Inevitably, one of the first few parameters that comes to mind when we describe cities is the traffic. The quality of life of a city is judged by how it handles the unending influx of people and their vehicles. Congestion is the new buzzword. In fact, as it is with most social phenomena “traffic cultures” (if I may) have a whole vocabulary around behaviour and patterns. People in cities infested with “bottlenecks”, and bumper-to-bumper or snail-paced, slow moving traffic have learnt to adapt to the daily battle with the city’s traffic. Meetings are postponed, critical social and cultural events are scheduled not to coincide with peak hours.

Simple, elegant and innovative ideas are the need of the hour. With people from cities clamouring for solutions, one simple way of thinking about it could be staggered office timings. Lower Parel in Mumbai, for instance, is one of the biggest pain areas in terms of traffic. The fact that it is a financial hub, with multiple commercial establishments and mounting construction, is no coincidence. If office timings for different establishments were staggered across the area, it would not only result in a favourable change in lifestyle, but a spreading out of peak hours. Coupled with cleverly designed one-way roads, this simple thought could transform the neighbourhood.

The social network and new media should also be leveraged. For instance, Bangalore City police launched a Facebook page to source ideas for traffic management as well as serve as a platform to voice citizen concerns. This has led to some effective traffic management solutions.

The tremendous growth of traffic management apps is also testimony to the possibility of using technology to address these problems. Apps like Traffline, Traffic Fines India or “Beat the traffic” (US and Canada based app) have gained traction in the recent past and real time traffic updates delivered to each smartphone has become commonplace.

The fact is that traffic cannot be looked at in isolation. It is the symptom of a larger problem related to urban design, quality of life, infrastructure creation and the very culture of a city. At the end of the day, to change the urban landscape, we have to change behaviour.

Alpana Parida is President, DY Works, a brand strategy and design firm that creates culture-based solutions for businesses

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