The bustling Indian city of Chennai is forging a path towards sustainable urban living by transforming its streets from car-centric to people-friendly. Its local government, the Corporation of Chennai, is the winner of this year’s Sustainia Award for its ambitious plans to reclaim the city for cyclists and pedestrians. Governors are directing 60% of their transport budget to re-designing the city’s streets, in a push to cut air pollution and improve people’s safety.
As the world’s cities continue to expand at a lightning pace, urban centres are becoming ever-more choked with vehicles generating noxious exhaust fumes. With 66% of the global population predicted to be living in urban areas by 2050, outdoor air pollution is set to become the biggest cause of environmentally-related deaths, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In developing countries, some 90% of urban air pollution is attributed to vehicle emissions, costing national economies 5% of GDP.
Chennai is no exception. India’s fifth largest city has seen a surge in cars, motorbikes and mopeds as middle class affluence grows. At the same time, some 6m journeys are made by foot or bicycle daily, with many people walking or cycling to catch public transport. The city lacks the infrastructure to accommodate its many cars, cyclists and pedestrians safely, with 10,000 collisions occurring each year. Three to four people die in road accidents every day.
The Corporation of Chennai set out to tackle this growing transport, climate and health challenge head on.
“We were concerned by the sharp growth in cars and two-wheelers and the steady drop in non-motorised transport,” explains Vikram Kapur, commissioner of the Corporation of Chennai. “We wanted to reduce congestion, make the roads safer, and from an environmental standpoint, cut pollution, lower our dependency on fossil fuels and help prevent climate change.”
Determined to encourage more walking and cycling, Kapur and his team began exploring how to improve the city’s footpaths and cycle paths in an inclusive way, keeping the needs of both able-bodied and disabled people front of mind. In 2012, the Chennai Street Design Project was born. The team collaborated with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to re-design the city’s streets, proposing measures including wider footpaths, safer pedestrian crossings, protected cycle tracks, and conveniently placed bus stops.
Crucially, with the approval of the Tamil Nadu state government, it was decided that 60% of the city’s transport budget would be directed to creating people-friendly streets. The project received a further boost in 2014, when the Corporation of Chennai developed India’s first non-motorised transport policy. The city aims to increase non-motorised journeys by 40% by 2018, create safe and continuous footpaths on 80% of the city’s streets and eliminate pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.
“Developing a strong, overarching policy was a major step forward,” explains Kapur. “It acted as an important catalyst, focusing our existing efforts for greater impact. Eventually, we hope that our work will encourage more sustainable and efficient modes of transport, and help support a healthier population.”
The ambitions are bold and Kapur acknowledges the journey will be long, with some 33,000 streets to cover and 71 major roads. But the foundations are in place to move from design to reality. 26 priority streets now have wide and continuous footpaths, and work is underway on a further 60. Importantly, no new traffic collision fatalities have been reported in the renovated streets. In October 2015, Chennai celebrated its first Car Free Sunday, and plans are afoot to launch one of India’s first bike-sharing schemes in 2016.
“We’re increasingly seeing innovative, bottom-up solutions from cities seeking to improve their citizens’ quality of life,” says Bjørn K. Haugland, chief sustainability officer at DNV GL, Sustainia sponsor and one of its founding partners. “Any major change takes root from an idea, and it’s vital that ideas like this gain more prominence. That’s why the Sustainia Awards are so important – they shine a light on viable solutions that exist today, and help them to gain momentum.”
Chennai’s innovative policy is already proving to be a source of inspiration for other cities in India and worldwide. The state government has allocated 500m rupees (£5m) to improve infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists in the cities of Trichy and Madurai. Meanwhile, Kapur and his team are sharing their knowledge both within transport forums in Chennai and with India’s Department for Transport.
“As city populations increase, it’s vital that all urban solutions are designed with humans in mind,” concludes Haugland. “This will require a total shift in mindset, and a fundamental change in the way we order our cities, moving away from vehicle-dominated infrastructure. The Corporation of Chennai has set an important example for developing and developed countries on how we might take steps towards returning cities to their original purpose – to meet social needs.”
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