Paris Transforms Into A People-First City While India Battles Urban Development Challenges
Two contrasting urban visions emerge as Paris removes cars while Indian cities sacrifice greenery
Jehangir Irroni is a filmmaker and creative director with over 18 years of experience in directing ad films, corporate videos, web series, and television shows. As assistant vice president - Videos at IncNut Digital, Jehangir is involved in producing and directing videos and infomercials.
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Image: Instagram
Former actress and travel content creator Shenaz Treasurywala has sparked an important conversation about contrasting urban development models between Paris and India. In her recent Instagram post, she draws attention to how the two regions are making fundamentally different choices about their urban futures.
According to Treasurywala’s post, Paris is implementing an ambitious plan to transform into Europe’s first 100% cycling-friendly capital city. The French capital is actively removing cars from its cityscape while creating more spaces for people. The city’s transformation includes:
– Restricting private vehicles in major central areas like Rue de Rivoli
– Plans to remove 70,000 parking spots by 2026 (approximately half of all spots)
– Converting former parking areas into green spaces, bike lanes, and playgrounds
– Implementing Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s “15-minute city” vision where residents can access essential services within a short walk or bike ride
The post includes an image showing the stark contrast between Paris’s green approach and India’s development model that prioritizes vehicles over pedestrians or natural spaces.
In contrast to Paris, Treasurywala points out that India is making very different urban planning choices:
– Removing forests to build highways and malls
– Transforming into car-centric cities
– Creating urban environments where crossing roads is challenging due to traffic and chaos
– Failing to prioritize pedestrian safety or green spaces
“What are we choosing—progress or pollution? Because the world is watching. And we’re falling behind,” Treasurywala writes in her post, clearly expressing concern about India’s development trajectory.
Through her post, Treasurywala invites her followers to consider which development path leads to truly livable cities—one that removes cars to create space for people, or one that removes trees to create space for cars.
As she concludes in her post: “What are we choosing—progress or pollution? Because the world is watching.”
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