Town Planning

MODULE I – Evolution of Town Planning-

Planning Theories

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 4 Early River Valley Civilizations
• Sumerian Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)
• Egyptian Civilization - Nile River
• Harappan Civilization - Indus River
• Ancient China - Huang He (Yellow) River
 Indus Valley Civilization -
2500 -1700 BCE
• Earliest known urban
culture of Indian
subcontinent
• 500 miles along the river.
• 10-20 times larger than
Mesopotamian or
Egyptian civilization.
• Urban culture that
sustained by agricultural
production and
commerce.
• It is spread in modern
India, Pakistan
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 INTRODUCTION

Name of cities and

State/District/Region Findings
year of finding

Harappa is an archaeological site Granaries, coffin burial (only found at

in Punjab, Pakistan, west of Harappa)
Harappa Sahiwal. a lot of artifacts, important Indus
1921 This site is situated on the left Valley Civilization town.
bank of the Ravi river Harappa is the first town which is
excavated and studied in detail

Great bath,
Mohenjodaro Situated in Larkana district Sindh great granary,
(Mound of Dead Pakistan Sundried Brick, Underground
Man) On the right bank of river Indus drainage and sewerage sytems, all
1922 JJ round development of arts and
crafts, science and technology

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 Harappa
• Located in Punjab Province.
• Site lies in the left of the Ravi
river
• 160 km southwest of Lahore
• Current village of Harappa is
less than 1 km from ancient
site.

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 City Layout
 Streets and alleyways cutting across
one another almost at right angles
to divide the city into numerous
rectangular blocks. Each of the cities
of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and
Kalibangan had a fortress built on a
tall mud-brick pedestal.
 Just below the castle in every city is
a lower town with brick structures
inhabited by the common folk.
 The absence of stone constructions
and the extensive use of burned
bricks in almost every style of
building are two characteristics that
set the Harappa civilization apart.
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 City Layout
 Another noteworthy aspect was the
subsurface drainage system that
linked every residence to street
drains protected by stone or bricks.
 The largest and most important
public area at Mohenjodaro is The
Great Bath. , which measures 39 feet
long, 23 feet wide, and 8 feet deep.
Charred bricks made up the floor of
the Bath.
 At Mohenjodaro, a granary that is
150 feet long and 50 feet wide is the
largest building. However, the castle
of Harappa has up to six granaries.

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 Features of the Town Planning of the Harappa
Civilization

 Citadel
 Fortification
 Buildings and
Houses
 Drainage System
 Granary
 Roads and Streets
 Wells
 Great Bath
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 Fortification and Citadel

• Citadel has size of 420 m

and 6 m height from the
ground.
• Fortification was done
from all sides- Defensive
walls

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 Buildings & Houses
• Built homes along the roadways.
• The structures contained pillared hallways, bathrooms, paved floors,
kitchens, wells, and other amenities. They were constructed around an
interior courtyard.
• The streets were lined with public
wells.
• Every substantial home had its well.
• In the Lower Town, most homes
had a central courtyard surrounded
by rooms.
• The main door was typically placed
so that it would not give a clear view
of the inside to promote privacy.
• In addition, none of the houses' ground-level walls had windows.

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 Roads and Streets
• The roads and streets of the Indus
Valley were all straight and met at
perfect angles.
• Burned bricks were used to build
every road, each brick's length
being four times its height and
breadth twice that height.
• They were fully lined and ranged in
width from 13 to 34 feet.
• The streets and roads divided the
city into rectangular units.
• Archaeologists uncovered the lamp
posts at regular intervals. place.

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 Drainage System
• The cities of the Indus Valley Civilization had highly
developed sewage and water systems.
• Each home featured a soak pit and drainage
system connected to the general drainage system.
• Canals with brick paving surrounded every road.
• They had manholes spaced out regularly for
clearing and cleaning, and they were covered.
• Large brick culverts with corbelled roofs were
constructed outside the city to carry additional
water.
• The Indus people created a perfect subsurface
drainage system as a result. No other
contemporary society placed such a high value on
cleanliness.

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 Great bath
• Earliest public water tank
in ancient world.
• Consists of a sizable
quadrangle
• Two wide staircases in
North and South leads to
the tank.
• Floor of the tank is water
tight.

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 Mohenjodaro
 No fortification
 Major street in north-South direction.
 Streets within the built-up areas were narrow.
 Zoning was distinct for distinct group.
City was divided into three divisions;
 Religious, Institutional and Cultural areas around monasteries and
great bath in western side.
 Southern part-Majorly for administration, trade and commerce.
 Northern part-Majorly for production of agricultures and
industries.

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 Mohenjodaro-Salient Features
 Construction techniques was very advanced ,
buildings were made of sundried bricks.
 Building ranged from two rooms to mansions
of many rooms.
 Underground drainage and sewerage
systems were also provided to houses.
 Helical pumps were used to pumps water in
the great bath.
 Principal buildings were the monastery and
bath , indicating the influence of religions.
 All round development on art and crafts ,
science and technology.
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 Public Building -Granary
• The largest building at Mohenjodaro
is the granary, which measures 45.71
meters in length and 15.23 meters in
width.
• It lies on massive brick foundation.
• The grains were presumably stored in
these granaries for future use in
emergencies or as a source of
income.

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 Summary
Features Description Significance
Division of City
Raised Part (called
It shows the presence of social
Citadel): Consisted of housing
hierarchy and some
for rulers and important public
administrative authority.
buildings such as granaries,
Also, the Public and Private
workshops. It was mostly
sphere was separated as the
situated west of the city.
town was divided into two
parts (as is also done in
Lower Part (eastern side of town):
modern town planning)
Consisted of houses of common
citizens (see illustration map)
It followed a grid pattern (i.e.
It shows excellent knowledge
streets cut each other at right
Streets of measurement and urban
angles, thus dividing the city into
planning of Harappa people.
several rectangular blocks)

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 Summary

Features Description Significance

Drains connected all the houses. Burnt It shows Harappan people
Drainage system bricks used for drains, wells an paid great attention to Health
bathrooms. Sun dried brick for filling. and Sanitation
Often the 2nd story was made
They were often of two or more on 1st when it had subsided. It
Houses
stories, but no window faced the streets shows Harappan inhabited
the place for a longer time
Standardized burnt-bricks of ratio 1:2:4
It shows the presence
found in all the sites (no stone was
Building materials of centralized weights and
used) (*Egyptian civilization at that time
measurement systems.
used mud-bricks and stones)

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 Vedic Planning System
Cities provide the locale for the pursuit of four aims of life-
Purusharthas(Dharma-Duty,Kara-Pleasure,Artha –Wealth, Moksha-Liberation )
 Sthapatya Veda (part of Atharva Veda)
 Smriti Shastra ;streets layout
 Vastu Shastra –Matters relating to site planning , site layout, orientation,
qualiy of soil, water resources, planning of trees.
 Arthashastra;environmental management
 Manasara Shilpa Shastra-Treaties on Architecture and Design
 Mayamata - Treatise on dwelling
 Vastu Purush Mandala – A traditional city designed according to principles
of sacred geometry based on cosmological theories
 Measurement- Human scale was adopted.Unit was Danda i.e. equal to 2 ft
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 Shapes of Towns as per Vastushastra

According to shape there are 8 different types of villages as per their shape.
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 Vedic Planning System
Regional Land and Geological
Planning Landscaping Survey
-Land must have hills -Survey of the soil
-Jangal – A hot and barren
and mountains for condition and
land having black soil.
boundaries. classification of
-Anupa –Land having towns based on
-Towns were made in
characterstics just the human
plains and
opposite of Jangal. natural and
fortifications was
-Sadharana – Land having necessary. cultural factors.
mixed character.
-Land must have
green belts and
forest all around.
-Water sources was
also necessary.

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 Egyptian Cities

I. GEOGRAPHY

B. Upper and Lower Egypt

1. Most of Egypt’s history focused around

Lower Egypt,
around the Nile delta which flows into the
Mediterranean Sea.
2. Upper Egypt developed later upstream
3. Nile provided reliable transportation
2. Deserts on both sides of Nile
- provided natural protection against invaders
- also reduced interaction with other people
 Egyptian Cities
• The settlement grew on one side of the Nile river.
• Buildings were made of Sun dried brick.
• The narrow lanes served as open drains and walkways.
• Walls surrounded the cities for protection against the flood.
• The dwelling were of different types and sizes. The most important
commodities were placed on the upper right corner of town.
• The Egyptians referred to most cities as
either nwt or dmj.Nwt usually refers to unplanned cities that grew
naturally, such as Memphis and Thebes, while dmj can be
translated as "settlement" and usually refers to towns that were
laid out along a plan.

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 Egyptian Homes
• They lived in crammed villages
• Narrow streets
• Homes were made of brick, mud and chopped straw.
 Egyptian Cities
•The planning of a town had was based on two main factors – The
nearness to a water source and the height it was built above Nile to make
sure the flooding didn’t affect the city.
• Towns generally had a boundary wall with only one or two entrances
through the wall.
 Egyptian Cities
•Houses were built on the edge of the streets with and the houses
shared walls with their neighboring houses.
•The streets were very narrow.
•Ancient Egyptians built canals, dams and dug wells to collect water.
TheGreek World
 Greek Cities
• Nobles became the ruler
and Athens came under Administration
tyrants(Dictatorship)
• Consequently land holding Dwelling
peasants came Gods
Houses
• Magistrates was elected and
environment of culture was
developed by Greek
Socrates,Plato,Aristotle. Town
• City plan- Conceived to serve
all three classes of people
craftsmen,workers and
soldiers. • Greeks built small towns appropriate for human
scale.
 Greek Towns
• Parts of the town were planned according to geometrical patterns and
others according to defensive measures.
• Natural borders for the town
• Characterstics of Greek Cities:
 Wandering and unpaved lanes.
 No drainage and sanitation system
 Water was got from local wells.
 Common assembly place- PNYX
 Irreguar shaped market place AGORA.
 Temples were built on Acropolis
 No class distinction in society.
 In houses rooms surrounded the courtyards having windowless facades.
 No palaces,even public buildings were less apart from temples.
 Greek Towns Agora and Acropolis
Agora-5% of the city area Acropolis
 Gathering place and market  Elevated temple district
 Place for public event  Contained various
 Agora on the road from the temples
harbor, in the center and  Periodic processions to
includes : Acropolis also celebrated
Assembly hall
the polis
Council hall
Chamber hall
 Bordered by temples,
workshops, vendors’ stalls,
statues
 1/5th of the width and
breadth of whole town.
 The Greek Polis
It originally referred to an administrative and
religious city center.
 Each citizen was expected  A self-governing city-
to participate in the polis state
in regard to its:  Not large cities
Political life  ‘Plato’ thought ideal city
Economic relations should have 5,000
Spiritual worship citizens
Social events (e.g.
dramatic
performances)
TheGreek Polis
 City of Athens

Prytaneum was a council chamber.

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Greek Towns Agora and Acropolis
Hippodamus First Greek Architect
 Grid Iron Pattern
of Roads
 House blocks
(rectangular)
 Important roads
parallel to shore
(straight & wide)
 Outline of town
– not
necessarily
rectangular
 Greek Cities in later part of 5th.C.B.C.

• Later they had some building bye-laws.

• Projection of buildings was restricted and sanitation was
given importance.
• Climate determined orientation of buildings.
• Population of cities was guided by amount of food and
water supply.
• Population of Athens was about 40,000 and that of other
cities ranged from 10,000 to 5000.

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 City Priene
 400 dwellings with
4000 population

 Agora surrounded by
public buildings and
residential blocks A, B,C. -Gates.
D,E,F,H, M, P.-
 Each Resi. Block -4/5 Temples
houses G. Agora, Market.
I -Council House,
L, Q. Gymnasium.
 Broad road aprox 23 ft N. Theatre,
wide
O. Water reservoir,
 Short road ‘T’ – 10 ft R. Race-course
wide
 Roman Cities-6th C.B.C. to 5th C. A.D.

 Roman lacked creativity of the Greeks but built in grand scale.

 Romans played their enemies off each other, then planted colonial
cities to administer conquered lands.
 The “castra” or army camp was walled and laid out in a grid
→ planned cities (< 5,000 pop.)
Cities Character:
 Developed water supply system , drainage system etc.
 Aqueducts was used for water means.
 Roman Towns founded on three occasions:
-when town became colonial centre
-when it made a local capital.
- When it became imperial residence.
 A Roman“castra” &typical Romantown

 The city was divided into quarters by the creation of two

perpendicular streets: the Cardo and the Decumanus
 Roman Cities
 Plenty of towns in invaded areas -
medium towns to keep agriculture
around.
 Division of agricultural land into
rectangular parcels.
 Grid pattern for most of Roman cities
 The city was divided into neighborhoods
and quarters with their own centers
 Two major and central intersected roads:
Cardo : North South
Decomanus : East West
The Forum at the intersection of the
two major roads : the central public
Torino - Italy
space
 The Forum
 Bordered by everything important: temples, offices, jails,
butcher shops
 Public processions and ceremonies took place there.
 For a mainly pedestrian population, the surrounding
colonnade was a very important urban design feature
 Roman Towns
Religious Defence Technical
auspices requirement considerations
-A defence wall - Drainage and
-To establish city wall first.
-Straight roads to water supply
-Two cross roads- were prescribed.
avoid curvatures to
Decumanus –running easily perform -All construction
North-South. military parades. within town was
Cardo- Running North- -Roads were atleast to be in concrete
South 8’(2.40m)wide and stone.
Cado Maximus-Main Road -Long distance -In specific cases
- Centuratio System- visibility for easy they were in
System of road layout policing required on bricks.
-Forum was developed at roads to be -Setbacks of 2’6”
the crossings. absolutely straight. from boundaries
of each building.
 Roman Towns – 3 Categories

COLLONIA OPPIDIA CASTRUM

-Towns which were -Military camp
-Highly ranked cities
conquered from towns.
having all benefits
others.
-Hierarchy of plots for
people having various
social status.
 Roman City-Pompeii

 Pompeii shows that this was an ideal, not a rule

Source: http://www.pompeii.co.uk/cd/map.htm
 Amphitheater, Rome

Amphitheater, Pompeii The Colosseum

 Similarities with Present Scenario

 Their aqueducts may remind us of our own

reservoirs and pipelines
 Their carefully-designed streets and roads may
remind us of our paved roads, freeways, and
sidewalks
 Their use of a street grid may remind us of our
own regularly laid out urban landscape
 Public baths,Pompeii

 Romans took public

bathing to an extreme:
hot, cold, and lukewarm
pools, places to get a
massage or work out,
even reading rooms
 Roman versus Greeks
 Not as playful or moderate  Conquered Greek
as the Greeks and cloned many of
 Inclined toward violence, their
exploitation and gross urban design concepts
excesses of consumption Theater
 Their greatest Amphitheater
achievements often bear Temples built on the
the mark of excess but also Greek model, with
considerable engineering prominent
skill colonnades
 Rome was basically Agora was
supported by forced appropriated and
tribute & taxes became the forum
 Medieval Cities
 The period from about 500 to 1400–1500 CE , starting at Early medieval
Ages
the collapse of the Roman Empire. 500-1000
 Decline of the Roman Empire
 Feudal System of the government emerged : A social High Medieval
Ages
system that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages in 1000-1300

which people worked and fought for nobles who gave

Late Medieval
them protection and the use of land in return. Ages
1300-1500
 Medieval Cities
Social Stratification
 Nobles and merchants near the entrance gate of the
defense wall of the city
 Craftsmen and Agricultural serfs in rest of the walled
Nobles and
city but with no distinct zoning. Merchants
 Religious leadership was placed at the highest level of
the city near the center of the settlement.
Craftsmen and
agricultural serfs
 Medieval Cities
Social Stratification
 The city council, as symbol of people near the
geometrical settlement of the settlement.
 Early towns were dominated by church , or monastery Nobles and
or castle of the feudal lords. Merchants

 Church plaza , market plaza , town hall were made

adjacent to it.
Craftsmen and
agricultural serfs
Medieval Cities
 Medieval Cities
Cities
Buildings Institutions
-Founded on the irregular
-Buildings had -Monasteries and
terrains for security.
functional character guilds joined
-Circulation were moulded in form and location. together for
to match those irregular creating trained
features. -Buildings were
connected with personnel leading
-Irregular roads were narrow streets which to birth of
consciously made to lead to conservation universities.
confuse the invaders. of privacy. -Art was
-Functionally church -Two storey in which introduced in city
became powerful that living and bedroom planning.
undertook activities like in upper floors and
making schools , providing storage ,kitchen in
hospitals etc. ground floors.
Guilds: Medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.
Medieval Cities

City in France
 Renaissance Period
 Mid of 14th C. till 17th C.
 Towns were build within the ready of one another – in a day walking distance.
 Formal and monumental buildings inspired with the Roman style.

Factors shaping cities:

 No system of sewage disposal and streets were used to dispose of wastes.

 Ownership of land shifted to merchants and power of feudal lords diminished.
 New techniques of warfare and old fortifications were found inadequate-
Military science became a science.
 New towns were found in which central and most dominating buildings were
those of nobles.
 Renaissance Cities

Water
Defence
Supply

Circulation Sanitation
Renaissan
ce Cities
 Renaissance Cities
Birth Place : Florence

 Radial street extend outwards.

 New towns in which central and most
dominating buildings were those of nobles.
 Around religious buildings in the designing of
the public congregation likes the squares ,
piazzas(plazas)-outdoor gathering place . Florence
 Design shifted from enclosed architectural to
an extension and expansion of open spaces.
Renaissance Cities - Plan
 Renaissance Cities

 Existing squares were connected by tree lined

avenues like in Paris.
 Open space such as in France large garden
around the king’s palace continued to
secretariat building then to grand boulevards
and further to banks of the river. Florence
 St. Marks Piazza
 Renaissance Piazzas and Square
St.Peter Plaza