THE TOWN PLANNING

CONCEPT
SHAHJAHANABAD
 DELHI THE MUGHAL CAPITAL
Delhi is a city that has seen both glory and destruction in its long. It has been
plundered, ruined time and again only to spring from its ashes to become the
capital of powerful dynasties.
Fortunately, the resilient and
enduring culture and heritage has
withstood the test of time and the
city continues to live.

The heart of Delhi can be found in

Old Delhi, 350 yrs old, yet strong
and beating. Its many-branched
arteries are narrow with age, its
veins jostle for space, and its
lifeblood is bound to get clotted at
some places at any time.

No city reflects the endless drama of

change better.
 INTRODUCTION - SHAHJAHANABAD
By the time the emperor Shah
Jahan (1928-58) came to the
throne, the Mughal empire had
ruled continuously over
northern India for almost a
century and the artistic
tradition of Mughals had
reached a stage of maturity
and refinement. During Shah
Jahans rein the architectural
development was remarkable
due to his interest and
patronage of architecture. His
buildings were characterized by
sensitivity and delicateness.
 BACKGROUND
The Mughal period from Akbar ( 1566-1605)
to Shah Jahan was comparatively long and
peaceful; it was marked by the development
of cities. Shah Jahan established residences
in Lahore, Agra and Delhi. In 1638, he laid
the foundations of new capital, centered
around Lal Qila or Red Fort. This was an
improvement on the citadel in Agra, because
of the experienced gained by Shah Jahan,
where limited space and narrow streets
made it difficult for the processions of his
troupes.
The site for the new capital in Delhi was
ideally suited as a convergence point of land
routes, being centrally located geographical.
The site was situated on the western bank of
river Yamuna where a natural projection
formed a triangle with the land and the
river.
 MUSLIM URBAN LIFE
By Shah Jahans time, the Muslims in India had partially Indianized.
Under the Mughals, they were mainly an urban community, and they disliked
village. Muslim life was closely linked to religious event, as well as to
ceremonies and festivals or ritual events.
Shah Jahan was a religious person and was very particular about observing
ceremonies. On the morning of the most important Muslim festival Eid-i-
Qurba (the fest of the sacrificed), Muslims go to Id-gah, or place of prayer,
generally situated outside the city or village in an open space. The Id-gah of
Shahjahanabad is located on the crest of the ridge, west of the city.
 SPATIAL STRUCTURE
Urban spatial structure of Shahjahanabad was different from that of the other Mughal
Capitals, because it was planned and built by one concentrated planning effort.
Creation of architectural expression of what has often been called the patrimonial
system in its climax.
The shurafaur ignited from the qasbah garrison posts & admn. settlements in which
Islamic scholars also met their clients & where an integrative or even syncretists
cultured prevailed usually established around a tomb or a waqf .
The shurafa usually were situated to the west of the place, along one of the two
boulevards at Chandni Chowk, & originated from the employers palace, thus furnishing
the city with an unequivocal structure.
Those professional groups delivering fresh agrarian products to the city must have
settled along the southern and south-south-western rim of the city walls (Delhi gate &
Turkman gate): this is where institutions , such as Masjid gadarion (shephereds
mosque), Masjid kasai (butchers mosque) were located. They all represent low ranking
traders.
The closer to the core of the city the more socially recognized are the professional settled
there: weavers, producers of wool, traders of saddle- horses, oil- extractors &
manufacturers of straw goods, each of them represented by their respective mosques.
Further, in the direction of Chandni Chowk, mostly representative of the trading
professions, e.g. traders of fabrics, fish, meats and luxury goods, but also some of the
professional groups processing goods, e.g. producers of water pipes can be found, all of
them are characterized by the spatial proximity to the imperial house.
PLANNING OF
SHAHJAHANABAD
The city was planned according to
hind planning principles of
shilpashastra from vastushastra.
The site was placed on a high land
as in the shastra and was
kamukha or bow shaped, for this
ensured its prosperity.
The arm of the archer was
Chandni Chowk.
The string was Yamuna river.
The junction of the two main axes
is the most auspicious point in the
whole region and was therefore
the red fort.
 THE CITY FORM- MORPHOLOGY
ELEMENTS
The urban infrastructure was laid out in a geometric pattern.
Shows traces of both Persian and Hindu traditions of town planning and
architecture with the Persian influence largely accounting for the
formalism and symmetry of the palaces gardens and boulevards.

The designed infrastructure of Shahjahanabad comprised-

The fort
The Friday mosque.
The other major mosques, including the corresponding waqf properties.
The two main boulevards.
The bazaars around the Friday mosque.
The elaborate system of water channels.
The major gardens and the city wall.
The arrangement of these planned elements was influenced by certain
site features, which precluded absolute geometry.
 THE FORT & THE MOSQUE
The Red Fort and Jama Masjid
were thorough fares that framed
the city.
From Lahore Gate ran a broad
avenue with a covered arcade
designed and paid for by Jahan
Ara- that housed over 1500 shops.
Today known as Chatta Bazaar.
The remainder of Shahjahanabad
took shape within the city walls
with its havelis mansions,
mosques, temples, Sikh shrines
and the gardens of the nobility.
The walled and guarded
establishments of these grandees
included private living quarters for
the nobles and their harem.
 THE RED FORT (PALACE

COMPLEX)
The plan of the fort was made by Shah Jahan and two Muslim architects.
The foundation stone of the fortified place was laid in 1638. Construction
work began in 1639 and was complete in just nine year. The palace complex,
located along the western river front was built as an ideal residence for the
emperor, it was conceived and designed as a paradise on Earth. The layout
of the fort was drawn on a formal geometrical plan actually an irregular
octagon with two long sides on east and west. It had two gates, that on the
west was called the Lahori Darwaza, while that on the south was the Delhi
Darwaza. Bearing on the cardinal points, the elements of the fort were
arranged in the geometrical pattern that reflected the life and customs of
Mughal court.
 JAMI MASJID
The Jami Masjid was the principal mosque
of the capital, the congregational centre
and one of the most important institutions
for the Muslims in Shahjahanabad. Shah
Jahan commenced building the mosque in
1650, and completed it 6years later. It was
located at the central part of the city and
on a raised foundation at the top of a hill
9mts above the street level.
The mosque dominated the walled city as a
visual as well as a spiritual symbol of
supreme god. Its architectural design
followed by traditional style, but
improvements were made here as well. Te
courtyard was large and was enclosed by
pillared corridors. Its layouts, having a
main entrance on the east, was geometric
and the whole mosque faced west towards
Mecca. Muslim urban life was closely
evolved around the Jami Masjid.
 MAJOR STREETS
The streets in Mughal capital were usually narrow and
crooked. However, the major streets in the new capital were
designed as wide and straight. The east-west street called
Chandni Chowk connected the Lahori Darwaza of the fort to
the Lahori Darwaza of the city wall. It ran in a straight line
forming a wide boulevard with broad vista. The Fort was
visible from any place on the street. This perspective view
marked a new concept of town planning for the Mughal
capital. Chandni Chowk is 1.4km in length and jogged right
at the Fatehpuri Begum Mosque. It was built as the central
axis of the city. Karawan Sarai and begum ki Sarai were
also located in this area.
Another main street the Faiz Bazaar or Akkarabadi Bazaar,
was also wide and straight. It had a north-south axis and
connected Delhi gate of the fort with the city walls Delhi
gate and is about 1km in length. These major two streets
developed as processional routes, as well as commercial
arteries. The streets also assumed importance for ritual
events.
 FIVE MAIN STREETS
The basic network of the five main streets extended from Chandni Chowk and Faiz
Bazaar to other gates and to different part of the walled city. The streets were built as
the spines of major activities and developed as commercial thorough affairs. They
connected the Ajmeri Darwaza with the Jami Masjid and Turkman and Lahori
Darwazas. Their intersections formed a landmark. Important buildings were located
on these arteries. The other streets were less significant and were mainly built as
access roads to the residential areas.

MAHALLA /

KATRA
There was a tendency of the cities' population to settle by ethnic affiliations and to live
in the same neighborhoods. The urban community and the Mughal capital was formed
by such districts or wards, known as mahallas and katras. These homogeneous units
also define cultural as well as socio-economic activities. There were 36 mahallas in the
walled city. Each katra had an enclosed space created between residential and
commercial buildings having entry to a katra made through a gate.
These courtyards were environmentally sound and acted as main ventilation shafts in
a hot and arid climate. Communal open space was conspicuously absent as it is so
today. There was not much need for communal open space, other than for worship
which is why the Jami Masjid was provided with a spacious courtyard.
Thus, it is clear that planning of a residential area in the Mughal capital did not
provide for social units.
Streets, Bazaars, Chowks
The city was separated from the surrounding land by a wall and a moat.
Passing through the citys gates marked the passage from one domination
to another. The main thoroughfares , the secondary roads and the bazaars
were public space.

Havellis
The members of the imperial household whio lived outside the fort/ palace
built large mansions (havellis) on the model of the imperial design of the
red fort. As a rule these city palaces accommodated not only the owner and
his family, but also their numerous followers, servants, and craftsmen with
their workshops. The internal organisation of the space within the havellis
was therefore also based on the strict distinction between the public, semi
private and private spaces.

Interior courtyard of a Havelli in the walled

city
Notice the spill out of day to day activities in the courtyard- thus the
typology was not only suited climatically but also enhanced the living.
Streetscapes
There emerges a hierarchy of
streets in the layout of the city.
The secondary streets were the
ones which entered the south of the
city from Chandni Chowk. (thus
they were perpendicular for some
distance and then assumed an
organic form once deep in the city).
The secondary street structure also
includes the streets that are
parallel to the city walls- forming a
concentric ring so to say, in the
southern part of the city. They then
intermingle at chowks with the
third layering of streets, which
derive their character from the fact
that they are perpendicular to the
main mosque, Jama Masjid.
 BAGH
The north area of Chandni Chowk was occupied by a bagh called the
Jahanara Begumis Garden. It was laid out in a planned fashion, in
addition to the road planning of Chandni Chowk.

CITY WALLS
The layout o the city walls was based on a geometrical planning; i.e. to say,
a polygonal plan with gateways. The four main gates were Delhi Darwaza
on south, the Ajmeri Darwaza on the south-west, the Lahori Darwaza on
the west and the Kashmiri Darwaza on the north. These important gates
were positioned according to the basic network of the city, being laced on
the cardinal points. The graphic representation of the city was indicated
geometric planning and the geometric placement of the main gates.
 CONCLUSION
The new Mughal capital and the fort were designed as an ideal city and a
paradise on Earth.
The design and planning methods were geometric and provided for green
areas (gardens) and water facilities.
Principal elements in the town planning were the fort, the Jami Masjid, two
major streets, city wall and gates, the Bagh, the Id-gah and the Karawan
Sarai.
The Red fort was designed as a symbol of Muslim power and as an ideal
living space on a formal geometrical plan.
The Jami Masjid was designed as a symbol of Muslim power and of the
capital.
Two major streets were developed as the central axis and as processional
routes and they were new elements in the capital; the design and the
planning method was a new concept in town planning in the Mughal capital.
Planning in the capital did not provide planning of residential areas.
The city wall and gateways were drawn on a geometrical plan.
Urban forms and patterns developed on there own in response to the
emperors basic need and idea and little attention was paid to the social
planning.