Principles and Process of Planning

TOWN PLANNING & HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS
SEMESTER VIII
ARC 408
45 Periods Ar. Binu Xavier, M.Arch., M.Sc., A.I.I.
PRINCIPLES & PROCESS OF TOWN PLANNING
UNIT II 12 Periods
TOWN PLANNING
What is Town planning?

• The art and science of ordering the use of land and siting of
buildings and communication routes so as to secure the
maximum practicable degree of economy, convenience, and
beauty.
• An attempt to formulate the principles that should guide us in
creating a civilized physical background for human life whose
main impetus is thus … foreseeing and guiding change.
• “A city should be built to give its inhabitants security and
happiness” – Aristotle
• “A place where men had a common life for a noble end” –
Plato
. Town Planning & Human Settlements . Semester VIII . ARC 408 . SAID SRM .
TOWN PLANNING
What do planners do?
• Planners deal with the fact that human communities are always in the process of
changing. The consequences of this change can be chaotic and destructive, or
enhancing. It is the planner's task to help communities cope with this steady growth,
change, and renewal in ways that will maintain-and improve-the community's
quality of life.
• Planners recognize the complexity of communities. As with natural environments,

human communities are strengthened by diversity. One task is to help communities
become even more diverse, broadening the variety of employment, educational,
cultural, entertainment, shopping, and housing opportunities and promoting a
broad range of land uses, income levels, and types of people. Another task is to
help communities deal with the clashes of interest produced by such variety and
turn these differences into a positive force for constructive change.
• Planners share a concern about the future, a belief that something can be done
about bettering our human-made and natural environments, and the recognition
that planning, with relevant implementing tools, is the best method available for
communities to achieve this.
TOWN PLANNING
TYPES OF PLANNING
1.War-time planning
2. Post war reconstruction planning
3. Town and country planning
4. Anticyclical planning
5. Development planning - National planning & Regional planning
DEFINITION OF AN URBAN AREA Definition of an urban settlement as per the Census of

India 2011 is as follows;
(a) All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town
area committee, etc.
(b) All other places which satisfied the following criteria:

a. A minimum population of 5,000;
b. At least 75 per cent of the male main working population engaged in non-
agricultural pursuits; and
c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.
TOWN PLANNING
Besides, the direction of census operation, states and Union Territories were allowed to include in
consultation with the state governments and Union Territory administration and the census
commissioner of India, some places having distinct urban characteristics as urban even if such
places did not strictly satisfy all the criteria mentioned under category (b). Such cases include
major project colonies, railway colonies, areas of intensive industrial development, important tourist
centres, etc.
Therefore, there are two broad groups of town or urban settlement. The places which satisfy the
conditions mentioned in category (a) are known as statutory towns and the conditions mentioned
in category (b) are known as census towns.
Urban agglomeration may consist of any one of the three combinations given below:
(i) a town and its adjoining urban outgrowth;

(ii) two or more contiguous towns with or without their outgrowths; and
(iii) a city and one or more adjoining towns with their outgrowths together forming contiguous
stretch.
Examples of urban outgrowths are university campus, cantonment area, port area, seaport and air
port, railway colonies, etc. But, one should remember that these towns are not always permanent.
In each census, towns are subjected to de-classification and re-classification based on the
prevailing condition at that particular time. The second category of Towns is known as Census
Town. These were identified on the basis of Census 2011 data.
TOWN PLANNING
There is another classification of urban settlements. The classification is as follows:
LAND USE
• A land use is the activity for which the land is used.
• Patterns of land use arise naturally in a culture through customs and practice.
• Land use may also be formally regulated by land use planning through zoning and
planning permission laws, or by private agreements.
LAND USE
LAND USE
CHENNAI
LAND USE - CHANDIGARH
LAND USE LEGENDS
LAND USE - AMARAVATI
LAND USE
PROPOSED LAND USE STRUCTURE FOR URBAN CENTRES
LAND USE
PROPOSED LAND USE STRUCTURE FOR HILL TOWNS
CATEGORIES OF TOWN
Monofunctional Town: If 40% or more of workers are in one occupation, it is called

monofunctional town.
Bifunctional Town: If the percentage is less than 40, then the next predominant activity
is taken and the total of these two must be 60% or more of the total workers, it is called
Bi-functional town.
Multifunctional Town: If the total made above does not come to 60%
CHARACTER OF TOWN
The character of a town depends mainly on the functional category of the towns, or
simply, the occupation of the people.
The classification is as follows:
Functional Classification of urban places
DEVELOPED AREA AVERAGE DENSITIES The land use distribution norms depend upon
densities and work force. The densities mentioned in this section are the gross
population densities. Gross density can be defined as units-per-acre density
measurement that includes in the calculation the land occupied by commercial,
industrial, public, semi-public, recreation and other uses along with residential uses,
while net density can be defined as unit-per-acre density measurement that includes
in the calculation only land occupied by residential uses.
Developed area average densities
Density is expressed in terms of persons per hectares in the table above. These are
suggestive population densities as per the settlement size. However, while planning for
compact and TOD (Transit oriented development), these densities should be modified
to suit the requirement.
ZONING
The basic concept of zoning lies in the division of a settlement into zones and districts
according to present and potential uses of land and buildings. Zoning has to pay
particular attention to the character of a place and its suitability. Thus, ‘zoning’ is
establishing ‘districts’ within which certain rights of citizens are legally curbed.
Objectives of zoning
• To lessen congestion in streets

• To secure safety of fire and other hazards
• To promote health and general welfare
• To protect amenity value and hence property
• To provide adequate light and air
• To prevent over concentration of population
• To facilitate transportation, water supply, sewerage, schools, parks, etc.,
• To encourage the most appropriate use of land
ZONING
Zoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most

developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted
uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from
another. Zoning may be use-based (regulating the uses to which land may be put), or
it may regulate building height, plot coverage, and similar characteristics, or some
combination of these.
Theoretically, the primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to
be incompatible. In practice, zoning is used to prevent new development from
interfering with existing residents or businesses and to preserve the "character" of a
community. Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or
municipalities, though the nature of the zoning regime may be determined or limited
by state or national planning authorities or through enabling legislation.
ZONING
Zoning may include regulation of the kinds of activities which will be acceptable on
particular lots (such as open space, residential, agricultural, commercial or industrial),
the densities at which those activities can be performed (from low-density housing
such as single family homes to high-density such as high-rise apartment buildings), the
height of buildings, the amount of space structures may occupy, the location of a
building on the lot (setbacks), the proportions of the types of space on a lot, such as
how much landscaped space, impervious surface, traffic lanes, and parking must be
provided.
Most zoning systems have a procedure for granting variances (exceptions to the
zoning rules), usually because of some perceived hardship caused by the particular
nature of the property in question. Basically, urban zones fall into one of five major
categories: residential, mixed residential-commercial, commercial, industrial and
special (e.g. power plants, sports complexes, airports, shopping malls etc.,) Each
category can have a number of sub-categories. In Germany, e.g. each category has
a designated limit for noise emissions (not part of the building code, but federal
emissions code).
ZONING TYPES
Zoning codes have evolved over the years as urban planning theory has changed,
legal constraints have fluctuated, and political priorities have shifted. The various
approaches to zoning can be divided into four broad categories: Euclidean,
Performance, Incentive, and Design-based.
Euclidean named for the type of zoning code adopted in the town of Euclid, Ohio,
and approved in a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, Village of Euclid,
Ohio Vs. Ambler Realty Co. Euclidean zoning codes are by far the most prevalent in
the United States, used extensively in small towns and large cities alike.
Standard Euclidean Also known as "Building Block" zoning, Euclidean zoning is

characterized by the segregation of land uses into specified geographic districts and
dimensional standards stipulating limitations on the magnitude of development
activity that is allowed to take place on lots within each type of district. Typical types
of land-use districts in Euclidean zoning are: residential (single-family), residential (multi-
family), commercial, and industrial. Uses within each district are usually heavily
prescribed to exclude other types of uses (residential districts typically disallow
commercial or industrial uses). Some "accessory" or "conditional" uses may be allowed
in order to accommodate the needs of the primary uses. Dimensional standards apply
to any structures built on lots within each zoning district, and typically take the form of
setbacks, height limits, minimum lot sizes, plot coverage limits, and other limitations on
the "building envelope".
EUCLIDEAN II
Euclidean II Zoning uses traditional Euclidean zoning classifications (industrial,

commercial, multi-family, residential, etc.,) but places them in a hierarchical order
"nesting" one zoning class within another, similar to the concept of Planned Unit
Developments (PUD) mixed uses, but now for all zoning districts; in effect, adding a
third dimension to flatland Euclidean zoning.
For example, multi-family is not only permitted in "higher order" multi-family zoning
districts, but also permitted in high order commercial and industrial zoning districts as
well. Protection of land values is maintained by stratifying the zoning districts into levels
according to their location in the urban society (neighborhood, community,
municipality, and region). Euclidean II zoning also incorporates transportation and
utilities as new zoning districts in its matrix dividing zoning into three categories: Public,
Semi-Public and Private. Euclidean II zoning fosters the concepts of mixed use, new
urbanism and "highest and best use"; and, simplifies all zoning classifications into a
single and uniform set of activities. It is relatively easy to transition from most existing
zoning classification systems to the Euclidean II Zoning system.
PERFORMANCE
Also known as "effects-based planning", performance zoning uses performance-based

or goal oriented criteria to establish review parameters for proposed development
projects in any area of a municipality. Performance zoning often utilizes a "points-
based" system whereby a property developer can apply credits toward meeting
established zoning goals through selecting from a 'menu' of compliance options
(some examples include: mitigation of environmental impacts, providing public
amenities, building affordable housing units, etc.,)
Additional discretionary criteria may also be established as part of the review process.
The appeal of performance zoning lies in its high level of flexibility, rationality,
transparency and accountability.
Performance zoning can avoid the sometimes arbitrary nature of the Euclidian
approach, and better accommodates market principles and private property rights
with environmental protection. However, performance zoning can be extremely
difficult to implement and can require a high level of discretionary activity on the part
of the supervising authority leading to the potential for disenfranchisement among
negatively affected stakeholders.
INCENTIVE
First implemented in Chicago and New York City, incentive zoning is intended to
provide a reward-based system to encourage development that meets established
urban development goals. Typically, a base level of prescriptive limitations on
development will be established and an extensive list of incentive criteria will be
established for developers to adopt or not at their discretion. A reward scale
connected to the incentive criteria provides an enticement for developers to
incorporate the desired development criteria into their projects.
Common examples include FAR (floor-area-ratio) bonuses for affordable housing

provided on-site, and height limit bonuses for the inclusion of public amenities on-site.
Incentive zoning allows for a high degree of flexibility, but can be complex to
administer. The more a proposed development takes advantage of incentive criteria,
the more closely it has to be reviewed on a discretionary basis. The initial creation of
the incentive structure in order to best serve planning priorities can also be
challenging and often requires extensive ongoing revision to maintain balance
between incentive magnitude and value given to developers.
FORM-BASED
Form-based codes offer considerably more flexibility in building uses than do Euclidean codes.
Form based zoning regulates not the type of land use, but the form that that land use may take.
For instance, form based zoning in a dense area may insist on low setbacks, high density, and
pedestrian accessibility among other things. As another example, in a largely suburban single
family residential area, uses such as offices, retail, or even light industrial could be permitted so
long as they conformed(setback, building size, lot coverage, height, and other factors) with
other existing development in the area.
Form-based zoning relies on rules applied to development sites according to both prescriptive
and potentially discretionary criteria. These criteria are typically dependent on lot size, location,
proximity, and other various site- and use-specific characteristics. Form based zoning also may
specify desirable design features, however when form-based codes do not contain
appropriate illustrations and diagrams, they have been criticized as being difficult to interpret.
One example of a recently adopted code with design-based features is the Land
Development Code adopted by Louisville, Kentucky in 2003. This zoning code creates "form
districts" for Louisville Metro. Each form district intends to recognize that some areas of the city
are more suburban in nature, while others are more urban. Building setbacks, heights, and
design features vary according to the form district. As an example, in a "traditional
neighborhood" form district, a maximum setback might be 15 feet (4.6 m) from the property
line, while in a suburban "neighborhood" there may be no maximum setback. Since the
concept of form based codes is relatively new, this type of zoning may be more challenging to
enact.
PLANNING PROCESS
All stages of actions from defining the objectives till implementation and review of any
planning project in the planning process. In plan preparation, the physical planning
should associate with the socio-economical, geographical, political factors, for
achieving the objective in desired direction.
The various stages of planning process are as follows:

1. Identification and definition of problems
2. Defining the objectives
3. Studies and survey
4. Analysis of data and preparation of study maps
5. Fore-casting
6. Design
7. Fixation of priorities
8. Implementation
9. Review, evaluation and feedback
STAGES OF PLANNING PROCESS
1. Identification and definition of problems : Various problems with reference to the

results obtained by studies and surveys and with reference to the objectives are
identified
2. Defining the objectives : Here the objectives of the planning are identified. The
general objectives of any planning of urban area is
• To regulate growth
• to nullify the bad effects of past growth
• to improve the transportation facilities
• to optimize the resources utilization
• to balance population and economic activities
• to promote social integration among different categories
• to promote a convenient comfortable, beautiful and healthy environment
3. Studies and survey : The following studies and surveys are taken up for plan
preparation. Identification of growth (physical, economical, social, cultural, institutional,
administrative and political)
• Identification of trend and direction of growth
• Traffic survey
• Study on demography
• Climate
• Resources and other potentials
Certain surveys and studies have to be made directly where as for study of demography
etc. the secondary sources of information have to be depended upon.
4. Analysis of data and preparation of study maps : The data obtained is analysed –
observations and conclusions have to be derived out of the studies and surveys. The
short-term objectives and long-term objectives are identified – various study maps,
charts and graphs are prepared
5. Fore-casting : Period of demographic projection is prescribed. Forecasting of about

migration, employment, industrialization and other rapid urbanization possibilities are to
be made.
6. Design : This is an important aspect in the planning process. Need to relate existing
pattern, interactions and trends is to be examined. Preparation of development plans,
formulation of zones, alteration to the existing zoning regulations, widening of roads
etc. are made in detail here. Alternatives are also made for effective and quick
implementation of plan. The plan should also be able to cope with sudden and
unexpected events. Possibility of changing from one strategy to another should be
designed at the same time keeping in view its practicability and the total expenditure
involved.
7. Fixation of priorities : Since all the proposals cannot be taken up at one time due to
financial and administrative difficulties, priorities should be fixed for taking up the
implementation depending upon the importance and urgency.
8. Implementation : Implementation is the most important stage where all the earlier
efforts to prepare plan is to be put into practice to achieve the objectives. The
authority, which takes up the implementation, is to fulfill all the required legal
obligations in time – zoning regulations, land acquisition for road widening and for
other purposes is taken-up.
9. Review, evaluation and feedback : The work of implementation has to be

monitored by taking – up periodical inspections and obtaining review reports.
Feedback is essential periodically. The plan should be flexible for modifications
depending upon the necessities.
CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENTS
CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT BASED ON FORM, USE, SCALE In simpler term we

can define settlement as any form of human habitation which ranges from a
single dwelling to large city. The word settlement has another connotation as well
as this is a process of opening up and settling of a previously uninhabited area by
the people. In geography this process is also known as occupancy. Therefore, we
can say settlement is a process of grouping of people and acquiring of some
territory to build houses as well as for their economic support.
Geographers have suggested various schemes of classification. If we group

settlements found all over the country, these can broadly be grouped under four
categories:
1. Compact/clustered/nucleated settlement
2. Semi-compact/Semi-clustered/fragmented settlement
3. Hamleted settlement
4. Dispersed settlement.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
As the name suggests, these settlements have closely built up area. Therefore in such
settlements all the dwellings are concentrated in one central sites and these inhabited
area is distinct and separated from the farms and pastures. Maximum settlements of our
country come under this category. They are spread over almost every part of the
country. These settlements are distributed over the entire northern Indo-Ganga plain
(from Punjab in the northwest to West Bengal in the east), Orissa coast, basins of
Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh, coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, cauvery delta of Tamil
Nadu, Maidaus of Karnataka, lower Assam and Tripura, in the valleys of Siwaliks etc.
Sometimes people live in compact settlement for security or defence purpose. The
greatest example of this type is in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar
Pradesh. In Rajasthan also people live in compact settlement because of the scarce
availability of cultivable land and water body. Therefore, they want to make maximum
use of available natural resources.
Such settlements generally range from a cluster of about thirty to hundreds of dwelling of
different forms, size and functions. On an average their size various from 500 to 2,500
persons in sparsely populated parts of Rajasthan to more than 10,000 persons in Ganga
plain. Very often these settlements have a definite pattern due to closely built area and
intervening street patterns. As many as 11 patterns are identified. We will discuss only Five
major patterns.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
These patterns are: (i) Linear pattern (ii) Rectangular
pattern (iii) Square pattern (iv) Circular pattern (v)
Radial pattern
(i) Linear Pattern : It is commonly found along main

roads, railways, streams, etc. It may have a single
row of houses arranged along the main artery. For
example rural settlements found along the sea
coast, river valley, mountain ranges etc.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
(ii) Rectangular Pattern : This is a very common type which develops around the
rectangular shape of agricultural fields as it is common to find a system of land
measurement based on square units. Village paths and cart tracks also confirm to the
rectangular field patterns and run through the village in north-south and east-west
directions. Accessibility to farms and fields and connectivity to other settlements lead
to rectangular shape of settlements. The settlements of coastal Maharashtra and
Andhra Pradesh and either side of Aravali hills, etc. may be cited for examples.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
(iii) Square Pattern: This is basically a variant of rectangular type. Such a pattern is
associated with villages lying at the crossing of cart tracks or roads and also related to
features restricting the extension of the village outside a square space. These features
may include an old boundary wall, thick orchards, a road or a pond.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
(iv) Circular Pattern : In the upper Doab and Trans – Yamuna districts, Malwa region,
Punjab and Gujarat, large villages are characterized by a very high degree of
compactness. The outer walls of dwellings adjoin each other and present a
continuous front so that when viewed from outside, the villages look like a walled and
fortified enclosure pierced by a few openings. The round form was a natural outcome
of maximum aggregation for the purpose of defence during the past.
COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
(v) Radial Pattern : In this type, a number of streets converge on one centre which
may be a source of water (pond, well), a temple or mosque, a centre of commercial
activity or simply an open space. Thus, the streets seem to be radiating from a
common centre. Examples are settlements near Gurushikar, Mount Abu in Rajasthan,
Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, etc.
SEMI COMPACT SETTLEMENTS
As the name suggests, the dwellings or houses are not well knitted. Such settlements
are characterized by a small but compact nucleus around which hamlets are
dispersed. It covers more area than the compact settlements. These settlements are
found both in plains and plateaus depending upon the environmental conditions
prevailing in that area. Such settlements are situated along streams in Manipur
Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, and Rajgarh district of
Chhattisgarh. Different tribal groups inhabit such settlements in the Chhota Nagpur
region. In Nagaland, such settlements may be in the form of blushing villages. Like,
compact settlements, semi-compact settlements may also have different patterns.
Some of the patterns are (i) checker board pattern (ii) Elongated pattern (iii) Fan
shaped pattern.
(i) Checker Board Pattern: This is a type of settlement found generally at the junction of
two roads. The village streets meet each other at an angle or are parallel to each
other. This is because of the tendency to align the dwellings along cardinal axes. This
pattern is common in the northern plains.
(i) Checker Board Pattern: This is a type of settlement found generally at the junction of
two roads. The village streets meet each other at an angle or are parallel to each
other. This is because of the tendency to align the dwellings along cardinal axes. This
pattern is common in the northern plains.
(ii) Elongated Pattern: Such settlement occurs as a result of elongation of the

rectangular pattern due to influence of site features. For instance, in the Ganga plains,
in areas liable to inundation, the rectangular pattern becomes unusually elongated
along the high ground. Even otherwise the advantage offered by riverside location
forces such a pattern.
(iii) Fan Shaped Pattern: This is seen where some focal points or line is situated at one
end of the village. A focal object may be a tank a riverside, a road, an orchard, a well
or even a place of worship. Such patterns are common in the delta region where the
dwellings simply follow the fan shaped profile of the delta as in the case of Mahanadi,
Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, etc. Such patterns are also common in the Himalayan
foothills.
3. Hamleted Settlements: These types of settlements, are fragmented into several small
units. The main settlement does not have much influence on the other units. Very often
the original site is not easily distinguishable and these hamlets are often spread over
the area with intervening fields. This segregation is often influenced by social and
ethnic factors. The hamlets are locally named as faliya, para, dhana, dhani, nanglay
etc. These settlements are generally found in West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and coastal plains. Geographically it covers lower Ganga plain,
lower valleys of the Himalayas and central plateau or upland region of the country.
4. Dispersed Settlements: This is also known as isolated settlements. Here the settlement
is characterized by units of small size which may consist of a single house to a small
group of houses. It varies from two to seven huts. Therefore, in this type, hamlets are
scattered over a vast area and does not have any specific pattern. Such types of
settlements are found in tribal areas of central part of India covering Chhota Nagpur
plateau, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. Such patterns are also common in the hills
of north Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENTS ACCORDING TO FUNCTION
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The first real effort in order to ensure planned development in India started from
Bombay and Madras Town Planning Acts. Subsequently a number of exercises were
undertaken to plan company towns, capital cities, hill towns, cantonments etc.
Subsequently, States enacted their own Town and Country Planning Acts under the
provisions of which Master Plans/ Development Plans are prepared.
A Master Plan is essentially a blue print for development, which seeks to guide
development along desired lines for a particular horizon year. In addition to the
general layout, it addresses issues related to development on virgin land, heritage
conservation, environment, improvement of an old city, etc. In fact, Master Plan is not
a static plan. It has provision for review based on monitoring and feedback. It is
possible to amend it from time to time, to keep pace with new developments. The
implementation of Master Plan is carried out by the Development Authorities, which
ensures the development, and growth of various parts of the town is in harmony.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The enactment of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 has marked a radical
shift from Top Down Approach to a Bottom Up Approach whereby decision-making is to
take place at the grass root level. The urban local bodies have been empowered to
function as plan making and implementing agencies i.e. Nagar Panchayat (for
transition area from rural to urban), Municipal Council (for a smaller urban area) and
Municipal Corporation (for large urban areas). In addition, it has a provision for the
constitution of District Planning Committees (DPC) and Metropolitan Planning
Committees (MPC). DPC is responsible to consolidate the plans prepared by the
Panchayats and Municipalities in the District and to prepare a Draft Development Plan
for district as a whole. MPC is responsible to prepare a Draft Development Plan for
Metropolitan area as a whole. As a follow up of the 74th CAA, the Ministry of Urban
Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, formulated the UDPFI
Guidelines which recommends a set interrelated plans as follows:
PERSPECTIVE PLAN
PERSPECTIVE PLAN Developing the vision of the region is essential for policy framework.
The vision stipulates direction of growth and identifies thrust areas for development. It
integrates broad level plan with the regional or development plan. The State
Urbanisation Policy should have the Perspective plan for the State. The Perspective plan
is a document on the spatio-economic development policies, strategies and
programmes towards the intended development of the State. To plan the perspective
of the State, the state resource mapping and analysis shall play the foundation of the
long-term policies regarding development of infrastructure and resource mobilisation.
Thereafter, the vision statement and its concept plan needs to be formulated to define
the perspective.
REGIONAL PLAN
Regional plan is to be a comprehensive plan at an appropriate scale for the

integration of urban nodes with the semi-urban and rural areas. The plan shall
encompass characteristics of the region on the understanding of the flow of people,
goods, knowledge and money. Some states have comprehensive town and country
planning legislation which provides for urban planning and development in a
regional perspective beyond the city limits and coordinated with the overall
framework of economic development, priorities and resource availabilities. Regions
(identified in the States) are to be planned holistically or as sub-regions for the holistic
approach of planning.
The detailed planning of the urban nodes will be addressed by the development
plans at the next stage of planning, while the requirements of the region will be
addressed by the regional plan to bring out policies for development and bringing in
harmony between the different types of human settlements. Regional Plan will have
higher magnitude (in terms of its geographical area coverage) and would
encompass planning of larger area, and thus overcoming the missing link in the
present planning system.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN (MASTER PLAN)
To avoid overlapping with Special Purpose Plans and confusion in terms of the scale
of planning, the development shall be further defined to serve the purpose of a
Master plan and integration of land and transport. Development plan is a statutory
plan prepared within the framework of the approved perspective plan. The objective
of a development plan is to provide further necessary details and intended actions in
the form of strategies and physical proposals for various policies given in the
perspective plan depending upon the economic and social needs and aspiration of
the people, available resources and priorities. Its proposals are precise and definite,
with an implementation strategy and evaluation criteria. It makes known publicly the
intention of the local authority regarding physical, social and economic
development, the facilities and the services that are proposed to be provided in the
near future. The approved development plan allows the local authority to implement
the development of the land area with the help of schemes and projects.
The time frame of the existing Development Plans is for a period of 20 years by most of
the urban development authorities/ULB. A longer period for greenfield cities where
infrastructure life of 30 years is considered while planning could also be looked into.
These plans should be in phases of 5 years to coincide with the State Five Year plans
and State Finance Commissions’ recommendations. The targets set for each phase
can be assessed as the mid-term review against the achievements at the end of
each phase. For Greenfield area phasing could include a ‘Zero’ period for approvals,
initial land polling and developments and revisiting any strategy.
STRUCTURE PLAN
It may be desirable to review and if necessary to adopt structure plan as an

intermediately between the regional and master plan. In areas under the schedule
list as per the Article 6 of the Constitution of India, land is not directly State subject
and hence precise and definite detailing up to the level of revenue may not be
possible. In such cases or otherwise, Structure Plan is a planning document which
directs the growth and zones of planning, but is not as precise as the development
plan (such as the Bangalore Structure Plan) may be formulated. Structure plans may
be considered as an option of Development plan for Metropolitan Regions, thereby
allowing flexibility.
LOCAL AREA PLAN
The planning hierarchy needs a focused approach in the present context. It should
not be included under the title of project or scheme. Thrust of planning should shift to
local area plans which could encourage decentralisation. Local area plans are to be
prepared to achieve development or re-development of land; conservation of
buildings, physical features; providing improvements in the physical layout, making
infrastructure and amenities available and managing the area to enhance health
and safety of the occupants to support economic development as well as to
enhance the quality of living, environment, and preparation of area specific
regulatory parameters for the area covered.
Local area plans are prepared to specify the implementation details to comply with
the Government Policies (such as State urban housing, hi-tech township, rainwater
harvesting, energy, disaster management, industrial and service sector investment,
barrier-free environment for physically disabled, information technology, tourism &
other policies).
The plan shall identify allotment or reservation of land for roads and public purposes
of all kinds, for sale by the ULB, for construction, for reclamation etc. The plan shall
instrumentalise recovery of the associated costs by mechanisms like levy of
betterment charges, charges on additional development rights, implementation of
the Local Area Plan providing benefits to the persons concerned.
SPECIAL PURPOSE PLAN
The Special Purpose Plan cannot be treated as Development plan as it emerges from
its proposal. Also approach, scale, context of each one of them is different and also
from the Development plan. Depending on the urgency of the needs and priorities
requiring special treatment and covering special aerial extent - Special Purpose Plans
for specific subjects can be prepared within the framework of the Regional Plan,
Development Plan or Local Area Plan in the area of jurisdiction of the local authority.
These plans may also emerge to serve the purpose of urban planning needs under
the Capital or State grants, funding schemes/ programmes with an aim to:
• Encourage reforms and fast track planned development of cities, peri-urban areas,
outgrowths, urban corridors, and others,
• Scale-up delivery of civic amenities and provision of utilities with emphasis on
universal access to the urban poor,
• Special focus on urban renewal programme,
• Supplement to budget documents on ULBs,
• Sustainability, Environmental and heritage protection,
• Theme based development
SPECIAL PURPOSE PLAN
PROJECTS
Projects are derived targets of the sequences of plans which focus on items of
execution, investments, costing and returns. Conceived within the framework of the
perspective plan, development plan or any of the plans in the planning system,
projects are the working layouts with all supporting infrastructure and documents
including cost, source of fund and recovery providing all necessary details for
execution including finance, development, administrative and management. These
projects could be for any area, old or new; any activity or land use like residential,
commercial, industrial, recreational, educational or health related; or infrastructure
development, separately or in an integrated manner; for research and development
in the field of planning, key surveys to determine statistics, by any agency such as
government, semigovernment, private or even individual; or any agency prepared
by town planners, architects, engineers as the case may be, enjoying maximum
freedom of expression in their design within the stipulations of development
promotion rules and other regulations as applicable.
The selection of the area subject/ project is to be determined by the needs or

priorities of the executing agency guided by market forces and government policy
interventions. The contents of the plans suggested in the planning system are given
subsequently in plan formulation section.
ANNUAL PLAN
An Annual Plan would contain the details of the new and ongoing projects that the
local authority intends to implement during each financial year for necessary
financial resource mobilisation. The annual plan is to be prepared by the local
authority every year to identify the new projects, which the authority will undertake
for implementation during the year, taking into account the physical and fiscal
performance of the preceding year, the priorities, the policies and proposals
contained in the approved Regional Plan, Development Plan or Local Area Plan.
The annual plan is intended to provide the resource requirement during the year and
sources of funds including those mobilised by the local authority, grants, aids and
project/scheme funds by the State and Central Governments. It is thus an important
document for the resource mobilisation as on the basis of this, the plan funds are to
be allocated by the funding body. This plan, therefore, serves as an important link
with the budgetary process.
RELATIONSHIP OF PLANNING SYSTEM
MASTER PLANS FOR URBAN AREAS
For a successful town planning there must be a plan, which envisages the entire town
as a single unit. This is necessary to achieve overall development of the town in co-
coordinated manner. The development or expansion of a town takes a long time,
and therefore, the development requires control at any time on the basis of a plan.
Such a plan is called as “Master Plan”
Necessity of preparing a master plan for a town Following are the reasons which have
led to the thinking of having a master plan for the town:
 To control the development of various industries in a systematic way.
 To discourage the growth of town in an unplanned and unscientific way.
 To give a perspective picture of a fully developed town.
 To limit to a certain extent the unprecedented flow of rural population to the urban
area.
 To offset the evils, which has come up due to over-crowding the population such
as acute shortage of houses, traffic congestion, inadequate open spaces and
insufficient public amenities, etc
SCOPE & CONTENT OF MASTER PLAN
The master plan may propose or provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely: -
• The manner in which the land in the planning area shall be used
• The allotment or reservation of land for residential, commercial, industrial and
agricultural purposes and for parks, playfields and open spaces
• The allotment or reservation of land for public buildings, institutions and for civic
amenities
• The making of provision for the national highways, arterial roads, ring roads, major
streets, lines of communication including railways, airports and canals
• The traffic and transportation pattern and traffic circulation pattern
• The major road and street improvements
• The areas reserved for future development, expansion and for new housing
• The provision for the improvement of areas or bad layout or obsolete
development and slum areas and for relocation of population
• The amenities, services and utilities
• The provision for detailed development of specific areas for housing, shopping,
industries and civic amenities and educational and cultural facilities
• The control of architectural features, elevation and frontage of buildings and
structures
• The provision for regulating the zone, the location height, number of storeys and
size of buildings and other structures, the size of the yards and other open spaces
and the use of buildings, structures and land
• The stages by which the master plan shall be carried out
MASTER PLAN – PREPARATION STAGES
The re-planning of an existing town is more complex than planning or designing a

new town on virgin land, such as capital towns like New Delhi, Chandigarh, industrial
town like rourkela, port town, military cantonments etc. The work of Town planner is
usually restricted to re-planning of an existing town.
After taking the Government sanction to prepare the scheme, next work is to collect
the data and relevant information, with the help of a comprehensive civic survey.
From the data collected in the civic survey, he is in a position to make a correct
diagnosis of the various ills of the town and suggest remedies for their cure.
For the collection of data for the planning scheme, the town is divided into old town
and new town. In the former case, the work is tedious because the old town usually
consists of narrow streets, congestion, insanitation, and un-healthy conditions etc. But
in the later case, zoned areas, provision of all civic amenities etc. However care
should be taken to keep the whole town, old or new alike in all aspect and finally
blended skillfully so as to form in-separately interwoven structure.
DURATION OF PREPARATION OF MASTER PLAN
• The planning authority prepares the interim master plan, also called the outline development
plan. The statutory time limit is two years.
• It shall then be notified for the public comments and suggestions (1 month).
• The draft plan may be revised in the light of the public and expert comments and shall be
submitted for Govt’s sanction (4 months from date of publication of the draft plan to be further
extended by the Govt. by three months, if required).
• The Govt. sanctions the revised plan and appoints an arbitrator (12 months).
• The arbitrator after holding proceedings in respect of each plot, publishes the award and
submits the detailed proposals to the higher authority such as the president of the Tribunal of
Arbitration (no fixed time limit but at least 12 months for small scheme and more for longer
schemes).
• The tribunal shall make thorough scrutiny of arbitrator’s proposals and convey their decision
(usually 6 months).
• The arbitrator prepares the final scheme and submits to Govt. with plans through the local
authority (usually 6 months).
• The local authority forwards the final scheme to the Govt. (usually 3 months).
• Govt. sanctions the final scheme after the photozinco Dept., has printed all the plans (normally
9 months) after which the final scheme of Action plan comes into force (usually 2 months after
the Govt.’s sanction).
• The detailed master plan also called the comprehensive development plan is duly approved
and sanctioned by the Govt. then made legally bindings on all the authorities concerned, by
giving it a legal status.
• Lastly a financial programme is prepared to devise the ways and means for the
implementation of the master plan according to the schedule.

Principles and Process of Planning

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Principles and Process of Planning

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TOWN PLANNING & HUMAN

What is Town planning?

What do planners do?

• Planners recognize the complexity of communities. As with natural environments,

DEFINITION OF AN URBAN AREA Definition of an urban settlement as per the Census of

(b) All other places which satisfied the following criteria:

(i) a town and its adjoining urban outgrowth;

There is another classification of urban settlements. The classification is as follows:

PROPOSED LAND USE STRUCTURE FOR URBAN CENTRES

PROPOSED LAND USE STRUCTURE FOR HILL TOWNS

Monofunctional Town: If 40% or more of workers are in one occupation, it is called

Functional Classification of urban places

Developed area average densities

• To lessen congestion in streets

Zoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most

Standard Euclidean Also known as "Building Block" zoning, Euclidean zoning is

Euclidean II Zoning uses traditional Euclidean zoning classifications (industrial,

Also known as "effects-based planning", performance zoning uses performance-based

Common examples include FAR (floor-area-ratio) bonuses for affordable housing

The various stages of planning process are as follows:

1. Identification and definition of problems : Various problems with reference to the

5. Fore-casting : Period of demographic projection is prescribed. Forecasting of about

9. Review, evaluation and feedback : The work of implementation has to be

CLASSIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT BASED ON FORM, USE, SCALE In simpler term we

Geographers have suggested various schemes of classification. If we group

(i) Linear Pattern : It is commonly found along main

(ii) Elongated Pattern: Such settlement occurs as a result of elongation of the

Regional plan is to be a comprehensive plan at an appropriate scale for the

It may be desirable to review and if necessary to adopt structure plan as an

The selection of the area subject/ project is to be determined by the needs or

The re-planning of an existing town is more complex than planning or designing a

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