Eleven cities selected as the winners of the Streets for People Challenge

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry recently said 11 cities, including Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad , have been selected as the winners of the ‘Streets for People Challenge’ for their pilot projects to make roads more pedestrian-friendly

In a statement, the ministry said that under the challenge, 38 cites had piloted re-imaginations of an important street each by prioritizing them for pedestrians.

Key Highlights

• Pune won the accolades for reclaiming space along several roads to create safe and exciting ‘experience zones’ for all citizens. The city activated these edges by painting the spaces, conducting laughter yoga sessions, music sessions and introducing kids play areas. Going ahead, the city plans to build wider footpaths and install street furniture at different locations, said officials.
• Pimpri-Chinchwad was hailed as the walking and cycling champion for reclaiming space from carriageway for segregated cycle lanes and footpaths. The city worked closely with their street design consultants to further their city-wide Harit Setu Masterplan, connecting green spaces across the city.
• In a competition that was open to 113 smart cities, 38 cities piloted re-imagination of an important street each by prioritizing them for pedestrians. The Streets for People Challenge required cities redesign their streets as public spaces through low-cost innovative measures making them safe for citizens, more particularly senior citizens and children.
• Of the 38 cities who submitted their proposal 11 cities – Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Kochi, Kohima, Nagpur, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Udaipur, Ujjain and Vijayawada were selected as pioneers for showcasing creative on ground transformation and extensive collaboration with citizens.

SOURCE: Hindustan Times

Download as PDF