PLANNING OF CITIES

Then, Now & Tomorrow!

 

DEFINITION OF A CITYThe city is an artifact that predates the industrial revolution.A city is a group of people and a number of permanent structures within a limited geographical area, so organized as to facilitate the interchange of goods and services among its residents and with the outside world. The cordon that encloses the area in which the density is 2500 people/ sq mile.In USA, a town is bigger than a village but smaller than a city; where as in England, Town does not necessarily indicate a specific size at all; a group of buildings on a farm could properly be called a town in Britain.

ORIGIN OF CITIES

There are different views regarding the origin of cities.

‘Mumford’

The Algonquin

The Iroquois

Evolution of names of Indian cities:

Puram- city;a house - geha; a place containing a market and the like -hattadi-visishta-sttanam; a place of palaces or royal residence - puri; a town - Nagara; an emporium -pattanam; a local fastness -sthaniyam; a camp -katakam; a crossing of great highways-pattam; a commercial center-nigama; a place on a river side - putabhedanam.

ANCIENT TOWNS

Babylon towns

Egyptian towns

Mohenjo-DaroA: Monastery

B: Bath

Peking, China

Lukang, Taiwan.

Priene

Pompeii, Italy

Timgad

THE CLASSIC CITY

The cities created with highest excellence

Miletus

Acropolis

PRE-MEDIEVAL AND MEDIEVAL TOWNS

1000 AD onward

Walls around the city for defence and protection

Cities were very crowded

Fields and pastures were outside the ramparts

Some towns became centres of wider activities and others dwindled in size and importance.

Elburg

Noerdlingen

Montpazier

Carcassonne

RENAISSANCE TOWNS

15th century

Town extensions and reconstructions were carried out in this period

Guiding principle – Defence against artillery

Basic concept - Vista forming straight streets(The visual percept of a region)

Chess board pattern of street layout to create garden and fountains

Vienna

Jaipur

Peking, China

MODERN CITIES

Mankind has been living in towns, big and small, from time immemorial and the pattern of the town plan has been influenced by various factors.

Some of the types of city pattern are as follows

Circular Towns

Star-Shaped Towns

Superblock Towns

Self-Contained Towns

Town Plan- By MARS group

Linear Towns

Victor Gruen’s Metropolis

City Planning Concepts

E. Howard’s Garden City Concept

1.Central park with public Buildings

2.Crystal gallery for walking

3.Housing zone

4.School

5.Church

6.Industries

I.Leonidov’s City Planning concept

N.Milyuntin’s Planning Concept

1.Park area

2.Housing zone

3.Protective green

belt

4.Industrial area

5.Railroad terminal

N.Ladvosky’s Concept

1.Residential area

2.Industries

3.Administrative-

Political centre

Le-Corbusier’s La-Villa Contemporaine

1.Rail terminal2.Sky scrappers3.Residential 6 storyBuildings4.Closed sites5.Garden city6.Public buildings7.English garden8.Stadiums9.Reserve land area10.Industrial centres

Le-Corbusier’s Radiant City1.Residential area

2.Embassies & Hotels

3.Commercial & Administrative centres

4.Industries

5.Heavy Industries

6.Satellite Towns

7.Major highway & airport

Le-Corbusier’s Chandigarh City Plan1.Government centres2.Shopping centres3.Industrial

establishments4.Residential districts5.Landscaped

residential through streets

6.University

Doxidas’s Existensia1.Rawalpindi town2.Residential districts3.Shopping & commercial

centres4.Military zones5.Embassies6.Airport7.Old city8.Bus terminal9.Green space10.Industrial area11.Railwat area12.Highways

B.Malish’s Threshold theory

L.Kibil’s Ideal City Concept

1.Industrial area

2.Public centres

3.Local centres

4.Green spaces with sports grounds & pre-schooling facilities

PURPOSE OF THE PLANi. Master plan

ii. General plan

iii. Comprehensive plan

PROBLEMS IN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

PRESENT PICTURE IN INDIA

CITY OF TOMORROW

Predictions

Radio City1.Radio city2.Public & cultural

institutions3.Green belt4.Sports complex5.Ring road6.Radial road7.Multistory garage under

a landscaped platform8.Entrance to underground

garage

V.Iona’s -Funnel City1. Expressway

2. Park

3. Industrial establishments

4. City centre

5. Goods station

6. Railroad

7. Airport

8. Residential area

V.Iona’s-Floating Funnel City‘INTRA’1. Bridge from city to land2. Moorage platform

(berth)3. Underwater Funnel

lining lift with land roads

4. Central electric transform station

5. Anchored floating reservoirs

6. Floating pier

P.Meymont’s-Suspension Resort Town

P.Meymont’s – 3-Dimensional City

P.Meymont’s – Floating City

1. Funnel apartment building

2. Pyramid apartment building

3. Housing complex

4. Bridge

5. cliff

Dwelling-67

G.Borisovsky’s Hanging City

V.Loktyev’s - Dynamic 3-Dimensional Vertical Structure

K.Pchelnikov’s 3-Dimensional City1. Administrative & public

buildings2. Elevated roads3. Underground tube

stations4. Public transport stops5. 30 story apartment

buildings6. Future residential

buildings (150m-300m high)

ConclusionThere are many works going on in the topic of planning & upgrading cities with increasing populationsIt is also possible to locate underground buildings & structures that practically do not require daylight such as cinema hall, cultural & service facilities where people come for only a short durationThe use of sub terrain space in large cities will make it possible to solve major city planning problems.