Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Social Sciences, Humanities, and Education
Year: 2025
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An Urban Manifesto: Tackling India’s Road Safety Issue from the Perspective of a Child
Aarush Moramchetty
ABSTRACT:
This policy brief addresses the critical issue of road safety in India from the perspective of a child, with the aim of making streets and cities more child friendly. The data has shown that children are gravely affected by road traffic incidents, with it being one of the leading causes of death for children aged 5 to 19. This combined with the fact that India has approximately 265.2 million students enrolled in school, with approximately 60% traveling by foot, makes road safety, especially for children and pedestrians, an urgent priority for the Government of India. First, existing infrastructure practices and the perception of road safety with several stakeholders in India are explored to establish a context. Next, a review of existing through a socioeconomic lens found that low-income students are disproportionately affected by substandard pedestrian infrastructure. Then, a framework is designed through a top-down approach which stems from UNICEF’s Guiding Principles for Child Friendly cities where several child-friendly urban planning principles are explored. Lastly, these brief offers recommendations to make streets more child-friendly, localized to an Indian perspective.
Keywords: child-friendly streets, infrastructure, participatory planning, spatial equity, urban mobility