Re-claiming urban neighbourhood streets for active transport – Evidence from Vasai, Maharashtra

Abstract

All means of transportation that involves using one's own muscle power to get from one place to another is referred to as ‘active transportation’. The current study intends to revive urban neighbourhood streets by enabling the use of active modes of transport. An attempt is made to enable the use of active modes of transport through analysing citizens' perceptions and their needs in line with infrastructure facilities to foster/encourage the shift to active transportation. The objective of the current investigation is to identify priority ‘areas of intervention’ (the basic requirement of the citizens) for fostering active transportation (walking and cycling) facilities. The priority ‘areas of intervention’ are identified using revised Importance Performance Analysis (IPA). A survey instrument was constructed to assess the importance and satisfaction of several parameters associated with walking and cycling; data was collected on a five-point unipolar Likert-type scale. The parameters analysed assess the overall provisions in the neighbourhood and assist in understanding the barriers to the choosing of active modes of walking and cycling. The results of the present study are an evaluation for decision making to improve active transport facilities in neighbourhood named, Evershine City of Vasai in Maharashtra. The findings of the study indicate the need for improvement of several facilities to increase the overall performance level of active transport in the neighbourhood. The improvements made in those areas are expected to promote active mobility in the neighbourhood. Despite the findings of the current study are case-specific, the work is anticipated to achieve the ease of mobility for first mile and last mile connectivity in various urban neighbourhoods, further encouraging green mobility by prioritizing active mobility.