Transit-oriented growth (TOD) has been, for some years now, the preferred city planning idea mentioned in Union budgets. The time period has been talked about 5 occasions in finances speeches for the reason that 2019-20 one. This 12 months’s finances speech additionally talked about it. Engaged on TOD planning over the previous a number of years, one was thrilled to listen to about it the primary 3 times. Then, it obtained tiresome, particularly when nothing a lot appeared to observe by way of on-ground implementation.
Earlier than the time period grew to become in style within the finance ministry, a nationwide TOD coverage was formulated in 2017 by the ministry of housing and concrete affairs. Certainly, a report by the parliamentary standing committee on housing and concrete affairs reads, “The Committee recommends the Ministry to exhort, persuade, and prod the state governments to implement Transit Oriented Growth alongside metro stations in respective states.” Such a alternative of phrases signifies the desperation felt in implementing transit-oriented growth in our cities.
The idea denotes planning for an elevated quantum of dwelling, working, and procuring choices close to transit stations. This promotes public transport use and minimises journey distances inside the metropolis. The plan is to develop transit-influencing zones which are compact, dense, mixed-use, and numerous. There’s additionally a necessity for extra open areas, social infrastructure, broad footpaths, and energetic frontages of buildings to draw and accommodate a excessive quantity of individuals utilizing these areas. TOD will not be merely about tall buildings close to transit factors. Individuals want higher entry and extra decisions to journey within the metropolis, and the transit techniques want commuters. The idea represents a candy deal between the 2. When applied proper, it helps cut back carbon emissions and enhance liveability.
Nonetheless, it’s a lengthy street to meaningfully implementing transit-oriented growth in our cities. Listed below are the three key areas that want work.
One, TOD is dropping its aggressive benefit towards highway-oriented growth. With the introduction of the TOD a number of years in the past, flooring space ratio norms have been liberalised close to transit stations or transit corridors. The logic was to provide the benefit of redevelopment to the areas the place the transit provide is stronger. Cities like London decide their flooring house provide primarily based on public transit accessibility ranges. Opposite to this, many Indian cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Gurugram have began incentivising property tasks round wider roads and highways.
Right now, highway-oriented growth outcompetes transit-oriented growth in lots of cities. Why would builders spend money on a middle-of-the-city, messy redevelopment mission in the event that they revenue extra from peripheral land growth with smaller investments? As we have now seen previously, these highways and wider roads within the peripheries get congested in just some years. Individuals dwelling within the peripheries get used to their vehicle-centric life-style and demand extra flyovers and free parking. Benefit in favour of transit-oriented cities must be restored.
Two, there’s a lack of coordination and joint planning between transit businesses and cities’ planning authorities. Policymakers need the metro rail system to earn a living to get well huge investments made, at the very least partly. The metro system can earn a living by growing ridership and promoting growth rights close to transit stations. This may be performed with environment friendly TOD planning. At current, growth rights are monopolised by the planning authorities in our system. Years of conflicts and lack of coordination between transit businesses just like the Delhi Metro Rail Company and civic planning authorities just like the Delhi Growth Authority are well-known. In each giant metropolis the place metro rail is deliberate, a scarcity of coordination or squabbles over revenue-sharing persists between the transit company and the planning authority. The planning authority will not be obliged to share its floorspace sale income with the transit company. Transit businesses typically behave too solely in coordinating with native authorities. Our cities want joint planning mechanisms the place the land and the transit businesses are mandated to work collectively.
Three, our present planning system wants reform to accommodate TOD. City planning practices right now are laden with a command-and-control strategy and pseudo-scientific norms. The brand new strategy to planning is about selling growth and never controlling the city land excessively. Past the reforms in planning mechanisms, a lot work is required to vary the mindsets and embedded institutional tradition. Transit-oriented growth must be featured prominently within the metropolis’s grasp plans, and never simply coverage paperwork. We have to cut back supply-side constraints of serviced land and restore the benefit of creating land close to transit.
Transit-oriented growth will not be restricted to making a living from tall buildings close to transit but additionally considerations sustainably enhancing accessibility and liveability in our cities. There’s a lot to be performed on city planning and transit-oriented growth in our cities. We’re simply starting to debate the appropriate concepts and practices. The lengthy street to implementation of transit-oriented cities would require restoring the aggressive benefit of the idea backed by institutional coordination and reforms in city planning practices.
Rutul Joshi teaches city planning at CEPT College, Ahmedabad.The views expressed are private
