{"id":42640,"date":"2024-09-24T08:42:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T03:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=42640"},"modified":"2025-05-05T19:08:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:38:46","slug":"leveraging-transit-oriented-development-to-build-productive-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/leveraging-transit-oriented-development-to-build-productive-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Transit-Oriented Development to Build Productive Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Introduction<\/li>\n<li>Rise of Transit-Oriented Development<\/li>\n<li>Case Study \u2013 Bengaluru<\/li>\n<li>Key Recommendations for Enhancing TOD<\/li>\n<li>Way Forward<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Indian cities are on the cusp of a major transformation in transportation, with an <strong>estimated \u20b93 trillion to be invested in metro rail projects between 2022 and 2027<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This massive investment in public transportation not only aims to enhance urban mobility but also unlock significant economic potential by improving accessibility to jobs and boosting productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Rise of Transit-Oriented Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>To harness the full benefits of investments in mass transit, the Government of India introduced the National Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy and Metro Rail Policy in 2017.<\/li>\n<li>TOD is an urban planning strategy that integrates land use with transport infrastructure, promoting compact, mixed-use developments and sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling, and mass transit.<\/li>\n<li>Currently, <strong>27 Indian cities are developing metro systems<\/strong>, and many more are building other rail- and bus-based transit systems.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Benefits of TOD:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>TOD offers a promising solution by <strong>effectively integrating land use and transport<\/strong>, decoupling economic growth from congestion and carbon emissions.<\/li>\n<li>It promotes the <strong>development of job clusters near transit<\/strong>, enhancing workforce productivity and participation.<\/li>\n<li>Proximity to transit stations <strong>boosts job densities<\/strong>, creating an agglomeration effect that fosters innovation, productivity, and competitiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Challenges of TOD:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Public policies and land market conditions have led to the development of economic centers in suburban and peri-urban areas, causing public transport systems to struggle with <strong>growing urban sprawl<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The increased reliance on private vehicles results in longer commutes, higher congestion, and pollution, all of which <strong>negatively impact productivity<\/strong> and access to job markets.<\/li>\n<li>For instance, Bengaluru, one of the most congested cities globally, incurs an estimated social cost of \u20b938,000 crore annually due to traffic congestion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Case Study \u2013 Bengaluru<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A recent study by <strong>WRI India<\/strong>, titled &#8220;<i><strong>Jobs near Metro Rail Transit in Bengaluru: Enabling an Accessible and Productive City<\/strong><\/i>,&#8221; highlights the importance of TOD in Bengaluru.<\/li>\n<li>The study examines the spatial distribution of jobs around the city&#8217;s metro network, which includes operational and under-construction phases (Phases 1, 2, and 2A-2B).<\/li>\n<li>It also assesses the benefits and challenges businesses face when locating near metro stations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Findings Include:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Bengaluru has approximately 0.2 million registered enterprises employing around 4.6 million workers, with the service sector accounting for the majority.<\/li>\n<li>Large enterprises, although only 2% of total enterprises, contribute to 60% of jobs.<\/li>\n<li>Job densities are highest in inner-city areas, particularly around tech hubs like Whitefield and Electronic City, where densities range from 58,000 to 1,09,000 jobs per square kilometer.<\/li>\n<li>Once the ongoing metro phases are completed, 28% of mapped jobs in Bengaluru will be within 500 meters of a metro station, 59% within 1 km, and 85% within 2 km, significantly improving access to employment opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Key Recommendations for Enhancing TOD<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>To maximize the economic benefits of TOD, the study offers several actionable recommendations:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Enhance Job Clusters Near Transit<\/strong>: Encourage businesses to locate near metro stations to capitalize on increased foot traffic and workforce accessibility.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Improve Integrated Planning<\/strong>: Foster collaboration between urban planners, transport authorities, and businesses to create cohesive development strategies around transit corridors.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Address Market and Regulatory Challenges<\/strong>: Streamline regulatory processes and address market barriers that hinder businesses from setting up near transit hubs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Global Examples and Lessons:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>High-functioning cities like <strong>Hong Kong demonstrate the success of TOD, with 57% of jobs located within 500 meters of a transit station<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Hong Kong\u2019s emphasis on transit connectivity has significantly boosted economic productivity while reducing car ownership and carbon emissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>To fully leverage TOD, Indian cities need to set ambitious targets for job densities near transit stations and prioritize areas for densification and renewal.<\/li>\n<li>Public policies should offer incentives such as additional development rights or tax subsidies to encourage businesses to locate near transit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Partnerships between public and private sectors, along with value capture financing mechanisms, can fund station area improvements and enhance last-mile connectivity.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1. What is one difference between metre gauge and broad gauge?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The different gauges can broadly be divided into the following four categories: Broad Gauge: width 1676 mm to 1524 mm or 5&#8217;6\u201d to 5&#8217;0\u201d Standard Gauge: width 1435 mm and 1451 mm or 4&#8242;-8\u215f2\u201d Metre Gauge: width 1067 mm, 1000 mm and 915 mm or 3&#8242;-6\u201d, 3&#8242;-33\/8\u201d and 3&#8242;-0\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2. Which state had the first metro rail in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Kolkata Metro, started in 1984, is the first planned and operational rapid transit system in India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/cities\/bangalore\/leveraging-transit-oriented-development-to-build-productive-cities\/article68675329.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Leveraging transit-oriented development to build productive cities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian cities are on the cusp of a major transformation in public transportation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-42640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}