Latest news with #IvanKyselov
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
How Dubai's 20 minute city plans to keep you walking; even in 45°C heat
Dubai's ambitious "20-minute city" concept, part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, aims to place essential services, transit, and leisure facilities within a 20-minute walk, cycle, or scooter ride for residents. However, the city's sweltering summer temperatures significantly hinder this vision. At Expo City Dubai , officials are pioneering solutions to beat the heat. Ivan Kyselov, Senior Manager of City Operations, told Mobility Live attendees that shaded walkways, interactive pit stops, and electric shuttles are being introduced to make short journeys bearable, even inviting. 'In the winter, people are encouraged to walk … in the summer, we add climate-controlled zones,' he said. Also Read: Singapore tightens rules on crypto startups, Dubai rolls out the red carpet; what investors must know before they jump in by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like War Thunder - Register now for free and play against over 75 Million real Players War Thunder Play Now Undo These interventions include enclosed cooled spaces to offer relief during transit, smart mobility hubs for e-scooters and bicycles, and electric vehicles to ensure constant connectivity across zones. Live Events While new districts like Al Barsha 2 are being built specifically for 20-minute living, retrofitting older areas remains crucial. Transport mobility expert Martin Tillman noted that transforming established neighbourhoods is tougher, but essential: they often already have pedestrian-ready layouts that shouldn't be lost to urban decay. Dubai's goal is to ensure that over 55% of residents live within 800 meters of a transit station and can meet 80% of their daily needs within a short walk or ride. Achieving this in summer demands climate-sensitive solutions, shade, air-conditioned hubs, and carefully designed pathways. Dubai's summer climate routinely exceeds 40 °C, with humidity pushing 'feels-like' temperatures close to 45 °C. The heat not only discourages walking and cycling but also poses health risks and threatens to undermine years of planning and investment.
Khaleej Times
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Khaleej Times
Dubai's 20-minute cities face a key challenge: summer heat; how they plan to tackle it
With shaded walking areas, electric vehicles and essential facilities, Dubai is aiming to build 20-minute cities across the emirate. However, one of the main challenges is the extreme summer heat. At Expo City Dubai, the designers are trying to overcome this challenge by adopting a flexible approach. 'In the winter, people are encouraged to walk,' said Ivan Kyselov, Senior Manager of City Operations at Expo City Dubai. 'It's an experience and we promote it by activating the spaces around the walking routes. If you paint something on the pathway, kids will just simply play and walk these 15 minutes. Adults are the same. So we add an interactive element of architecture and urban development as a pit stop.' He added that they have electric vehicles (EVs) on site to ensure multimodality, inclusivity and accessibility. For the summer, Expo City is now experimenting with multiple solutions like zones of climate controlled areas like enclosed cool spaces, shaded walking areas and smart mobility hubs for bicycles and e-scooters. He was speaking at the event Mobility Live which brings together smart transportation and mobility solution experts from across the world. Building 20-minute cities have been an integral part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, with the Model District Project currently under construction in Al Barsha 2. Transforming old neighborhoods According to Martin Tillman, a transport mobility planning specialist, it was equally important to also focus on older neighborhoods and transforming them into 20-minute-cities. 'We have to help regenerate the old city,' he said. 'It's somewhat easier to go to a new field or site and to say this is how we're going to move forward. It's a little more difficult to go into something that's already existing and work on it because it doesn't have the parking provision or a rail network.' He added that reward for this transformation was 'significant' because of multiple reasons. 'Typically the previously planned cities, were planned on the basis of better access for pedestrians and for people cycling,' he said. 'They tended to have better shape and were better coded for the day-to-day realities of living here in the Middle East. I think that's crucial and the idea of leaving that to decay is completely wrong.' The 20-minute cities will have integrated service centres with all the necessary facilities that allow residents to reach their destinations within a 20-minute timeframe. The plan involves placing 55 percent of residents within 800 meters of mass transit stations, allowing them to reach 80 per cent of their daily needs and destinations.
