Assessment of factors affecting transit oriented development in indian cities: a case of Delhi metro

Abstract

Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is a planning strategy originally adopted in the West that encourages compact development along transit corridors with minimizing urban sprawl. India, one of the fastest growing countries in the world, will be the house of the top 10 fastest growing cities in the World (Oxford Economics, 2019-2035), has also adopted TOD principles. So there is an increasing need to assess the degree of success of the principles from Indian perspective. Delhi, the capital of India, is a city that houses the largest and busiest metro in India and also the early adopter of TOD policy (2015, July) in the country. The study aims to prepare a framework that quantitatively measures the level of transit oriented development for the selected transit nodes of Delhi metro and giving recommendations for further development. To do so, the study brings forward a methodology to measure the level of development using a TOD Index. And the methodology is an amalgamation of two main techniques, one is Delphi method and another is Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process. The Delphi method is used to capture the opinion about relevant factors/indicators with degree of weightage from different stakeholders like Development department officers, Municipal officers, transport department officers, researchers, TOD experts and also most importantly public opinion through focused group discussion. And eventually a Multi Criteria Decision making process is applied for developing a TOD Index that judges the level of development around each transit node. The study results in, disclosing the most preferred indicators for assessing Transit Oriented Development and also results which transit nodes need more attention to be a successful TOD, as well as which indicators need more care for betterment of a transit node. The process and the findings have a high utility to comprehend the level of development around transit nodes and their further development, which would be useful in future for preparing investment plan and management strategies for metro corridors across the country.