WRI India Ross Centre draws up Agenda 2022 for sustainable development of Bangalore
Emphasizes need for developing framework and action-oriented strategies
Ranked the most dynamic city in the world by Jones Lang Lasalle’s 2017 City Momentum Index, Bengaluru also faces a quagmire of challenges like water scarcity, power shortage, urban sprawl, inadequate infrastructure and traffic congestion.
To identify these problems related to rapid urbanization and to pave the way to a sustainable and inclusive model of development, WRI India Ross Centre organized Unlock Bengaluru (#UnlockBLR), a day-long convention in the city today. The day saw diverse stakeholders — including state and city authorities, bureaucrats, architects, thinkers, business organizations, town planners and civil society organizations — unanimously draw up an ‘Agenda 2022’, which emphasized the need for an enabling framework and action-oriented strategies for the city’s balanced development in the next five years.
Leading the discourse were Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department (UDD), Karnataka; Rakesh Singh, Bengaluru Development Authority; Sowmya Reddy, MLA, Jaya Nagar; Dr. CN Ashwathanarayan, MLA, Malleshwaram; Dr. Sushmita Mohanty, Earth2Orbit; Philip Cheng, VP-Ground Operations, FedEx India; Revathy Ashok, CEO, BPAC; Shin Aoyama, President Secretariat, Toyota Mobility Foundation; V. Sumantran, Chairman, Celeris Technologies; Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Public Policy Expert, Azim Premji University; V. Ravichandar, Feedback Consulting; and, Dr. OP Agarwal, CEO, WRI India.
For nearly a decade, WRI India has been assisting Bengaluru make informed decisions on resources, land-use and infrastructure, including transport and energy that typically have a 40–100 year “lock-in” effect (that is, once they are constructed or implemented, they can’t be reversed easily). Along with government departments, academic institutions, civil society, and independent experts, the research organization has been working towards improving quality of life for its citizens and future investment in the city.
Unlock Bengaluru aimed at sharing these decade-long learnings and sought feedback on the evolving theories and ideas that could address unsustainable lock-ins and usher in transformative change in the future. The need for a robust solution to the problems of air pollution, road congestion, lack of sanitation, water and other resources that the city faces were discussed.
The event saw the release of two publications:
- State-Led Alternative Mechanisms to Acquire, Plan and Service Land for Urbanization in India is an analysis of alternative mechanisms developed by the state towards setting up an end-to-end area development approach that enables land acquisition, its planning, its servicing and the capture of its value post development.
- Enabling Safe Access to Mass Transit — A Toolkit for Community Engagement and Decision-making, is a guidebook demonstrating the safe access principles used to negotiate decisions related to making mass-transit station areas pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly, thus improving last-mile connectivity, leading to better ridership, reduced traffic congestion and air pollution.
Pointing out that urban development (pertaining to urbanization and resource management) and mobility (pertaining to the choices people have to move within the city) are two pillars of building a sustainable city, Dr. O.P. Agarwal, WRI India, said, “The newly formed Karnataka government is committed to ‘development for all’ by 2022. Good governance, inclusive planning, effective management of resources, enhanced infrastructure and mobility services aided by technology can go a long way in delivering this mandate in Bengaluru, the largest city in the state in terms of size and its GDP contributions.”
Three unique events highlighted the need for better mobility in the city: The Better Bus Challenge, supported by FedEx, saw participating cohorts pitched their solutions to a panel of judges including government, industry and mobility experts, prospective investors and venture capitalists. Three winning business ideas received a grant of USD 50,000 each, mentorship to develop and pilot the solutions and access to government representatives and funding networks. The Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP) 2018, led by WRI India and the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), discussed solutions to scale-up last-mile services across the Namma Metro network, through electric and connected vehicle technologies. A New Mobility Lab Walk-Through by WRI India Ross Centre, FedEx, Shell Foundation and Toyota Mobility Foundation, saw a select set of enterprises demonstrating their service/product/innovations to a high-profile group of ecosystem players including government officials, transport experts and investors.
Stressing on the importance of urban mobility in developing as a sustainable city, Mr. Ravichandar, Feedback Consulting, said, “Today the mobility dynamics of Bengaluru has changed completely due to data-driven transport solutions and high profile mass-transit systems like Metro and bus services. For the city’s connected and compact growth, it is imperative to harness these solutions and makes optimal use of them.”
The World Resources Institute is a global research organization that spans more than 50 countries, with offices in the United States, China, India, Brazil, and more than 450 experts that work to sustain natural resources.
Aiming to influence 200 cities with unique research and tools, WRI India Ross Center focuses on a deep cross-sector approach in four megacities on two continents, and targeted assistance to 30 more urban areas, bringing economic, environmental and social benefits to people in cities around the globe
