Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1. : INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

The progress of architecture and urban ideology in the twentieth century was mainly influenced by two main movements: Ebenezer Howard's "Garden City Movement" and Le Corbusier's "The Charter of Athens". Both concepts have many common beliefs, and that is the superblock. Housing separated from the street, segregation of uses, central land ownership, more emphasis on cars, and more private space (Appleyard and Jacobs, 1982). Architecture and traffic modernism, which was greatly influenced by these ideologies, influenced the city in many ways. The street no longer meets the needs of pedestrians and slow vehicles but also meets the needs of private cars and their siblings. The streets have been constantly changing, but to adapt to the growing demand for cars, they have changed again. To adapt to the growing demand for cars, the distance between streets is increasing, and the speed of the streets is becoming faster, which undermines the safety of the pedestrian and shortens the pace of life of people, which changes constantly. Today, a multi-functional street has been transformed into a monolithic single-use highway, overpass, and highway, all designed for vehicles.

"The paradox of transportation in the late 20th century is that while it became possible to travel to the moon, it also became impossible, in many cases, to walk across the street."

-Joell vanderwagen

Modernism raised concerns about quantity: the number of cars, Density of neighbourhoods, road capacity, etc. They mainly focus on land use and transportation that affect the functioning of the city. People think less about qualities such as liveability, safety, and wellbeing (South worth, 2003). Most of the street planning measures used are based on traffic assumptions, rather than actual surveys and surveillance (Allen Jacobs, (HAMILTONBAILLIE, 2008)). Urban sprawl is a recognized phenomenon in growing cities, and tools such as planning urban growth models have proven to be valuable for planners and decisionmakers to identify potential environmental challenges and impacts. Expanding the built environment to meet the needs of the population means long commutes and the loss of other functions of the planet, not only in countries experiencing explosive industrialization but also in the world. This is also considered a key challenge for global change. The population growth of many major cities has brought complex logistics to meet the needs of large numbers of commuters and alternative modes of transportation. The most common conclusion drawn from these measures is that more roads are needed. Repairing more roads can increase the speed of cars, but this is only short-term relief. Soon, the number of cars increased, and the distance from one place to another increased. This creates a vicious circle, requiring more vehicles, which leads to traffic congestion, and then more vehicles need to be built for cars, at the same time, the number of cars is even more.

Located on the banks of the Sabarmati River, Ahmedabad is one of the fastest-growing cities in India. The population of Ahmedabad exceeded 7 million in 2015. Inthe past three decades, the city’s automobile industry has grown rapidly. Therefore, car growth is increasing at a rate 10 times that of population growth, which can be attributed to the growing desire of the middle class to own cars and the lack of accessible and high-quality public transport. . After the urban expansion of Ahmedabad from the old city to the new city, transportation is the main problem to be solved. According to data from the ITDP (Institute for Transport and Development Policy), more than 22% of people travel on foot, but compared to other countries, this figure is much lower. The reason is that there is no well-designed walking movement in the city. According to a study on traffic accidents in Ahmedabad, there have been more than 23% of pedestrian accidents. Therefore, safety is also the reason for the decrease in pedestrian traffic in the city. According to the ITDP survey, in the last three decades (1971 to 2001), the number of two-wheelers has increased gigantically. More than 59% of people travel by vehicle in the city. Due to the massive use of vehicles, the city traffic increases and also increases the air pollution and noise of the city. In this case, pedestrians must receive the attention of city planners, and we must solve the problem of pedestrian mobility to build a better city.

1.2 AIM

 To study and understand the issues of pedestrian mobility in Ahmedabad.

1.3 OBJECTIVE

 To study the movement of the pedestrian in Ahmedabad.

 To understand the problems of pedestrian mobility in the selected streets of

Ahmedabad.

1.4 SCOPE

 Study of pedestrian mobility in selected areas of Ahmedabad.

 Survey existing pedestrian movement on selected streets of Ahmedabad.

1.5 LIMITATION

 Streets outside the AMC limit are beyond the scope of the present study.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

 Literature Review to study pedestrian mobility in India and abroad.

 Study street design through books, standards, case studies for normal and differentlyabled people, including the study of a sustainable approach to street design, etc.

o To define criteria of street design for the study area based on the above study.

 Study of pedestrian mobility of Ahmedabad through books, research papers, etc.

o Delineate study area.

o Survey and Data collection on pedestrian mobility in the selected area.

o Analyse data on pedestrian mobility to understand the issues.

 Conclusions.

1.7 NEED FOR STUDY

Pedestrian mobility is a crucial factor for intra or inter - neighbourhood accessibility, as walking is usually the fastest and most convenient mode for short-distance trips, to access local facilities. The accessibility of jobs and urban facilities at the metropolitan level also depends on pedestrian mobility, as public transport commuting involves walking, accessing bus stops or train stations, or interchange between different modes or services.

Walking is one of the healthiest ways to get around cities, providing valuable physical activity, missing in most people’s lives in the present day. The health benefits of walking are too many and too obvious, thus, creating walkable neighbourhood is a very important aspect of creating healthy cities. Walking also generates indirect public health benefits by reducing the use of cars and two-wheelers and hence reducing air, water, and noise pollution and increasing the overall level of safety on the streets.

For older adults who no longer drive, and for children who cannot drive, footpaths/ sidewalks form a crucial public resource to remain active and also a space to interact with others of their age or as a connector to public spaces where they can do the same.

Pedestrian mobility not only plays an important role as a component of accessibility but is also related to environmental factors. Although walking is such a basic and important mode of travel, pedestrians have been largely ignored in the planning of our city's transportation system, and private vehicles have become the primary mode of transportation. Hence, there is a need to study and analyze the issues of pedestrian mobility in Ahmedabad.