5 Cities Where You Can Walk To Work

Imagine if you could walk to work and not spend hours commuting to your office everyday? You would love that, won’t you? Virtually everyone would.

Living close to office not only makes economic sense but also allows time for many complementary activities which one may not indulge in owing to hours spent commuting. Development of transport networks may have allowed people to live in the suburbs while travelling to city centres for work, but the aftereffects of long commutes have been documented well in several medical studies. Employees who drive to office are said to be more at the risk of higher blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

You could completely avoid this and other hazards of long commutes as walk-to-work residential projects become increasingly popular in India.

PropTiger.com lists the five cities where you can walk to work.

Bangalore
Walk-to-work projects have a potentially large market in Bangalore owing to the abundance of techies working in the city. As many software companies employ people in large numbers, many reputed builders in recent years have launched walk-to-work residential projects in Bangalore in areas such as Whitefield and Hebbal. Whitefield, once a quaint neighbourhood in the east of Bangalore, turned into a prominent suburb of Bangalore in the 1990s when a number of Information Technology companies mushroomed in the area and attracted techies. Now part of Greater Bangalore, Whitefield is now a haven for a number of multinational information technology companies such as SAP Labs India Private Ltd. and IBM Global Service. Prestige Park view, a project in Whitefield launched by the Prestige Group, for instance, addresses the needs of employees working in IT firms in its vicinity. Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd, one of the prominent developers in South India, has also launched a walk-to-work project, Mantri Lithos. This under-construction project in Hebbal is situated inside Manyata Tech Park, one of the biggest technological parks in Hebbal in Bangalore, and offers amenities such as swimming pool, toddler’s pool, squash court, gym and landscaped gardens. Zonasha Vista, a walk-to-work project of Zonasha Estates and Projects, is also one of the walk-to-work projects in Bangalore offering 1, 2 and 3 BHK apartments in Bangalore, catering to the needs of single executives and those with families. The apartment units are priced from 45.85 lakh onwards. 

 Walk-to-work projects have a potentially large market in Bangalore owing to the abundance of techies working in the city.
(Photo credit: wikipedia)

Pune

As the infrastructure in Pune is still under-developed, walk-to-work projects are gaining popularity in Pune too, especially in suburbs like Hinjewadi, Kharadi and Hadaspar. Because of favourable government policies promoting IT related businesses in the city, walk-to-work culture in the city is already established. Mantri Vantage, a project of the Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd, is one of the many walk-to-work properties in Pune. The property is located in Kharadi, which is a prime location for residential apartments in Pune, and offers excellent amenities for residents including a clubhouse, pool, banquet hall, and an aerobic room. Blueridge, a township project of Paranjape Schemes Constructions Ltd in Hinjewadi, Pune’s IT hub is another such project. Blueridge offers a mix of residential and commercial spaces with a special economic zone and residential apartments. The homebuyers here are spoilt for choice - the family and studio apartments in Blueridge offer amenities like boat club and butterfly garden.

Because of favourable government policies promoting IT related businesses in the city, walk to work culture is already established in Pune.
(Photo credit: Flickr.com)

Noida

With the mixed land use policy in place that allows residential property in Noida to be converted into commercial property, walk-to-work projects will become more popular in this satellite city of the National Capital Region of Delhi. Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) already has  plans to build a smart city where houses, business units and other institutions and entertainment avenues are in proximity to each other. The Campus, a 75 acre IT project of Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd (APIL), has reserved nearly 15% of the land as a residential zone. This SEZ also offers many benefits such as exemption from indirect tax and minimum alternate tax (MAT) for private firms.

Gurgaon

Since it is not as uniformly urbanized as its neighboring city, Delhi, many developers have built walk-to-work projects in Gurgaon. There are a number of premium residential projects in Gurgaon as well. With high street retail and office spaces, Ansal Centre Walk in Sector 103, Gurgaon is a commercial project of Ansal Housing that also offers many residential projects and group housing societies close to it.  For instance, DLF Gardencity in Gurgaon, a walk-to-work project of the DLF group, has ready to possession apartment units at prices ranging from Rs 2.68 to 7.11 crore. 

Hyderabad

Property in Hyderabad has always been more affordable in comparison to the other metros. With many special economic zones in the offing, Hyderabad is fast emerging as another city where you can walk to work. Hiranandani Upscale, a multi-services SEZ at Lahari, Hyderabad, is based on the walk-to-work concept. Spread over 250 acres, this SEZ offers residential projects, schools, hospitals and various entertainment avenues along with offices of various multinational corporations. Saivamsee Signature is another walk-to-work project located in the heart of the Hyderabad’s IT hub, Gachibowli.

With a number of walk-to-work options available in these cities, why not walk to work? The release of stress hormones while driving at peak hours can cut your life short.