Mumbai

Skywalking

So I figure i should explain why exactly I’ve been doing here for over a month now. I"m working to evaluate a program to construct 50 "skywalk" bridges in Mumbai. The skywalks (some up to a mile long) are being built as an attempt to reduce congestion and improve walking conditions in the vicinity of the city’s bustling train stations. Conditions for pedestrians down on the street are indeed pretty dismal with sidewalks either non-existent, horribly uneven and ill maintained, or encroached upon to the point of being impassable.

At first glance this seems a pretty spectacular turn of events: dedicated infrastructure for pedestrians (whereas the focus is usually on building such ‘flyovers’ for cars)? Though probably well-intentioned, they aren’t really much of a solution to the pedestrian’s problems. With long distances between access points and baffling route choices, the skywalks provide a whole lot of mobility without much accessibility. All the while those going to other destinations that the skywalks don’t serve (my data suggests is the bulk of people actually) still walk down in the street. Walking is about accessing destinations, not mobility: that’s why we’re all pedestrians at the beginning and end of ever trip regardless of any other modes we use. The skywalks are expressways for pedestrians, and while that might sound impressive it’s a classic case of planning from the perspective of cars rather than people.