Universal Mobility in Old Core Cities of India: People’s Perception

Abstract

In this research, users’ perception towards Universal Mobility in old core cities of India has been critically analyzed. Despite Universal Design guidelines from the United Nations and Union Government of India, old cities in India seldom have Universal Mobility, in effect endangering the lifestyle of senior citizens and differently-abled people. The core of Kolkata Municipal Corporation in Kolkata, India, has been considered a case example for this research. This research has considered three types of datasets for analysis. First, the authors interviewed 310 respondents from the Indian design fraternity, with the objective of understanding their opinions on the concept of Universal Design. In the next investigative study of 125 respondents from different wards of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the purpose was to comprehend people’s perception regarding walkability and mobility in an old Indian city. In the last visual survey of a stretch in Central Kolkata, the focus was on identifying hindrances in Universal Mobility in an old city core of Indian origin. Significant dissatisfaction was found regarding walkability amongst all user groups, which is linked to poor infrastructural conditions. Furthermore, accessing public transportation is difficult due to improper waiting facilities. However, the design fraternity in India suggests the need of separate accessibility guidelines for old and new cities in India. The design fraternity also recommends a customized rating system for accessing Universal Design. The result of this study indicates a need of recognizing the difficulty in imparting Universal Mobility in old core cities in India. This information can be used for preparing an access audit checklist through Architectural Planning, which is the first step in proposing a framework for Universal Mobility in old core cities in India.

Latent factor analysis and measurement on sustainable urban livability in Siliguri Municipal Corporation, West Bengal through EFA and CFA model

“…Some studies indicates that Cities with high population density and high GDP level obtain prominent benefits of accessibility (Cao et al, 2013). Moreover, the studies based on Indian cities still requires an extensive future work measuring the indicators and validating the links to casual network and there is a need of recognizing the difficulty in imparting Universal Mobility in old core cities in India (Jain & Tiwari, 2017;Mahapatra et al, 2021). The indicators under 'Accessibility' dimension basically depicts about the service accessibility within the concerned urban area.…”

Quantitative Interpretation of Universal Design Features in Shopping Malls: A Case Study in Kolkata, India

“…In the wake of the increasing urbanization in India, improving its citizens' quality of life is of utmost importance [8]. However, factors like (a) urban complexity, (b) constitutional provisions, (c) the disparity between the urban and rural planning paradigms, and (d) the lack of adequate guidelines make India a difficult environment for the implementation of universal design guidelines [9]. In particular, cities like Kolkata, which have evolved from old historic towns under pre-British rule to a megacity in the 21st century, often experience difficulty in maintaining the universal design guidelines in their built environments [10].…”

Evaluating the accessibility of old cities: Case of Central Kolkata, India

“…However, post‐independence, rapid urbanization drives often ignored the importance of the pedestrian environment on Indian roads, especially along with mixed‐use buildings despite numerous guidelines 8 . Researchers have identified the following reasons behind the low success of Indian disability guidelines in a spatial context: (a) diversity in urban structures (like higher density in old cities compared to new planned cities), (b) autonomy of state governments in land‐related issues, (c) lack of national‐level data related to disability, and (d) non‐recognition of the elderly and situationally disabled in the policy level considerations 9 …”

“…8 Researchers have identified the following reasons behind the low success of Indian disability guidelines in a spatial context: (a) diversity in urban structures (like higher density in old cities compared to new planned cities), (b) autonomy of state governments in landrelated issues, (c) lack of national-level data related to disability, and (d) non-recognition of the elderly and situationally disabled in the policy level considerations. 9 Among numerous domains of universal design like "Building level factors," "Information and Communication segment," "Movement and Transportation Issues," and "Site Level features," the topic of "Movement and Transportation Issues" has been dealt with major focus in this research. "Movement and Transportation Issues" are prioritized since individual building facilities alone cannot create universally designed cities unless those buildings are connected through a "Universally Designed" movement corridor.…”