URBAN PLANNING

ASSIGNMENT

NAME: MEGHA MADHU

VIII SEM B
USN: 4SN16AT036
ASSIGNMENT
1)Explain in detail:
Pioneers in planning theory- Doxiadis(Ekistics).
PIONEERS IN PLANNING THEORY-DOXIADIS(EKISTICS)

C.A. Doxiadis
• Greek architect/town planner

• Chief architect of Islamabad

• Father of Ekistics- science of human settlements – with a view of Geography &

economics, physical environment, human psychology, anthropology, culture, politics
and aesthetics
THE PRINCIPLES
• The first principle is maximization of man's potential contacts with the elements of nature
(such as water and trees), with other people, and with the works of man (such as buildings
and roads).
• The second principle is minimization of the effort required for the achievement of man's
actual and potential contacts.
• The third principle is optimization of man's protective space, which means the selection of
such a distance from other persons, animals, or objects that he can keep his contacts with
them (first principle) without any kind of sensory or psychological discomfort.
• The fourth principle is optimization of the quality of man's relationship with his
environment, which consists of nature, society, shells (buildings and houses of all sorts),
and networks (ranging from roads to telecommunications).
• Fifth principle, man organizes his settlements in an attempt to achieve an optimum
synthesis of the other four principles, and this optimization is dependent on time and
space, on actual conditions, and on man's ability to create a synthesis.
EKISTICS
• The problem, was that the elements of contemporary cities, such as transportation, zoning
and communication, were no longer in balance. As a result, people suffered in cities that
were too large,crowded and noisy, and that exacted too much damage on the surrounding
natural environment. To solve these problems, Doxiadis proposed a new field of inquiry, the
science of ekistics. Doxiadis envisioned ekistics, a name that derives from the ancient Greek
term oikizo meaning "creating a settlement," as an interdisciplinary effort to "arrive at a
proper conception and implementation of the facts, concepts, and ideas related to human
settlement"
• Ekistics (from oikos, the Greek word for a house or dwelling) is the science of human
settlements.
• It coordinates economics, social sciences, political and administrative sciences, technology
and aesthetics into a coherent whole and leads to the creation of a new type of human
habitat.
• Ekistics constituted a holistic approach, which aimed towards the balance of the five primal
elements of human settlements, namely Nature, Man, Society, Shells and Networks.
• Practically, these five elements constitute the fragments of two broader divisions of human
settlements – the content’s and the container’s.
• This is to say that human beings, either perceived as individuals or as social entities, shape
the habitat’s content, while all of the rest elements –both natural and man-made-, define
the container.
• “The essential nature of settlements results from the fusion and interactive
balance between their container –or physical structure- and their contents –or
Anthropos.”
• As a key factor, in terms of defining the level and nature of achieved balance, can
be highlighted the nexus of potential correlations that are being created among
the diverse ekistic elements and the relevant scientific disciplines –economic,
social, political, technological and cultural.
• As per Doxiadis, if all the potential combinations are to be calculated, then we
come across with the amazing number of more than thirty-three million
alternatives.
• The ultra-dynamic character of human settlements is depicted by means of the
“Ekistic Grid”, which constitutes a valuable working tool both at the levels of
analysis and planning.
• In fact, the “Ekistic Grid” becomes a visual testimony of Doxiadis’ perception,
regarding human settlements.
• This is to say that the latter are interpreted as systems and more accurately as
systems identical with that of life.
• This kind of radical interpretation is expected to offer a fresh insight and to open new
paths in the field of urban planning, which after being systematized, it can be
scientifically analysed, its main features easily captured and processed and ultimately
controlled.
• Following Doxiadis’ vocabulary, it can be read “Human settlements are a great deal
more than static, built up areas.
• Settlements are processes, systems in a continuous state of flux…”
• And at this point, it can be introduced the leading parameter, in terms of maintaining
habitats’ dynamic state, which is no other than the one of time.
• For the present analysis, regarding the urban planning methodology of Doxiadis, the
factor of time possesses a paramount position.
• According to him, ‘the analysis of settlements cannot be separated from the fourth
dimension, that of time.’
EKISTICS & OTHER DISCIPLINES:
• In the first five volumes, it is interesting to note that out of a total of 105 papers, 66
(or 62.9%)are papers in economics, mainly regional economic analysis. Six
papers(or5.7%) are on geography, and 16 (or 15.2%) on regional science in general.
Physical planning is represented by 6.7% political aspects by 3.8%, sociology by 3.8%
and transportation by 1.9%.It is quite clear where the center of gravity lies.
ANALYSIS
• According to Doxiadis, the greatest problem facing cities worldwide was the problem
of managing growth.
• He proposed several solutions to leave room for expansion of the city core.
SOME OF HIS PROPOSALS INCLUDED:
• Limiting all buildings to three levels or less, with permission to build higher
• Separating automobile and pedestrian traffic completely.
• Constructing cities as a "beehive“ of cells each no bigger than 2 by 2 kilometers, the
maximum comfortable distance for pedestrians.
IMPLEMENTING EKISTICS AT ISLAMABAD

• Doxiadis had been offered the empty plains of Potwar Plateau in Northern Pakistan,
neighboring the existing city of Rawalpindi, so as to implement his ekistic theory and
create Islamabad, the first fragment of the city of the future, or otherwise the first
fragment of a universal system of life.
• Islamabad was an idea to create a “City of the Future” with the concept of dynapolis’,
that is, a planned unidirectional linear city as the only solution to cope with the growth
of an explosive urbanization era, relying on strong environmental elements and a
synthesis of town planning and Architectural principles.
The Landscape Pattern and the Highways
• The backbone of the Islamabad Metropolitan Area Master Plan is formed by two
highways, Islamabad Highway and Murree Highway, the alignment of which was
dictated by the natural landscape pattern and the existing man made obstacles.
• Two more highways, by-passing the existing town of Rawalpindi, have been proposed.
• On the basis of the above ideas, a system of four highways becomes the basic step for
the metropolitan area.
Formation of the Metropolitan Area
• The principal system of axes in the metropolitan area of Islamabad defines three
distinctive areas:
• a. the area of Islamabad proper.
• b. the area of Rawalpindi, the center of which is the city of Rawalpindi.
• c. the National Park area which will retain certain agricultural functions for several
years and where sites must be provided for a national sports center, the national
university, national research institute, etc.
Islamabad
The whole metropolitan area is sub-divided into sectors, called Communities Class V,
each for about 20,000-40,000 people and each according to the income group it will
serve. The sub-division of the metropolitan area into sectors resulted from the
adoption of a pattern of principal roads placed 2,200 yards apart in both- directions.
Rawalpindi
The existing town of Rawalpindi was the major man-made obstacle in designing the new
capital. After a thorough study of the possibilities regarding the relation of the new capital to
the existing town of Rawalpindi, it was found advisable to place Islamabad at such a distance
so as to:
a. form an independent settlement for purposes of allowing the design of a physical plan
independent of the existing restrictions imposed by the plan of Rawalpindi town.
b. provide the new capital with services and buildings already existing in Rawalpindi in order
to save the maximum amount of costs.
The National Park
The third part of the metropolitan area is the National Park, situated so as to serve both
Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
The National Park has been designed to provide space for:
a. educational and scientific institutes of national importance, such as national university,
atomic energy center, research center, national health center, etc.
b. recreational facilities, both active and passive, such as sports centers, exhibition areas, zoo,
botanical gardens, etc.
c. agricultural areas for cultivating vegetables and fruits required for the two cities.
Organization
• Each sector (Community Class V) of Islamabad is self contained and self-supported with
respect to everyday life. It is sub-divided into three or four smaller Communities (Class
IV) by income groups of occupants. In the center of the sector is the civic center,
containing all types of shopping, business and civic activities. Each Class IV Community
is subdivided into several Communities Class III, which are further subdivided into
Communities Class II.
Hierarchy of Functions
• Adequate space has been provided for buildings serving certain functions at various
levels, in accordance with the number of people served by these buildings. In each
sector or Class V Community there is space for three or four secondary schools, each
for a Class IV Community. There are three or four primary schools per Class III
Community and a kindergarten or children's playground in each Class II Community.
The Landscape and Climate
• The main feature of the landscape near Islamabad is the many ravines that cut the
fields from north to south. The ground continuously undulates in one direction, giving
great variety and challenge for architectural treatment of buildings and green spaces.
This natural landscape has been fully respected when designing the layout of each
sector, and green spaces created by this physical feature have been fully exploited by
locating such functions as schools, gardens, parks, and playgrounds next to them.
Climatic conditions have been also taken into account, with orientations for the
purpose of insulation and taking advantage of the prevailing winds being studied
thoroughly.
Social Planning
• The inhabitants are government servants or supporting population, incomes vary very
considerably. Complete intermixing would cause difficulties in physical planning and
could also create social problems. After a sociological study, the principle adopted was
that gradual integration should be sought, both to help the lower-income people to
mature, and to assure the comfort of the higher income-classes
Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic
• In the Class V Community, pedestrian and vehicle traffic have been segregated by a
road system where the scales of human and motor-vehicle movements differ.
Pedestrians move within the human community though a spatial hierarchy from small
pedestrian streets towards the larger ones of a Class II Community, then to the center
of a Class III Community, and so on. Spaces and perspectives created along way agree
with the same hierarchical order. This layout is for roads leading to specific targets
aesthetically related and presenting a unity of scale. By the extensive use of cul-de-
sacs at the end of the access roads, motor traffic follows a pattern of roads leading to
individual houses without interfering with the pedestrian-street systems.
Water Supply System
• The water-supply system was designed by Doxiadis Associates. Water is now being
tapped from two springs in Nurpur and Saidpur, but it is planned to dam the Swan
river to bring water to the town by gravity. Water storage tanks, filtration plants, and
similar works have been built, and the distribution system is now under construction.
Sewerage and Drainage
• Sewage and drainage networks, designed by Doxiadis Associates, are being
constructed by the Capital Development Authority. A sewage treatment plant,
designed in collaboration with Dorr-Oliver, is under construction.
Road Construction
• Roads servicing highways and principal roads are also under construction and will carry
all traffic required for proper development of residential and industrial areas. Road
design was done by Doxiadis Associates. Construction is being done departmentally by
the Capital Development Authority Directorate of Works. Bridges and culverts were
designed and are under construction by the Capital Development Authority.