Category Archives: Car-free streets

Taming street-people: India’s grand civilizational project

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

A status message by a friend on Facebook has had me thinking for many weeks now. He wrote: Ranchi is an amazing city. In my first 30 minutes there, two schoolchildren, one bike rider and a goat tried to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in Car-free streets, Equity in Planning, Indian National Movement, Mumbai, Planning History, Ranchi, Safety, Skywalk, social spaces, Street Vendors, Suburban Rail | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Transportation in the United States: An open letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Posted on July 21, 2010 by

Mr. Chavan, USA is just beginning to realize that there are big flaws in the way it has planned its transportation infrastructure. These mistakes have resulted in huge petroleum imports that drain USA’s exchequer, in a greenhouse gas footprint that threatens the survival of the human species, in an infrastructure demand that helps no one but the contractors who build the infrastructure, and in the all-round destruction of America’s oldest cities. That is the “world-class” transportation infrastructure that you seek to emulate. Continue reading →

Posted in Bike-renting, Bus Rapid Transit, Buses, Car-free streets, Congestion Taxes, Cycle lanes, Cycling needs, Equity in Planning, Footpaths, Governance, Highways, How do cities work?, Land-use Planning, Mumbai, Needs Assessment, Needs of the poor, Participatory Planning, Pedestrian Needs, Planning in Context, Suburban Rail, Suburbs, Transportation Planning, United States | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 50 Comments

Creating Streets for Hawkers and Walkers

Posted on July 19, 2010 by

Mumbai’s planners do not necessarily view skywalks as a solution for improved safety, but rather, increased pedestrian flow. The idea is to move pedestrians up and away, making room for everyone else down below, including motorists and illegal street vendors who encroach on footpaths. But to pit walkers against hawkers is to ignore the real problem. A real solution would preserve the vibrancy of Mumbai’s street-level marketplaces. Most importantly, it would be about getting pedestrians to their destinations, not about getting pedestrians off the roads so that motorists have a free pass. Continue reading →

Posted in Car-free streets, Mumbai, Needs Assessment, Pedestrian Needs, Safety, Skywalk, Street Vendors, Transportation Planning | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments