EMBARQ India, the World Resources Institute's Centre for sustainable transportation in India, will be co-hosting its annual conference CONNECTKaro 2014, in Bangalore on 10th and 11th March, 2014 in collaboration with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT). Hundreds of experts including government officials, policy makers and practitioners in the field of urban transport and urban planning will convene in Bangalore, India, to participate in this global gathering.

CONNECTKaro is part of a global series of events focused on sustainable transport and urban development that the EMBARQ network organizes and hosts, and this is the second edition of this event in India.

The theme for the workshop is “Karo” – to make it happen – to translate ideas into action. Scaling up sustainable transport and ensuring it is integrated with urban development is the key for Indian cities as they grow in population, economically and spatially over the next decade. The ideas of sustainable transport and integrated urban development have been demonstrated in a few cities around the world.

Guillermo Penalosa has agreed to be the keynote speaker. Gil is renowned livable city advisor and heads 8-80 Cities. He also works as Senior Consultant for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects. He serves on the Boards of City Parks Alliance, USA, and StreetFilms in NYC, as well as Senior Advisor to American Trails, Casas GEO Mexico, and America Walks

CONNECTKaro 2013 was EMBARQ India’s seminal national event, successfully bringing together a wide range of stakeholders, decision makers and practitioners to engage in dialogue to shape the course of sustainable transport and urban development in India. Over 200 experts attended the event in Mumbai, and 2000 people joined sessions online. The eminent speaker list included Dr. Jan Gehl (Gehl Architects), Mr. Jamshyd Godrej (Godrej), Dr. Sudhir Krishna – Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Mr. Anil Baijal, Former Secretary, Minstry of Urban Development, Dr. Armin Bruck, CEO Siemens India among others. The event was held in partnership with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and saw active participation from key local agencies including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and the Mumbai traffic police.

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Draft Agenda

DAY 1 - March 10, 2014

10:00 AM to 10:45 AM :Opening Session - Sustainable Transport Trends & Opportunities for Indian Cities
Madhav Pai, Director, EMBARQ India Kaushik Mukherjee, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka
Dario Hidalgo, Director, Research & Practice, EMBARQ

10:45 AM to 12:15 AM – Parallel Sessions
SESSION 1A: Regulations for Land Use & Transportation Integration in Karnataka cities

SESSION 1B: Solving Bangalore’s Transport Challenges

12:15 to 1:00 PM - Keynote Session 2 – Transit Oriented Development
Sanjay Sridhar, Strategy Head, Urban Development & Accessibility, EMBARQ India
Bimal Patel, Director CEPT University Ahmedabad

1:00 PM to 2:30 PM - LUNCH

2:30pm – 4.00 pm - Parallel Sessions

SESSION 2A: TOD for India SESSION 2B: Road Safety through Sustainable Transport

4:00 pm to 4:30 PM - TEA

4.30 PM – 6:00 PM – Creative sessions

Session 3A: Bangalore Buses

Session 3B: Gender Security in Walking, Bicycling & Public Transport

DAY 2 – March 11, 2014

7:30 AM to 9:00 AM - Study Tour

09:30 AM to 10:00 AM - Creative Session-
Pecha Kucha Students – Opening Session Panelists Give Prize

10.15 am to 11:00 am – Key Note Session 3 - Non-motorised Transport
Amit Bhatt, Strategy Head, Integrated Transport, EMBARQ India
Commissioner V. Manjula, DULT
Gill Penalosa, Executive Director 8-80cities

10:45 AM to 11:15 AM - TEA BREAK

11:15 AM to 1:00 PM - Parallel Sessions

SESSION 3A: Safe Access to Mass Transit

SESSION 3B: Car Free Day

1.30 PM – 2.30 PM – LUNCH

2:30 PM to 4:00 PM - Parallel Sessions

SESSION 4A: Role for Developers

SESSION 4B: Role of Private Sector

4.00 PM to 4.30 PM - TEA BREAK

4:30 PM to 5:00 PM - Key Note Session 4 – Role for Private Sector

5.00 PM to 6.00 PM
Holger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ
Knowledge Hub Launch
Felicitations and Vote of Thanks