Bhubaneswar: Now citizens can explore and rate parks in Bhubaneswar as part of a public space tool. It is developed by team design from Smart Cities Fellowship and integrated in Bhubaneswar Me App undertaken by the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) with help of Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MoHUA).
The development of this feature was done in accordance to research and questions regarding parameters defined such as safety, cleanliness, access, comfort, access etc. The team of fellows conducted an activity in Madhu Sudan Das Park this morning to familiarise citizens with rating feature as well as engagement of citizens was done to help improve parks and public spaces.
BSCL CEO Prem Chandra Chaudhary and Smart Cities Mission Director Kunal Kumar have also given their personal inputs in the development of this tool which will be undertaken in other cities. As a pilot Bhubaneswar was the first city in India selected by the team to take up this citizen-centric tool. It will be further taken up to other cities with help of MoHUA.
The rating of parks will be seen by authorities to take appropriate improvements and actions. Heritage monuments are also visible in the feature along with option to see events, facilities and give suggestions. The additional types covered that is of rating Heritage and streets will be done at the next stage.
To activate parks, engage citizens three different activities were organized in Madhusudan Das Park. A hunt race with solving clues to know about the park also took place. Another activity was a painting competition for children on theme ‘My Dream Park’. A design session to take citizen inputs was also undertaken with introduction of key aspects such as safety, comfort, access, activity and usability.
Many citizens and locals participated and were happy to see children taking part in these activities.
Ms Kalinga