Walk-to-work: Still a distant dream in India

Last week, Bhushan Joshi, a banking professional residing in Kalyan had to stay back home, all thanks to the rains. The city was brought to a standstill, Mumbai local train services on the central line beyond Thane to CSMT were defunct. Like Joshi, lakhs of others, staying in far suburbs and are dependent on city's old infrastructure to reach their work place, were left stranded. In a city, that is also called the Maximum city, even slightest of rainfall delays the locals here. Last week's shutting down of the financial capital of the country, has put forth the question, whether walk-to-work culture is the need of the hour in city like Mumbai and also is it possible to incorporate it.

Walk -to-work is an urban concept where infrastructure like housing, workplace, and shopping centres etc are built in the vicinity of eachother. Housing experts believe that this culture needs to gain momentum across Metro cities, given the everyday challenges an employee comes across inorder to get to work.

Read: Mumbai needs to define a 'new normal'

Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Property Consultant said, "The problem of citizens' inability to commute to their workplaces and back effectively is very real in a city with a highly-focused work culture. However, creating real estate options which offer the 'walk-to-work' concept in Mumbai is extremely challenging. In its intended avatar, the walk-to-work concept involves creating townships which have their own infrastructure and incorporate residential as well as office and retail components. However, such projects require large tracts of contiguous land within the municipal limits. The challenges in creating such projects in a land-starved city can be imagined."

While Joshi worked from home that day, the next day when the suburban train services were still not back to its routine, he braved the rains to reach work.

Read: 'Workplaces close to stations, are a necessity': Railway officials

Arqam Shaikh, an architect, made the plunge and paid a heavy deposit to shift to Mumbai from his home in the far extended suburbs. For Shaikh whose office is located in the busy Girgaum area, staying in Kalyan and juggling between work and family was a big task. "I finally made the decision in May this year and shifted to Jacob Circle on rent along with my family. Though I pay a heavy rent here, I reach office within the span of 10-15 minutes," he said.

Read: Vibrant street life encourages people to walk & cycle around: Study

However, it isn't possible for everyone to shift their base, it is important to highlight the problem of affordable homes in the city limits. Puri believes that the walk-to-work concept in a city like Mumbai will help solve this. "The long-pending Mumbai DP (Development Plan) 2034 has sparked a new wave of excitement in Mumbai's real estate market since it envisaged, unlocking 3,700 hectares of public and private land, so far tagged as No Development Zones (NDZ) to open new avenues for real estate development. Of this, nearly 2,400 hectares of land (2,100 hectares at NDZ and nearly 330 hectares of salt pan) has been earmarked for affordable housing. If developments here follow the walk-to-work philosophy, then residential and office spaces need to be created in tandem on such land."

Even home buyers these days are looking out for apartments that are closer to their workplace, feel the developers. Srinivasan Gopalan, CEO, Ozone Group, said, "Opting for a home near to the workplace has always been a dream for many. This especially in a city like Mumbai where the public transport system management fails drastically during the rainy season's spell, causing waterlogging in some areas and perilous travel to work by local trains."

Gopalan added that in the current scenario, the definition of residential development is co-related to commercial development, due to various factors pertaining to the commute and its viability. "Well-planned infrastructure and connectivity have resulted in demand for residential spaces in the city like Mumbai that are relatively closer to the business hubs like BKC. More than 60% of our homebuyers are working professionals from these hubs and many of them are pilots."

Suburban areas like Malwani, Gorai, Mulund and Jogeshwari wherein the salt pan lands have been unlocked in the new Development Plan could become new venues for Mumbai's evolution into a walk-to-work city. Puri said that this however, is still a short-sighted vision as the salt pan areas are shallow depressed regions that hold on sea water.

Mumbai DP 2034

• 3,700 hectares of land open for real estate development
• 2,400 earmarked for affordable housing in Mumbai