The CPPR Centre for Urban Studies (CUS) focuses on urbanisation patterns and trends in aspects such as public space, urban mobility, infrastructure, technology, livelihood and citizenship. The centre aims to understand the contestation of space by different socio-economic groups and addresses the multiple realities that exist within a city. It also aims to meet the challenges of urban development by recommending better practices and innovative policy changes. This is done through the use of primary and secondary quantitative data, to support qualitative policy suggestions. CUS aims to work with public and private entities to ensure sustainability through shared ownership.

Advisors

Raj Cherubal

Raj Cherubal is the CEO, Chennai Smart City Limited. He is also Director-Projects for Chennai City Connect (CCC). At CCC, he has facilitated various projects on traffic, sustainable transportation and urban planning focused on pedestrians and pedestrianisation, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and integrated, multi-modal public transportation, sustainable solid waste management, restoration of urban water bodies, sustainable financing of urban infrastructure, redevelopment of business district and regional planning.

He has written and worked to promote decentralisation and good urban governance. Also to promote economic freedom for entrepreneurs, especially poor like street vendors and others in the informal sector and for their recognition as profit seeking entrepreneurs. He holds an MS in Physics from the University of Louisville and an MS in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has worked in the software industry in areas like computational physics, visualisation, telecom and finance.

Susan Zielinski

Susan Zielinski is former Managing Director of Sustainable Mobility & Accessibility Research & Transformation (SMART), which is a project of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

She co-founded and directed Moving the Economy (MTE), a Canada-wide ‘link tank’ that works to catalyse and support sustainable urban transportation innovation as well as New Mobility industry development, an integrated industry approach developed at MTE. She has worked for over 15 years developing and leading transportation and liveability policies and initiatives.


See The Posts

July 20, 2020

‘Practising social distancing in Metro train not easy’

CPPR Chairman Dr D Dhanuraj comments in a news article published in The Times of India on the state government’s move to get Kochi Metro resume its operations. He says “The immediate focus of the state government should not be […]
July 1, 2020

Impact of COVID19 on Intra-City Public Transport

Kahini Ojha The initial days of unlock 1.0 have proven crucial for the transport sector. With no or minimum revenue generated during the lockdown and increased cost of maintenance for disinfecting and repairing vehicle body parts, which were not in […]
June 30, 2020

How viable is Silverline project, ask experts

CPPR Chairman Dr D Dhanuraj comments in a news article published in The New Indian Express on the Silverline project. He says “Travel time was never a factor behind Kerala’s poor show in industrial growth. Hence, reducing it won’t make […]
June 26, 2020

IC4 awaits data from government departments & agencies

CPPR Chairman Dr D Dhanuraj comments in a article published in The Times of India. He says “The IC4 needs to be modelled in such a way that it should even be able to gather data from public and also […]
June 26, 2020

Private Bus Operations in Kerala: Challenges and Way Ahead

The Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) hosted a live discussion on “Private Bus Operations in Kerala: Challenges and Way Ahead” on June 17, 2020. Mr Gokuldas (State Secretary, Kerala Bus Transport Association), Mr KM Nawas (Ernakulam District Secretary, Kerala […]
June 23, 2020

Can COVID Era be a Good Time to Give NMT a Second Chance?

Aiswarya Krishnan and Viral Arun Nigam Mobility plays a significant role in determining the growth and development of a city. Nowadays, mobility in cities is faced with too many challenges including lack of sufficient infrastructure as well as the unaffordability […]
June 23, 2020

Shared Auto as a Public Transport Solution during COVID

Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) plays an indispensable role in the transportation system in Indian cities. It is often addressed as the mode that bridges the gap between public and private transport in the city, ensuring first- and last-mile connectivity to […]
June 23, 2020

കോവിഡ് കാലത്ത് പൊതുഗതാഗത മേഖലയിൽ ഷെയർ ഓട്ടോകളുടെ സാധ്യതകൾ

ഇന്ത്യൻ നഗരങ്ങളിലെ ഗതാഗത സംവിധാനത്തിൽ ഇന്റർമീഡിയറ്റ് പബ്ലിക് ട്രാൻസ്പോർട്ട് (ഐപിടി) ഒഴിച്ചുകൂടാനാവാത്ത പങ്ക് വഹിക്കുന്നു. നഗരത്തിലെ പൊതു-സ്വകാര്യ ഗതാഗതം തമ്മിലുള്ള അന്തരം കുറയ്ക്കുന്നതും, ഉപയോക്താക്കൾക്ക് ആദ്യ, അവസാന മൈൽ കണക്റ്റിവിറ്റി ഉറപ്പാക്കുന്നതുമായ മാർഗം എന്ന നിലക്കാണ് ഇതിനെ  പലപ്പോഴും കാണുന്നത്. ഐ‌പി‌ടി മോഡുകളെ പ്രധാനമായും രണ്ടായി തിരിക്കാം: കരാർ കാരേജ് സേവനങ്ങളും,അനൗപചാരിക (ബസ് പോലുള്ളവ) പൊതുഗതാഗത സേവനങ്ങളും. യാത്രക്കാരുടെ ആവശ്യത്തിനും സൗകര്യത്തിനും അനുസരിച്ച് ലഭ്യമാകുന്നവയും, ലക്ഷ്യസ്ഥാനം യാത്രക്കാർക്ക് […]
June 19, 2020

Reconsider concession: Kochi bus operators

Private bus operators in the city want the government to reconsider the policy of providing tickets at concessional rates to school and college students. Operators are of the view that they suffer huge losses due to the student population that […]