Chandigarh, December 19
More than 100 officials from around 35 cities of India, including Smart City CEOs, today attended the second two-day “Healthy Streets Capacity Building Workshop” that started here today.
Chandigarh Smart City Limited and the local Municipal Corporation are organising the workshop in collaboration with the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; ITDP India, the knowledge partner of the Smart Cities Mission; and the Patiala Foundation.
Rahul Kapoor, Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said, “Through the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges, we have collectively achieved more than 500 km of healthy streets in the past few years. These challenges have helped us imagine and realise a world beyond cars. However, the real success will be when we scale up not just across, but beyond the cities enrolled under these challenges.”
“We are forgetting that these were an integral part of our lifestyle earlier. So, it is crucial to explore and understand how to bring back this culture of cycling and walking, to embed it in our lifestyle, and collectively move towards healthy streets and healthy lives,” said Sivasubramanium, from National Lead Transport Systems and Electric Mobility.
Anindita Mitra, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Smart City Limited, said, “We have planned site visits to Capitol Complex, pedestrian underpass, pedestrian plaza and Urban Park Public Space in Sector 17. These pedestrian-prioritised public spaces and monuments are some unique jewels of Chandigarh and demonstrate how safety, health and comfort of people are prioritised.”
She said the workshop was envisioned to provide site-based learnings for cities. The routes have been selected carefully to ensure that the site visit gives you a 360-degree experience of the City Beautiful.
The dignitaries unveiled the “Healthy Streets Vision” and “Design Workbook” which will guide Chandigarh to carry out strategic changes to make its streets better for everyone.
