MoHUA announces winners of Streets for People and Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge
Radiance News Service
Season 2 of Cycles4Change and Streets for People challenge launched
Pahari Bus Stand at Chetak Circle in Udaipur | Photo credit: Udaipur Smart City Ltd
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organised an online event wherein it announced eleven winning cities for the Streets for People Challenge, and ten winning cities for the pilot stage of the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge. These cities will now enter the scale upstage of the challenge wherein the projects are undertaken in the pilot stage will now be scaled up in a sustainable manner. At the event, the Ministry also launched Season-2 of India Cycles4Change and Streets for People Challenges and a book titled ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge: Stories from the Field".
The
event was chaired by Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA. The participants included global and Indian officials from partner organisations who had
conducted the challenge, representatives from winning cities, officials from
Central and State Governments, including CEOs of 100 Smart Cities.
Announcement of winning cities under Streets4People Challenge
Pilot Phase
Since 2020, the smart Cities Mission (SCM) has been anchoring inter-city challenges to make public spaces more people-friendly. This is in line with the 2006 National Urban Transport Policy, which called for a paradigm shift from car-centric roads to people-centric streets. Over the past 18 months, these challenges vis. Cycles4Change and Streets for People have transformed into a nationwide movement beyond the 100 Smart Cities.
Under
the ‘Streets for people Challenge’, 38 cites piloted re-imaginations of an
important street each by prioritizing them for pedestrians. 11 cities have been
selected by a jury panel for the next phase of scale up and will be awarded Rs. fifty
lakhs each by MoHUA. Four cities were given a special mention by the jury for
their efforts during the challenge. The list of winning cities is at Annexure
1. The challenge was conducted with technical support from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP India). For more information on the Streets for
People Challenge, please visit https://smartnet.niua.org/indiastreetchallenge/
A second season was also launched for India Cycles4Change and Streets4People challenges. Any city that is not already in the top 11 winners, any smart city, capital of state/UT, or city with over 5 lakhs population can apply.
Under the pilot stage, i.e. stage 1 of the India Cycles4Change & Streets4People Challenges:
o
Cities transformed
400+ kms of corridors through temporary solutions to make streets cycling
friendly
o
Received feedback
from 60,000+ citizens through surveys
o
Got600+ Civil Society Organisations to support
their cities
o
had over 1800 design professionals, students
and other organisations coming together to develop and test creative solutions
to reclaim streets for people
In the scale-up stage, i.e. Stage-2, cities will:
o
work towards
adopting a progressive Healthy Streets & Parking Policy, creating area
level parking plans and starting on-street parking management
o
Inspired by the
Active Mobility Act to safeguard the
rights of pedestrians and cyclists, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport
(DULT), Government of Karnataka has initiated the conversation in Karnataka, which
will support the cities and states to work towards adopting such a progressive
act.
o
Cities will work
towards making their interventions permanent and scale it up across the city
o Cites will work to bring institutional resilience through setting up a Healthy Streets Department.
Announcement of winning cities under Nurturing Neighbourhoods
Challenge
MoHUAannounced ten winning cities for the Nurturing Neighbourhoods
Challenge, in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and
technical partner World Resources Institute (WRI) India. The Challenge is a
3-year phased initiative aimed at shaping early childhood-friendly
neighbourhoods in Indian cities. The list of winning cities is at Annexure 2.
Finalists were selected following a comprehensive evaluation by a jury of
representatives from MoHUA, BvLF, and independent experts in the fields of
urban design, early childhood development, and behavioural change.
Following the challenge kick-off in
November 2020, over 60 city agencies nationwide responded to an open call for
proposals to implement neighbourhood-level pilot projects to enhance the physical and
psychological health of infants, toddlers, and their caregivers. Shortlisted by
an expert committee in February 2021 based on the strength of their proposals, 25
cities received technical assistance and capacity building over the next 7
months to demonstrate early wins, solicit citizen participation, and build consensus
around their projects. In addition to the finalist cities named above, the
cohort included Agartala, Coimbatore, Dharamshala, Erode, Hyderabad, Kota,
Nagpur, Rajkot, Ranchi, Rohtak, Salem, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruppur, and
Ujjain.
Under the
Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge pilot stage, i.e. stage 1, in 7 months, the pioneering cohort of 25
cities has-
o
Implemented over 70 pilot projects in neighbourhoods across
India. These diverse projects ranged from the creation of public spaces in slums,
age-appropriate play areas, enhanced outdoor waiting spaces around primary
health centres and anganwadis, amenities for caregivers, such as public toilets
and nursing cabins, improved streets and junctions, and reclaiming
underutilized and residual spaces to create parks and gardens.
o
These projects benefitted over 1 lakh children
between the ages of 0-5 and more than 1 million people.
o 200+ champions are leading changes on the ground, building the movement for young children-friendly cities
In the next scale-up stage, i.e. stage 2,
the 10 winning cities will receive technical assistance and capacity building
to-
o
Replicate
pilots with learnings and influence development plans, regulations and
policies.
o These cities will to consider setting up a dedicated institutional mechanism to carry this work forward.
Launch of the book – ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge – Stories
from the field’
The booklet has a compilation of projects of all 25 cities that
were part of the pilot stage of the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge and can
be downloaded from the challenge website. For more information on the Nurturing Neighbourhoods
Challenge, please visit https://smartnet.niua.org/nurturing-neighbourhoods-challenge/web/
***
“The
pandemic has highlighted the importance of the public realm for public health.
Continuous micro movements on a daily basis is what keeps as active, alert and
healthy. Citizen should able to get out of their homes and walk to the market,
walk to work or nearest metro/bus stop to get to work, cycle for pleasure but
also for commuting, not just go out to eateries/restaurants for recreation but
be able to picnic at a park or waterfront, take up sports, and breath fresh
air. Every citizen should be able to cultivate these daily habits for an
active, healthy and happy life. But as government leaders, we have to ensure
that we are providing the necessary built and natural environment for these.”
“In an emerging paradigm at the
Ministry, for the first time, we are taking the lens of certain citizen groups
to reimagine our cities. In partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation,
we are investing in cities to nurture early childhood development and to make
them work for caregivers. Changes led by the Nurturing Neighbourhoods cohort
are transforming how we plan, design, and manage Indian cities to be healthier,
more inclusive places for young children to grow up, which consequently
enhances the quality of life for all.”
Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
“As an avid
cyclist myself, the last two years have been memorable to see this wave of
walking and cycling take over many cities across the country. The ongoing
challenge for city leaders under AKAM has also sparked inspiration across
the country with many city leaders talking up walking, cycling and running
activities! It is important that the city leaders lead the way and inspire
others!”
“Investing
in cities that nurture early childhood development and work for caregivers is a
new and unique lens for looking at urban development and citizen experience in
India. Never before have city engineers in India’s urban local bodies been
asked to look at cities from 96 cms above ground- i.e. height of a toddler.
Through the NurturningNeighbourhoods Challenge, Smart Cities, for the first
time, are re-imagining their neighbourhoods to work for infants, toddlers and
their caregivers. Because of this challenge, we now understand better that
access to a safe, supportive public realm during the critical early
years of a child’s life is essentially linked with strong
long-term social, economic, and developmental outcomes. We look forward to seeing the 10 winning cities announced
today become ‘lighthouses’ for this approach, sharing their learning with the
rest of the country and others across the world.”
Shri Kunal Kumar, Mission Director, Smart Cities Mission
“Streets are for people, not just cars. The Open Street Campaign helped over 100 cities across India reimagine their streets. During the challenge, the cities transformed their traffic centric streets into vibrant spaces, filled with colour, music and laughter. Imagine what we can accomplish if these were made permanent!
AswathyDilip, South Asia Director, Institute for Transportation and
Development Policy
“We extend our heartiest congratulations to all the winners and everyone involved in making the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge such a success. It is encouraging to see the excellent quality of innovation and work done by cities keen to build a healthy, safe, and playful environment for babies, toddlers, and their families. From dump yards and unused spaces being converted into play zones to micro parks and well-equipped vaccination centres for young children, the effort put in by cities has been truly commendable. We at BvLF believe that when city leaders plan, design, and manage neighbourhoods from a child’s perspective, they not only make it safe, accessible, and fun for young children, but also support the child’s long-term health and well-being. And, ultimately, cities that work for babies, toddlers, and their caregivers work for everyone.”
Ms. Rushda Majeed, India Representative, Bernard van Leer Foundation
“It is heartening to see how Indian cities enthusiastically participated to make public spaces, streets and facilities more accessible to infants, toddlers, and their caregivers. We are thankful to the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for providing cities a platform to ramp up early childhood-friendly interventions and to the Bernard van Leer Foundation for their support in making this work possible. I congratulate the 10 Nurturing Neighbourhoods finalists and others who strove for change on the ground. Making our cities more walkable and accessible, with a focus on the most vulnerable, is critical to shaping a resilient, low-carbon and liveable futurure.
Dr O.P. Agarwal, CEO, WRI India
Annexure 1
The Top 11 Awardees of the pilot
stage of the Streets4People Challenge, in alphabetical order, are:
1.
AURANGABAD for building early consensus with all public agencies
and other stakeholders
2.
BENGALURU for creating public spaces in residential area with
involvement of RWA
3.
GURUGRAM for Pedestrianizing markets and school zones by involving
the citizens
4.
KOCHI for integrating multiple ongoing initiatives to transform a
neighborhood
5.
KOHIMA for transforming parking into vibrant community spaces
6.
NAGPUR for re-imagining busy market streets into pedestrian havens
7.
PIMPRI CHINCHWAD for creating a city-wide strategy for healthy
streets
8.
PUNE for activating dead spaces and making them experience zones
9.
UDAIPUR for transforming the transit experience
10. UJJAIN for making giant leaps towards
permanent pedestrianization
11. VIJAYAWADA for involving the community at every step
4 cities have been recognized as the Jury Special Mention, and the cities are:
1.
IMPHAL for creating vibrant streets through street museums
2.
KARNAL for bringing art to the streets and in dead spaces of the
city
3.
SILVASSA for displaying innovation in materials
4. VADODARA for inclusive and innovative design solutions by using recycled materials
Anganwadi under Vadsar flyover, Vadodara | Photo credit: Vadodara Smart City & SMAID University