in the urban sector, in order to
rationalize the travel demand and traffic patterns.
Traditional transport planning aims to improve mobility, especially for vehicles, but have
invariably failed to adequately consider and address wider impacts on human beings .
Basic and essential purpose of transport is providing cost-effective and time -efficient
access to; living, working, healthcare, amenities, infrastructure education, goods and
services, friends and family. There exist proven techniques and technologies to improve
access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts, by rationally
managing traffic congestion. Cities and authorities, which are able to adequately
improve and address the sustainability, effectiveness and efficacy of their transport
networks have defined and shown the roadmap for creating more vibrant, livable and
sustainable cities. (Wikipedia)
INDIAN TRANSPORTATION SCENARIO
With rapid urbanization and industrialization, demand for transportation of goods and
services is rising rapidly. Accordingly, freight industry is growing rapidly with annual
growth rate placed at 8.5%. Transport, as a sector, also makes substantial contribution to
the Indian economy. As per available statistics, overall contribution of transportation
sector to the national GDP stood at 6.5% in 2012-13 as against 6.0 %in 2001. Major
contribution came from the road transport whose share was placed at 4.9% (75%).
Contribution of railways stood merely at 0.9% (14%) whereas rest of the modes
accounted for only 0.7% (11%). Further, the entire increase in percentage share of
transport to GDP between 2001-2013, has come from only road transport sector, whereas
share of railways declined from 1.2% to 0.9%. During the same period, share of other
modes of transportation also recorded steady decline. This clearly indicates the criticality
of road transport in the Indian economy and urban growth. However, this also indicates
the marginalization of the other means of transport, which need to be encouraged,
promoted and appropriately leveraged, to promote speedier, cost-effective, safe and
sustainable transportation of goods and services in the urban sector
Post-independence period has witnessed enormous production and addition of vehicles on
the Indian roads . With India producing 26.36 million vehicles during 2019-20; number
of registered vehicles recorded in the country were ofthe order of 295.8 million( March
31, 2020), as against the 89.6 million in 2006. Nine Indian states recorded registration of
more than 10 million vehicles each with state of Maharashtra recording 30.22 million
vehicles followed by State of Uttar Pradesh (2017) . Highest concentration of registered
vehicles was found to be in mega urban centers of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai,
Hyderabad and Bengaluru . Delhi, among cities, alone accounted for 12 million
registered vehicles in the year 2019. Large urban centres also recorded mismatch in the
growth of population and number of registered vehicles. Six major metropolitan centers,
where population increase was merely of the order of 1.9 times during last 2 decades , the
number of motor vehicles went up by over 7.75 times during the same period. Besides
5. increase in numbers, pattern of vehicle ownership has also undergone rapid change with
personalized mode accounting for more than 80% of total vehicles. Maximum growth has
been recorded in the category of two wheelers whose share went Northwards ,from 8.8%,
in 1951 to 72.2% in 2006. During the same period, share of buses went Southwards, from
11.1% to merely 1.1%.
Considering the fact that India is fast emerging as the global manufacturing hub of
automobile, Munich based Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Report estimated that,
vehicle penetration in India will grow six folds in next fifteen years from 12 vehicles in
2010 to 72 vehicles per 1000 persons in 2025 as against 187 for China, 221 for Brazil
and 388 for Russia. Vehicle market in India is expected to grow to 5 million units and
two wheeler market will become 29.5 million units in the year 2020. With rising income
and greater demand for mobility, the personalized mode of transport is likely to grow
rapidly in number and importance in the coming years. Proliferation of the personalized
mode of transport is likely to have serious implications in terms of traffic congestion,
parking, safety, energy inefficiency and pollution. Strategies need to be evolved to reduce
the ownership of personalized vehicles, promote public transport and other means of
user/urban friendly transportation, to reduce vehicular congestion on the urban roads.
Rapid increase in number of vehicles has not only led to overcrowding and congestion,
but has also made road travel in the Indian cities highly risky and unsafe for the road
users, with number of accidents going up rapidly. As per data available, in the year 1981
number of accidents recorded were 1.6 lakh, 3.9 lakh in 2001 whereas in the year 2019,
number of accidents went up to 4.8 lakh. However, during the said period, number of
road related causalities increased from 28,400 in the year 1981 , over 80,000 in 2001 and
1.51 lakh in 2019. Looking at the entire context, after every 55 second, India roads
witnessed an accident whereas every 3.5 minutes someone lost life in the road accident.
.Road accidents has emerged as one the major cause of deaths in the country. The
majority of causalities in terms of loss of life and injury were found to be among the
cyclists, pedestrians and pavement dwellers, showing the vulnerability of these classes of
6. road users. The transport related casualties are rapidly increasing in India making the
travel highly unsafe and travelers highly vulnerable.
The Indian transport sector is marked with high degree of mismatch between the number
of vehicles and available road capacity. The growth of vehicles and vehicular traffic has
been observed to be much faster as compared to growth of capacity and road network.
During 53 years (1951-2004), motor vehicle population recorded a CAGR growth close
to 10.9% compared to 3.6% increase in total road length with National Highways
recording merely an increase of 2.3%. This mismatch between vehicular growth and
road capacity has led to high degree of congestion and capacity saturation, resulting in
creation of numerous operational and environmental problems. However, with
government focusing on the rapid growth of infrastructure, momentum of road
construction has gained pace with length of national highways placed at 1,32,500 kms in
2019. Despite rapid increase in length of roads, urban India is still facing high degree of
congestion, due to large production and influx of vehicles on the urban roads. Due to
increasing vehicular congestion, motor vehicles are largely responsible for generating
greenhouse gasses in terms of CO2 , promoting global warming on a large scale. As per
recent study, cities produce 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from energy
consumption by transportation and buildings. Thus, if we have to decarbonize the cities
and make them eco-friendly, energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, we have
to create innovative and state of art options for effective , efficient and eco-friendly
urban transportation besides making buildings green.
Looking at the existing patterns of movement in urban areas, it can be clearly observed
that Indian urban transportation scenario is largely dictated by road transportation; ever
increasing individual vehicle ownership; low road capacity; poor road geometry; high
degree of fuel inefficiency; large obsolete vehicular population; heterogeneous traffic;
inefficient and inadequate public transportation; high degree of environmental pollution;
low priority for traffic planning; poor traffic management; large mismatch between
vehicle density and road capacity; absence of unified traffic regulatory authority; high
rates of accidents etc. These peculiarities of urban transportation require innovative
strategies to be put in place to address effectively the transportation issues and make
urban transportation promoters of economic growth and urban productivity besides
generator of environmental sustainability in the urban context. Adopting strategies and
options based on shifting daily commute from cars to sustainable transport modes – like
public transport, walking, and bicycling – incorporating physical activity into everyday
commuting; can help improving, not only the health of residents and communities
living in cities but also can usher an era of happiness in cities. Studies have found that if
cities adopt mixed- land use for urban planning , promote mass transportation for urban
mobility , and make city pedestrian friendly; the risk of obesity for its inhabitants and
problems of congestion, mobility and pollution can be reduced to a large extent (Fischer).
7. SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT
The term sustainable transport had its origin and genesis , as a logical and natural
corollary of the concept of sustainable development. Term sustainable transportation is
invariably used to describe and define, modes of transport, and systems of transport
planning, which are consistent with and supportive of the wider concerns
of sustainability. There exist numerous definitions of the sustainable transport, and
related terms sustainable transportation and sustainable mobility. However, European
Union Council of Ministers of Transport, has defined sustainable transportation system
in the most appropriate manner; as, the one that:
Allows the basic access and development needs of
individuals, companies and society to be met with
safely and in a manner consistent with human
and ecosystem health, and promotes equity within
and between successive generations.
Is affordable, operates fairly and efficiently, offers
a choice of transport mode, and supports
a competitive economy, as well as balanced
regional development.
Limits emissions and waste within the planet's
ability to absorb them, uses renewable
resources at or below their rates of generation,
and uses non-renewable resources at or below the
rates of development of renewable substitutes,
while minimizing the impact on the use of
land and the generation of noise.
Sustainability, in the larger context, is not only limited to movement of goods and
services but also extends beyond the operational efficiency involving life-cycle
assessment and cradle-to-cradle design emission and energy efficiency. (Wikipedia)
STRATEGIES
Considering large number of emerging threats and challenges posed, due to rapid and
massive urbanization; large influx of vehicles on the urban roads; limitations imposed by
lack of availability of adequate road and parking space; inefficient land market; low
priority accorded to transport planning; lack of availability of adequate resources etc.,
urban transportation in India needs immediate review and rationalization. Strategies for
rationalizing would have to be an innovative, combination and rational mix of
preventive, curative and innovative options. It has to be based on a mix of both hard
(infrastructure) and soft (planning) options. The strategies for traffic rationalization and
management, in urban sector should essentially and logically , revolve around and focus
on:
o Minimizing travel demand
o Minimizing trip length.
o Minimizing mechanized movement.
8. o Minimizing pollution.
o Minimizing number of vehicles on roads.
o Minimizing congestion.
o Creating multiple options for travel.
o Shifting people from individual vehicles to public transport.
o Promoting safe, comfortable and affordable travel
o Promoting sustainable transportation.
To achieve the above objectives, the options available would be:
o Redefining Urban Planning.
o Changing options for transport planning
o Planning for people and not for vehicles
o Promoting accessibility and minimizing mobility
o Redefining shape and size of cities
o Making cities compact
o Reordering priorities of modes of travel .
o Promoting pedestrianization.
o Promoting bicycles
o Making public transport more efficient.
o Equitable allocation of road space.
o Integrating public transport system
o Traffic Calming
o Road Pricing
o Promoting sustainable urban transport.
o Promoting innovations through R&D
o Leveraging state of art technologies
o Creating unified traffic and transportation Authority
o Involving communities
o Educating communities
Redefining Urban Planning
Transportation has been considered essentially as the product of the land use planning
and accordingly it becomes critical that land use planning is carried out in a manner,
which generates minimum traffic and minimum travel.It should also minimize the travel
demand and reduce the trip length. Master Plans, which primarily define the urban land
uses, should be used for integrating the land use and transportation. Considering the
present chaotic urban transport scenario, options and patterns used for working out land
use planning in the master plans need to be reviewed, revised and redefined with new
options put in place to make urban mobility more effective and efficient. In this regard
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) has been found to be of immense value in order to
rationalize and reduce travel and to promote highly efficient living-working relationship
in urban areas. In this pattern, a dedicated strip is reserved for high density development
along the major transport corridors, where compatible land uses are permitted in terms of
9. commercial, residential, institutional and other areas. Activities generating maximum
volume of traffic are accordingly placed along the major transport arteries in order to
facilitate/minimize travel.
In addition, Pure- land-use planning, which segregates the cities and put different human
activities in defined containers in different parts of the city, has been observed to promote
increased travel demand in cities, making people travel longer distances for living,
working and approaching education and healthcare facilities. Accordingly, pure land use
planning should be avoided. Mixed land use planning offers better options of providing
majority of facilities in close vicinity, cutting down on the travel needs of the
communities and making them self-contained and self-sufficient in basic needs.
Further in order to rationalize the travel, it would be critical to make transport planning
integral part of the urban land use planning. In fact, entire land use planning should be
based on the transport planning, if travel demands are to be rationalized. Transport plans
should enable a city to evolve an urban form that suits the topography and best supports
the key social and economic activities of the residents. Making transport plans integral
part of land use plans/planning, would help in rationalizing the transportation within the
urban centres. If future growth and development of any city is dictated and led by a pre-
planned traffic network (rather than developing a transport system after uncontrolled
urban sprawl has taken place), the city has better chance/sopportunities of serving its
entire population and yet minimizing travel needs. Thus, the intent, content and approach
to prepare master plans for urban areas need to be re-defined in order to make master
plans supporters and promoters of rational transportation options. Master plans should
also invariably address the issue of regional connectivity in order to rationalize both inter
and intra-city traffic and save cities from the traffic blues.
10. Redefining shape and size of the city.
Travel in a city is closely linked to shape and size of the urban centre. It has been
observed that there are shapes which promote larger travel and larger traffic, whereas
there exist other shapes which minimize road network and make city more travel
friendly. Accordingly, in order to rationalize the travel demand, it will be critical to look
at the shape and size adopted for the city. Grid iron pattern should invariably be avoided
because it promotes more travel and is highly unsuitable for an efficient mass
transportation system .City of Chandigarh, known for its planned development, is facing
major problems of traffic and transportation which has its genesis in the grid iron road
pattern which has been used for its planning. However, wherever grid-iron pattern of road
is used, it must be supplemented by a system of diagonal roads across the city, to cut
down/shorten the distances within the city. Ring and radial road pattern offer better
options for reducing travel demand. Inherent advantages of Linear Cities can also be
thoughtfully explored for effectively managing the travel demand. Accordingly, while
preparing the development plans/master plans, it would be important to look at the shape
of the city being adopted to rationalize the traffic and transportation.
In addition, size of the city would also be critical. Larger the city, larger would be the
trip length; accordingly, cities must be made small and compact in order to reduce travel
demand and promote energy efficiency. Small and medium cities offer better and simpler
options of managing the traffic and transportation within urban centers as compared to
metropolitan centers. In case of larger cities, options of decentralization could be used to
create self-contained communities for minimizing travel. Chengdu . a westernmost city of
China, is following a new concept of city planning in which 80,000 residents will be
living and working in a circle of half-square mile, where any location will not be more
than 15 minutes’ walk. City has been designed to be a pedestrian city supported by
efficient public transport system.
11. Making Cities Compact
Reducing travel and traffic within urban areas would largely depend upon the extent and
footprints of the city. Low density and large sized plots invariably lead to poor utilization
of land and increase the footprints of the city. Increased footprints result in increasing
distances between different corners of the city which makes people travel more. In order
to reduce and rationalize the travel, it will be important to look at the density pattern
adopted for the city. Promoting higher residential densities will make the city more
compact by housing large number of people within a small area. This pattern
automatically reduces travel distances and promotes non-mechanized vehicles for
commuting. Higher densities would involve; reducing plot sizes and changing pattern of
city planning. It will also involve prescribing higher Floor Area Ratio and larger heights
for buildings in order to create larger volume of built up area and optimum utilization of
land, housing more people and activities in a smaller area. Promoting group housing
instead of plotted development also helps in better utilization of land resource creating
more dwelling units in the same area making cities more compact besides avoiding the
land speculation. Higher densities not only reduce the travel needs but also the cost of
services.
It is not only new cities to be developed which can be made more compact , existing
cities also offer enormous opportunities of re-densification, provided their densities are
re-defined and rationalized, with a proper policy framework put in place and
appropriately supported by the additional infrastructure and services. Singapore increased
the capacity of the city by scientifically identifying the plots which were underutilized
and encouraged owners to promote high density development. New- York city
encouraged refurbishment of existing housing units by either dividing larger plots into
smaller units or adding studio apartments on the rooftops to create additional living
space. Creating high density communities offer a distinct option for making cities
compact, reduce mobility, improving environment, promoting better utilization of
resources and allowing people to walk rather than use cars.
Re-ordering prioritization of travel modes.
Travelling options exercised by people have also led to creating traffic blues in the urban
areas. Globally, it has been seen that passenger cars have dominated the travel preference
and are responsible for 75% of passenger kilometers travelled whereas the average
vehicle occupancy is close to one. Less than 10% passenger trips are performed by the
public transport which has the highest carrying capacity. Walking and cycling is fast
decreasing in cities. Less than 5% of passenger trips are being made by bicycle. Indian
transportation scenario is no different. Major problem facing the Indian transportation is
the highest priority being accorded to personalized vehicles, which occupy maximum
available road space, have very low load capacity and cause maximum congestion and
pollution. Accordingly, for rationalization transportation needs and travel demand, we
have to reorder our planning priorities in city planning. Transport Planning must focus
12. on and adopt the principle of people for people and not for vehicles. In addition, it
should promote accessibility and not mobility. Accordingly, cities should be planned
with highest preference/ priority given to pedestrians to be followed by cyclists. Public
transportation should be accorded third priority whereas personalized vehicles should
have the least priority. If the plans are prepared with this hierarchy, cities will have better
options/chances of rationalizing its traffic demand and creating sustainable transportation.
This would also help in making cities more eco-friendly besides least consumers of
energy.
Promoting Pedestrianization
Despite the fact that pedestrian traffic constitutes considerable proportion of the city
traffic, still it has the lowest priority in the transport planning. Accordingly, it will be
critical that pedestrian traffic is appropriately catered to in the planning process in order
to promote pedestrianization on a large scale. The most popular measure to attract
people in urban areas to adopt walking, as the preferred mode of travel for shorter
distances, would be, the creation of well-defined pedestrian zones and dedicated
pedestrian ways. Most of the central crowded areas, having high degree of traffic
congestion/limited road space, offer best option for creating such zones. Core areas and
walled cities need to be pedestrianized with appropriate planning and design options.
Vehicles in the core areas could be discouraged by introducing metered parking with high
parking charges prescribed. However, these areas need to be linked with an effective and
efficient public transport system for providing high degree of accessibility. Pedestrian
zone is the best option for improving the travel conditions and promoting safety for
pedestrians in urban areas .Further, linking the major nodes of the city with efficient
public transport and planning for pedestrians will help in rationalizing the traffic in the
city. In addition, walking has enormous health related advantages. Besides promoting
sustainability and livability in cities and towns, walking is known to help individuals in
terms of reduced body fat, reduced obesity and lower blood pressure. It may also take
less time than one thinks to reach your destination. Studies have shown that most people
13. underestimate time taken, related to car journeys and overestimate the time it will take to
walk. The average walking pace is six kilometers per hour and if one walks, there is no
need to find a car bay on arrival. In Paris 53% of trips are made by walking, 3% by
bicycle, 34% by public transport, and only 10% by car; and Ile-de-France region, where
walking remains the most popular way of transportation and in Amsterdam, where 28%
of trips are made by walking, 31% by bicycle, 18% by public transport and only 23% by
car. Unless inconvenient, walking creates win-win situation for the individuals ,
communities, cities, climate and environment
Promoting Bi-Cycle Traffic
After pedestrianization, most preferred mode of travel should be bicycle. Besides being
economical, flexible and environment friendly, bicycles are essentially zero emission
vehicles (ZEV). In addition, cycling is also recognized as one of the healthiest transport
mode for travelling short distances. Despite having distinct advantages, bicycles have
been neglected, by both transport planners and communities, as least preferred mode of
transportation. Its enormous potential remains unexplored. As per the data available,
cycling still has the largest share of urban transport, not only in India but even in
developed countries. In China highest priority is given to bicycles by creating express
cycle-ways and creating exclusive lanes dedicated to the cycle traffic. Cycle lanes form
integral part of city road network including the major arterial roads, in order to facilitate
safe movement of bicycles in the urban centres. Majority of car trips of less than 5 kms
can be conveniently made by bicycles, which can go a long way in reducing traffic
problems in the urban areas. Most of the developed countries are now promoting use of
bi-cycles for shorter trips and trips undertaken for education and shopping. However, in
order to promote bi-cycle it would require the creation of dense network of bi-cycle
lanes in cities including, all the major road network; creating a ring road around the most
congested areas; preferential positioning of cyclist at the crossing and junctions;
declaring certain roads as bicycle street; allowing cycling in pedestrian zones; creating
bicycle stations; supervised parking lots; integrating cycling with other systems of
transportation and connecting with important destinations including; schools, offices,
industries, leisure etc. Copenhagen city is known for its bicycling culture and supporting
infrastructure. Over the years ,city has created 388 kms of cycling routes catering to 50%
of the city trips. In order to make city bi-cycle friendly, Copenhagen is putting in place a
unique traffic system by the name, Green Wave ,which would ensure that cyclists will
never encounter a red light during travel. Corbusier, in the planning of Chandigarh
redefined the system of 7Vs to include 8bc for catering to two wheelers traffic , peculiar
to the new city. However, the same was not been put in place and Chandigarh is suffering
from major traffic problems. However, under smart city mission, dedicated cycle lanes
have been added in the city.
Promoting bicycle traffic would require launching public campaigns on regular basis to
involve communities and people to use bicycles. However, technology related to cycle
would also require upgradation on regular basis besides making cycle affordable and
efficient. Despite all limitations, bi-cycle offers the best option, as cost-effective non-
polluting, safe and energy efficient mode of urban transportation, occupying minimum
14. road/public space to solve majority of urban traffic ills. Cycling like walking, also makes
users happy and healthy besides decarbonizing the city. It is said that switching, from
car to bi-cycle, a weekly ten kilometer journey, will help burn 300 calories of energy
each way, besides saving 300 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, on annual basis. In
addition, peak hours trip, up to 10 kms, can be performed faster by bike, as compared to
other means of transport ,when measured door to door, taking a time span of 15-30
minutes.
Making Public Transport more efficient
Public transport holds the key to rationalization of traffic demand in the metropolises and
mega cities. However, despite enormous potential, public transport remains largely a
neglected area and least preferred mode of transportation. Unfortunately, in India public
transport has been considered a mode of travel largely used by poor or who do not own
any vehicles. This has led to keeping the fares, low, leading to large resources going as
subsidy to keep the system going. This approach needs rationalization and re-look. Low
allocation of resources has been one of the major factors for perpetual neglect of public
transport in the urban areas. Vesting power with the local authorities to run the public
transport has emerged as the major bottleneck in its rational growth due to lack of
knowledge, understanding and expertise besides availability of adequate manpower,
technical and financial resources.
Making public transport a preferred mode of travel would require re-definition of the
entire gamut/approach and framework of public transportation including its planning,
operation and management. Promoting public transport would require putting in place
higher frequencies; improved regularity; better safety; higher comfort; more effective
communication with users; provision of new buses/trains/LRT systems besides
competitive and easily comprehensible fare levels; dedicated right of way; prioritization
at traffic lights and integration with other modes of traffic etc. Identification of potential
corridors for mass transportation would help in rationalizing the traffic demand in urban
centres. Use of eco-friendly mass transportation vehicles using non-polluting fuels
(CNG) can usher a new era of sustainable transport in the urban centres , making them
15. free from major problems of vehicular pollution. In addition to providing an efficient,
effective, affordable and cost- effective means of transportation, public transport has been
found to be highly effective in reducing road congestion and air pollution and
accordingly requires higher priority. Considering different categories of clients, different
travel options must be offered to divert people using cars/two wheelers to public
transport. Promoting public transport on large scale would also involve creation of state
of art infrastructure including improved bus stations/terminals; improved passenger
information system; use of intelligent transport systems for monitoring and control;
affordable ticket pricing; e-ticketing; using single ticket for all modes of travel making
any number of changes; carrying out maintenance during the night and introducing
comfortable buses (air conditioned buses) etc.
Study recently made by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), has revealed that Delhi
Metro, having daily ridership of 27 lakhs, has helped in replacing 3.9 lakh vehicles off
the Delhi roads in 2014 besides saving Rs 10,364 crores in terms of fuel, pollution and
passenger’s time. In absolute terms, the annual reduction in fuel consumption has been
recorded at 2.76 lakh tonnes, as against the corresponding figures of the year 2011,
besides bringing down the travel time of commuters by 32 minutes. In addition to
promoting operational efficiency and making Delhi cleaner and green, study furthers
states that metro has made the city safer by reducing the number of fatal accidents.
Ahmadabad BRTS has already demonstrated its strength in solving the traffic problems
of the metropolis. Delhi metro has already achieved the mark of moving 2.7 million
passengers in a single day and is now gearing to reach 6 million mark, when all the
phases will be completed. Mumbai sub-urban trains have proved to be lifeline of the city
to keep it running even in all adverse conditions. To effectively solve the problems of
traffic, Copenhagen has developed world class public transport system from where all
residents will be living within a distance of 400 metres to minimize use of private cars,to
promote public transport. City of Chicago is also extending its suburban railway network
to ensure that 75% of the city residents should have houses within a walking distance by
2040, under ‘Go to 2040’ plan to rationalize travel within the city.
16. Electric vehicle technology holds enormous potential to reduce transport CO2 emissions,
depending on the embodied energy of the vehicle and the source of the
electricity. Sourcing energy from non-conventional sources or using batteries , can help
achieve the objective of low carbon emissions by such vehicles. In countries, with a
significant share of coal in their electricity production, adaptation of electric vehicles has
only a limited climate benefit. The climate benefits vary substantially and depend on the
vehicle size, electricity emissions, driving patterns, and even the weather.Nissan LEAF,
electric car in UK, having two batteries and advanced technologies (in 2019 ), produced
one third of the greenhouse gases than the average internal combustion car. Electrical Bus
has proved the efficacy and efficiency of electrical vehicles to make the urban transport
sustainable. Thus, public transport has enormous potential, which needs to be carefully
and thoughtfully exploited, explored and managed, to solve majority of the traffic
problems of urban areas.
Equitable Allocation of Road Space
Indian transportation scenario is distinctly marked with multiplicity of vehicles
occupying , sharing and competing for the common road space. In the absence of any
clear allocations, road space occupation is largely governed by first come first serve
basis. With focus on vehicles, majority of road space is being occupied by personalized
vehicles that outnumber the other vehicles. This leads to high degree of congestion
because of low capacity of these vehicles and squeezing of other vehicles out of the road
space. Bus carrying more than 50 people, requiring merely 2.5 times the road space that
is occupied by a car carrying 2-3 people, has very limited space available to move on
urban roads. Disproportionate space allocation has invariably led to higher travel times
and imposing higher travel cost. Majority of the people suffering from this paradigm
belong to lower income groups.
The existing trend needs to be rationalized and an appropriate mechanism of rational
allocation of road space needs to be immediately put in place. The focus of the road space
allocation has to be based on equity and the carrying capacity of the vehicles in order to
rationalize the traffic and minimize the congestion. It has to be redefined with focus
shifting from being vehicle centric to the people centric. Vehicles carrying large
commuters should be allocated more space in order to ensure their speedier movement.
Further based on equity, all the modes of transportation should be given priority in terms
of their carrying capacity. This objective can be achieved by reserving lanes and corridors
exclusively for public transport, non- motorized modes of travel, high occupancy vehicle
lanes, pedestrians and bicycles, depending upon their share in the overall traffic.
However, preferential allocation to public transport and cyclists will help in diverting
more traffic to these modes from personalized vehicles; leading to higher degree of
operational efficiency and better capacity utilization of existing road network besides
promoting sustainable transportation. Many cities in the world have used, successfully
and effectively , the mechanism of reserving stretches of roads exclusively for the use of
public transport to reduce congestion, air pollution and improving efficiency of rapid bus
transit system. Istanbul dedicated 42 kms of existing road lanes for the newly introduced
17. Bus Rapid Transit System. This helped in two fold increase in speed of buses as
compared to other vehicles. With buses arriving at 30-45 second interval providing
continuous service, city was able to effectively and efficiently move 6,20,000 passengers
a day.
Traffic Calming
Traffic Calming is another concept being followed in developed countries to minimize
the hazards of traffic, promote quality of life in urban centres and eliminate
environmental pollution. Major elements involved in the concept are redesigning of
streets and roads for a reduced vehicular speed not exceeding 30 kmph; giving priority to
public transport; promoting pedestrianization and bi-cycle traffic; enhancing the social
quality and vitality of cities; allocating large road space to vehicles other than
personalized mode of travel; creating large green areas as integral part of transportation
network; management of car traffic through routing, parking management, signaling etc. ;
surveillance and sanctions besides communication and participation by the public.
Feedback received from the communities, where the system was made operational, has
given distinct appreciation of the concept in terms of reduced noise & air pollution
besides promoting increased road safely and improved quality of life in all residential
areas.
18. Road Pricing
Road pricing is a new concept which has been used effectively to rationalize traffic,
minimize congestion , promote public transport , minimize use of personalized modes of
travel, safeguard environment, reduce pollution and generate resources. Singapore has
used the road pricing mechanism effectively to tackle the problem of congestion on city
roads. It has put in place a, ‘Unique Electronic Road Pricing System’, which makes road
users to pay a variable congestion charge, according to the prevailing traffic conditions
and distance travelled. It not only generates revenue for the city government but also
encourages drivers to take less congested roads. Levy of charges has discouraged use of
personalized cars , promoted preference for carpooling and use of public transport. The
system generated a revenue of $ 125 million in 2010
Creating Unified Transport Authority
Indian transportation scenario at the local level is distinguished by existence of
multiplicity of authorities with overlapping areas of operations in large urban centres and
absence of such agencies in the smaller towns. Both have led to a scenario which is
highly chaotic. Available agencies, where created, lack in capacity, competency,
expertise and requite manpower to study , analyze , plan , develop and manage the entire
gamut of inter and intra-city traffic, with the result urban transport is being managed by
proxy. This calls for creating a dedicated and unified agency for managing traffic and
transportation at the state and local levels, in order to holistically address the problems,
issues and traffic blues. The agency must be equipped with appropriate level of
manpower, having in-depth and adequate knowledge and experience of peculiarities of
urban traffic and provide solutions to solve them. Research and Development should be
made integral part traffic planning, in order to bring innovations in traffic management.
Involving Technologies
Technology can play major role in rationalizing and planning the urban traffic.
Unfortunately potential of technology has been used to a limited extent in India to
19. manage traffic. In developed countries technology has been extensively leveraged for
monitoring, planning and designing the transportation policies, and programs and their
implementation. In addition, it has been used effectively to monitor the traffic
conditions prevailing in the city and its various parts , to minimize the problems of
congestion and to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Use of IT has also helped in generating
valuable data for framing realistic and rational short and long term policies and
programs, based on ground realities. Many countries have used cameras at intersections
to optimize the traffic lights and cut transit time while reducing air pollution and cost of
tackling it. In London, transport operator, ‘Transport for London’ has shared its data to
encourage the development of service oriented apps such as ,Bus I T London’, which
suggests best bus route for any journey in the city depending upon users location. Road
Pricing mechanism evolved by Singapore has its genesis in the I T technology. Thus IT
needs to be extensively and innovatively used in rationalizing , planning and managing
urban traffic
.
Recognizing and incentivizing Sustainable Transportation
Recognizing and incentivizing all good practices which lead to promoting sustainable
transportation, on the analogy followed by the Government of India, can help in faster
learning and putting in practices simple and cost-effective options for promoting
sustainable transport systems at the local level in various cities in the country. Such
awards try to showcase the options which can be exercised at the local level,
demonstrating the efficacy and efficiency of various components involved in
sustainable transportation. The award is given in recognition of putting in place simple,
cost-effective, user-friendly and efficient transport facilities at the local level in
various states and Union Territories of India. Recently, Ministry for Housing and Urban
Affairs, Government of India, has recognized and awarded city of Kochi in the state of
Kerala , for putting in place the most Sustainable Transport System. The award has
been given in recognition of the projects implemented including, Kochi Metro, Water
Metro (Water Connectivity with the same experience as metro) and E-mobility; to
enhance the transport facilities in the city of Kochi. The creation of the Kochi Open
Mobility Network, which digitized and integrated various transport facilities, also
helped to win the award
Evolving Good Practices
Considering the role and importance of sustainable transport in minimizing the global
warming, climate change, decarbonizing and reducing carbon footprints, international
agencies , cities and countries are trying to evolve appropriate strategies and finding
valid options to rationalize mobility and making travel supportive of the environment and
ecology besides minimizing pollution caused by use and burning of fossil fuel in the
transport sector. Various countries /cities are making transportation more sustainable in
both long-term and short-term, by using both positive and negative methods of traffic
planning, development and management involving;
Ensuring that transport policies evolved , programs implemented and investments
made , help in preserving and promoting quality of life and supporting sustainable
development of communities , cities and nations on sustained basis.
20. Putting in place appropriate legal framework to mandate transport agencies to
consider sustainability issues and climate change impacts, as integral part of transport
planning and operations,
Recognizing the need to link sustainability and transport policies, by making cities
integral part of the global network- of- Climate Protection program
Focusing on people, environment and climate, rather than on vehicles
Promoting , ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve Approach’, through incentivizing behavioral
change.
Changing options of travel, shifting people from using personalized mode of
transport to mass / public transportation, cycling, and walking
Prohibiting using cars in well-defined zones to restrict the number of cars and
discourage people from using personal modes of travel.
Reducing the number of vehicular trips to lower greenhouse gases emission.
Improving public transport, through larger coverage of urban area in order to provide
more mobility and accessibility,
Using new technologies to make public transportation more reliable, responsive,
comfortable, cost-effective, operationally efficient and safe.
Encouraging walking and biking through the provision of wider pedestrian pathways,
bike share stations , locating parking lots far from the shopping center, limiting
on -street parking, creating slower traffic lane in central commercial area.
Increasing the cost of car ownership and gas through increased parking fees, tolls and
taxes , encouraging people to drive more fuel efficient vehicles and using revenue
generated, for improving public transportation and empowering poor communities.
Making sustainable transportation integral part of urban planning, development and
management processes and practices.
Incentivizing pedestrianization, bi-cycling and public transportation by making cities
user friendly, on the analogy of Paris, Ile-de-France region, and Amsterdam , where
majority of trips are performed by walking, bi-cycling, public transportation and very
few by cars.
Promoting integrated public transportation system , on the analogy followed by City
of Jakarta’, by creating longest bus rapid transit in the world, , reached a milestone of
serving one million passengers on daily basis, using a mechanism of dedicated lanes,
connecting with smaller vehicles, local buses, informal microbuses ,serving a larger
region not accessible otherwise, off- board fare collection, reliable, fast and frequent
operations, avoiding traffic congestion and long lines to pay fare
Making sustainable transportation integral part of daily living and part of teaching
and learning for promoting a culture of cycling following the examples of cities like
Copenhagen where 62% of people commute to school or work by bicycle
Leveraging decentralization, for creating self-contained and self-sufficient
communities/neighborhoods/cities within larger city.
21. Included sustainability as a key consideration in transport and land use planning,
based on the examples of cities like Curitiba, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; Portland,
Oregon; and Vancouver, Canada.
Creating green highways to minimize the impact of vehicular pollution and promote
sustainable transportation.
Generating resources for promoting sustainable transportation through relying on
user’s pay; levying fuel taxes; capturing land values; improving capacity of cities to
generate resources; incentivizing private investment and leading by examples.
Minimizing human loss of life by focusing on road accidents and transport induced
air pollution by making adequate provisions of road safety as mandated in the UN
decade of Action on Road Safety.
Conclusion
Transport is known to occupy centerstage in many prevailing environmental,
economic, physical and social developmental challenges, accounting for about 64%
of global oil consumption, 27% of all energy use, and 23% of the world’s energy-
related carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, more than 7 million people lost their
lives in the year 2019, due to traffic accidents and transport-induced air pollution, of
which share of developing countries has been placed at 92%. With number of
personalized vehicles recording highest growth and exhaust from cars and buses
emerging as the largest contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions & promoter of global
warming, it becomes critical that road transport, as a sector is focused more critically and
objectively, with efforts put in place and strategies evolved to make the road
transportation, more rational and sustainable.
Challenges posed by transportation sector remain both daunting and formidable. To
overcome these challenges, options would clearly hinge on and making urban transport,
environment/user friendly, cost-effective , efficient and sustainable. Sustainable urban
transport would essentially calls for; shifting the daily commute from cars to environment
friendly transport modes like public transport, walking, and bicycling; minimizing use of
personalized vehicles; promoting non- mechanized/ non-fuel based options for travel;
using public transport with large capacity run essentials on non-polluting fuels /electricity
; using state of art technologies to make vehicles zero-emission by using alternate eco-
friendly fuel; making cities more compact to limit the need of mechanized travel; using
land use planning to rationalize the travel pattern etc. It would also involve; use of
information technologies, as one of the key mechanisms, to reduce travel by using homes
as offices, schools, libraries etc. Using options of high density development for making
cities more compact can also be considered as a distinct option for minimizing travel
demand of the city. However, creating sustainable urban transport would require a multi-
pronged strategy, based on leveraging the advantages of all modes of travel, involving
communities and stakeholders besides actively involving professionals engaged in
urban/transport planning, development and management. Increased use of environment-
friendly public transport systems and halting of urban sprawl in cities can substantially
reduce emissions and make cities cleaner, greener and sustainable. Sustainable transport
can help save nations lot of resources and money, reduce environmental footprints, minimize
22. global warming & climate change and provide dividends in terms of improved individual
health , to make this world more heathy, happy, sustainable place to live and work.
Studies made and reports published by UNO, has concluded that, transportation remains
the major consumer of energy and generator of greenhouse gas emissions . Generating
close to a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions, with emissions
projected to grow substantially and exponentially in the years to come, transport would
be playing critical role in making this world sustainable. Accordingly, transportation and
mobility have been reckoned to be central and critical to achieve sustainable
development, improve urban air quality and health, and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Sustainable transportation has also been recognized for its capacity to
enhance economic growth and improve accessibility; achieve better integration of the
economy while respecting the environment, improving social equity, ensuring health and
resilience of cities, bonding urban-rural linkages and improving productivity of rural
areas.
High Level Advisory Group on Sustainable Transport (HLAG-ST), set up in the year
2104 by the UN Secretary General, representing all modes of transport including road,
rail, aviation, marine, ferry, and urban public transport providers, has recommended the
need for prioritizing sustainable transport and mobility across the globe. Report states
that transport system has critical role to play in making cities and human settlements,
safe, resilient and sustainable and calls for strengthening efforts to provide access to safe,
affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all including children,
persons with disabilities , women and older people. It also places transport across several
sectors, especially those related to food security, health, energy and economic growth,
infrastructure,
Following the mandate given in the SDG11, calling for promoting an affordable and
sustainable transport, globally all nations must immediately come out with an agenda and
23. a vision based on carbon neutrality, on the pattern evolved by Hyundai Motor Company,
which approaches and makes a call to all stakeholders, ‘ To make commitment to realize
emissions-free mobility as a fundamental human right; doing the best things for humanity and
society to lead towards a better and sustainable future; proactively promoting a paradigm shift
towards electrification and creating a hydrogen based society for bringing sustainability.
Stakeholders in general and corporate sector in particular ,must be made more active when
responding to climate change, with a strong sense of responsibility and journey towards
sustainability must continue for the sake of humanity and generations to come. Nations must
move beyond mobility towards creating a sustainable future based on hydrogen fuel-cell
technology by adopting an integrated approach’.
Besides meeting the sustainable development goals, sustainable transport is known for its
distinct and numerous social and economic benefits for the communities, cities,
environment and ecology. Studies made and analysis carried out by Low Emission
Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) has concluded that; Sustainable
transport can help create large number of jobs; improve commuter safety through
investment in bicycle lanes and pedestrian pathways; reduce use of fossil fuel on large
scale; minimize adverse balance of trade; minimize pollution and congestion, making
cities walkable; and spongy; saving cities from flooding; making access to employment
and social opportunities more affordable and efficient besides decarbonizing cities and
making urban settlements more livable and sustainable. Sustainable transportation also
offers a practical opportunity and simple method of saving people's time, improving
people’s health increasing household income and making cities great places for happy,
healthy and more productive living besides making investment in sustainable transport, a
'win-win' option and opportunity for all stake holders.’ Decabonising, Carbon Neutrality
and Zero-Carbon shall remain the agenda to redefine, promote and achieve the
sustainable transportation in urban areas and to achieve the mandate/goals given in
SDG11.
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Mckinsey Global Institute; How to make a city great, Mckinsey Cities Special
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Gupta J K : Promoting Sustainable Transportation-a published paper
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Note’; All images are sourced through google.com, which are gratefully and
sincerely appreciated and acknowledged. They are used to illustration the text.
Author;
**Jit Kumar Gupta
Former Advisor, Town Planning Punjab Urban Development Authority
#344, Sector 40-A, Chandigarh-160036
mail- jit.kumar1944@gmail.com,