Building a walkable, bike-able, and "human-scale" city is a crucial but challenging process in creating just and inclusive cities. Sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, parks, and green areas are all pieces of a complex puzzle to help citizens navigate their city safely and sustainably. The following examples from Curitiba, Cali, Jakarta, Mumbai, Lagos, and Johannesburg showcase a number of initiatives working to design cities for human scale.
In Jakarta, a city with an 11 percent average growth rate in the number of motor vehicles each year, the idea of riding a bicycle is beginning to take shape. Bicycle activists like the Bicycle Committee of Indonesia have donated funds for the government to build more bike lanes. The booming Bike to Work Indonesia movement, started in 2004, is campaigning for citizens to switch modes of transportation and cycle to work. Today, many bicycling groups are emerging in Jakarta, hosting fun biking events and tours during the weekends and holidays. The government has also started to respond to the emergence of biking enthusiasts, building the first ever official bike lane in 2011 and unveiling the longest bike path in the city, a 6.7 km bike route in late 2012. However, there is a lack of enforcement for motorcyclists, who cut into lanes designated specifically for bicycles. Biking activists have therefore launched a "Seize the Bike Lanes" campaign, which puts together hundreds of bicyclists to fill up the lanes so that motorcyclists are reluctant to use them.
Lack of road safety awareness and poor road conditions are some critical factors responsible for thousands of avoidable fatalities in Nigeria. In Lagos, there has been an emphasis on keeping city pedestrians safe from harm's way by improving road safety rules and infrastructure. Recently, the government has been building pedestrian bridges and express-ways all over the city to safeguard pedestrians against accidents and to further encourage safe city walking. More and more sidewalks can be seen across Lagos, especially near busy roadways. The sidewalks that were previously being used for other activities have been cleared out. The Arrive Alive Road Safety Initiative focuses on sensitizing city residents about the importance of road safety, ranging from safety engineering and road improvement, to motorcycle and pedestrian safety campaigns. Campaigns targeted towards pedestrians advocate for the appropriate use of safety features such as the zebra crossing, the correction and installation of road signs, and effective navigation of roadways.
In South Africa, travel is dominated by walking and public transport. In Johannesburg, the situation is complicated by the marginalization created by historic spatial planning and the sprawling, low-density nature of the city. A strategy, known as "Non-Motorised Transport" or NMT, has gradually become a priority area at all levels of government, resulting in the City of Johannesburg's Framework for NMT in 2009. NMT, focusing specifically on cycling, is envisioned to support and integrate with other transport nodes, including projects such as the Bus Rapid Transit System and Gautrain stations, allowing individuals in outlying areas to bicycle to the nearest public transport node. In practical terms, NMT strategies deal with pedestrian walkways and cycling routes, and their related streetscapes of lighting, paving, street furniture, landscaping, camera surveillance, and traffic calming measures. Following international precedents, Public Bicycle Systems will also be introduced, where the public can hire bicycles from one fixed-point station and return them at another. The benefits of NMT include increased road safety and security, reduced travelling time and distance, and safer environments for the majority of learners who walk to and from educational institutions.
Building a human scale city requires long-term effort, and the above examples showcase some successful approaches to make cities more human-centric. Visit URB.im to learn more and to join the discussion.
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