Delhi attempts to cut its self-imposed red tape with a unified transportation agency.
Cutting new infrastructure through India's clogged cities requires cutting through an alphabet soup of municipal and parastatal agencies. In order to harmonize their efforts in Delhi -- where in the past they had often proceeded with little to no regard for each other -- the central government has launched the mellifluously named Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Center, or Uttipec. Uttipec has the radical mission of ensuring that the various agencies planning and implementing transportation projects in Delhi meet on a weekly or monthly basis to coordinate their efforts. Crazy.
According to Uttipec's director Ashok Bhattacharjee, simply creating Uttipec was itself a major accomplishment; moving forward, the agency will work on initiatives including roadway construction standards and ensuring facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. As India moves toward the second phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, with some $40 billion in urban infrastructure funds available countrywide, unified planning holds the possibility of ensuring greater transparency and accountability.
Thanks to Rachel Proctor May
FULL STORY: Urban Journal: Planning for Delhi's Transportation Future
Can Transit Oriented Development be Effective in India?
TOD as a planning tool is new to Indian cities, where the idea is being championed as a solution to congestion, environment quality and housing equity. Can this concept, developed for the North American city, be successful in Indian cities?
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Calculating Vehicle Travel Reduction Benefits
The Rocky Mountain Institute's new Smarter MODES Calculator quantifies economic, social and environmental benefits provided by shifts from automobile travel to more resource-efficient modes. This includes benefits that are often overlooked or undervalued in conventional planning.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
