Bengaluru residents in tech corridors like Koramangala, Electronics City, Hebbal, HSR Layout, Sarjapur, Whitefield and other areas may soon be able to access a range of services within 30 minutes by walking/cycling/public transit.
This was revealed in a recent action plan by the state government to make Karnataka a $1 trillion economy by 2032. According to the plan, 12 ‘good life’ clusters (live-work-play) have been identified by adopting ‘30-minute proposals’.
"It’s essentially a city design centred on ensuring citizens access to a range of services (employment, shopping, health, education, public transit, green spaces, aged care, affordable housing, etc.) within 30 minutes," it said.
The 12 clusters that have been identified are: Indiranagar/Koramangala, HSR Layout- Sarjapur Road, Whitefield/Kadugodi, Electronics City- Bommanahalli, Marathahalli- Yemalur, Thanisandra - Nagawara, Banaswadi-HRBR, Hebbal- Yelahanka, Malleswaram –Rajaji Nagar, Jayanagar /JP Nagar, Banashankari - Kanakapura Road and Yeshwantpur - Peenya.
Carlos Moreno, a French-Colombian urban planner and professor, proposed the idea of a '15-minute city'. The concept suggests that people should be able to access essential services like workplaces, residences, shops, entertainment, education, and healthcare within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride. This idea gained popularity and inspired many cities around the world to adopt a similar approach.
“Ultimately the aim should be to increase public transport and non-motorised transport mode share like bicycles,” Bengaluru bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran said. “The sooner you can access public transport the better, because it will help lower emission levels and traffic congestion".
In November 2022, the Karnataka government notified the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) policy for Bengaluru. V Manjula, commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) told Moneycontrol that they are planning to adopt a 6-6-6 concept in Bengaluru as per the TOD policy to enable more people to live, work or play within transit stations.
"The core TOD area will be within a 6-minute walk to the station, which broadly translates to a distance up to 500 meters from the transit station. The standard area within a 6-minute cycling distance to the station covers a distance up to 1 km around the station and is amenable for both walking and cycling. For a distance of 2 km, it will be a six-minute bus trip to the nearest Metro/suburban/bus terminal" she said.
"Globally, the idea of '15-minute cities' gained popularity particularly after Covid-19. The idea is to meet most needs of a resident within 15 minutes of walking or cycling. We need continuous and connected pavements and cycle tracks to reach the goal,” said Satya Arikutharam, an independent urban mobility expert.
TOD to boost vertical development
The action plan prepared by the state department of planning, programme monitoring & statistics and industry body FICCI also backed the TOD policy. This is to encourage compact urban development by clustering jobs, housing, and services around public transport stations. This will also allow for higher floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and residential buildings along transit corridors, enabling vertical growth.
The action plan recommends dividing the bus network into main and local routes to provide frequent bus services of at least every 15 minutes. Additionally, the plan proposes the creation of two new routes: a 16km route from MG Road to Hope Farm via Marathahalli and Whitefield (IT Corridor), and a 25km route from Nagawara to Kempegowda International Airport via Thanisandra/Bharatiya city.
It also suggests extending the Whitefield - Katamanallur/Hoskote route by 6km and the Bannerghatta to Jigani route by 12km under Phase 3 of the Namma Metro project, which will cost Rs 27,000 crore. These measures aim to ensure that every citizen in Bengaluru has access to the Metro within 1-2 km of their place of work or residence by 2032.
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