IIT Kharagpur & NIUA MoU to Build Safe & Inclusive Cities

IIT Kharagpur has inked a MoU with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) for ‘Building Accessible Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities (BASIIC). The collaboration is aimed towards developing a framework for universal city planning which would be more accessible a

BY Realty Plus
Published - Friday, 05 Feb, 2021

IIT Kharagpur & NIUA MoU to Build Safe & Inclusive Cities

IIT Kharagpur has inked a MoU with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) for ‘Building Accessible Safe and Inclusive Indian Cities (BASIIC). The collaboration is aimed towards developing a framework for universal city planning which would be more accessible and inclusive for various sections of the community with age-friendly disabled-friendly measures. Through the Urban and Regional Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines, NIUA is dwelling upon new emerging aspects like regional development, inclusive planning, sustainable habitat, land use and transport integration at the planning stage, Service Level Benchmarks, disaster management concepts, and governance reforms. But, there is a lack of consideration for universal design principles. The proposed framework will be instrumental for sector-wise assessment of the existing cities in terms of safety, accessibility and inclusivity as well as planning of Greenfield cities. The framework will include sections on (i) Infrastructure, amenities and services including water, electricity, sanitation and solid waste (ii) Outdoor environment, (iii) Livelihood, (iv) Urban mobility and public transport, (v) IT connectivity, digitalization and citizen’s participation(vi) Tourism and recreation. “Differently abled persons and elderly often face discrimination and segregation due to the presence of sensory, attitudinal, cognitive, physical, and economic barriers. Through this framework, we would aim to crystallize future pathways for the planning of accessible, safe and inclusive cities in India, by laying emphasis on the process of audit, ground-level data collection, analysis, planning and implementation that would lead to sustainable and user-centric outcomes..” Said Prof. Haimanti Banerji from the Department of Architecture and Regional Planning at IIT Kharagpur. The researchers are further working on several such developmental projects encompassing affordable housing, innovative construction technologies, dignified living and productive participation for the trans-generational population.