SHAHJAHANABAD

In A.D 1638 Shahjahan decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi and founded the walled city of Shahjahanabad on the right bank of River Yamuna, north of old ruins of Firozabad.

Remains:
The Red Fort, Jama Masjid, main streets of Old Delhi (like Chandni Chowk), long sections of walls and several city gates.. Though a busy commercial hub, this is still the vibrant heart of the city where old lifestyles, traditional crafts and cuisines can still be appreciated.

The City Form:

The urban infrastructure was laid out in a geometrical pattern with traces of both Persian and Hindu traditions of town planning and architecture, largely accounting for the formalism and symmetry of the places, gardens and boulevards.

Morphology and Spatial Order:

At City Level The Red Fort Water systems and the Canals Gardens At Street Level Thanas/Wards/Mohallas Streets/Bazaars/Chowks Havelis

The Planning Principle:

The layout of Shahjahanabad was based on fixing a few interconnected local points and line and letting the city grow about them. The fort, Jama Masjid and the shopping arcades, along with Begum ki Sarai complex were the focal points in triangular relationship and the wall with the two main thoroughfares were the fixed lanes.

Cultural Perspective:
Walled city was divided into separate quarters on the basis of social and occupational groups, such as the baidwala, daiwala, naiwala, dhobiwala and maliwala for doctors, midwives, barbers, washermen and gardeners respectively. There were separate wings or kutras for each class of tradesman and the various guilds of craftsmen. The rich merchants and the aristocrats lived along the river with there large residences or havelis close to the fort, while the relatively under privileged were pushed towards the outskirts.

Growth pattern of Old Delhi