ANCIENT TOWN PLANNING

FATHIMA GHALISA.C
M.A AYSHATH RISHANA
PRAJEESH KUMAR C.P
SHARUKH SHAMS
SHAIMA SHARAFUDHEEN.T
SHASMA.M
SHEHMA SHAJAHAN
ZAQIA .K
 INTRODUCTION

Town-planningthe art of laying out towns with due care for the health and comfort
of inhabitants, for industrial and commercial efficiency, and for reasonable beauty of
buildingsis an art of intermittent activity.

It belongs to special ages and circumstances.

For its full unfolding two conditions are needed:

The age must be one in which, whether through growth, or through movements of
population, towns are being freely founded or freely enlarged, and almost as a matter
of course attention is drawn to methods of arranging and laying out such towns.
And secondly, the builders of these towns must have wit enough to care for the well-
being of common men and the due arrangement of ordinary dwellings

In many lands and centuriesin ages where civilization has been tinged by an under-
current of barbarismone or both of these conditions have been absent. In Asia
during much of its history, in early Greece, in Europe during the first half of the Middle
Ages, towns have consisted of one or two dominant buildings, temple or church or
castle, of one or two processional avenues for worshippers at sacred festivals, and a
little adjacent chaos of tortuous lanes and squalid houses.
 In the old world, urban life increased rapidly at certain periods through the
establishment of towns almost full-grown. The earliest towns of Greece and
Italy were, through sheer necessity, small. They could not grow beyond the
steep hill-tops which kept them safe, or house more inhabitants than their
scanty fields could feed.

But the world was then large; new lands lay open to those who had no room at
home, and bodies of willing exiles, keeping still their custom of civil life, planted
new towns throughout the Mediterranean lands.

In almost all cases, the frequent establishment of towns has been

accompanied by the adoption of a definite principle of town planning, and
throughout the principle has been essentially the same. It has been based on
the straight line and the right angle.
.

In general, ancient town-planning used not merely the straight line and the
right angle but the two together. It tried very few experiments involving other
angles
LAYOUT OF HARAPPAN CITY
 Sometimes the outline of the ancient town was square or almost square, the
house-blocks were of the same shape, and the plan of the town was
indistinguishable from a chess-board. Or, instead of squares, oblong house-
blocks formed a pattern not strictly that of a chess-board but geometrical and
rectangular.

Often the outline of the town was irregular and merely convenient, but the
streets still kept, so far as they could, to a rectangular plan. Sometimes, lastly,
the rectangular planning was limited to a few broad thoroughfares, while the
smaller side-streets, were utterly irregular. Other variations may be seen in
the prominence granted or refused to public and especially to sacred
buildings.

A measure of historical continuity can be traced in the occurrence of these

variations.

The towns of the earlier Greeks revealed a half-barbaric spirit in their side
streets and unlovely dwellings. In the middle of the fifth century ,they began to
recognize private houses and to attempt an adequate grouping of their cities
as units capable of a single plan.
 A change came with the new philosophy and the new politics of the Macedonian era.
The older Greek City-states had been large, wealthy, and independent; magnificent
buildings and sumptuous festivals were as natural to them as to the greater
autonomous municipalities in all ages. But in the Macedonian period the individual
cities sank to be parts of a larger whole, items in a dominant state, subjects of
military monarchies. The use of public buildings, the splendor of public festivals in
individual cities, declined.
A more definite, more symmetrical, often more rigidly 'chessboard' pattern was
introduced for the towns which now began to be founded in many countries.

LAYOUT OF MOHANJODARO
 EGYPTIAN TOWN PLANNING
Early civilization spread along the fertile valleys of the Nile , Tigris-
Euphrates and Indus river , where food , water and transportation
facilities where easily available.

In the pyramid period of Egypt, permanent towns of burnt bricks were

built along the Indus valley for the execution of the task of erecting
pyramids.

In this period the approach roads , where commonly on grid iron pattern.
The dwellings were compactly built about the interior court. The height of
the building was determined in proportion to the width of the street to get
proper light and ventilation .the building were one and two storied .
Sanitation was off a relatively higher order. There was underground sewer
line connected to the dwellings.

The straight line canals were there for the irrigation and landscape
purpose which added more beauty to the township.

The ancient egypt first developed the principles of ,

Town planning , zoning , site planning and civic design.
 TOWN PLANNING

Ancient Egypt never developed any major cities.

Nile valley constituted a continuous inhabitable area.

Few places had any advantages over others.

The cities that did emerge were wither the result of the need for effective
administration, or the clustering of facilities around an important religious
center.

There were many specialized cities such as those based on trade.

Others, for example, were made up of artisans, craftsmen and workers

related to various royal projects.
 SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

Most cities grew organically around administration, the clustering

of facilities, an important religious center or construction site.

Only few of the cities were planed and organized.

Planned cities were created as tributes by the Pharaoh to the

Gods or as monuments to their greatness

IMPORTANT CITIES

Amarna (Akhetaten)
Maadi,
MEMPHIS
Thebes
 The reasons for the foundation of a new
settlement could be varied: security, often
combined with economics, as in the case of the
southern fortress towns (Buhen); cultic and
administrative needs (Kahun); political motives
seem to have led Akhenaten to found Akhetaten.

The main consideration where to build was

generally proximity to a waterway and height
above the floodplains. Adobe buildings are very
vulnerable when brought in prolonged contact
with water, be it seeping groundwater or the
rising Nile.

Elevations, as long as they were inhabited, kept

above the slowly rising plains, where the river
deposited its silt. When old houses crumbled,
new ones were built on top of the debris.

The Middle Kingdom frontier town of Buhen.

Drawing by Helena Jaeschke
RESIDENTIAL AREAS

The Egyptians rarely planned much further than keeping a few spaces free for the
important roads of access, setting temple districts apart and erecting an adobe wall around
it all. Even 'planned' cities like much of Akhetaten were at times a jumble of houses, alleys
and courtyards in what looks like a case of build-as-build-can;[4] and where originally there
had been a street grid the rebuilding of the houses changed the regular layout over the
centuries.
But plot owners were not free to do as they liked. They had to take into account their
neighbours' rights and wishes and reach an understanding with them

Even if they liked living on ground level,

Egyptian city dwellers had at times little choice
about adding further storeys. Land suitable for
building had to be above the floodlevel of the
Nile and still reasonably close to the river, and
this was relatively rare.

Many Egyptians either preferred or were forced

to live in these crowded conditions.

At Akhetaten where there was no lack of

suitable land, some private homes were still
built in the same warren-like fashion.
TEMPLE DISTRICTS

Temple districts on the other hand were better planned. The outlay of individual temples
was basically symmetrical. Walls surrounded them. At Hotep-senusret the brick wall on
three sides of the temple was 12 metres thick and lined with limestone.

Avenues leading through the city to the temple district were wide, suitable for
processions. During recent excavations near the great pyramids a paved street five metres
wide was discovered. Pavement of streets was rare, generally restricted to the temple
complexes themselves.

Originally most temples were surrounded by an empty space, but over time houses were
built right up to the outer temple walls. These houses decayed and were rebuilt many times
over the millennia, with the result that the ground level of the residential area rose and the
temples which, being built of stone, were not periodically rebuilt, seemingly sank into the
ground.

The temenos [2] wall, the temple enclosure, could also have strategic value. At el-Kab the
temple was built at the centre of the town, and its ramparts could furnish a last shelter for
the garrison in case the town itself were taken by an enemy. At other places (Ombos, Edfu
etc) the whole population lived inside the temple enclosure.

Bigger towns like Memphis or Thebes had a number of temples which at first were
separate, but were interconnected by sphinx avenues from the 18th dynasty onwards.
PALACES

Royal palaces housed apart from the pharaoh's main family, his secondary
wives, concubines, and their offspring, also a small army of servants. The whole
compound was enclosed and separate from the rest of the capital, albeit close
to suppliers of services, temples and the seat of the administration
City of Amarna

This is an unusual example of ancient city planning, was

built under Pharaoh Akhenaton.
The city was designed as a whole.
The street intersect right angles and at equal intervals.
The division of houses into groups proves that the city
didnt grow haphazardly.
The site chosen for the city by Akhenaton was on new
ground.
The houses were grouped , though ,in perfect alignment
along three main northern and southern streets.
Both in Akhenaton village and the town built to
accommodate the officials and workmen employed on
the construction of the pyramid and the division into two
unequal parts , eastern and western.
The ancient Egyptians were the first to develop the grid
iron principle in city planning.
 The parallel streets were about two
metres wide, and practically the
whole space inside the walls was
occupied by houses.

It is interesting to note that the

workers' settlement was walled in,
while the city as a whole was not.
Some of the more affluents parts of
the city were possibly not
surrounded by any wall, though most
were: the temples, the palace and
the royal residences, the barracks,
the offices of the administration, etc.
Zoning of City of Amarna

The city of amarna was planned as a whole for different

classes
There are royal lodgings , the larger building for higher
officials , store houses and stops and cottages for
workmen.
The city was divided into two main parts ; the eastern
zone was for higher officials houses and the western was
for the workmen cottages, this suggest that the ancient
Site egyptians
planning were first to use zoning in city plannning .

In general the ancient Egyptians sited their cities , villages and

great temples on the banks of the river Nile.
The site of pyramid was chosen on the western bank , far from
the river , on highland to protect the mummified body from the
overflowing of Nile , as they believe in the future life.
Moreover the ancient Egyptians chose high place on which to
build their defensive citadels.
City of kahun
Built in 3000 bc for the slaves and artisans assisted for the work
on the pyramid , was hardly more than an assembly of cells
arranged in rectangular blocks to which narrow alleys give access.
The apparent difference in the size of the cells indicates a
distinction in class among the inhabitants , the more spacious
dwellings occupying the upper right quarter of the town.
But here there was a rich residential area,
where a handful of palatial residences were
fifty times as big as the dwellings in the
poorer half of the city.

The streets all over the city were laid out in

approximately straight lines. The alleys
leading to the workers' dwellings ended
inculs-de-sac.

The main street was nine metres wide, as

opposed to the alleys and streets in the
residential districts which were sometimes
as narrow as 1 metres. The streets had
shallow stone channels running down the
middle for drainage.
 Despite the love Egyptians had for gardens, there was no space left for them
inside the walls at Kahun. The whole area was covered with streets and one-
storeyed mud-brick buildings

In this Kahun was very different from Akhetaton's specially created capital
Akhetaten - or at least some parts of it. There the planners included public open
spaces where trees were planted and inhabitants often had their own private
garden plots.

The simplest dwelling was single cell of sun dried bricks and plaster covered with a
roof of reeds.

City dwellings such as the humble house in kahun , was probably is group of small
rooms surrounding a diminutive courtyard in which the cooking and other domestic
activities were performed.

The courtyard may having used as a work area for the craftsmen.

In the finer houses of noble men , the roof area were apparently developed with
gardens. They probably constructed dwellings with stone and plaster.

A ventilating device known as mulguf , was installed on the roof to provide some
degree of cooling for the interior rooms.
GREEK PERIOD
Greece geographically, surrounded 3 sides by sea,
which is a
best natural settings for transportation & mountainous
region, thereby
living in groups, which developed a deep sense of
mutual responsibility, and the peoples deities of
worship were the natural phenomenon .
The climate thereof was moderate, which was very
good for out-door Life. Of this climate cause the
formation of building porticoes &
Verandhas with columns.
In the beginning, the wealthy landlords of noble class,
were in power
& the king was a dominating figure. Then changed in
favour of
common people and their rights. The leader took up
the land from wealthy people & distributed it among
the common people.
In this way a new form was given to the political
organization of the community ,i.e. a govt. was
determined by the people. Magistrates were elected to
execute the laws & enforce public services. Thus this
life became popular.
Ancient Greek Planning
Features:
Compact urban form
Clearly defined limit
Integrated social life
Closely knit towns and cities

Greek towns
Planning of Greek towns by Hippodamus.
He developed grid iron layout
Town reached its maximum size, growth was terminated and new
town was started at another site.
The new town was called neo-polis
 Towns were zoned into 3 :
GREEK PLANNING Religious area, administration and dwelling houses.
Town had infrastructure facilities to satisfy the requirements
:
Hygiene, defense and circulation.
City plan was conceived to serve 3 classes:
Craftsmen, soldiers and workers.
The meeting places were mostly near the temples which
formed the heart of the town. It occupied 5% of the city
The Temple
The Assembly hall
The Council Chamber
The agora or the market place
The agora square- central open space which accommodate all
gatherings on public functions and ceremonies
The markets located periphery for the transportation of
goods
Roads where laid out in grid iron pattern to make the house
in the direction of prevailing wind and son
The arrangement of street gave access to houses and lead
to important community area however they had no
interferences with the central areas.
Dwelling: houses where of same size
Industrial and agricultural activities were conducted outside
the settlements.
 Privacy was prominent in the dwellings or
THE DWELLING houses and the social contacts and all the
business were done out side the home , mostly
in Agora.
Sometimes small merchants had their shops
adjacent to their houses. Later on the housing
conditions improved. House were enclosed
about a central hearth ,a hole in the roof
allowed the smoke to escape and it also
permitted the collection of rain water in cistern.
The sanitation improved on the pavement and
on the streets. And in the installation of under
ground drains from dwellings.
Town did maintain reservoirs but there was no
distribution system. After the improvement of
darinage, the people started to have private
baths .There was no disposal of sewage and
people had portable latrines.
Due to climate , care was taken in orientation
of the building so that the maximum amount of
sun shine could enter the dwelling in winter
and the sun rays could be cut out in the
summer to get a cooling effect.
The principal rooms were faced south ,
opening upon courtyards. A colonnade
projected from the rooms to shelter them from
high sun.
PUBLIC SPACE
The factors that affected the city size and population are:
Food and water supply
Tools used for cultivation
Means of transporting products
Source and methods for distributing water supply

THE MAIN EXAMPLES OF GREEK TOWN PLANNING ARE:

City of Miletus (700bc- 500bc)
The city of Priene(350bc)
The city of Athens(600bc)

City of Miletus (rebuilt in 500bc)

Adopted regularized form of chessboard planning
Community had facilities like: markets, temples, council house,
gymnasium, shops etc
Importance given to placing and planning of houses.
Use of marble in public buildings
Excellent space organization and circulation
The city of Priene
Communities had facilities like:
The temples of athena polis, theatre, gymnasium.
Agora located on two intermediate terraces.
Main streets are 23ft wide and rest are 13ft wide.
Streets are oriented in N-S and E-W direction.

The city of Athens

This city was never planned as a whole
Features:
The agora- centre of business and political life and in it were
shops and markets
Accessible from agora square , usually located in the centre of the
town plan with major E-W and N-S street leading to it.
ANCIENT ROMAN TOWN /SETTLEMENT PLANNING 700B.C
-500 A.D.
Romans adopted the same technology and planning skills of the
Greeks. They were more advanced than the Greeks in terms of
technological skills which they used to develop better
infrastructural facilities construction techniques.
Lime concrete was invented.
Applied mechanics for moving heavy masses developed.
Roads were paved with stones.
Advanced system of water supply (aqueducts and water
reservoirs) sewage system and drainage system through ducts
and underground sewers in semi circular vaulted form were used.
All public latrines were connected to underground sewage system
.People normally used the public latrines.
Planning principles :
The town planning was slightly different in different areas
depending on the geography resource potential which determined
the ruling strategy.
Each city occupied a commanding site including building works of
enormous scale and impressive stylistic quality. Perimeter was
usually square/ rectangular.
Chessboard planning expressing laws and orders:
1.Crossing of parallel and equidistant streets at right angles to
one another within the 2 man crossroads Decamanus (east-
west) through the center of the town and the Cardo (North-
South) usually bisecting the decamanus at right angles towards
on end.
2.Secondary streets complete the gridiron layout and form the
building blocks known as Insulae.
 Cross streets occasionally stepped and bridged around the city.
Generally rectangular walled city entered by several gates
showing complete town organization.
From the religious significance of the temples by the Greeks
there was a change to the civic influence of law courts
Basilica which became more important than the public
buildings.
Forum area usually located in one of the raise formed by the
intersection of the decamanus and the cardo being the
administrative commercial and religious center normally
consists of a colonnaded courtyard with a meeting hall built
across one end. This was the lively central place of economic
cultural and friendly exchange. The main temple ,the Theatre
and the public baths were also located near the forum in the
centre of the town.
Outside gate stadium ,Triumphal arches.
Aqueducts sanitation public health consideration were excellent
for the noble areas.
Noble people lived in wealthy homes called domus and the poor
lived in Insulas building blocks divided into flats.
The flats went up to 3 stories initially. Later it even went up to 7
stories high but because of their collapse the height had to be
restricted to 70.
IMPORTANT CITES OF ROME:
1. Pompeii
2. Rome
3. Timgad

1. City of Pompeii:
A colonial city extent 4/5 miles length -2/5 mile
width( maximum).
The city had 25000 people or inhabitants
Walled city with 8 gates.
The Forum lies at the center of an irregular street system where
the width of the streets was 32 feet.
Amphitheatres located near the center-elliptical within a central
area used for conducting naval exhibitions and other exhibitions .
The coliseum-circus maxima at the southern corner for the
chariot races.
2. City of Rome:
The area of the city was 3465 acres.
The city was bounded by 2 walls 1- Republican wall (B.C 378-352)
and the Aurelian wall to protect the city from the Barbarian
attacks from the North with protective towers at 100 Roman feet
interval .There is a saying that all streets leads to Rome- mainly
for infantry purposes.
There were-1.Colloseum ,2-Enormous forums ,3-Circus
maxima.
It is to be noted that all the constructions merged well with the
general landscape. The building was proportionate ,geometrical
and well balanced with nature.
Roman Castras formed the settlement for the military camps
known as the temporary cities to lodge the soldiers.
3. Timgad (Algiers, Africa) 1 and 2 century A.D.:
Typically rigid chessboard plan
355 x 325m area 30 acres.
Designed for residential colony.
Abundant water supply.
Rigid formality of the plan.
Eleven parallel cross-streets in either direction with surface
terracing on the undulating ground.
This gives an unparalleled completeness in its architectural
footing.
The forum s (160 feet x 145 feet).The market ,the temple site
and the other non-residential buildings were artificially raised
above the street level.
The public buildings had porticoes colonnades and other features
giving variety to the architectural style.
Some houses were as big as 200 feet x 200 feet.
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