Sustainable City Strategy for Vijayawada
Revitalizing transit, restoring ecology, and optimising development for a resilient and vibrant urban future in Vijayawada
URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN | LANDSCAPE ARTCHITECTURE
Client: UN Habitat | Location: Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh | Size: City Level (61.86 sq. km)
The Sustainable Cities Integrated Approach Pilot (SCIAP) was a groundbreaking initiative spearheaded by a collaborative partnership between UNIDO, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and UN-Habitat. This innovative project addressed the pressing urban planning challenges while championing sustainability in five pilot cities across India.
Vijayawada, a significant railway junction in India, grappled with transportation and green space management challenges. The city's congested road network lacked defined hierarchies and sufficient pedestrian infrastructure. With only 39% of the population within 500m of APSRTC buses, private vehicle ownership rose, threatening potential congestion.
The proposed Sustainable City Strategy for Vijayawada encompassed three pivotal interventions:
Revitalising Urban Transit System: Redesigning 73.3 km of roads as Complete Streets, prioritising pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. The plan recommended bus route rationalisation, strengthening Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) feeder services, and introducing e-rickshaws in underserved areas. Additionally, eight Multimodal Hubs were proposed to serve as public spaces with gender-inclusive amenities, seamlessly integrating bus systems, railways, and IPT routes.
Restoring Ecological Assets: The plan suggested interventions such as Healing the Waterways to rejuvenate canals, creating potential sponges for ecological buffers, and developing a CanalWalk to connect neighbourhoods with parks along water bodies.
Optimising Development: The plan identified five growth nodes geared towards absorbing the upcoming population and accommodating new developments cohesively and sustainably along major development corridors.