Refurbishing Indiranagar, Bengaluru: A Metro Node-To-Residential Interior Framework for Walkability and the 20-Minute Neighbourhood

Abstract

The sustainability of urban neighborhoods is influenced not only by the distance to key destinations but also by their accessibility via safe, continuous and comfortable routes. The present paper sets out an accessible planning framework to assess Indiranagar, Bengaluru, as a possible 20-minute neighborhood. Four research objectives are set: (1) understanding the relationships between land use, commercial strips, community amenities, and metro access; (2) developing an approach to quantitatively measuring access by walking and cycling to vital services; (3) identifying street-level obstructions to practical accessibility; and (4) integrating transit, public realm, community amenities, and green-blue-green infrastructure into a Metropolitan Node- to-Residential Interior framework. The manuscript applies a mixed methods approach involving GIS network analyses, land-use and amenity mapping, walkability audits, and – assuming implementation – resident/stakeholder surveys. At this stage, the paper describes the context and analytical framework but does not include results of any network-based accessibility calculations, land use percentages, audit scores, or surveys. Therefore, the main contribution of this paper is the context-specific and testable framework for linking metropolitan-level transit access and neighborhood destinations/public realm quality. Thus, the study does not aim to prove that Indiranagar meets the accessibility criteria of 20 minutes at present. The novelty of the paper consists in developing a testable, neighborhood-specific framework linking metro transportation accessibility with neighborhood destinations, walking, quality of the public realm and ecological infrastructures. The proposed framework serves as an analytical tool for understanding accessibility shortcomings and guiding further actions towards making Indiranagar more accessible.