Context

• A city reflects its priorities through the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens.
• In India, pedestrians often face broken, encroached, or non-existent footpaths, forcing them onto busy roads and exposing them to constant danger.
• Safe and accessible walkways are not merely civic amenities but essential components of public health, road safety, urban mobility, and human dignity.
• Recognising this, the Supreme Court has affirmed that the right to walk safely on footpaths is a fundamental right, marking a significant step toward creating people-centric cities. 

The Constitutional Recognition of Walkability

• In Maniyar Iliyaz @ Shaik Riyaz vs P. Ayyappan (2026), the Supreme Court declared that walking on designated footpaths is protected under Article 19(1)(d), guaranteeing freedom of movement, and Article 21, safeguarding the right to life and personal liberty.
• The Court directed States and Union Territories to formulate policies for the provision and maintenance of safe footpaths.
• This judgment elevates pedestrian infrastructure from a routine municipal responsibility to a constitutional obligation.
• It establishes that roads are public spaces meant for all citizens, not just motor vehicles, and that governments must ensure safe and accessible mobility.

Walkability as a Public Health Imperative

• India is witnessing an alarming increase in diabetes, hypertension, obesity, fatty liver disease, and other lifestyle disorders.
• One of the most effective and affordable ways to address this crisis is by encouraging regular physical activity, particularly walking.
• However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly half of Indian adults fail to meet the recommended levels of physical activity, with women and adolescents recording even lower participation.
• Safe footpaths enable people to integrate physical activity into their daily routines by walking to schools, workplaces, markets, bus stops, parks, and metro stations.
• Walking offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, blood pressure control, insulin sensitivity, weight management, better mental well-being, improved sleep, and enhanced joint function.
• Thus, footpaths function as preventive healthcare infrastructure that promotes healthier communities. 

The Built Environment Shapes Human Behaviour

• Physical inactivity is not solely the result of personal choices. Urban design strongly influences lifestyle patterns.
• Cities that lack continuous, shaded, barrier-free, and well-maintained footpaths discourage walking and encourage dependence on private vehicles.
• Accessible pedestrian infrastructure benefits every section of society.
• Children can safely walk to school, elderly citizens remain independent, women enjoy greater security, persons with disabilities gain mobility, and office-goers are more likely to use public transport.
• Therefore, investing in walkability promotes both social inclusion and sustainable urban development.

Pedestrian Safety and Road Fatalities

• Poor pedestrian infrastructure is also a major road safety concern.
• Official data consistently show that pedestrians and two-wheeler riders account for the majority of road accident fatalities in India.
• Every missing or encroached footpath forces pedestrians into direct conflict with fast-moving traffic, turning daily commuting into a life-threatening activity.
• Improving pedestrian infrastructure through dedicated footpaths, safe crossings, traffic-calming measures, and better lighting can substantially reduce accidents and save thousands of lives each year.

Role of Citizens in Promoting Walkability

• While governments bear primary responsibility, citizens also have an important role in creating a walking culture.
• Individuals should incorporate regular walking into their daily routine, choose walking for short-distance travel, combine walking with public transport, and encourage community walking initiatives through families, workplaces, and resident welfare associations.
• Citizens should also actively demand safe, encroachment-free footpaths as a constitutional entitlement rather than viewing them as optional civic facilities. 

Policy Measures for People-Centric Cities

• Creating walkable cities requires coordinated action across multiple sectors.
• Key policy priorities include:
  • Integrating continuous, shaded, well-lit, and barrier-free footpaths into every road project.
  • Installing ramps, safe pedestrian crossings, and wheelchair-accessible infrastructure.
  • Preventing parking on footpaths through effective enforcement and meaningful penalties.
  • Prioritising pedestrian infrastructure around schools, hospitals, markets, bus stops, and metro stations.
  • Expanding tree cover, benches, public toilets, and adequate street lighting.
  • Launching a National Active Mobility Mission linking urban development, transport, health, and education.
  • Conducting annual footpath audits and publishing ward-level walkability maps to improve accountability.
  • Encouraging employers to promote active commuting and healthcare professionals to prescribe walking as preventive medicine.

Conclusion

• The recognition of walking as a fundamental constitutional right marks a transformative shift in India's urban governance.
• However, judicial recognition alone cannot improve everyday life unless it is supported by thoughtful planning, adequate funding, effective enforcement, and active citizen participation.
• A truly modern city is measured not by the number of flyovers it builds but by how safely its citizens can walk.
• Footpaths are not merely strips of concrete; they represent public health, road safety, accessibility, social equity, environmental sustainability, and constitutional dignity.