The “Popular Transport and Inclusive Cities” project focuses on addressing the deep-rooted challenges of exclusion faced by women and children in peripheral and relocated urban communities in Mumbai and Ahmednagar, India. These populations often lack access to reliable and safe transportation, making it difficult to reach essential services like education, healthcare, and employment. The project identifies the disconnect between housing resettlement schemes and transportation infrastructure, as well as disparities in urban mobility — where women and children face greater safety risks and travel burdens. Informal auto-rickshaw systems, which many rely on, are typically excluded from formal urban planning despite their essential role in last-mile connectivity.

An auto-rickshaw stand in Mumbai.

An auto-rickshaw stand in Mumbai.

To tackle these issues, the project adopts a community-led, data-driven strategy. It engages women's collectives, local transport operators, and civic stakeholders through participatory mapping, digital data tools, and collaborative design of mobility solutions. The approach will include integrated community and mobility hubs that offer childcare, information access, and rickshaw connectivity tailored to local needs. These hubs will also serve as data collection points and advocacy platforms. Pilot interventions — such as new rickshaw routes, driver sensitivity training, and infrastructure improvements—will be tested using a living lab model. Findings will be translated into policy briefs, public exhibitions, and peer-reviewed publications, creating the foundation for broader systemic change.

"We are committed to a deeply engaged, long-term approach with communities, one that continues until meaningful change is visible on the ground. This emphasizes not just collaboration, but sustained involvement towards an on-ground impact."

           - Alex Mohan Kandathil, SPARC

The project is implemented through a partnership between Columbia University faculty and researchers and India-based partners SPARC, Mahila Milan, KRVIA, and URBZ leveraging both local trust and expertise. The initiative aims to directly benefit over 10,000 individuals while also influencing urban mobility planning at the state and national levels. By recognizing informal transport as a vital urban asset and centering the voices of women and children in planning, the project seeks to build more inclusive, equitable, and resilient cities. Long-term goals include institutionalizing inclusive transport policies and creating scalable models of inter-city learning and collaboration between larger and smaller urban centers.

By bringing together community-led planning, auto-rickshaw providers, and digital technologies in a novel way, this project provides an important pathway to more connected, inclusive, just, livable and resilient cities. 

Partners:

• Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC)
• Mahila Milan
• Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies (KRVIA)
• URBZ or URBANZ
• The Urban Catalysts
• Columbia Global Center Mumbai