CHANDIGARH

of LE CORBUSIER with
Picture
the master plan of Chandigarh
LOCATION & HISTORY

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
1.1 Chandigarh –
Chandigarh is only planned city in India with a population 4,707,030 in the
year 2011.
The construction of capital city of joint Punjab was started in early 50s.
One of the finest example of urban development.
The City Chandigarh was declared a Union Territory in the year 1966 with
joint capital of both the states of
Punjab and Haryana. It is situated in the foot of Shivalik hills.
The area of Union Territory of Chandigarh is 114 sq. km. only with 22
villages falling in the jurisdiction of Union Territory. Since the formation of
Union Territory in the year 1966, all the functions such as water supply,
sewerage, storm water drainage, city roads, solid waste management and fire
wing etc. were looked after by respective departments of Chandigarh
Administration. With the formation of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh in
the year 1994 (with 20 wards) with its jurisdictional area of 79.34 sq. kms.; the
functions of original works & maintenance for V4,V5 and V6 roads; water
supply, sewerage, storm water drainage, solid
The city Chandigarh because of its unique concept is known as ‘City beautiful’. It is one
of the greenest city of India with its 1400 nos. green belts / parks/ gardens. The quality
of
life is the consideration of people in Chandigarh. The maintenance of basic urban
service
is altogether different than the conventional old cities. Moreover it is the regional center
of three adjoining States of Punjab, Haryana ad Himachal. It is hub of political and
bureaucratic activities of adjoining States. The high profile services provided by
Chandigarh Administration & Municipal Corporation is a role model for other urban
cities.
The city Chandigarh is located in western side of river Gaggar and Shimla National
highway. It is linked by rail with National Capital Delhi and hill station Shimla. The
National and state highways also connect this city with Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ambala,
Patiala and Manali. The city Chandigarh is having direct air link to Delhi and Bombay
and airport is also being upgraded.
1.2 Historical Background
Chandigarh derives its name from the temple of Goddess “Chandi” (the goddess of power)
located in the area and a fort or “garh” lying beyond the temple.

The city has a pre-historic past. The gently sloping plains on which modern Chandigarh
exists, was in the ancient past, a wide lake ringed by a marsh. The fossil remains found at
the site indicate a large variety of aquatic and amphibian life, which was supported by the
environment.
About 8000 years ago the area was also known to be a home to the Harappa's. Since the
medieval thru' modern era, the area was part of the large and prosperous Punjab Province,
which was divided in to East & West Punjab during partition of the country in 1947. The
city was conceived not only to serve as the capital of East Punjab, but also to resettle
thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab.
In March 1948, the Government of Punjab, in consultation with the Government of India,
approved a 114.59 Sq.Kms.tract of land at the foothills of Shivaliks as the site for the new
capital.
The location of the city site was a part of the erstwhile Ambala district as per the 1892-93
gazetteer of District Ambala. The site was selected by Dr.M.S Randhawa, the then Deputy
Commissioner of Ambala. Before the new capital came up, the original site had about 59
villages. The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952.
Subsequently, at the time of reorganization of the state in 1967 (01.11.1966) in Punjab,
Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the
capital of both, Punjab and Haryana while it itself was declared as a Union Territory and
under the direct control of the Central Government.
1.3 Geology
The Union Territory of Chandigarh is located in the foothills of the Shivalik hill
ranges in the north, which form a part of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
It is occupied by Kandi (Bhabhar) in the north east and Sirowal (Tarai) and alluvial
plains in the remaining part.
The subsurface formation comprises of beds of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt,
clays 3 and some Kankar. The area is drained by two seasonal rivulets viz Sukhna
Choe in the east and Patiala-Ki-Rao Choe in the west. The central Part forms a surface
water and has two minor steams. The steam passing through the central part is called
N-Choe and the other Nala which initiates at Sector 29.
INITIAL PROPOSALS

Fan-shaped Master Plan proposed by Grid-Iron Master Plan proposed by

Albert Mayer Le Corbusier
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),
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).
Type or Roads Functions/Names
V-1 Roads connecting Chandigarh with other cities like Ambala,Kharar and
Shimla. They have dual carriageway, good tree plantation and distinctive
central verge lighting. The Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg are two roads,
which merge into V-1s leading the Kalka and Ambala, respectively.
V-2 They are the major avenues of Chandigarh, with important
institutional and commercial functions running alongside.
In Chandigarh they are identifiable as ‘Marg’, Madhya Marg,Dakshin Marg,
Jan Marg, Himalaya Marg, Uttar Marg and Purv Marg are important
examples.
V-3 They are the corridor- streets for fast moving vehicular traffic. A sector is
surrounded either by V-2 of V-3 roads.
V-4 Roads bisecting the Sector with shopping complex located along their
southern edge.
V-5 Roads meandering through the sector giving access to its inner lands.
V-6 Roads coming off of the V-5s and leading to the residentialhouses.
V-7 They are intended for pedestrian movement and run through
the middle of the sector in the green areas. A few examples are
along the Jan Marg, in the Punjab University & Sector-15.
V-8 They are intended to run parallel with V-7s for the bi-cycles.
Not properly developed, as yet.
View of typical Roads and
Round- abouts in the city
The primary module of city’s design is
a Sector, a neighbourhood unit of
size 800 meters x 1200 meters.
Each SECTOR is a self-sufficient unit
having shops, school, health canters
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.
Layout
 A Hierarchy of Green
HIERARCHY of GREEN AREAS Spaces can be
observed in both the
1 layout ranging from
Public Greens at City
Level to Semi-Private
to Private Green
Areas.

1.City Level Public

Green Space with
2 Artificial Water Body
2.Free- Flowing
Green Space,
connecting the entire
site
3.Semi-Private Green
Areas for
3 neighbourhood
pockets
4 4.Private Green Areas
for Residential Units
 Apart from large
Public Parks and
special Botanical
Gardens, it houses
series of Fitness
Trails, amphitheatres
and spaces for open-
air exhibitions.

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.
 Population

As per the provisional

population totals of Census
2011, Chandigarh UT has a
population of 1,054,686
compared to 900,635 in 2001.
In absolute terms the
population of Chandigarh has
increased by 154,051 during
2001 - 2011.
Among States and Union
Territories of India, it ranks
30th and accounts for 0.09
percent of country's total
population. Figure 1 shows
comparative size of
population of States and
Union Territories in India as
per Census 2011.