MIDAS AR6911 URBAN DESIGN

UNIT-2: HISTORIC URBAN FORM - Indian

EVOLUTION OF URBANISM IN INDIA

In India, similar to other great civilisation, the urbanism started from the from traditional rural
economic activities to modern industrial wealth creation. Most of the people in history led a
nomadic life -hunting animals and gathering edible plants for food. The pre-condition for
urban development is a favourable ecology climate where people congregated in regions with
fertile soil with good source of food and resources.

Three millenniums of urbanisation in this subcontinent could be witnessed in Indus Valley

and Keeladi (Madurai District). Such urbanisation was neat and well planned in comparable
to the modern days cities. However, the process of urbanisation in our country are
characterised by high level of urbanisation and some of them are in final stage of urbanisation
process. Over population and hapazard developed led us to chaotic and mono synchronic
patterns.
India has a long history of urbanisation, Apart from the highlands of India, there are
three important ecological units in the country which experiences the growth of urban
population since ancient past. These are the Northwest India, the Gangetic plain land and the
South Indian plain. The first one enjoys the pioneering role in Indian urbanisation including
Harappan civilization. The second one with a dense monsoonal forest used the iron
technology to establish the Gangetic plain urbanisation. The third unit of southern India used
iron technology to usher a new dawn in urban growth from the earlier Neolithic pattern of
techniques. The subsequent sub-topics we will understand evolution is detail.

TEMPLE TOWNS:
Urban centres are the symbol of
economic vitality. One needs to
understand ‘What were the
facors that played role in the
emergence of sacred place as a
centre of economic activities?’.
Largely the phenomenon of
Temple Town was confined to
the Tamilakam region. The
earliest urban centres visibly

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appeared in marutam and neital zones which were dominated by the Cheras (Periyar valley),
Cholas (Kaveri valley), and the Pandyas (Vaigai and Tamraparni valley).
One can identify three periods of
urbanisation in the Tamilakam
region: First occurring during the
Sangam (Early Historic) period
(300 BCE-300 CE); the Second
during 7th to 13th centuries
(largely falling into the period of
the Cholas); and the third during
European colonisation in South
India -Chennai is the oldest modern
city in India. The dominant feature
of first-phase was the
coastal/external trade; once the trade declined it resulted in the decline of the urban centres as
well. The second phase was attributed in the Brahmanic records. The process of the
emergence of urban centres in the early medieval period begins with the spread of Puranic
religion in the region coupled with the rise of the Pallavas and the Pandayas (sixth to ninth
centuries). Under them began the process of brahmadeya (to brahmanas) and the devadana (to
the temples) grants in the region that facilitated the agrarian expansion in the region.
Example: Kancheepuram, Srirangam, and Madurai are temple / sacred towns.

MUGHAL CITY FORM:

From the 16th to 18th centuries, the Mughal empire was
the predominant political power of South Asia. Mughal
military strategies, political structure, and urban form
owed much to central Asian traditions, though under
innovative leadership the Mughal period saw the
development of new organizational forms that were
uniquely South Asian, produced from a creative
manipulation of indigenous Muslim and Hindu
traditions.
Mughal City (or called "traditional" capitals) is
characterized by:
(1) a strong and enduring administrative and economic
centrality
(2) a position at the apex of a settlement hierarchy
(3) a high investment in symbols of national identity, status, and power, with a concomitant
allocation of significant resources to the production of such symbols.
The first Mughal ruler Babur was born in Central Asia whose main exposure to urban
life had been in Iran and
Samarkand, where the Persian
concept of the paradisial garden
had been highly elaborated. This
Iranian-derived garden, as well as
Central Asian Timurid
architectural forms, especially of
tombs, were important elements of
Mughal cities throughout the
duration of the empire. These

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"foreign" elements were merged with indigenous Hindu and Muslim elements to create a new
form of architecture and urban place by the two greatest builders among the Mughal rulers,
Akbar and Shah Jahan.
Fatehpur Sikri:
Was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar and was constructed in less than fifteen
years (1569-1574). Fatehpur Sikri served as the capital of the Mughal empire for a very short
time, from 1569 to 1585. The layout of the imperial complex of Fatehpur Sikri is unique in its
spatial organization. It has no streets, but consists of a series of interlocking courtyards set to
the cardinal points. The design of individual monuments is based on symmetry but in the
layout of the complex, the rules of symmetry are broken and asymmetry is deliberately
employed. The unique layout may have been employed to provide flexibility in order to
accommodate different buildings and spatial conceptions. It creates a rich and dramatic visual
environment within the complex. The layout also reflects the themes of Din-i Ilahi, the
religion founded by Akbar and which was a synthesis of Hinduism, Islam, Jainism,
Zoroastrianism and Christianity. It was found that the layouts organized on the concepts of
functional zoning based on public, semi-public and private space.

In the Mughal cities, the towns were usually protected by thick walls with battlements, string-
courses and towers. Lahore, Ahmadābād, Broach, Baroda, Cambay, Sūrat, Shāhjahānābād and
Fathpur Sikri were all walled cities. The 17th century Mughal cities were merely ‘military
camps’. Mughal courts no doubt showed ‘extraordinary mobility’ and replicate the royal

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palace suggestive of city on the move. The length of Akbar’s camp on the move was around
2.5 kilometres, with all his retinues, ministers and servants.
The royal tent residences were an important feature of the Islamic cities. Even Babur
never established/constructed any palace complex instead lived in open, so established the
garden complexes at Agra where he often stayed in his Bagh-i Hasht Bihisht. When Akbar
planned Agra fort and Fathpur Sikri they were largely modelled on royal ‘camps’; rather the
plan of Akbar’s capital city Sikri was based on ‘peripatetic mobile tent cities’. To consolidate
their position, suppress internal rebellions and face external threats Mughal emperors had to
be always on the move and they used these mobile tents as their ‘portable palaces’.

MEDIEVAL CITIES:
Medieval means 09th to 15th century. Medieval Indian cities were built and developed
by a number of rulers who ruled over the country in medieval era. Every city narrates one or
the other aspect of Indian history. Over time, the cities have undergone major transformations
and many of them have acquired new identity. Despite of this, a number of cultural and
material relics are still scattered throughout these cities which are the witnesses of the events
and lifestyles of medieval era.
During the medieval period, several empires and kingdoms such as Mughals,
Vijayanagara, Nayak and Marathas came into existence.

Muslim Kingdom:

1) Delhi Sultanate:
The rule of the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1206 by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak. Delhi is not
just one urban settlement, but a conglomeration of many urban settlements belonging to
different periods. Those urban settlements transcended in to Delhi during various period and
historical events.
1) Lal Kot - built in mid-eleventh century by the Tomars
2) Siri - built by the second ruler of the Khalji Dynasty, Alauddin Khalji
3) Tughlaqabad is considered to be the third extant city of Delhi
The Tughlaq Dynasty that ruled a large part of India from Delhi enjoyed the prowess of three
prominent rulers: Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq, and his nephew
Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The dynasty that stayed in power for almost a century (ad 1320–1412)
constructed major areas on the southern outskirts of the capital, including the three cities,
Tughlaqabad, Jahanpanah, and Firozabad, as well as other forts, tombs, and mosques.

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2) Deccan Sultanates:
Cities: Berar, Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Bidar and Golconda.
The word ‘medieval’ has been used by commons to indicate a period of around three centuries
that was with the rule of Islamic Dynasties. The rise of the Bahmanis, the first Islamic dynasty
ruling the Deccan independent of the Delhi Sultanate. The term ‘Deccan’ is a corruption of
the word Dakhan or Dakshin – mean the south. The urban centres of Deccan were grown
out of economic necessities. A place located on a highway or on a junction of highways
or at a spot where a river fordable, attracts traders. The craftsmen and manufacturers and
the combination of these three elements lays the foundation of an urban centres. The other
urban centres was for a camp or a military site spring up at a place of strategic importance to
begin with. Merchants and craftsmen collect in and around it to satisfy the requirements of the
camp.

Vijayanagara Empire: (1336 -1570)

The empire reached its zenith of its prosperity and glory during regime of Tuluva King. One
of the most renowned Telugu poet and ruler Krishnadevaraya was a great patron of art, dance,
literature and music. Vijayanagara empire had well maintained trade relations with
Portuguese. They played an important role in flourishing Hindu religion. The combine forces
of Deccan sultanates led to downfall of Vijayanagara Kingdom in 1565. Vijayanagara was the
capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra
River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi
site in Ballari district and others in and around that district in Karnataka, India.
The urban center was two part Royal Centre and the Sacred Centre. The royal centre
in the southwest part of the site comprising of palaces, bath, pavilions, royal stables and
temple for ceremonial use. The sacred centre was situated on the northern edge of the site
along the banks of Tungabhadra River.

Nayak Kingdom:(1529-1736)
Several territories of Vijayangara empire were run by administrative and military governors
called Nayakas. After the failure of Vijayanagara empire, governors declared their
independence and established their own kingdom. The most famous Nayakas included Nayak
of Madurai, Keladi Nayakas, Tanjore Nayaks and Nayakas of Chitradurga. Several
magnificent temples were built during Nayaks rule. The striking feature of holy shrines with
large pillared halls and long gateway towers are marvelous. The Tanjavur Nayak continued to

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rule until 17th century and the dynasty was put to an end by Madurai rulers. At the same time,
Marathas also grabbed an opportunity to establish their dynasty.
*Example:
Madurai city which emerged as planned settlement along the southern bank of River Vaigai,
has now expanded almost equally on either sides. Literature, Art, Commerce, Religion,
Administration, Tourism all holds relevance with city. But, the unorganised urbanism of today
implants pieces that in no-way can become part of the whole and strengthen the urban fabric.

Marathas
The Marathas came into power under the rule of Shivaji. After the death of Mughal ruler,
Aurangzeb, Wodeyar
kingdom of Mysore took
over the control over
major territories of south
India. North and east
part of Mysore was
ruled by Asaf Jahis of
Hyderabad. Large
portion of Karnataka
was controlled by
Maratha rulers. By the
close of medieval
period, Marathas
witnessed the arrival of
Europeans - French and
Britishers.
THANJAVUR

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COLONIAL URBANISM:
British planning for Indian cities laboured under serious internal contradictions. As a
colonial power, Britain ruled India primarily for its own benefit; at the same time, it had to
address all the usual issues of urban governance, such as control of space, provision of water,
sewerage, roads, street lighting and police. Naturally enough, the British often viewed Indian
problems through the lens of Britain's experience in its own first era of rapid industrialisation,
urbanisation, and popular democracy.
Madras (Chennai) 1639, Bombay 1661, and Calcutta 1690 cities which the British
created themselves from the ground up - it was fort dominated and controlled area. Within the
fort they built their homes, offices, shops and churches. The armed forces were
accommodated in an area called ‘cantonment’. The much larger Indian area that sprang up
were refered as the native or ‘black town’. Colonial cities reflected the mercantile culture of
the new rulers. Political power and patronage shifted from Indian rulers to the merchants of
the East India Company. Madras developed by incorporating innumerable surrounding
villages and by creating opportunities and spaces for a variety of communities. Several
different communities came and settled in Madras, performing a range of economic functions.
The pattern of city expansion was based on spatial seperation by nationality and race.

The British introduced concepts of urban planning – based largely on emerging European
ideals of health and sanitation: improved roads, spaciousness, order and beautification. They
implemented these concepts most fully in the parts of the city in which they resided, and
which they dominated, so-called ‘White Town. The earliest town planners India saw were
imported from the West. Patrick Geddes was invited by Lord Pentland, Governor of Madras,
to bring to India his innovative Cities and Town Planning Exhibition and he was in India
from1915-1920.

URBAN SPACES IN MODERNIST CITIES:

Big cities in India are places of innovation, education, arts and are a vivid clash
between the traditional and modern. Despite so many advances, the cities are still struggling
to come to terms with the effects of high density populations- pollution, traffic, garbage, lack
of side-walk space- which results in the inability to feel safe and enjoy public spaces.
Throughout history, design of streets and deliberate configuration of public spaces with
buildings have reflected contemporaneous social norms or philosophical and religious beliefs.
The first modern urban planning theorist was Sir Ebenezer Howard. His ideas, although

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utopian, were adopted around the world because they were highly practical. He initiated the
garden city movement in 1898 garden city movement. His garden cities were intended to be
planned, self-contained communities surrounded by parks.

CHANDIGARH:
In 1950, India’s Prime Minister Jawharlal Nehru invited Le Corbusier to India to design a
city, Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the provincial capital of Punjab. It became symbolic of the
newly independent Indian nation. Commencing work from 1951 until Le Corbusier’s death in
1965, he shaped the city and gave it its image. The design of the city is based on a grid-iron
plan based on the hierarchy of movement from highways to pedestrian walkways. The
metaphor of a human being was being employed in the plan – the ‘head’ contained the capital
complex, the ‘heart’ the commercial centre, and the ‘arms’, which were perpendicular to the
main axis, had the academic and leisure facilities. The plan incorporated Le Corbusier’s
principles of light, space and greenery. He divided the city into different Sectors. Every sector
had residential and commercial zones. He planned the city in such a way that even a tourist
can easily find his own way. There are maps displayed along the walkways and footpaths.

He conceived the Chandigarh Master Plan as analogous to human body, with a clearly defined
head (the Capitol Complex, Sector 1), heart (the City Centre Sector-17), lungs (the leisure
valley, innumerable open spaces and sector greens), the intellect (the cultural and educational
institutions), the circulatory system (the network of roads, the 7Vs) and the viscera (the
Industrial Area). The concept of the city is based on four major functions: living, working,
care of the body and spirit and circulation. Residential sectors constitute the living part
whereas the Capitol Complex, City Centre, Educational Zone (Post Graduate Institute, Punjab
Engineering College, Punjab University) and the Industrial Area constitute the working part.
The Leisure Valley, Gardens, Sector Greens and Open Courtyards etc. are for the care of body
and spirit. The circulation system comprises of 7 different types of roads known as 7Vs. Later
on, a pathway for cyclists called V8 was added to this circulation system. The basis of Le
Corbusier’s master plan is a gridiron pattern of V3 roads (fast moving traffic)intersecting at

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half a mile across and three quarters of a mile up the plan, enclosing areas known as ‘sectors’.
The plan area stretches between two river beds defining its natural boundaries on both sides.

Bhubaneswar
The capital city of the Indian state Odisha, has become the first Indian city to win the
elusive Pierre L'enfant International Planning excellence award 2017. The award is given out
by the American Planning Association (APA) for good and advanced town planning and
engaging its residents in the planning process.
Bhubaneswar was one of the first of the new capitals in independent India, with Nehru
laying its foundation on 13 April 1948. Otto Koenigsberger was involved in the urban design
concept and came up with a master plan for the township in 1954. Oriya identity is reflected
in the attempt by its architect “incorporate many Buddhist elements” in the building style of
Bhubaneswar. The “New Capital” with distinct land use and a well laid out road network,
presents a sharp contrast to the Old Town, which developed organically with its temples and
tanks, and existed adjacent to the city.
The urban plan envisaged horizontal development rather than vertical growth for a
population of 40,000 with administration as the primary function. The town centre consisted
of the market building, weekly market, daily market and bus-station with a central vista
leading up to Raj Bhavan and a commercial zone up to the railway station. Koenigsberger’s
planning zone provided the function of microclimate control and offers salubrious climate
throughout the year. This particular area designed by the architect remains as the best green
cover with open space and a well-organised transportation system in the city.

Koenigsberger specified a few guiding principles and climatic design features essential for the
city building design. According to his guidelines, most government buildings were designed
with impressive corridors intended to protect the walls of office rooms from direct sun rays.
Neighbourhood units were designed with the best amenities of urban life, with units placed at
short distances to give people easy access to school, hospital and other facilities. In a
neighbourhood unit, every child had to live within one-quarter or one-third of a mile from
school. Every housewife had to live within half a mile from the civic centre, where she could

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do her shopping and also visit medical facilities. Home and workplace distance that could be
conveniently covered was by using a bicycle or a cycle-rickshaw.
Koenigsberger suggested seven types of roads -- footpaths, parkways, cycle paths,
minor housing streets, major housing streets, main roads and main arteries - for seven groups
of users for seven different functions. The overall widths of land earmarked for roads and
streets were not determined by traffic alone but also by requirements for storm water drainage
services like overhead electric lines, telephone, water and the need of adequate light and air to
the adjoining houses. The overall width of land allotted for road purposes was, therefore,
dependent on the height of houses on both sides.
An important consideration was space for avenue trees, and necessary provisions were
made early in the land allotment scheme and in the estimates. For requirements other than
traffic, the allotment of land even for the smallest housing street had been fixed at a minimum
of 30 feet. Only about nine feet of these 30 was traffic, the rest for storm water drainage,
avenue trees and services and to allow sufficient gap between two rows of houses for a fair
share of the cooling breeze to every house.

Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, and the political
capital of Gujarat. The city was first designed and implemented between 1965 and 1970 by
two Indian town planners, H. K. Mewada and P. M. Apte. Both Mewada and Apte had
worked as trainees under legendary architect LeCorbusier in the Chandigarh Project in the
1950s. An influential group of architects from Ahmedabad, with the active support of certain
industrialists, had tried to usurp the job by bringing in American architect Louis Kahn who
was in Ahmedabad to design the buildings of the management institute. The government
selected Mewada to design Gandhinagar along with Apte as the town planner. Apte had
studied the local architecture and Gujarat’s ‘pole’ culture and tried to emulate the character
while planning the various sectors of the city.

This is a city planned around being

the capital of Gujarat the majority
of the population is government
employees. The traffic thus on
busiest of days is next to nothing.
Traffic jams are unheard of here.
Gandhinagar is one of the three
planned cities of India, and is
located on the banks of the river
Sabarmati.
Thirty sectors, into which the city
has been divided, stretch around the
central government complex. Each
sector has its own shopping and
community centre, primary school,
health centre, and government and
private housing. There is a
provision for parks, extensive
plantation and a recreational area
along the river giving the city a
green garden-city atmosphere.

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