HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AND PLANNING

Unit 1-5

Batch 2014-2019

Compiled by Ar.Yaazhini
UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION

Elements of Human Settlements – human beings and settlements – nature shells& Network – their
functions and Linkages – Anatomy & classification of Human settlements – Locational, Resource
based, Population size & Occupational structure.

What is Settlement?
• Settlements inhabited by man
• Cluster of dwellings of any type or size where human beings live
• Created through movement of man in space and definition of boundaries of territorial
interest for physical and institutional purposes

Settlements evolution

Aerial view of rectilinear land division in a farming area

In the long history from camp to village a handful of innovations accelerated the art of settlement
design. In the agricultural societies such an innovation may be symbolized by the plow, for it
boosted food production enough to free some people from tilling the soil and enabled them to
attend other pursuits. with the plow, man put his first lines on the earth‟s surface. On the flat
riverside flood lands-civilization‟s first tilled soil- the plow etched parallel furrows which added up
to a number of plots, more or less rectangular shape.
Agricultural societies needed a system of easy land division for crop planning and land ownership.
They also needed a system of land plotting for re-division and reapportionment after the flood, an
annual event on the Nile, the Tigris, and Euphrates rivers. Rectilinear plotting suited all these needs
perfectly. It enabled men to plan the use of land.
As the logic of the plow led to rectilinear plotting in the field, the geometry of mud brick house
construction, as well as the need for easy land division, led to rectilinear plotting in the town.
Village dwellers too had to be able to measure and record land plots for ownerships, transferral, or
rudimentary planning. They also had to divide their urban lots into squares, yards, or gardens. Mud

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brick, convenient lengths of roofing lumber, and house planning were all combined in the logic of
rectilinear town plotting.
Rectilinear layout is found in the entire history of town planning. It was used in the ancient and
later Greek towns, in Roman colonial out posts, and in the Indian, Chinese, and pre Columbian
cities. But rectilinear was not the only geometric system used in the history.
The grid iron layout was accompanied and probably preceded by an equally important system, that
is the circular form of settlements. The grid had been the product of the farmer; the circle was
originally the product of herdsman, the descendant of the hunter and the ancestor of the warrior.
In the circle was found an ideal form for fencing in cattle, for its enclosed a maximum of land with
minimum of fence. That, however , was not its only advantage, for a fence could, besides keeping
cattle in, also keep an enemy out. The major role of the circular form of town layout was to be a
defensive one. Early fortified towns, usually built on hilltops or on islands, had protective walls
which were more or less circular enclosures.

A circular village ,aerial view of Ba Ila village in northern Rhodesia.

Small huts form the outer circle. The chief’s compound is in the center.
Cattle pens line the outer circle of the huts

The immediate descendant of the circular form was the radio centric, the means by which circular
settlement enlarge. The radio centric pattern develops from the circular by first growing outward along
the radial routes; the wedge shaped areas between the radials filling in gradually. Fortress cities, for
example, developed small settlements around their gates along the road ways. Eventually these circular
settlements grew enough to require a second encircling wall, and then a third and fourth. This process
kept repeating itself, from ancient Athens or Rome to nineteenth century.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS

1.Physical factors
Nature of terrain: Dispersed type of settlements is found in remote jungles, hilly areas. Compact
settlements are found in highly productive alluvial plains.

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Altitude:-Dispersed settlements are found in hills of Meghalaya and clustered and semi clustered
settlements are found in Gujarat plains.

Climate:-due to frequent droughts settlement may become hamleted.

Availability of water: Scarcity of water in Rajasthan has resulted in development of compact

settlements.

2.Cultural and ethnic factors

Caste and tribal structure: due to ethnic factors settlement may become fragmented and Hamleted
e.g.Chhattisgarh.

Religion: people of same religion prefer to live together making a settlement large or small.

3.Security factors
Defense from invasions and Wild animals: due to defense from dacoits, wild animals or fear
settlements may cluster and form compact settlements.

Settlement Characteristics:

Area: How large the area of a settlement is.

Site: describes the actual land upon which a settlement is built.

Population: The size and type of people that live in a settlement.

Function: The function of a settlement relates to its economic and social development and refers to its
main activities.

Situation: describes where a settlement is located in relation to other surrounding features such as
other settlements, rivers and communications.

Shape: describes how the settlement is laid out. Its pattern.

SETTLEMENT FORMS

Broadly classified into four types:

1. Shapeless cluster-without any regular street or with an irregular road which comes up according
to the local requirements, it may be of the massive type and dispersed type.

2. Linear cluster-with a straight and specious street running network parallel rows of houses.

3. Square or rectangular cluster-with straight streets running parallel or at right angles to one
another.

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4. Settlement formed of isolated or dispersed homestead Settlements can further be classified
according to size and spacing into: clustered or compact and dispersed or scattered.

SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY

i. Isolated dwellings
Such settlement consists of individual units. It can be termed as the initial stage of development of
a settlement.
An isolated dwelling would only have 1 or 2 buildings or families in it.
ii. Hamlets
When many individual units are cluster together they form hamlets. The grouping may be due to
similar occupational patterns, religion, cultural factors etc. A hamlet has a tiny population (<100)
and very few (if any) services
iii. Villages
When many hamlets combine they form a village. The reason for such grouping may be due to
interdependencies of one hamlet on another, thus to form a self-sufficient unit.
iv. Towns
A town is a larger entity which is more self-sufficient, has a stronger economic base.
v. Cities
Where large concentration of people exists, multiple economic activities exist.
vi. Metropolis

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A metropolis is a large city, with a population of at least one million living in its urban
agglomeration.
vii. Megalopolis
An extensive, metropolitan area or a long chain of continuous metropolitan areas.
viii Ecumenopolis
The entire area of earth that is taken up by human settlements

TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
There is a great variation in the settlement types due to geographical, cultural and economical
factors, settlements can be broadly classified into

• Temporary settlements

• Permanent settlements

• Urban settlements

• Rural settlements

There are many reasons why humans make the choices they do about building settlements.

Factors include:
Physical Features
• Body of water (transportation routes, water for drinking and farming)
• Flat land (easy to build) • Fertile soil (for crops)
• Forests (timber and housing)
Human Factors
• people who share a common language, religion or culture,social network or supports
• quality of life
• employment

Factors can be push or pull. Push factors encourage a family to emigrate (pushes them to leave a
location). Pull factors encourage a family to immigrate (pulls them in to move to a location).

Push factors:
➢ Population pressure
➢ Poor infrastructure
➢ Inadequate jobs
➢ Bad educational options
➢ Poor health care
➢ Ecological problems
➢ Natural disasters
➢ Social compulsions

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Pull factors:
Improved standard of living
Better health care and availability of services
Varied employment opportunities
Higher wages
Quality of education
No social compulsions
ELEMENTS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

1. The Content: Man, Society and Networks

2. The Container: Physical Settlement (Nature and Shell)

➢ Nature-Earth and the natural site on which settlements are built.

➢ Man (Anthropos) - creates and inhabits the settlements
➢ Society - Formed in given settlement
➢ Networks - Functions that allow settlements to survive and grow
➢ Shells - Built to transform the first and to house the other elements

FOUR BASIC PARTS OF COMPOSITE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

➢ The Homogeneous parts - the fields

➢ The Central parts - the built up village
➢ The Circulatory parts - roads and paths within the fields
➢ The Special parts - i.e.,a monastery contained within the homogenous part

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EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Phase 1: Primitive non-organized human settlements (started with evolution of human beings)
Phase 2: Primitive organized settlements – Eopolis (The period of villages lasted 10,000 years)
Phase 3: Static Urban settlements or cities – Polis (Lasted about 5,000-6,000 years)
Phase 4: Dynamic Urban settlements – Dynapolis (Lasted 200-400 years)
Phase 5: Universal City – Ecumenopolis (which is now beginning)

Phase 1: Primitive non-organized human settlements:

➢ Man began to modify nature

➢ Man settled temporarily or permanently in different locations
➢ Began with fire and went on to animal husbandry and domestication of grazing animals
➢ Deforestation and agriculture complemented with permanent human settlements
➢ Settlements: Natural shelters – hollows in the ground, hollow trees or shallow caves
➢ Settlements have no link, communication lines and transportation

Phase 2: Primitive organized settlements – Eopolis:

➢ Entry to the era of organized agriculture coupled with organized settlements

➢ Human settlements with one room dwelling in circular form and then expansion of dwelling by
placing many round forms side by side, then elongated to elliptical ones and rectilinear forms

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 ➢ Due to loss of space between them, more regular shapes of settlements were formed to a
regular grid iron pattern
➢ Micro scale: Man must divide the land, construct one or more shells (rooms and houses) and
circulate within a built up area (neighbourhood)
➢ Macro scale: Man must own and use space but not build it, and circulate within it, although to a
much lesser degree than before, man continues to follow the course of nature towards
hexagonal patterns
➢ Population is still small
➢ Villages are found in plains, near the rivers and the seas
➢ When population density increased, new patterns were developed with the villages covering the
entire plain based on small hexagonal pattern and the hills and mountains on a larger hexagonal
pattern.

Phase 3: Static Urban settlements or cities – Polis:

➢ First Urban settlements appeared as small cities in a plain or as fortresses on hills and mountains
(5000 – 6000 years ago)
➢ Expansion of nucleus in one or more directions

Phase 4: Dynamic Urban settlements – Dynapolis:

➢ Started in the 17th century

➢ Characterized by continuous growth
➢ Emerged due to Industrial technological revolution
➢ All part of the land it covers is not sterilized
➢ Micro organisms in the soil no longer exist
➢ Original animal inhabitants have largely been banished

Phase 5: Universal City – Ecumenopolis:

➢ Possible occurrence of population explosion

➢ Earth will be covered by one settlement
➢ Cities will be interconnected, into one continuous network into one Universal city called
Ecumenic city
Ecumenopolis on the Earth in the year 2120, by which time it is expected that the population of the
earth will have levelled off at a minimum of 20,000,000,000 people and the population of the definitely
Urban areas at a minimum of 18,000,000,000 people.

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UNIT 2
FORMS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

Structure and form of Human settlements – Linear, non-linear and circular – Combinations – reasons
for development – advantages and disadvantages – case studies – factors influencing the growth and
decay of human settlements.

FORMS OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

A settlement may be as small as a single house in a remote area or as large as a mega city.

A settlement may also be permanent or temporary (refugee camp). and a temporary settlement may
become permanent over time.

The piece of land upon a settlement is built is the settlement site.

There are many reasons why a site might be chosen for the development of a settlement and some
factors will be more important than others. Also, the importance of this factors may vary over time.

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SETTLEMENT SITE AND SITUATION:
The situation of a settlement is its position in relation to the surrounding and physical features, many of
which will have an impact on the settlement’s type, size and function.

However, the importance of many of the factors explained before diminish over time as technological
advances enable people to overcome difficulties.

For example, a modern settlement does not need to be close to a river because drinking water is now
piped to our homes and waterways are no longer important for transport.

LINEAR SETTLEMENTS:
•Linear settlement patterns can be considered special cases of point pattern distributions that vary in
one dimension as points along a line.

•Linear settlement patterns are generally associated with linear features, either natural or human built.

•Linear feature in nature that may influence settlement patterns include water courses- Shorelines,
canyons, ridge-tops and boundaries between environmental zones.

•Built of defined linear features associated with linear settlement patterns including roads and rails,
canals and even political boundaries.

•Development and expansion of linear settlement patterns is not restricted to points directly on or
adjacent to linear feature.

The sectors of a linear city would be:

•a purely segregated zone for railway lines,

•a zone of production and communal enterprises, with related scientific, technical and educational
institutions,

•a green belt or buffer zone with major highway,

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•a residential zone, including a band of social institutions, a band of residential buildings and a
"children's band",

•a park zone, and

•An agricultural zone with gardens and state-run farms (sovkhozy in the Soviet Union).

•As the city expanded, additional sectors would be added to the end of each band, so that the city
would become ever longer, without growing wider.

•The linear city design was first developed by Arturo Soriay Mata in Madrid, Spain during the 19th
century.

•Promoted by the Soviet planner Nikolay Alexandrovich Milyutin in the late 1920s.

•The linear city has no central core around which the city grows, The city grows along a transport line or
parallel transport lines.

•The city is characterized by High-density settlements on either side of the transport line and especially
near transport stops.

•Behind the Dense settlements is a band of medium dense development with the rural area or green
area immediately behind this medium dense settlement.

•The kinds of development near the transport stops and along the transport lines are mixed use
settlements comprising of residential, commercial, production and services.

Arturo Soriay Mata linear city in Madrid, Spain

ADVANTAGES:

•High accessibility

•Adaptability to linear growth

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•Useful along the limited edge DISADVANTAGES:

•Very sensitive to blockage requires control of growth

•lacks focus,

•The choice of connection or of direction of movement are much less.

RADIAL (CIRCULAR) SETTLEMENTS:

In this type, a number of streets converge on one center which may be a source of water (pond, well), a
temple or mosque, a center of commercial activity or simply an open space. Thus, the streets seem to be
radiating from a common center. Rural Examples are settlements near Gurushikar, Mount Abu in
Rajasthan, Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, etc. Examples- Amsterdam, Washington DC, etc.

Advantages: A direct line of travel for centrally directed flows Economics of a single centralized terminal
or origin point.

Disadvantages: Central congestion Local flow problems. Difficult building sites.

GRID SETTLEMENTS:

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•An organization of streets that lie perpendicular to one another, the grid is among the most controlled
of settlement patterns.

•The square or rectangular plots which the grid defines exercise a discipline upon the form of buildings
within its compass.

•Grid plans are rarely the result of social imperatives within the vernacular cultures, but are almost
invariable imposed.

•Uniform ‘modules’ of plots and buildings on grid plans have been traced in the Indus valley from the
3rd millennium B.C.

•Grid plans have extensively adopted by planners to regularized and contain the world’s squatter
settlements of the late-20th century.

•Efficiency in the use of public land, minimizing of street lengths, the provision of sites and services,
sewage disposal and electricity supply are among the economic arguments of modern grid planning
policies.

Examples-

Chandigarh, New York, etc.

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Advantages: High accessibility minimum distribution of flow expansiion flexibility excellent physco
logical orientation adaptability to level or moderately terrain

Disadvantages: Requires flow hierarchies. Limied in its adpatabilty to the terrain. Potentially
monotonous.

MULTI CENTERED SYSTEM:

Advantages:

•Optional locations for focal activities and system terminals

•Good psychological orientation

•Adaptability to existing conditions.

Disadvantages:

•Depends on stability to key point.

•Potential accessibility problems.

•Tendency to dilute focal activities.

Examples- Rome

URBAN GROWTH:
Urbanization occurs naturally from individual and corporate efforts to reduce time and expense in
commuting and transportation while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and
transportation.

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•Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the opportunities of proximity,
diversity, and marketplace competition.

•People move into cities to seek economic opportunities.

• A major contributing factor is known as "rural flight". In rural areas, often on small family farms, it is
difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic sustenance.

•Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of drought, flood or
pestilence, survival becomes extremely problematic.

•In modern times, industrialization of agriculture has negatively affected the economy of small and
middle-sized farms and strongly reduced the size of the rural labor market.

•Cities, in contrast, are known to be places where money, services and wealth are centralized. Cities are
where fortunes are made and where social mobility is possible.

Businesses, which generate jobs and capital, are usually located in urban areas. Whether the source is
trade or tourism, it is also through the cities that foreign money flows into a country. It is easy to see
why someone living on a farm might wish to take their chance moving to the city and trying to make
enough money to send back home to their struggling family.

•There are better basic services as well as other specialist services that aren't found in rural areas.

•There are more job opportunities and a greater variety of jobs. Health is another major factor.

•People, especially the elderly are often forced to move to cities where there are doctors and hospitals
that can cater for their health needs. Other factors include a greater variety of entertainment
(restaurants, movie theaters, theme parks, etc.) and a better quality of education, namely universities.

•Due to their high populations, urban areas can also have much more diverse social communities
allowing others to find people like them when they might not be able to in rural areas.

•These conditions are heightened during times of change from a pre-industrial society to an industrial
one.

• It is at this time that many new commercial enterprises are made possible, thus creating new jobs in
cities. It is also a result of industrialization that farms become more mechanized, putting many laborers
out of work. This is currently occurring fastest in India.

URBAN PROBLEMS - URBAN DECAY:

•The deterioration of the urban environment. It occurs when urban infrastructure falls into disrepair
and buildings are left empty for long periods of time.

•Urban decay is when parts of the city become run down and undesirable to live in. It causes economic
(money), social (people) and environmental (our surroundings) problems. Examples of urban decay are -

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Slum housing - with outside toilets, overcrowding, no hot water or central heating

Many buildings have been poorly built and now have leaking roofs, draughty windows and crumbling
stonework

Empty buildings are vandalised; gap sites where buildings have been knocked down turn into derelict
land

As the factories and housing have been in the same areas air, noise and water pollution have been
common There have been a number of schemes to reduce the problems of urban decay. They have had
mixed success.

COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT
This is when you knock down all the buildings and start from scratch. It was felt to be needed in some
places as the problems were so bad. In Kingston and the Gorbals in Glasgow, for example, the old
tenements were knocked down and replaced by new flats and multi-storey high rise buildings.
Unfortunately, many of the new buildings were poorly built and have also been knocked down. This
approach has also been criticised as it destroyed the social fabric of the area - people no longer knew
their neighbours and they were moved away from their friends and relations.

URBAN REGENERATION
Another idea was to renovate the existing housing and improve the environment and economy. This
Involves

• New roofs
• Secure entry-phone systems on tenement closes
• The outsides of tenements were cleaned by sand-blasting
• Combining two small flats into a larger one
• Improving the environment by landscaping
• Building or improving the social facilities such as clubs and medical centres
• Encouraging new business and industry to set up in the areas with grants and loans

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UNIT 3
PLANNING CONCEPTS

Planning concepts and their relevance to Indian Planning practice in respect of Ebenezer Howard –
Garden city concepts and contents – Patrick Geddes – Conservative surgery – case study – C.A. Perry –
Neighborhood concept Le Corbusier – concept and case studies.

➢ Garden city concept-Sir Ebenezer Howard

➢ Geddisain triad-Patrick Geddes
➢ Neighbourhood planning-CA Perry
➢ Chandigarh planning concepts- Le Corbusier

GARDEN CITY – SIR EBENEZER HOWARD

• Most potent planning model in Western urban planning
• Created by Howard in 1898 to solve urban and rural problems
• Source of many key planning ideas in the 20th century

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Garden City‟ – an impressive diagram of THE THREE MAGNETS namely the town magnet, country
magnet with their advantages and disadvantages and the third magnet with attractive features of both
town and country life.

Naturally people preferred the third one namely Garden City.

A Garden City is a holistically planned settlement which enhances the natural environment and provides
high-quality social housing and local jobs in a beautiful, healthy place with diverse communities. The
Garden Cities were among the first manifestations of sustainable development by providing not only
individual opportunities for local food or energy production but also the fair distribution of community
assets. The Garden City principles are designed as an indivisible and interlocking framework for the
delivery of high quality places.

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Land value capture for the benefit of the community:

A distinguishing characteristic of the Garden City is the fair distribution to the community of the profits
that result from new development. Capturing rising land values created by the development of the town
can repay infrastructure costs and provide a portfolio of assets which are proactively managed in
perpetuity for the benefit of the Garden City community. This requires the acquisition of land at, or
near, current use value by a body with effective planning and land assembly powers. Ideally, this
requires a Development Corporation which could be led by a local authority. Access to compulsory
purchase powers is crucial as a power of last resort for such bodies. The development of land is one
major source of asset values and income but the control of core utilities and, in particular, local energy
companies, provides significant opportunities for capturing values and securing genuinely localised and
resilient economies.

Strong vision, leadership and community engagement:

If Garden Cities are to be successful, they need strong political support and leadership, with a clear
vision and firm commitment. This commitment should be made as early as possible in the planning
process to provide reassurance and certainty for all parties. Both the designation process and the
development of the Garden City should demonstrate a real commitment to community participation.
Such participation must be set within the context of the needs of people already living in the area and
those in the wider community who need a home. New Garden Cities require the very best of
professional expertise. If a local authority decides to pursue the development of a new Garden City or
Suburb, it will need a dedicated planning and delivery team with the right skills and expertise.

Land value capture for the benefit of the community:

A distinguishing characteristic of the Garden City is the fair distribution to the community of the profits
that result from new development. Capturing rising land values created by the development of the town
can repay infrastructure costs and provide a portfolio of assets which are proactively managed in
perpetuity for the benefit of the Garden City community. This requires the acquisition of land at, or
near, current use value by a body with effective planning and land assembly powers. Ideally, this
requires a Development Corporation which could be led by a local authority. Access to compulsory
purchase powers is crucial as a power of last resort for such bodies. The development of land is one
major source of asset values and income but the control of core utilities and, in particular, local energy
companies, provides significant opportunities for capturing values and securing genuinely localised and
resilient economies.

Strong vision, leadership and community engagement:

If Garden Cities are to be successful, they need strong political support and leadership, with a clear
vision and firm commitment. This commitment should be made as early as possible in the planning
process to provide reassurance and certainty for all parties. Both the designation process and the

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development of the Garden City should demonstrate a real commitment to community participation.
Such participation must be set within the context of the needs of people already living in the area and
those in the wider community who need a home. New Garden Cities require the very best of
professional expertise. If a local authority decides to pursue the development of a new Garden City or
Suburb, it will need a dedicated planning and delivery team with the right skills and expertise.

a surrounding belt of countryside to prevent sprawl, well connected and biodiversity rich public parks,
and a mix of public and private networks of well-managed, high-quality gardens, tree-lined streets and
open spaces. Garden Cities offer the opportunity to be highly climate resilient through extensive green
and blue infrastructure. They must also demonstrate the highest standards of technological innovation
in zero carbon and energy positive technology to reduce the impact of climate emissions.

Strong local cultural, recreational and shopping facilities in walkable neighbourhoods:

Garden Cities are places of cultural diversity and vibrancy with design contributing to sociable
neighbourhoods. This means, for example, shaping design with the needs of children‟s play, teenage
interests and the aspirations of elderly in mind. Creating shared spaces for social interaction and space
for both formal and informal artistic activities, as well as sport and leisure activities.

Integrated and accessible transport systems:

Walking, cycling and public transport should be the most attractive and prioritised forms of transport in
the garden city. This means ensuring a comprehensive and safe network of footpaths and cycleways
throughout the development, and public transport nodes within a short walking distance of all homes.
Where car travel is necessary, consideration should be made of shared transport approaches such as car
clubs. New Garden Cities should be located only where there are existing rapid public transport links to
major cities, or where real plans are already in place for its provision.

A strategic approach:

Ebenezer Howard saw the development of Garden Cities as part of a wider strategic approach to
meeting the nation‟s housing needs. This was based on networks of new settlements well connected by
public transport. A national policy for a new generation of Garden Cities should consider how these
settlements contribute to the nation as whole; how they relate to aspirations for a more balanced
economy; to long term climate resilience, and to new opportunities in industrial modernisation.

GEDDISAIN TRIAD- PATRICK GEDDES

Geddes drew on circular theory of geographical locations presenting environmental limitations and
opportunities that in turn determine the nature of work. His central argument was that physical
geography, market economics and anthropology were related, yielding a “single chord of social life all
three combined”. Thus the interdisciplinary subject of sociology was developed into the science of

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“man‟s interaction with a natural environment: the basic technique was the regional survey, and the
improvement of town planning the chief practical application of sociology".

Geddes writing demonstrates the influence of these ideas on his theories of the city. He saw the city as a
series of common interlocking patterns, "an inseparably interwoven structure", akin to a flower. He
criticised the tendency of modern scientific thinking to specialisation.

Against a backdrop of extraordinary development of new technologies, industrialisation and urbanism,

Geddes witnessed the substantial social consequences of crime,

illness and poverty that developed as a result of modernisation. From Geddes' perspective, the purpose
of his theory and understanding of relationships among the units of society was to find an equilibrium
among people and the environment to improve such conditions.

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Key ideas

"Conservative surgery" versus the gridiron plan

Geddes championed a mode of planning that sought to consider "primary human needs" in every

intervention, engaging in "constructive and conservative surgery" rather than the "heroic, all of a piece
schemes" popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He continued to use and advocate

for this approach throughout his career.

Very early on in his career Geddes demonstrated the practicality of his ideas and approach. In 1886
Geddes and his newly married wife purchased a row of slum tenements in James Court, Edinburgh,
making it into a single dwelling. In and around this area Geddes commenced upon a project of
"conservative surgery": "weeding out the worst of the houses that surrounded them…widening the
narrow closes into courtyards" and thus improving sunlight and airflow. The best of the houses were
kept and restored. Geddes believed that this approach was both more economical and more humane.

In this way Geddes consciously worked against the tradition of the "gridiron plan", resurgent in colonial
town design in the 19th century:

“The heritage of the gridiron plans goes back at least to the Roman camps. The basis for the grid as an
enduring and appealing urban form rests on five main characteristics: order and regulatory, orientation
in space and to elements, simplicity and ease of navigation, speed of layout, and adaptability to
circumstance.”

However, he wished this policy of "sweeping clearances" to be recognised for what he believed it was:
"one of the most disastrous and pernicious blunders in the chequered history of sanitation".

EVOLUTION AND CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT

The „neighborhood unit‟ as a planning concept evolved in response to the degenerated environmental
and social conditions fostered as a consequence of industrial revolution in the early 1900s. One of the
earliest authors to attempt a definition of the „neighborhood unit‟ in fairly specific terms was Clarence

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Arthur Perry (1872-1944), a New York planner. Perry‟s neighborhood unit concept began as a means of
insulating the community from the ill-effects of burgeoning sea of vehicular traffic. However, it evolved
to serve a much broader purpose of providing a discernible identity for the concept of the
neighborhood, and of offering to designers a framework for disseminating the city into smaller subareas.
While the origin of the concept of the neighborhood unit may be cited at an early date, it was the
publication of Clarence A. Perry‟s memorandum entitled „The Neighborhood Unit‟ in the 1929
„Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs‟, which led to its promotion as a planning tool. Perry‟s
monograph offered in concrete terms a diagrammatic model of the ideal layout for a neighborhood of a
specified population size. This model provided specific guidelines for the spatial distribution of
residences, community services, streets and businesses.

C.A. PERRY’S CONCEPTION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD UNIT

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Perry described the neighborhood unit as that populated area which would require and support an
elementary school with an enrolment of between 1,000 and 1,200 pupils. This would mean a population
of between 5,000 and 6,000 people. Developed as a low density dwelling district with a population of 10
families per acre, the neighborhood unit would occupy about 160 acres and have a shape which would
render it unnecessary for any child to walk a distance of more than one-quarter mile to school. About 10
percent of the area would be allocated to recreation, and through traffic arteries would be confined to
the surrounding streets, internal streets being limited to service access for residents of the
neighborhood. The unit would be served by shopping facilities, churches, and a library, and a community
center, the latter being located in conjunction with the school (Gallion, 1984). Perry outlined six basic
principles of good neighborhood design. As may be understood, these core principles were organized
around several institutional, social and physical design ideals.

Basic principles

Size : 5000 population ( 1 school), 160 acre (area for one unit neighborhood).

Border : the function of main road around neighborhood unit is as a border .

Free area : 10% provide as free area.

Public facilities and institution : provide in the middle of neighborhood unit.

Shops: to fulfill market purpose. the location is on the corner of four junction.

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Road network system: design as to prevent short road (prevent from across neighborhood unit).
Hierarchy of road width is 132 feet, 100 ft, 66ft, 50 ft, and 40 ft)

Density: rough density for this system is about 5 unit house for every acre.

Major arterials and through traffic routes should not pass through residential neighborhoods. Instead
these streets should provide boundaries of the neighborhood

Interior street patterns should be designed and constructed through use of cul-de-sacs, curved layout
and light duty surfacing so as to encourage a quiet, safe and low volume traffic movement and
preservation of the residential atmosphere

The population of the neighborhood should be that which is required to support its elementary school

The neighborhood focal point should be the elementary school centrally located on a common or green,
along with other institutions that have service areas coincident with the neighborhood boundaries

The radius of the neighborhood should be a maximum of one quarter mile thus precluding a walk of
more than that distance for any elementary school child

Shopping districts should be sited at the edge of neighborhoods preferably at major street intersections.

CHANDIGARH PLANNING CONCEPTS - LE CORBUSIER

CHANDIGARH was the first planned city after independence from British rule in 1947. It is the capital city
of the states of Punjab and Haryana.

The city is located at the picturesque junction of foothills of the Himalayas Mountain range and the
Ganges plains.

It houses a population of 1,054,600 inhabitants (2001) and is one of the richest cities of the nation.

American architects Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki were the first architects to be appointed for the
project. After the death of Novicki in 1950, Le Corbusier was commissioned.

BASIC PLANNING CONCEPTS

The city plan was conceived as post war „Garden City‟ wherein vertical and high rise buildings were
ruled out, keeping in view the living habits of the people. Le Corbusier conceived the master plan of
Chandigarh as analogous to human body, with a clearly defined

Head (the Capitol Complex, Sector 1),

Heart (the City Centre Sector-17),

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Lungs (the leisure valley, innumerable open spaces and sector greens), Intellect (the cultural and
educational institutions),

Circulatory system (the network of roads, the 7Vs) and Viscera (the Industrial Area).

The primary module of city‟s design is a Sector, a neighborhood unit of size 800 meters x 1200 meters.

Each SECTOR is a self-sufficient unit having shops, school, health centers and places of recreations and
worship.

The population of a sector varies between 3000 and 20000 depending upon the sizes of plots and the
topography of the area.

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 Layout of a typical residential sector

The Leisure Valley is a green sprawling space extending North-East to South-West along a seasonal
riverlet gradient and was conceived by Le Corbusier as the lungs of the city. Apart from large Public
Parks and special Botanical Gardens, it houses series of Fitness Trails, amphitheatres and spaces for
open-air exhibitions.

The Central Sector of the city, Sector 17, is the main Public Congregation area of the city.

It houses all major Shopping Complexes, Sports Facilities and Congregation Spaces.

The Basic Building Typology is observed as extremely Rectilinear with similar proportions. the smaller
individual Residential Units are arranged around central common Green Spaces, although the shapes are
different.

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UNIT 4
URBAN PLANNING AND URBAN RENEWAL

Scope and Content of Master plan – planning area, land use plan and Zoning
regulations – zonal plan – need, linkage to master plan and land use plan –
planned unit development (PUD) – need, applicability and development
regulations - Urban Renewal Plan – Meaning, Redevelopment, Rehabilitation
and Conservation – JNNURM – case studies

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UNIT 5
ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY URBAN PLANNING IN INDIA

Globalization and its impact on cities – Urbanisation, emergence of new forms of developments – self
sustained communities – SEZ – transit development – integrated townships – case studies.

Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment .

Urban renewal involves the relocation of businesses, the demolition of structures, the relocation of
people, and the use of eminent domain (government purchase of property for public purpose) as a
legal instrument to take private property for city-initiated development projects.

Over time, it has evolved into a policy based less on destruction and more on renovation and
investment

The term Urban renewal means rebirth or regeneration of a city or a part of it which has been plagued
by the ills of urbanization

• The planning concept originated in England and America.

• Decayed parts of the city were demolished and rebuilt.

• These programs were thrust upon the city and its people and were criticized and halted on
opposition by organized community movements.

• The urban renewal programs taken up later, involved greater participation of the communities

• Key aspects -sustainability and inclusiveness

INDIAN CONTEXT

• Indian cities have a history that dates back to centuries

• In the last century cities faced a major unprecedented force of urbanization which ripped them

• They have grown exponentially

• Their administration has not been able cope up with rapid urbanization

• The age old infrastructure is weakened and decayed leading to degeneration of the core areas in the
city.

• Cities which have survived centuries are now at critical stage.

• Concept of Urban Renewal – To provide life to the dying city.

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WHY URBAN RENEWAL?

The triggers:-

➢ Effective functioning of Administrative towns

o ( state HQ, District HQ)
➢ To accommodate an event of magnitude.
o (Asian games, Common Wealth Games in Delhi, Tri Centenary Celebrations of
consecration of the Guru Granth Sahib at Nanded)
➢ Necessity due to natural /man-made calamity
➢ (Earthquake in Bhuj, Plague in Surat)
➢ Obsolescence of land uses
➢ (Shifting of manufacturing industries )
➢ Market driven change of land use
o (Commercialization of Girgaum,Parel areas of Mumbai)
➢ To conserve historic monuments/ environment.
➢ ( Areas around theTaj mahal precinct )

Urban renewal is required for

• Dilapidating, ageing parts of the city, not providing the city its full potential and becoming a health
hazard

• In built form it consists of old area of the city, congested area around transit points, illegal
settlements needing redevelopment

• In terms of infrastructure - measures for efficient and smooth movement of traffic, improvement of
transportation network, provision /improvement of utilities.

JNNURM

• In India the need to infuse vibrancy and rejuvenate cites was recognized in 2005 and the Central
Government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

• Launched to encourage cities to initiate steps for bringing phased improvements in their civic service
levels

• Initiative to redevelop towns and cities by developing infrastructure, carrying out municipal reforms
and providing aid to the state governments and the urban local bodies (ULBs)

in land use transformation

• Gentrification is part of natural process of city development

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EFFECT OF CHANGE OF LAND USE

Thane experience

The city had an economic base in the industrial estate and industries along its periphery. However
with passing years there is a decline in the manufacturing sector and shift towards service sector. Thus
of industrial land was converted to residential

Mulund experience

A change of land use was witnessed in 90s along LBS Road in the area between Mulund and Thane.
Most of these industries shifted out and land was converted to residential. The new development
consists of shopping malls and high end residential apartments. T.Nagar,

Chennai experience

The redevelopment project of the Tyagraj Nagar area covering 6.86 sq.km. was conceived by the
Chennai Corporation for development area into a world class shopping destination Stakeholders
questioned the same

PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS

Regional Planning

• NEDA – National Economic Development Authority

• NLUC – National Land Use Committee

• RDC – Regional Development Council

• PDC – Provincial Development Council

• PLUC – Provincial Land Use Committee

• Sanggunian Panlalawigan

Urban Planning

• HUDCC – Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council

• HLURB – Housing & Land Use Regulatory Board

• RLUC – Regional Land Use Committee

• M/CDC–Municipal/City Development Council

• BDC– Barangay Development Council

• Sanggunian Panglunsod/Bayan

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• Barangay Council

INTEGRATED TOWNSHIP

Large cities are getting over-crowded under the relentless march of urbanization. An estimated 160
million people have moved to India’s cities in the last two decades, and another 230 million are
projected to move there within the next 20 years. The exponential rise in the number of city dwellers is
leading to an ever-increasing demand for housing and urban infrastructure. At the same time, the
massive influx of people has strained India’s urban systems to the point of breaking down, creating
massive slums with inadequate housing, sanitation, basic services and security. The 2011 census
indicates that there are 14 million households (or approximately 70 million people assuming an average
household size of five people) living in slums in India’s cities.

To cope with this demographic pressure, all our bigger cities are stretching their boundaries. The
extension of the traditional city limit is spurred in large measure by the expansion in real estate activity
to accommodate the bulge in population. Even the new master plans for all major cities are being
rejigged to facilitate the expansion of city limits.

To ease the pressure on big cities and improve the quality of urban living, town planners and
policymakers are encouraging the setting up of integrated townships as an effective development tool
for building infrastructure in the newly marked spaces beyond traditional city boundaries. Setting up of
self-contained integrated townships in a decentralized manner offers a sensible solution to providing a
more holistic living environment and preventing the proliferation of unplanned urban villages. In fact,
integrated townships bring a raft of value propositions such as affordability, convenience, and a relaxing
lifestyle in one very attractive package to modern urban planning and development

Integrated Townships : Fitting in the Smart City Model for India

An area of utmost importance which is seeing major policy boost is provision of sustainable cities
through the model of Integrated Townships. This model fits the greenfield development category of the
recently announced Smart City development plan (more than 250 acres). Four states of India –
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan have announced their Integrated Township Policies.

The question here is – Can these Integrated Townships bring about the necessary change required and
act as spark for initiating and sustaining urban development? Will they be able to contribute towards
integrated – sustainable urban development?

As per Government, “Integrated Township includes housing, commercial premises, hotels, resorts, city
and regional level urban infrastructure facilities such as roads and bridges and mass rapid transit
systems. Development of core and allied infrastructure forms an integrated part of township
development.” Integrated Township means a self-contained township planned and developed through a

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licensed developer/firm/company, together with workplace and places of residence with all attendant
facilities and amenities in such township and in accordance with the rules.

Township is a community living platform where the concept of walk-to-work can be implemented,
everything that families need is in close proximity from their homes – shopping malls, entertainment
options, hotels, hospitals, schools, offices, etc. Integrated here means –comprehensive in scope and
scale; Connected features, services and amenities; Sustainable and Self-sufficient.

Test of sustainability of a city is based on a few parameters as per Wheeler (1998) - Compact; Efficient
Land use; Less Automobile use, yet better access; Efficient Resource use, less pollution and waste;
Restoration of natural systems; Good housing and living environments, healthy social ecology;
Sustainable economy; Community participation and environment; Preservation of local culture and
wisdom.

The planning concepts of New Integrated Townships may include : Community building - “Design for
People”; Economic Opportunities – “Live in Cities also Work”; Traffic and road management – “Design
for well managed roads for both cars and people”; Physical Infrastructure – “Well Designed and
Managed services can Make or Break a City”; Social Infrastructure – “Citizens need to Learn Interact,
Play and Share”; Security – “A Safe City is a Happy City”; Sustainability (Ecological, Financial and
Maintenance) – “Build Townships for next generation”.

Features of townships that should lead to sustainable urban development

(i) Green Housing and Nature Friendly

(ii) Energy Efficient Habitat
(iii) Integrated Waste management
(iv) World Class Infrastructure
(v) Walk, Work and Play concept
(vi) Walk, Work and Play concept
(vii) Economies of Scale
(viii) People’s Participation
(ix) Government in Surplus
(x) Foreign Direct Investments
(xi) Clubs ‘New Urbanism’ and ‘Garden City’ Movements
(xii) Fully Featured and Self Sufficient
(xiii) Adequate Open Green Spaces
(xiv) Community Experience
(xv) Suburban Greenfield development opportunity

The aspects of integrated townships that need an extra caution

(i) Gated Communities

(ii) Islands of world-class infrastructure in the midst of poverty struck city
(iii) Parking places for money

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 (iv) Land acquisition
(v) Integrated Townships misunderstood for industrial towns
(vi) Missing Umbrella Integrated Township Policy
(vii) Fertile Lands being eaten up
(viii) Lack of Regional Integration

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