Sep 12, 2024
TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD) IN INDIA
TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT (TOD) IN INDIA
1. What is Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)?
Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a planning approach that focuses on building communities around public transportation hubs, like metro stations. The idea is to make it easier for people to live, work, and shop near transit options, reducing the need for cars and making cities more liveable.
2. Why is TOD important?
TOD helps reduce traffic congestion, lowers pollution, and makes cities more people-friendly. For example, in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi, if more people live near metro stations, they are less likely to use cars, which helps reduce traffic and improves air quality.
3. What challenges does TOD face in India?
• Competition with Highways: Developers often prefer to build near highways and in the outskirts because it’s cheaper and quicker to make profits. For instance, in cities like Gurugram and Pune, many new developments are happening far from the city center, leading to more car use and traffic.
• Lack of Coordination: In cities like Delhi, there is often poor coordination between metro agencies and city planners. This can lead to conflicts over land use and missed opportunities to develop areas around transit stations.
• Outdated Planning: Current city planning in India often focuses on controlling land use rather than promoting smart growth around transit. This makes it difficult to implement TOD effectively.
4. What can be done to improve TOD?
• Incentivizing Central Development: Cities should make it more attractive for developers to build near transit stations. For example, by offering higher floor space ratios (FSR), cities can encourage taller buildings near metros, as seen in parts of Ahmedabad.
• Better Coordination: Transit agencies and city planners need to work together more closely. In Mumbai, for example, if metro authorities and the city planning department collaborated better, the areas around metro stations could be developed more efficiently.
• Updating Planning Practices: Cities need to shift from rigid land-use control to flexible planning that supports TOD. This means making it easier to develop mixed-use areas near transit, similar to successful examples in cities like London and Singapore.
5. How does TOD benefit cities?
TOD leads to more walkable, vibrant neighborhoods where people can easily access shops, offices, and public spaces without needing to drive. For instance, if TOD is effectively implemented in cities like Chennai or Hyderabad, residents could enjoy shorter commutes, cleaner air, and more green spaces.
6. What is the outlook for TOD in India?
For TOD to succeed, cities need to update their planning systems, encourage development around transit hubs, and ensure that different agencies work together. While it’s a challenging path, successful TOD can make Indian cities more sustainable and enjoyable places to live.
