by Suman Gupta
BENGALURU / September 26, 2024: The “Liveable Cities – Slow, Healthy and Sustainable” Conclave, centred around the four themes of mobility, health, technology and communities-neighbourhoods, concluded in Bengaluru with a dedicated session on how to make Bengaluru more liveable. More than 50 national and international experts participated, including experts, visionaries, technologists, investors, technologists, property developers, healthcare practitioners and community leaders.
The event brought a larger universal perspective on defining liveability for a city and its occupants (human, flora and fauna), and consequently for the health of the planet. Cities and the liveability of cities must also be considered in the context of the landscape and ecology of the region, in and around the city, the experts said.
One area of great debate was mobility and the need to bring back the focus on public transportation, especially buses, and how to discourage the use of private motorized transport. At a neighbourhood level, private cars should only be allowed in cases of emergency and the space freed as a result should be given to pedestrians and cyclists and trees so that the last-mile connectivity to the public transport is safe and is pleasant and of good quality, the experts said.
The health of citizens and cities is connected to the health of the planet. This would mean that the issues of climate change will also affect the health of citizens and the flora and fauna of cities. The repercussions of this are felt more intensely by those at the lower end of the pyramid because their homes are inevitably located in the most vulnerable locations. This affects their physical and mental health and longevity. In a study conducted in Mumbai, the most disadvantaged had a shorter life span by as much as seven years. This inequity leads to social and environmental injustice, the experts said.
Compared to many nations, the Indian Government is driven to enable digital technology to help make our cities more liveable. However, the experts cautioned that extreme digitalization runs the risk of creating greater inequities and raises the question about data and its custodianship, which could be used or misused.
While discussing how design could improve liveability in cities, interesting examples were shown of successful projects within and outside Bengaluru, wherein greater importance was given to public spaces which enhanced the overall quality of the city. There were examples of how public space, when designed well, could mitigate the issues of climate change such as flooding and heat-island effect.
The experts believed that rather than solve for citywide issues, interventions at neighbourhood level would be more effective as these were inclusive and engaged public participation. In this context, Area Sabhas were vitally important if true democracy was to be achieved and where people took on the responsibility of running their own wards.
The fact that governance had fractured in Bengaluru was acknowledged by all. While there was a sense of urgency to repair and restore Bengaluru, experts cautioned that systemic change is needed and while that will be slow, it would build more resilience. Rather than focus only on projects, there was a need to focus on processes. The present vacuum in governance including the skill gap could also be seen as an opportunity for private groups to nudge and compel Government to execute projects that would improve liveability. The redesign of the public space on Church Street, a project initiated by VA Associates and partners, provided a good example.
The Conclave was conceptualised by My Liveable City – http://www.myliveablecity.com Set up in 2014 as a social venture, My Liveable City is a global knowledge platform that brings together the experience of thought leaders, academicians and practitioners drawn from Urban Design and City Planning, Landscape and Environmental Planning, Architectural & Building Design and Innovative Technologies.
