In news- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) announced winners of Streets for People and Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge, recently.
About Streets for People challenge-
- It is an initiative of the Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA started in 2020 (pilot phase) to inspire cities to create walking-friendly streets through quick measures in response to COVID-19.
- 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.
- It supports cities across the country to develop a unified vision of Streets for People in consultation with stakeholders and citizens.
- It aims to create flagship walking initiatives in cities, which focus on placemaking and liveability.
- The India Programme of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is the knowledge partner, providing guidance through the preparation of resource material and facilitating online peer to peer learning workshops.
- Under this 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.
- During the event, the MoHUA also launched Season-2 of India Cycles4Change and Streets for People 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.
- The season 2 will work towards adopting a progressive Healthy Streets & Parking Policy, creating area level parking plans and start on-street parking management
- Season 2 is inspired by the Active Mobility Act to safeguard the rights of pedestrians and cyclists.
- 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.
- Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Kochi, Nagpur, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Pune, Udaipur, Ujjain and Viajayawada are the top 11 Awardees of the pilot stage of the Streets4People Challenge in 2022.
Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge-
- It is an initiative of MoHUA started in 2020, aims to incorporate a focus on early childhood development (0-5-year old children) in the planning and management of Indian cities.
- It is a 3-year initiative that aims to work with Indian cities and their partners to pilot and scale ways to improve public space, mobility, neighborhood planning, access to early childhood services and amenities, and data management across city agencies.
- Under this, cities will make streets safe and walkable for young children and their caregivers and reimagine public open spaces for play and interaction.
- MoHUA announced ten winning cities for the Nurturing Neighborhoods Challenge-2022, in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and technical partner World Resources Institute (WRI) India.
- Under the pilot stage, in 7 months, the pioneering cohort of 25 cities has implemented over 70 pilot projects in neighborhoods across India.
- In stage 2, the 10 winning cities will receive technical assistance and capacity building to replicate pilots with learnings and influence development plans, regulations and policies.
- Top 10 Awardees of the pilot stage of the challenge are Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Indore, Jabalpur, Kakinada, Kochi, Kohima, Rourkela, Vadodara, Warangal.
Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/smart-city-mission/