Town planning basics

INTRODUCTION
TOWN PLANNING AND
PLANNING CONCEPTS
Prepared by : Prof. Darshankumar Patel

Introduction:
• Never in the history of man, planning has been so much
in the forefront as it is today.
• The whole world is passing through the planning age.
• Without planning, nothing succeeds.
• So, we have
– Defense Planning
– Regional Planning
– Urban Planning
– Rural Planning
– Fiscal Planning
– Family Planning etc…

The main advantages or importance of planning
• Planning increases the efficiency.
• It reduces the risks involved.
• It facilitates proper coordination.
• It aids in organising all available resources.
• It gives right direction.
• It is important to maintain a good control.
• It helps to achieve objectives.
• It motivates the personnel.
• It encourages creativity and innovation.
• It helps in decision making.

Concept of Planning
• Planning means Pre-thinking and pre-arranging the
things before an event takes place so as to achieve good
results in health, convenience, comfort and happiness of
all living beings.
• By careful planning we can eradicate (eliminate)the
mistakes of the past and be wiser in the future.

Concept of Town and Town Planning
• Town or city is a place of urban living.
• Urban an environment in which natural surroundings have
beeen dominated by artificial or man-made surroundings,
which man builds for himself – for living, working and
recreation.
• As per the census of India 2001 Urban area is defined as
– (a) All statutory places with a municipality, corporation,
cantonment board or notified town area committee, etc.
– (b) A place satisfying the following three criteria simultaneously:
• i) a minimum population of 5,000;
ii) at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in
non-agricultural pursuits; and
iii) a density of population of at least 400 per sq. km. (1,000
per sq. mile).

Concept of Town and Town Planning
• Towns with population of 1,00,000 and above are called
cities
• A city also means a place in which citizens with rights of
citizenship, live a civil life.
• Town planning is considered as an art of shaping and
guiding the physical growth of the town creating
buildings and environments to meet the various needs
such as Social, cultural, economic and recreational etc.
and to provide healthy conditions for both rich and poor
to live, to work, and to play or relax, thus bringing about
the social and economic well being for the majority of
mankind.

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.

Aims and objectives of Town Planning
• According to Town Planning Acts, the main objectives of
town planning may be summarized in three words viz.
(As follows) Health, Convenience and Beauty.
• Health:
– To create and promote healthy conditions and
environment s for all the people - rich and poor, to live, to
work, to play and relax.
– To make right use of the land for the right purpose by
proper division of land called zoning such as residential,
commercial, agricultural, industrial, institutional,
recreational etc. in order to avoid the encroachment of
one zone upon other for smooth and orderly development
of the town or city without causing future conflicts.

• Convenience:
– Meant in form of various needs of the community such as
social, economic, cultural and recreational amenities etc.
– Public amenities required for the proper upkeep of the
citizens include water supply, sanitation, transportation,
electricity, post, telegraph, gas etc. proper sites for
industrial, commercial, business to encourage them in
trade with cheap power, transport services, drainage etc.

• Beauty:
– To preserve the individuality of the town by developing it
on its most suited natural conditions.
– To preserve the aesthetics in the design of all elements of
town or city plan, which include preservation of trees,
natural greenery, improved types of domestic buildings
and buildings of civic dignity and beauty, architectural
control on public as well as semi public buildings, ancient
architectural buildings, temples, churches, mosques and
buildings of cultural and historical importance.

Introduction: (cont.)
 Town Planning
demands
 Active imagination
 Understanding of
various needs of
society
 Town planner has to
 Carry out researches
 Prepare layout plans
 Final results shall be in
such a way that, it
should be appreciated
by all the sectors of
public
 A well planned town
carries out its activities
in a normal way like a
living organism

Introduction: (cont.)
Science
• Collection
• Correlation
• Analysis of facts about
town
Art
• Arrangement of
components
 Town planning is a
science as well as an
art too
 Both shall be used in
such a way that final
result is in form of
 Beautiful
 Convenient
 Economical
 Efficient unit

Town planning in Ancient India:
 Planning of towns was
done on scientific bases
even in Vedic times
 Ancient literature such as
vedas, puranas, shastras
contains some of
principles and theories
of town planning
 Nature and growth:
governed by site
conditions
 Location: river banks,
sea shore or by the side
of big lake
 Flowing stream: for
sanitary requirements
 Towns on river were
oblong shape, to take
max advantage of river
 Rivers: Indians always
loved, glorified and
worshiped

Town planning in Ancient India: (cont.)
 ‘Vishwakarmaprakash’
says ‘First layout the towns
and then plan out the
houses’
 ‘Mansara Shilpa-shastra’
mentions some of aspects
of town planning like
 Study of soil
 Climatic condition
 Wind direction
 Orientation of building
 Topography etc.
 Various types of town
plans described in book
such as
 ‘dandka’
 ‘swastika’
 ‘padmaka’ (lotus shaped)
 ‘nandyavarta’ (flower
shaped)
 ‘prastara’
 ‘chatumukha’
 ‘karmukha’ (bow shaped)

Town planning in Ancient India: (cont.)
 Typical Indian town
consisted
 Markets
 Streets
 Public buildings
 Residences for cityzens
 Temples
 Royal palace
 Recreation centers
 Ditches / trenches
 Sheds for drinking water
 Pleasure gardens
 Tanks
 Reservoirs
 Underground passages
 City forts etc.
 Some of towns worth
mentioning are
 Ayodhya
 Mohanjo-daro
 Patliputra
 Takshsila
 Nalanda etc.

Objects of town planning:
Beauty
• Use of natural
surroundings
• Architectural finishes to
various components
• Preservation of
trees/greenery
• Architectural control on
public/semi-public
buildings, historic,
ancient buildings etc.
Convenience
• Various economic, social
and recreational amenities
to be given to public, such
as
• Cheap power
• Proper industrial sites
• Transport facilities
• Adequate water supply
• Easy sewage disposal
• Open spaces/ parks/ town
halls/ play grounds/
theatres etc.

Objects of town planning: (cont.)
Environment
• Complex problems in
urban living such as
• Travel to work
• Long working hrs
• Less/ no time for
society
• Better relation between
man and environment
shall be developed
• Right use of land for right
purpose
• Provide parks/
playgrounds for public
• Maintain pollution of
various forms to lowest
possible deg
• Achieved by dividing land
into various zones
resi/comm/ind etc
• Avoid encroachment of one
zone upon the other
Health

Principles of Town Planning:
• There should be no haphazard method in planning
process.
• Housing accommodation to various classes of people
should be allowed to develop.
• If slums are existing, they should be pulled down by
making some alternate arrangement of accommodation
in transit camps for homeless persons.
• Civic amenities like shopping centres, dispensaries,
schools, nursery etc. should be provided to all the
residents.

Principles of Town Planning:
• Adequate open spaces should be reserved for public
recreation centres and also for the future expansion of
the town.
• Public and semi public buildings should be grouped and
distributed neatly throughout the town.
• The system of zoning should be strictly followed.
• The growth of the town should be controlled by the
provision of green belt, which is an open strip of land all
round the town or city reserved for special purpose of
limiting the growth of the city

Necessity of town planning:
 In absence of town
planning, town faces
following kind of
problems
 Defective road system,
narrow streets/ roads
 Development of slums
 Haphazard location of
industries
 Heavy traffic during
working hrs of day
 Inadequate open
spaces for parks and
playgrounds, i.e.
unhealthy living
conditions
 Lack of essential
amenities like power,
water supply, drainage
 Noisy atmosphere
 Uncontrolled
development of town

Necessity of Town Planning:
• The industrial revolution of 1760 – 1820 important
epoch (era)in the history of growth of towns and cities.
• No country is free from the galloping multiple crises of
our time.
• Haphazard planning and lack of vision leads to
catastrophic situation.
• Some of the evils which can prowl in absence of town
planning.

– The suburban sprawl has entirely engulfed (absorbed)
every town and city. The life inside the town often seems
to close to being snuffed out completely.
– Industries may spring up with less regard to social
convenience and before roads are built
– Houses may be constructed and occupied even before
water supply and drainage facilities are provided
– Schools may be located in total disregard of the population
which uses that school

– Roads may be widened without long lasting effect.
– Noise pollution,
– Traffic congestion.
– Without proper zoning the industries may sit in the
residential zones causing health hazards.
– Increased industrial activities causes growth of slums and
squatter settlements.
– Insufficient open spaces, recreational areas, parks,
playgrounds etc.
– Lack of public amenities such as water supply, drainage,
sanitation, electricity etc.

• We have to put tremendous efforts for the proper
shaping of towns creating buildings to meet the various
needs.
• Needs like social, cultural, economic and recreational
thus bringing welfare of the majority of mankind.
• The capital criticism of Indian planning of towns is that
the planning is not done for a period of long time.
• To avoid evils of the unplanned town it is extremely
necessary to prepare a comprehensive planning taking
into account a number of years for an overall
development of towns and country as well.

Origin of towns:
Topographical
• Conditions favorable
for industrial units
• Hilly areas - object
of defense
• Plain area - business
activities
• River banks
• Sea / ocean fronts
Functional
• Education
• Health resorts
• political
• religious

Growth of town:
 Why people like to stay
close together in urban
areas?
 To facilitate defense
against attack from
outsiders
 Man is social animal, gets
satisfaction of living life in
company of his fellows
 Can develop many
contacts, also can retain
privacy
 Urban area provide
facilities like water supply,
market etc

Growth of town: (cont.)
 Concentric spread:
 Natural tendency of
people to be as near as
possible to town, hence
town develops in
concentric rings
 Many complicated
problems such as
 Traffic congestion
 Narrow streets
 Concentration of
population
CBD
LIG
MIG
HIG
CBD : Central business district
LIG: Low income group
MIG: Middle income group
HIG: High income group
-Town grows radially
-Similar or functionally related
activities will be at same distance
from center of town

 Ribbon development:
 Everyone like to build
as near as possible to
main road
 Buildings develop
along side of main
road
 Long fingers or ribbons
of houses/shops
develop
e
De velopm nt
Main Road
Interior portion
Interior portion
Development

 Disadvantages:
 Increase in cost of various
utility services like water
supply, power, telephone etc
 Loose and scatter community –
lack of social life
 Costly and difficult future
improvement
 Houses face heavy traffic,
noise, dust
 Interior portion left
undeveloped, wastage of land
 Traffic capacity and efficiency
of main road reduces
 More pedestrians on main
road causes traffic accidents/
traffic delays
 Harms naturalness of country,
spoils countryside,
aesthetically faulty
 Measures to be taken:
 Land use zoning
 Regulation and control of
traffic
 Removal of encroachments
from road side
 Planning road side amenities
 Expressway with complete
controlled access

SATELLITE TOWNS
A satellite town or satellite city is a concept in urban planning that
refers essentially to miniature metropolitan areas on the fringe of
larger ones

 Satellite growth:
 Term Satellite is used to
indicate a body under
the influence of a more
powerful body but
possessing its own
identity
Satellite
town
Satellite
town
Satellite
town

 Features of satellite town:
 Own local government
 It is town itself, but it
depends to a certain
extent upon parent city
 Well connected by local
trains, buses etc
 Free to decide its
economic, social and
cultural activities
 Situated beyond green
belt of parent city
 Its neither a village nor a
suburb
 Mainly residential area
with only local shops,
schools for children etc
 It need not have zoning
regulations
 It can be even considered
as part of market for
goods and services being
produced in parent city
 Disadvantage:
 necessity of the journey to
work

 Scattered growth:
 Very irregular
 Traffic congestion
 Encroachment of industries
on resi area
 Slums
 Lack of parks and
playgrounds
 Complex problems become
too difficult to be solved in
future
 PLANNED GROWTH:
 Growth is controlled by
suitable rules & regulations
 Rational distribution of
various blocks such as resi/
comm/ industrial
 Provision of various
amenities like water supply,
drainage, parks etc is
made to meet future
requirements
 Orderly growth avoids
clashing of many activities
of normal town

 HORIZONTAL GROWTH:
 Town develops horizontally in
all directions
 It is possible where land is
available in plenty at
nominal cost
 Advantages:
 Cost saving: buildings are
generally 2/3 storey
 High tech personnel not
required
 Max possible use of
natural light
 Restricted density of
population
 Surrounding marginal
space can be used to
develop garden
 Disadvantage:
 Requires more land, so can
be uneconomical where
land values are high
 Foundation cost per unit
area will be more
 Absence of group living

 VERTICAL GROWTH:
 Multi-storied buildings
 Where land is less and costly
 Advantages:
 Use of common amenities,
sense of group living develops
 Foundation cost per unit area
is reasonable
 Higher level floor enjoys
natural sceneries such as river
view, sea view etc.
 Considerable saving in land
 Economy in construction cost,
repetition of typical floors
 Max use of modern
construction techniques such
as,
 Fire proofing, Sound
proofing, Heat insulation.
Air-conditioning, High
speed lifts
 Disadvantages:
 Natural calamities,
difficult to escape
 More population density
 Design of flats stereo-
typed
 Have to tolerate evils of
group living
 Failure of lift or water
raising pump will
cause great
inconvenience
 Wastage of floor space,
as lifts, supporting
column etc have to be
provided

Site for an ideal town:
 Availability of natural
advantages
 Availability of electric
power
 Available means of
communication
 Climatic conditions
 Contours of area
 Development of
surrounding area
 Drainage of area
 Available facility of
sewage disposal
 Soil fertility
 Frequency of floods
 Growths of trees
 Nature of soil
 Position of streams and
lakes
 Water resources, etc.

Town planning as a tem work
• Even as today town plans are prepared exclusively by civil
engineers and architects who paid attention to only the design
of buildings, streets, squares, terminals etc. and in general to
the beauty and grandeur (magnificent) of the town or the city.
• In reality town planning needs the team of experts from
various fields.
• Civil Engineer: design buildings, roads, bridges, design utility
services etc.
• Architect: aesthetics of the town.
• Landscape Architect: fixing location of the sites considering the
landscape of the country, layout gardens, parks, public places
etc.

Town planning as a tem work
• Sociologist: social and cultural stature of the city
dwellers. Also important to prepare civic survey.
• Geologist: Natural configuration and natural resources
• Economist: ecology of the town.
• Administrator: Orderly development of the town.
• Legal advisor: Suggesting and framing the legal aspect of
rules and regulations. Solving disputes related to land
and its development.

The great town planners of modern age:
• The social concept of the town plan or city makes the
final stage of its progress.
• It started in the early days of 20th century, when eminent
sociologists like Sir Patrick Geddes, Sir Ebenezer Howard,
Lewis Mumford entered the field of Town Planning for
the first time.
• Other eminent Town Planners who deserve mention are
Le Corbusier, Griffith Taylor, Clarence Stein, Henry
Wright, Sir Patrick Abercrombie, Charles Correa and
many others.

Town planning basics

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