Everyone tells Indians to walk 10,000 steps, but no one tells us “Where should we walk?”
Try stepping out to walk in any Indian city.
Chances are:
-There are no footpaths.
-If there is one, it’s broken.
-If it’s not broken, it’s occupied by hawkers, scooters, garbage, or parked cars.
I’ve lived in countries where walking is therapy. In India, walking is a punishment. You dodge potholes, pray you don’t get hit by a car, and come home covered in dust.
We talk about building smart cities, but what’s the point of smart cities if we can’t even walk safely in them?
Our cities were never designed for people. They were designed for traffic. Somewhere along the way, we forgot that walking is not a privilege, it is a basic human right.
Let’s stop designing cities for cars.
Let’s start designing them for people.
Let’s Make India Walkable Again!