Ahmedabad: In the coming decades, India will add 35-40 crore people to its urban areas. Hence, urban planners must design locally to ensure quality of life for people, experts at the 74th National Town & Country Planners Conference organized by the Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI) in Ahmedabad on Friday.K Srinivas, secretary, Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), who inaugurated the conference said, “Urbanization is now recognized as a positive force for economic growth, with town planners emerging as key stakeholders in India’s development story. It is no longer enough to design cities in kilometres. There is a need to design locally, design for people and, most importantly, design for time .”Keshav Varma, advisor, urban sector improvement to Uttar Pradesh govt, said that cities like Ahmedabad need proper footpaths for people because footpaths have turned into parking places, and traffic is a big issue. “Business-as-usual planning created inefficient and unhealthy cities. The paradigm must shift to focus on quality of life, sustainability, green spaces, and people’s participation ,” he said.N K Patel, former president of ITPI, said Gujarat was hosting the national conference after 13 years, and it will play an important role as the city is set to host CWG 2030. ITPI president Pradeep Kapoor said, “No city can develop in isolation. Regional planning must take centre stage if we are to manage rapid urbanization, especially as India approaches 40% urbanization before 2030,” he said.
