EVOLUTION OF BANGALORE:

LINKS BETWEEN MOBILITY,

LIVELIHOODS, & SHELTER

Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP)

A PRELUDE TO TRANSPORTATION

POLICYThe National Urban Transportation Policy (NUTP):

integrated land use and transportation planning

minimal travel distances

public transportation (PT) & non-motorized transportation (NMT)

divert funds from road projects towards public transit systems

equitable allocation of road spacepeople as its main focus especially for marginal populations

SOURCE: Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development, National Urban Transportation Policy; Online: www.urbanindia.nic.in/policies/TransportPolicy.pdf

QUESTIONS?

How much is being spent transportation projects?

Where are transportation projects located?

More specifically, where are slum communities located in relation to these projects?

Does spending support public transport, or private vehicle use?

Does spending support local economic development?

What is the rationale of expenditures?

NEXT GENERATION INFRASTRUCTURE (NGI) METHODOLOGY:

Designing ways to communicate complex issues related to transportation in Bangalore:

Visualization Aids Game Simulations Agent-Based Modeling

The NGI methodology harnesses computational models and innovative applications of GIS & IT:

Monitoring transportation project’s implementation Improving inter-modal transportation (IMT) network’s connectivity Optimization of traffic and transportation (T&T) management and enforcement

(i.e. road pricing) Developing platforms so that data is ubiquitous and amply available to planners

and commuters

Thus, increasing the environmental and economic sustainability of Bangalore with minimum physical displacement of valuable sunk infrastructure (hard and soft) requires understanding the role of NGI.

NGI CONT’D

Analyzing emerging patterns within in a very complex eco-system such as Bangalore’s urban environment cannot be done reductively, but requires a holistic view of its inherent complexity.

The NGI methodology employs a complex systems approach to understanding how incentives, cognition, decisions, and behavior of seemingly disparate agents, such as private vehicle owners, public transport users, auto-ricksha drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians are influenced by physical space, and the re-organization of the that space through infrastructural development, given the non-linearity of Bangalore’s urban environment.

URBAN SPRAWL & SUBURBANIZATION OF

BANGALORE: Bangalore is witnessing increasing urban sprawl. As land in the

periphery is made available, residences and commercial offices are locating further from the central business district (CBD).

In late 2006, the city’s boundaries expanded. The municipal authority’s, Brahut Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), jurisdiction over the greater metropolitan region now covers an area of 741 km2.

SOURCE: BANGALORE METROPOLITAN LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (2008), BANGALORE MOBILITY INDICATORS 2008, ACCESSED ONLINE: HTTP://WWW.BMLTA.ORG/INDICATORS2008

DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS (1981-2001):

Bangalore’s increasing population of approximately 7 million experienced growth due to:

Natural Increase 500,000 Expansion of Boundaries 900,000 In-migration 1.2 million

SOURCE: BANGALORE METROPOLITAN LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (2008), BANGALORE MOBILITY INDICATORS 2008, ACCESSED ONLINE: HTTP://WWW.BMLTA.ORG/INDICATORS2008 ; VIA THE CITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN

BANGALORE’S INCREASING POPULATION

THE COMPOSITION OF

TRANSPORTATION MODES (1998-

2008) Private vehicle use has tripled from 10 lakhs to over 30 lakhs

The majority of private vehicle use is comprised of two-wheelers

However, a majority of Bangalore’s population still uses public transportation (42 percent)

 In addition, more people walk than drive (8 percent versus 6 percent, respectively)

A proxy for increasing incomes?

SOURCE: RITES LTD. COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2007).

LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION PLANNING,

& SLUM LOCATIONS:Urban mobility supports the livelihoods of millions living in the slums of Bangalore.

There are no explicit plans to seamlessly integrate slum residents into the larger urban fabric through transportation infrastructure.

There is no reliable official data on current slum locations and populations available.

This makes it very difficult to measure whether spending on proposed transportation projects are, in fact, equitable.

  PT projects are assumed to benefit lower-income populations that cannot afford cars; but if there is no verifiable relationship between PT projects and the homes or places of employment of the poor, then it cannot be determined whether they actually increase the mobility of the poor—physically or socio-economically.

SOURCE: BWSSB (CIRCA 1991)

SOURCE: UNKNOWN VIA BDA DMP 2015

DISPROPORTIONATE TRANSPORTATION SPENDING?

Road related expenditures amount to more than Rs. 8,213 crore

On the other hand, less than 1 percent of total spending is reserved for pedestrian and NMT facilities. In fact, 75 percent of proposed spending on pedestrian facilities is actually reserved for building skyways and subways—only Rs. 70 crore out of Rs. 281 crore has been set aside for improving footpaths.

SOURCE: RITES LTD. COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC & TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR BANGALORE (2007)

ACCOUNTING FOR EXTERNALITIES:

The cost of road widening (Rs. 0.5 crore per km) is not very high in comparison to improving footpaths.

However, the costs in terms of externalities are much higher when increases in fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, noise levels, accidents, and time spent in traffic (which decreases overall productivity) are accounted

SOURCE: RITES LTD. COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2007).

FINANCING TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS:

BANGALORE AS PLATFORM:

High-density outperforms sprawl, as dense cities correlate with lower CO2 emissions per capita, greater economic interactivity, and offer a wider array of urban services enjoyed by more people.

Facilities that improve the “walkability” of neighborhoods and the CBD fuel economic growth, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (formal and informal) by increasing the process of discovery by consumers and producers.

R&D of technologies adapted to local conditions and urban geography such as innovations in the software applications for mobile and GPS hardware sew the urban fabric together allowing NMT modes to move across Bangalore more efficiently

RING ROADS (PARALLEL, OUTER, INNER):

BUS RAPID TRANSIT (BRT) SYSTEM

METRORAIL

MONORAIL

COMMUTERRAIL

INTER-CHANGE POINTS, BUS TERMINALS, & PEDESTRIAN

FACILITIES

INTER-MODAL TRANSPORTATION (IMT)

NETWORK

LINKAGES AND CONNECTIVITY OF IMT NETWORKS:

According to one survey, 70 percent of PT users thought:

• distances to PT stops should be shorter (the average is 500 meters)

• the number of routes is inadequate • delays and wait times are too long • frequency is irregular.

Adequate coverage or accessibility in terms of linkages and connectivity of an IMT network requires substantial investment in feeder systems and improving sunk infrastructure (i.e. roads in the center, existing city-bus systems, and footpaths).

Transportation spending on 45 new Traffic & Transit Management Centres, 23 new bus stations, 300 new bus shelters, and increasing IT support for B-TRAC will amount to Rs. 2,500 crore.

SOURCE: RITES LTD. COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2007); BANGALORE METROPOLITAN LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (2008), BANGALORE MOBILITY INDICATORS 2008, ACCESSED ONLINE: HTTP://WWW.BMLTA.ORG/INDICATORS2008

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS:

Industrial clusters depend on proximity to complementary firms and industries to enjoy the benefits associated economies of agglomeration. Promoting local economic development means supporting positive spill-over effects within agglomerations.

 A rationale based on the competitive advantage of industrial

clusters through increased productivity justifies an IMT network that caters to industries that comprise the majority of economic activity. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) make up the largest share of industries in Bangalore and are the main source of employment—a majority of the population is employed by SMEs (formal and informal), compared to 4 percent that are employed by mega-industries.*

*SOURCE: BANGALORE METROPOLITAN LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (2008), BANGALORE MOBILITY INDICATORS 2008, ACCESSED ONLINE: HTTP://WWW.BMLTA.ORG/INDICATORS2008

VALUE OF FOOTPATHS AS PUBLICLY OWNED REAL

ESTATE:Footpaths as “publicly-owned” real estate have both a quantifiable

fair-market value and a larger qualitative social utility value; yet pedestrian facilities appear to be a highly undervalued asset.

The value of pedestrian facilities in terms of real estate property

prices per ft2

The welfare loss and opportunity cost of underinvestment in public open space

The value of footpaths as linkages that improve connectivity in an IMT network is significant

Discontinuous footpaths reduce the sustainability of the proposed IMT network and productivity of the entire city

Footpaths are encroached by utility boxes, light poles, or uneven drainage covers, and provide inadequate space for street commerce

SKYWAYS & PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPP)?

There is a notion that skyways and subways represent prime real estate property investment opportunities for developers in terms of advertisement and rental commercial space

Every 1 km of skyway equates to 10 km of improved footpaths (Rs. 2 crore per km versus Rs. 0.2 crore per km, respectively )

Or, in other words, 10 km of improved connectivity for every 1 km of superseded infrastructure

The BBMP is meant to cover citywide improvements of footpaths that will sew together the urban fabric

SOURCE: RITES LTD. COMPREHENSIVE TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN (2007).

Implicit Subsidization of Private Vehicles & Associated

Risks?An implicit subsidy is taken to be spending meant to target a wider population, but benefits a smaller segment of society. It is regressive in that this smaller population is already better off then the majority of society, and able to capture a disproportionate share of the benefits that accrue from public spending. This type of spending may appear to encompass the entire population or economy, but due to unintended “benefit leakages” spills over into areas that are outside the targeted geographic boundaries.

Spending on PT project that depend on new roads, road widening, and call for the construction of skyways and subways due to widening can be viewed as implicit subsidization of private vehicles because new roads built to support PT projects are just as likely to encourage private vehicle use.

This implicit subsidization may further externalize inefficiencies and will only exacerbate T&T management problems.

Also, There is a risk that unsustainable projects may become “budgetary liabilities” rather than “engines of economic growth.”

PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY:The release of funds via JNNURM is conditioned on the implementation of

state-level reforms; one of which mandates greater community participation. The central government is clear: planning should be conferred on democratically accountable urban local bodies.

The 74th Amendment to the Indian Constitution provides the legal framework for devolution of decision-making in land use and transportation planning

However, there are no direct institutional mechanisms to ensure accountability among para-statal entities that have been tasked with the promoting urban development in Bangalore.

Participatory governance requires more than mere consultation.

PEDESTRIAN PHOTO SLIDESHOW

DISCONTINUITY AND JELLY