Post by account_disabled on Mar 12, 2024 3:48:11 GMT -5
Uncontrolled population growth has brought a series of consequences and changes around us. Among them, pollution and the impact on the ecosystems that help us survive.
In Mumbai, where more than 22 million people live, it is expected that by 2050 there will be more than 400 million. A drastic increase that will not only imply serious pollution problems but also health and economic problems.
The threat is clear. Unsustainable chaos is approaching. For this reason, Janette Sadik-Khan, president of the Global Initiative for Designing Cities, says that in Mumbai there are wide streets and plenty of access to asphalt. “You can do wonders.”
Janette is in charge of transportation in New York, during France Mobile Number List the mayoralty of millionaire Michael Bloomberg. There, the urban design that Sadik-Khan applied in the city of skyscrapers is the model used by the Bloomberg Global Philanthropy Initiative for Road Safety (BIGRS) . “It is no longer about the old idea of moving cars from point A to point B. Now we are betting on urban design for citizens. Today there is almost a competition to be the cleanest and safest city or with the best public transportation.”
According to data from El País, the race to improve the urban environment that Sadik-Khan talks about is part of the initiative for which Bloomberg has dedicated almost 230 million euros in 10 cities in five countries in the last 12 years.
Bombay is one of the cities where a traffic accident occurs every four minutes; there, 80% of fatal accidents are due to driving above the permitted speed, according to BIRGS' own study; warning of the risk to pedestrians, whose deaths account for half of the deaths.
For that reason, Janette's project is focused on rethinking each city, reducing utilities and developing safe elements such as more bicycle lanes or rapid bus systems, which reduce deaths by 50%. “It's not about being pro or anti cars but about creating a space for everyone. It is also an economic development strategy because people and businesses ask for it. And governments that deny this are in danger,” says Sadik-Khan, giving an example:
“When you put in a protected bike lane, merchants have a 50% increase in their sales. Having a sea of poorly parked cars in front of a business does not attract customers.”
A common scenario in Bombay and so many other Indian cities; where vehicles of all types control and saturate the urban space.
For example, CMST [short for Mumbai's main railway station] is a tsunami of dangerous traffic chaos. However, there are many opportunities for improvement with a little organization,” explains Sadik-Khan, referring to the crowd of pedestrians and vehicles that intertwine around the old Victoria Station. For this iconic plaza, outside where Slumdog Millionaire was filmed, officials accepted a proposal that uses existing geometry and temporary materials to improve traffic and create more public and green spaces. “Bombay has always been about its pedestrians and citizens have to reclaim the streets. “It is exciting to see an improvement that reflects the spirit of this city.”
Along with Bombay, the neighboring city of Pune is another of the Indian cities that signed the Bloomberg Design Guide.
“In Pune, magic can be done in mobility with greater investment in these routes. You don't need 15 lanes, just restructuring the streets,” insists Sadik-Khan, who says that the design manual is outdated and has to be renewed with citizen participation and data collection.
“In New York, Bombay or Madrid there are as many civil engineers as residents; who complain when a parking lot is eliminated or a street is changed. We have to create a forum where citizens make their needs known and combine it with the data collected after pilot projects.” Sadik-Khan had to convince urban planners, citizens, businessmen and transporters in New York to transform more than 100,000 square meters of roads into pedestrian spaces, 60 public squares and 650 kilometers of bike lanes through the city. “At the end of the Bloomberg administration's term, we had the support of 70% of citizens to provide bike and bus lanes. People hated them at first.