Mansha's Mobility Insights

  Dehradun, amongst all other Indian cities, has a great potential to become the next sustainable mobility ambassador. The city is blessed with a supportive climate and soil profile. More trees on the roadsides will add more regular walking citizens to the local streets of the city. The cool climate of the city coupled with roadside vegetation or arboriculture, provides relief while walking in different areas of Dehradun such as Rajpur Road, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Malsi, Survey of India Campus, Dalanwala, Vasant Vihar, Kewal Vihar, Inder Road, Clement Town and more.   The tree species found in Dehradun include Sal, Oak, Pine, Jamun, Eucalyptus, Ashok along with the Apple, Mango, Litchi, Citrus, Guava, Plum, and Peach Orchards encompassing the city. Apart from being a major tourist attraction, Dehradun also boasts a rich cultural heritage, health, and wellness retreats with holistic healing practices such as Yoga and Ayurveda. The land use includes educational institu...

Micro-mobility refers to lightweight modes of transportation that enable individuals to travel short distances. Examples of micro-mobility options include bicycles, e-bikes (both docked and dockless), e-scooters (both docked and dockless), roller skates, tricycles, mobility scooters, unicycles, golf carts, kick scooters, one-wheels, quadracycles, wheelchairs, segways, personal transporters, and skateboards. These modes are commonly used in urban areas for commuting over shorter distances. Skateboarding, as a micro-mobility mode, has gained popularity among teenagers, college students, and adults in various countries such as the USA, Japan, England, Brazil, Germany, Australia, China, Denmark, and others. With an average speed of 10-20 km/h, skateboarding serves as a recreational sport that helps reduce stress while improving coordination and balance. Skateparks not only foster community bonding but also have a positive impact on local businesses by utilizing unused spaces. Notably, sk...

Besides the proliferation of large gyms across the hilly city, it is important to explore other fitness and mobility options available to the citizens of Dehradun. Do the residents of this city lack motivation or are they simply too busy to prioritize an active lifestyle? Let us not rely on outdated data from decades ago, as Swedish physician and bestselling author of the book "Factfulness" advises. In the past, it was true that the average citizen of Dehradun used to walk a considerable number of steps daily. However, over the past four years, the situation has changed significantly, contrary to popular belief. In 2019-20, students from DIT University's Civil Engineering Department, under my supervision, conducted an assessment of active mobility in Dehradun during and after the COVID-19 lockdown. We collected data from over 500 residents using Google Forms as part of our design project. Our findings revealed some interesting insights. When asked about their preferre...