The number of Covid-19 cases in India has crossed seven lakh, resulted in more than 20,000 deaths. Though is still no cure or vaccine again...
The number of Covid-19 cases in India has crossed seven lakh, resulted in more than 20,000 deaths. Though is still no cure or vaccine against the coronavirus, but cities have already started “unlocking”. This is because we cannot have an endless lockdown.
However, in the process of opening up the economy, cities are struggling to provide mobility to its citizens. Public transport remains banned primarily due to the fear of contamination. Not everyone can afford a personal vehicle, and even if they could, cities would not be able to accommodate all of them.
Therefore, it is essential to change the mobility paradigm in cities: instead of moving vehicles, the cities should focus on moving people. In this regard, the recent advisory from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on promoting cycling and pedestrianisation of core city markets is welcome.
A couple of days back, the ministry also launched Cycle4Change challenge with the intent of creating non-motorised zones and community-led cycle rental schemes to promote cycling in the city. It is also a significant step in fostering non-motorised transport in cities. However, walking and cycling can change only if we can fundamentally change the way we design our city streets. The first step would be to...
