Easy accessibility is regarded as the most important feature of most planned and inclusive cities. Chandigarh can be seen as the best example of inclusive city with each well-organised sector, in an iron grid pattern, having a shopping complex, a school, a hospital and other basic amenities. All major transport routes (State Highway or National Highway) can be accessed within minutes. The city also boasts of dedicated parks in almost every sector for recreational activities and dedicated sectors for wholesale market and shops.
Even in ancient civilisations, accessibility used to be the main factor in city planning. This is evident from the Indus Valley Civilisation where cities were said to have planned in iron grid pattern, and important public structures such as the Great Bath were accessible to all. Even the British Empire effectively used coastal cities’ (Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai) port for easy transportation of goods and people for economic interests. ]
Transport being an essential part of accessibility, is really important for inclusive cities to build a planned public transport system comprising bus service, metro rail, etc. to make travelling across the cities easy, time-saving and cheap for all sections of the society. This efficient system will also lead to marked reduction in air pollution. Nowadays, the concept of TOD (Transport-Oriented Development) has been doing the rounds for urban planning. This concept centres on urban planning which revolves around major public transport routes such as metro stations, bus depots, etc. It will help the residents to have easy access to the transport routes which will be environmentally beneficial.
Easy access to healthcare is also important for inclusiveness. The lack of sufficient number of government primary health care centres makes a situation difficult for residents. Even as our country has seen a significant increase in the numbers of private hospitals, costly treatment makes it tough for the deprived sections of society to get correct care. For tackling the lack of government hospitals, the Delhi Government’s initiative to open Mohalla Clinics in localities has been a commendable step.
For Government’s initiative of Digital India to be successful, it is important to have access to internet and develop digital infrastructure to bridge the digital divide between cities. Even as nowadays almost every service is available on the Internet, socio-economically deprived sections still have no access to digital world. Internet access should be ensured to all to help people in many ways such as taking inclusive decision making, people can file e-grievances, share their expectations on public portal, avail e-services easily, give suggestions on various issues and thus can be a part of urban decision making.
Among the most inclusive cities in the world are the Scandinavian cities because of information accessibility. Transparency in the functioning of the government is the main characteristics of these cities. For example, all the details of meeting and commitments made by the representatives of urban local bodies are put on public portal. All the information concerning the progress of work, the expected time of completion and the availability of e-services is just a click away.
Access to public services facilitated to the vulnerable sections of the society decides the efficiency of urban governance. Despite the fact that there are about 2 per cent disabled people in our country, but no heed was paid to their issues. As the lack of ramps, escalators and continuous footpaths force them to be depended on others, the recent initiative of Government to ensure universal accessibility under ‘Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan’ is a welcome step. To avoid cases of acid attacks, rapes and molestations, which have seen a rise in recent years, women should have accessibility to ensure safety. For being called an inclusive city, law and order needs to be strengthened in addition to gender sensitisation of the masses.
The inclusiveness of a city can also be determined by the easy accessibility to clean environment and recreational facilities. The process of unplanned urbanisation over the years has concretised cities, and metro cities have almost no parks, waterbodies, etc. left. As all the parks and empty spaces have been encroached and used to build high-rise buildings, children are forced to play on roads and people jog on footpaths in even the posh areas of Delhi and Mumbai.
With basic features such as inclusive decision making, considering the needs of vulnerable sections, adequate facilities for migrant population, public transport, transparent and accountable governance and availability of basic amenities at convenient distance, the idea of smart city, represents the easiness of accessibility to all.
It is only through combined efforts of local bodies and residents that the better accessibility will be ensured to all the sections. Difficulties faced by the authorities should also be kept in mind. Our moral obligation includes aiding the disabled, providing security to women, reporting about suspicious activities to the public authorities etc. After all, had the bystanders taken her immediately to hospital instead of ignoring, Nirbhaya’s life could have been saved.
The World Bank has estimated that approximately 50 per cent of India’s population will be living in cities by 2035. Therefore, it is necessary to make concentrated efforts to ensure that basic public services are accessible to all sections of society. After all, smart governance and responsible citizens make up a smart city.