[sustran] Those streets are made for walking' Walkability' is key to modern cities

Vinay Baindur yanivbin at gmail.com
Thu Jun 10 22:29:56 JST 2010


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Vinay Baindur <yanivbin at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 3:47 PM
Subject: Those streets are made for walking' Walkability' is key to modern
cities



 Those streets are made for walking 'Walkability' is key to modern cities
http://www.business-standard.com//india/storypage.php?autono=397499 Sanjeev
Sanyal /  June 9, 2010, 0:27 IST

More than half the world’s population lives in cities and, within a
generation, this will be true even for India. How we design and run our
cities is important for virtually every aspect of human activity in the 21st
century. Not surprisingly, therefore, we expect our cities to do many things
at the same time. We expect them to be energy-efficient and
environment-friendly. We want them to be socially inclusive. We also need
them to be vibrant engines of economic growth. Are these contradictory goals
or is there a way to maximise them simultaneously?

The good news is that there is a design paradigm that is simple, low-cost
and combines all these goals. The bad news is that Indian urban planning
almost entirely ignores it. The design paradigm is “walkability” and, as we
shall see, it is far more important than flyovers, metro-trains and other
expensive solutions to urban problems.

Walkability is about urban design that allows people to use walking (perhaps
combined with cycling) as an important, if not dominant, means of getting
around. Thus, people should be able to walk to work as well as walk to urban
amenities like schools, parks, restaurants and shops. Obviously, walking
cannot be the only means of urban mobility, especially in a large city.
However, urban design can be oriented to walking as a way of life, including
linkages to other forms of transport, such as buses, trains and so on.

*Why walkability?*
Some of the most successful cities in the world invest a large amount of
effort in ensuring walkability — New York, Boston, Singapore, Amsterdam,
Paris and so on. Seoul has torn down a motorway in the middle of the city
and turned it into a pedestrian-friendly path along a revived stream. New
York has converted old, elevated rail tracks in Lower Manhattan into a
walking path. Singapore has created a network of underground passages in its
business and shopping districts connected to its Mass Rapid Transit system.
Even hilly Hong Kong uses a combination of elevated walkways and escalators
to connect its business district. All of these interventions have proved
very popular. Why do these rich and advanced cities invest heavily in such a
basic form of mobility?

First, walking and cycling are the most environment-friendly means of
getting around. Moreover, they are essential for the functioning of all
other forms of public transport because the first and last mile of all
public transport systems must usually be walked. This is commonly ignored by
Indian urban planners. New metro stations and bus stops are created but
without any way for the commuter to then walk to her final destination.

Second, walking is the most socially inclusive means of transport. Both rich
and poor can walk, and they must use the same public space. This creates
social interaction and an egalitarian culture. When applied to a smaller
scale — say, to a small town or a neighbourhood — walking creates a sense of
community and greater engagement with civic issues. It is not as easy to
walk past an overflowing drain or a reeking garbage dump as it is to drive
past them.

Third, walking has large economic benefits that are usually ignored. It is
now widely recognised that much of the economic dynamism of urban
agglomerations come from their ability to generate random and frequent
interactions between people. This is what creates business networks,
encourages the exchange of ideas and triggers creativity (what is often
called “urban buzz”). Research has shown that this is still best done
face-to-face and cannot be efficiently done over the phone or the Internet.
Walkability is critical to this process. The street-cafes of Paris, the walk
along Charles River in Boston and the University Parks in Oxford have
generated far more ideas than the best of laboratories. This is why the
finance industry, the most networked of sectors, still thinks it worthwhile
to be concentrated in a tiny area around Wall Street and the City of London.

I have just discussed a few of the benefits of walkability. There are many
more, including improvements in general health. I am not persuaded by the
argument that India’s heat makes walking infeasible. Singapore is hot and
humid throughout the year and it rains there almost every day. Yet, the city
is a wonderful place to walk because of thoughtful design.

*How to design for it?*
Let me clarify that “walkability” is not just about building more pedestrian
footpaths. It requires a combination of over/underpasses, pavements, safe
crossings, public spaces like parks and so on. It also needs supporting
infrastructure like public toilets, signs, security systems and access for
the physically challenged. However, walkability requires a number of
fundamental changes in urban form in order to work. Let me list out a few:

   - Density: Walking cannot work in a spread-out suburbia even if there are
   lots of pedestrian paths. Thus, walkability presupposes a dense urban form.
   This has the additional benefit that it reduces the use of land and,
   consequently, further lowers the environmental footprint.
   - Mixed use: Walkability needs a mix-and-match urban form where there is
   an ecosystem of urban activity and amenities. We need to abandon industrial
   era zoning still loved by Indian master-planners. In fact, next generation
   urban design should even design for the phenomenon such as street vendors
   (properly regulated) in order to make the walking experience more
   interesting.
   - Public transport and taxis: Walking has one big disadvantage that it is
   limited by the human body. This is why it is very important that walking and
   cycling are consciously integrated into the public transport network. Note
   that a well-functioning taxi system is critical. People will take to walking
   only if they know that there is a reliable alternative whenever the
   situation demands it.

Sadly, very little attention is paid to walkability as a design paradigm in
India and other developing countries. Instead, new cities are being built on
out-dated visions of American suburbia. Large sums are still being spent to
“widen roads” — a euphemism for narrowing the pedestrian sidewalk. Massive
flyovers and highways are being built without any thought to how pedestrians
can cross them. The time has come to stand up for the hapless Mr Walker.

*The author is president, Sustainable Planet Institute*


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