If you are dreading negotiating thick traffic or getting crushed in the train during your daily commute to work, you may find some hope in the Indian Green Building’s latest initiative.

The IGBC is on a drive to promote business districts where offices are at walking distances from homes.

The organisation, set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry in 2001 to rate environment-friendliness of buildings, is now getting into city planning, actively taking up consultations with property developers and municipalities to promote self-contained sub-cities that will have work-spaces, homes, schools, and hospitals.

“We are talking to State Governments and Municipal Corporations about mixed developments where people have to just walk to work,” said S Raghupathy, Executive Director, CII-IGBC.

One example of mixed development is the Mahindra World City in Chennai, on the National Highway 45. There are over 49 operational companies in the 1,500-acre Special Economic Zone, and 220 homes. “We will have about 700 residential units developed and occupied by the end of this year,” says Capt. Sunil Kurian Ipe, Deputy General Manager, Operations and Maintenance, Mahindra World City.

The project is promoted jointly by the Mahindra Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Mahindra World City is looking at a similar project on National Highway 7 . Realty developers have collaborated with the State Government to develop such a home-office construct in Mumbai.

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