UNIT -III

PLANNING CONCEPTS
Planning concepts and their relevance to Indian planning practice in
respect of
Ebenezer Howard - Garden city concepts and contents

Patrick Geddes - Conservative surgery - Case study

C.A.Perry - Neighbourhood concepts

Le Corbusier- concept and case studies

 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

STRUCTURE AND FORM OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT

Mankind has been living in towns,big and small, from times immemorial and the
pattern of the town plan has generally been influenced by various factors such as
situation of the site, the nature of the terrain, the period of development, the economic
structure, the nature of industry and trade practiced.
As urban areas have grown over time they have become increasingly complex.Each
urban area has a variety of functions.The different activities that take place mean that
the way which humans use the land changes throughout the urban area.Due to the
complexity of land uses found throughout a city a number of models have been
created to identify patterns of land use.

SETTLEMENT SITE AND SITUATION:

1. The situation of a settlement is its position in relation to the surrounding and
physical features, many of which will have an impact on the settlement’s type,
size and function.
2. However, the importance of many of the factors explained before diminish
over time as technological advances enable people to overcome difficulties.
3. For example, a modern settlement does not need to be close to a river
because drinking water is now piped to our homes and waterways are no
longer important for transport.

TYPES OF SETTLEMENTS
There is a great variation in the settlement types due to geographical, cultural and economical
factors, settlements can be broadly classified into
• Urban settlements
• Rural settlements

TYPES OF RURAL SETTLEMENT IN INDIA

It is a sparsely populated place, like a village, with few built-up areas where the
inhabitants are engaged in primary activities such as farming, fishing and mining. The
type of rural settlements in India is determined by the extent of built-up area and the
inter-house distance. They are of 4 types:

1. Compact, clustered & nucleated Settlements: -

a. Clustered Rural Settlements- a rural settlement where a number of families live in
close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and
farm buildings.
b. A clustered rural settlement typically includes homes, barns , tool sheds, and
other farm structures along with religious and school structures.
Each person that lives on a clustered rural settlement is allocated strips
of land in the surrounding fields. The strips of land are allocated

PAVITHRA V B 2
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
Industrial revolution from the 18th century onwards marked the cut off between the ancient and
modern planning. Industrialisation was a boon to the growing population all over the world. Its
impact like the rising production and the pace of life created chain reactions affecting both natural
and built environment.

The problems arose mainly because of the concentration of the working class in poorly built housing
near factories and mills. Many utopian plans for better housing and urban development were
presented by industrialists. These plans were not executed but highlighted the growing ill effects of
the urban areas.

The concepts of four leading thinkers of modern urban planning had a significant impact in shaping
the contemporary cities all over the world. They were Ebenezer Howard, Patrick Geddes, C.A.Perry
and Le Corbusier.

PAVITHRA V B 3
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

❖ GARDEN CITY - Ebenezer Howard

Sir Ebenezer Howard is a British town planner and a well-known sociologist. He observed the disastrous growth in
Chicago, New York and London. This created an everlasting impression in his Mind.

Congestion, Squalor and discomfort at all levels in the growing urban centres had to be checked at
once. To address these issues Howard evolved the concept of garden city.

4. Garden city most potent(strong) planning in western urban planning

5. Created by Ebenezer howard in 1898 to solve urban and rural problems

6. Source of many key planning ideas during 20th century.

Garden city:
The garden city is part of urban
movement and is a method of
urban planning that was initiated in
1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the
United Kingdom.

Garden cities were intended to be

planned, self-contained communities
surrounded by "greenbelts”,
containing proportionate areas of
residences, industry, and agriculture.

Redirecting the urban growth into new

towns that would surround existing
cities.

These towns were called Garden Cities

GARDEN CITY |THE CONCEPT

‘Garden City’– an impressive diagram of

THE THREE MAGNETS namely the town magnet,

country magnet with their advantages and
disadvantages and the third magnet with attractive
features of both town and country life.

Naturally people preferred the third one

namely garden city.

Howard wanted to combine the best of the new

industrial society with the best of the country side in
his ideal community named as Garden city

PAVITHRA V B 4
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
Core garden city principles
❖ Strong community
❖ ordered development
❖ environmental quality

These were to be achieved by:

• Unified owner ship of land to prevent individual
land speculation and maximize community
benefit.
• Careful planning to provide generous living and
working space while maintaining natural
qualities
• Social mix and good community facilities
• Limits to growth of each garden city
• Local participation in decisions about
development.

AFFORDABILITY :
2. Howard wanted garden city of all incomes
3. Most originally for those of modest incomes
4. Their attractiveness as living environments has often
made them become more popular with better off people.
EXAMPLES OF MODEST INCOME GARDEN CITY-
developments build just after ww1 are
5. Kapyla ( Finland )
6. Colonel light gardens (Adelaide, Australia)
7. Orechova (prague, Czech republic)
SOME GARDEN CITY DEVELOPMENTS ALWAYS
INTENDED FOR WEALTHY COMMUTERS
8. Denenchofu ( Tokyo, japan ) was an example of this
developed by railway company

Salient features of Garden city

a. The Garden city houses a
population of 32,000 in an area
of 1000 acres.

b. Each city was divided into smaller

neighbourhoods of 5000 people to
act as counter magnets

c. the possibility of speculation of

PAVITHRA V B 5
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
land and overcrowding would be
eliminated and the increment of
value created by the community in
the industrial and commercial (
shops) sets would be preserved for
itself.

o Six magnificent boulevards each 36m wide traverse

▪ the city from the centre to the circumference dividing into six equal parts.
• In the centre is a circular space forming the central park

Public buildings like hospital,library,theatre,town hall,museum,concert hall surround the

central park.

• The central park is surrounded by a shopping street

• The central park and shopping streets are surrounded by dwellings in all direction.

• A permanent agricultural belt of 5000 hectares surrounds the entire city

A wide road in a city, usually with trees on
each side or along the centre

HOWARD’S IDEOLOGY
• Emergence of neighbourhood concept
• Creation of hierarchical amenities and facilities
• Green belts
• Land use zoning
• Provision of cycle paths
• Planned expansion of
cities to accommodate
growing population.

PAVITHRA V B 6
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

PAVITHRA V B 7
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
EVOLUTION OF GARDEN CITY -
CHRON
OLOGICAL ORDER IMPORTANT YEARS

• 1899 published 'garden city' of tomorrow

• 1903 Garden city association was formed
▪ 1903 LETCH WORTH was designed for 35000 person, 35 miles from
London,town area:about 500 acres,3000 acres of agricultural belt.
▪ 1920 Welwyn was designed for 40000 persons, area about 2400
▪ 1947 LETCHWORTH had 16000 population & 100 factories
▪ Welwyn was designed for 18000 population & 75 factories

Planning concepts and their relevance to Indian Planning practice in respect of

Ebenezer Howard
▪ When Sir Edwin Lutyens sat down at his drawing board to design Imperial New Delhi just over 100 years
ago, he was inspired by the ideas of the Garden City Movement started by English architect, Ebenezer
Howard.
▪ The movement, an urban planning concept, saw a city as a group of planned, self-contained communities
surrounded by green belts "containing proportionate areas of residence, industry and agriculture". So
Lutyens' Delhi, also known as the "Eighth City of Delhi", stood out from the start with wide tree-lined
avenues large plots and spacious bungalows set in them. The President's House was set on a central
avenue surrounded by government buildings and residential bungalows.
▪ Lutyens unveiled his plan in 1912 and the new city, occupying 19.12 sq km, was built over 20 years.

PAVITHRA V B 8
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
The layout of Lutyens Delhi was governed by three major visual corridors, linking the government
complex with: Jama Masjid, Indraprastha and Safdarjungs Tomb

C.A.Perry - NEIGHBOURHOOD CONCEPT

a. Clarence Arthur Perry (1872-1944) was an American planner.
b. He formulated his early ideas about the neighborhood unit and
community life which is 5-minute walk to define walking distances from
residential to non-residential components.

c. Perry was very concerned about the walkability to and from schools.
His ideas were realized in neighborhoods like Radburn through the
work of Clarence Stein.

Vision of Neighbourhood

PAVITHRA V B 9
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

Clarence A. Perry (1929) was one of the first to give some consideration to the physical form of the
neighbourhood unit.

Perry’s neighbourhood unit concept began as a means of insulating the community from the ill-effects
of burgeoning sea of vehicular traffic. However, it evolved to serve a much broader purpose of
providing a discernible identity for the concept of the neighbourhood, and of offerings to designers a
framework for disseminating the city into smaller subareas.

He said” the underlying principle of the scheme is that an urban neighbourhood should be
regarded both as a unit of larger whole and a distinct entity in itself.

There are certain facilities, functions or aspects that are strictly local and peculiar to a well
arranged- residential community. They may be classified under four heads:

• The elementary school

PAVITHRA V B 10
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
• Small parks and playgrounds

• Local shops and

• Residential environment, other
neighbourhood institutions and services are
sometimes found, but there are practically
universal.

He laid down the fundamental elements on which he intended

the neighbourhood unit should be based on size, boundaries,
open spaces, institutional sites, local shops and internal road
system.

SIX BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NEIGHBOURHOOD THEORY

• Major arterials and Traffic routes should not pass
through residential neighbourhood.Instead, these
streets should provide the boundaries of the
neighbourhood.

• Interior street pattern should be designed and

constructed through use of cul-de-sacs, curve layout
and light duty surfacing, so as to encourage a
quiet,safe,low volume traffic movement and
preservation of the residential atmosphere.

• The population of the neighbourhood should be that which is necessary

to support its elementary school.(when Perry formulated his theory, this population was
estimated at about 5,000 persons, current elementary school size standards probably would
lower the figure to 3,000 – 4,000 persons)

• The neighbourhood focal point should be the elementary school centrally located on a common
or green along with other institutions that have services area coincident with the neighbourhood
boundaries.

• The radius of the neighbourhood should be a maximum of 1/4 mile, thus precluding a walk of more
than that distance for any elementary school child.

• Shopping districts should be sited at the edge of the neighbourhood. Preferably at major street
intersection.

C.Perry,in effort to rectify the ills of the metropolis,orginated the idea of neighbourhood as a planned
community, self – contained with respect to the basic needs of collective living and large enough to
maintain an elementary school.

He believed and demonstrated that the school, if properly conceived, could be used to bring the people
of a school district together, and to generate social consciousness.

In essence, Perry and his followers endeavoured to design social neighbourhood, or the community.

PAVITHRA V B 11
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
To contemporary planners there is nothing startling or complex about Perry’s ideas. The remarkable
thing about them is their continued application, with minor variations, over the years.

The examples of local use of Perry’s basic theory as the standard for
neighbourhood development are myriad.ie,Tulsa,Okla,South field ,Mich:Berkeley,
Calif: Wichita,Kan.

A complete listing of cities in the United States, Canada and Europe that have embraced the
neighbourhood unit theory.

Principles of Neighbourhood

PAVITHRA V B 12
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

PAVITHRA V B 13
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

❖ Patrick geddies - CONSERVATIVE SURGERY CONCEPT

Father of modern town planning.

Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a

Scottish biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist
and pioneering town planner.

He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban

planning and sociology.

He introduced the concept of "region" to architecture and

planning and coined the term "conurbation".

First to link sociological concepts into town planning

“Survey before plan ” .......................................... i.e. Diagnosis

before treatment

The theories of Patrick Geddes were realized during the late 1940s and 1950s, it was after the second
world war that his influence overcame the opinions of the earlier generations of architectural
modernists. His works concentrated on the interaction between man and his environment.

He created diagrams which portrayed his trial of thoughts which he described as “calls for action to
improve the built and natural environment”.
Geddes viewed the city as a super structure raised on a formwork developed by place, work and folk.

In his book “cities in evolution “ – published in 1915 – Geddes coined the term “ conurbation” to
describe the waves of population inflow to large cities, followed by overcrowding and slum formation,
and then the wave of back flow – the whole process resulting in amorphous sprawl, waste, and
unnecessary obsolescence.

IDEOLOGY OF PLANNING
• The concept of place, work and folk

• Diagnostic survey and conservative surgery

PAVITHRA V B 14
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
• The outlook tower and public participation in planning

• Valley section principles

• THE CONCEPT OF PLACE, WORK AND FOLK

The town planning primarily meant establishing organic relationship among “Folk, place and work",
which corresponds to triad ( Geddisian triad) of organism, function and environment. Geddes was keen
that the task of planning should not force people into new places against their associations, wishes and
interests. Instead the task must be to find the right places for the right kind of people where they would
flourish. He insisted on a socio-economic survey while developing a city or while planning a entirely
new town

• CONCEPTS
Patrick Geddes explained an organ i s m”s relationship
to its environment as follows:

“The environment acts, through function, upon the organism and

conversely the organism acts, through function, upon the environment.“
(Cities in Evolution, 1915)

In human terms this can be understood as a place acting

through climatic and geographic processes upon people
and thus shaping them. At the same time people act,
through economic processes such as farming and
construction, on a place and thus shape it. Thus both
place and folk are linked and through work are in constant
transition.

GEDDISIAN TRIAD
Geddian Trio Representation

Organic relationship between Socio

Physical & Economical Environment
• Geddes was concerned with the relationship between people and cities and how they affect one
another.
• He emphasized that people do not merely needed shelter, but also food and work, the
recreation and social life. This makes the house an inseparable part of the neighbourhood, the

PAVITHRA V B 15
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
city and the surrounding open country and the region.

THE OUTLOOK TOWER AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PLANNING

Public participation is an important concept stressed by Geddes. Any city development programme is bound to be a
failure without active public participation. He insisted on the establishment of Outlook towers in all cities from where
citizens can view the cities and know the problems faced by the growing cities.

Patrick Geddes took over the buildings formerly known as “short’s observatory” in 1892.From the prospect roof
of the outlook tower are spectacular views across the firth of forth and the surrounding city region. Positioned at
the top of the Edinburgh’s high street, it holds the camera obscura,which refracts an image onto a white table
within, for study and survey. A mirror at the top of the dome picks up images and reflects them through a lens
which in turn focuses the picture on to a white surfaces as on a film camera.
The tower was conceived as a tool for regional analysis, index-museum and the “world’s first sociological
laboratory". It represents the essence of Geddes’s thought – his holism, visual thinking and commitment to
understanding the city in the region. He said of it “our greatest need today is to conceive life as a whole, to see its
many sides in their proper relations, but we must have a practical as well as a philosophic interest in such an
integrated view of life.
Hence the first contribution of this Tower towards understanding life is purely visual, for from here everyone can
make a start towards seeing completely that portion of the world he can survey. He can also grasp what a
natural region actually is and how a great city is linked to such a region. Now the tower is home to the Patrick
Geddes centre for planning studies, Where an archive and exhibition are housed.

VALLEY SECTION PRINCIPLES

The valley section is applicable to any country, region and in particular to Great Britain.In the valley
section Geddes correlates as to how the topography is associated with the primary occupation of man.
Accordingly the miner,woodman and hunter are at a higher elevation, the shepherd on the grassy slopes, the

PAVITHRA V B 16
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
poor peasant on the lower slopes,the rich peasant on the plains and finally the fishermen at the seacoast. This
location is not only controlled geographically but is also conditioned by their environment and occupation which
is manifested in their settlements.Geddes also emphasises that the violation of this principle will not only the
result in daily economic waste but will also end in aesthetic ruin.

PAVITHRA V B 17
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

DIAGNOSTIC SURVEY AND CONSERVATIVE SURGERY

In his technique called Diagnostic Survey, Geddes framed new ways of observing and analysing cities.
He laid emphasis on "survey before plan” ie. Diagnosis before treatment to make correct diagnosis of
various ills from which the town suffers and then prescribe the correct remedies for its cure. These are
the physical and social economic surveys.

It involved the collection of all known data of a city and its surroundings such as its
origin,geography,climate,traditions and present socio economic structure. Thus the diagnostic survey
formed the storehouse of information that helps in preparing a long term practical strategy for social
development.

The cities always face short term problems such as growing slums, increasing traffic, urban renewal
etc. To address these short term issues Geddes developed a technique called as Conservative Surgery.

In later life he spent ten years in India, advising on the renovation of the poor slum parts of several
cities by what he called “conservative surgery", that is opening the streets up to air and light by
demolishing the worst houses, while saving and renovating where at all possible. Congestion is always

PAVITHRA V B 18
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
high at the intersections. He wanted to create smooth traffic flow by pulling down carefully identified
houses which are old and dilapidated.

OUTLOOK
TOWER

PAVITHRA V B 19
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

❖ Le Corbusier 1887-1965
• He was a French architect whose ideas have greatly influenced the modern town planning

• Corbusier wanted man to live in urban life in truth with security and ease collectively and individually.

• The meaning and idea of visual order and relationship and the city as a synthesis of form embracing verities of
• structures and systems is the theme repeatedly proclaimed by him.
• He tried to create totally different world from the exiting ones . He wanted to grow with the machine
and take full advantage of its potential for speed and verticality .
eg. 1.Contemporary city 2. Radiant city (La ville Radieuse, 1930) 3. Linear city
,1945 (La villa contemporine ,1922)
(Plan voisin ,1925)

1.5 million Population

PAVITHRA V B 20
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

Background of city development in the early 20th century

Its impact and influence can be seen mainly in the following aspects:
• The growth of industry in city attracted a large number of people flowing into the city causing the
increase of the density
of urban population.
• The traditional urban pattern has been broken by the industrialization needs, and a new structure with the
commercial and industrial centers, transport hub centers has been formed.
• The industrial development as well as population expansion has led to the traffic congestions.
• The city has been polluted because of the industrial production and the living condition was very poor.

Le Corbusier’s principles of reconstruction and development of cities

Corbusier advocated urban

centralism and believed that this
form can bring energy to the city.
By centralization of the space and
transformation of function the new urban
environment can be created to meet the
requirement of modern society. Le

PAVITHRA V B 21
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
Corbusier considered that the main
problems in city were the
greatly increasing density of population in city center, the conflict between the growth of the number and speed
of transportation and the existing road system and the lack of enough green land and public space to provide
enough sunshine, good ventilation and outdoor activities.

LE CORBUSIER'S FOUR PRINCIPLE IN CITY PLANNING

• Decrease the congestion in the city center

• Increase the density of population in city center
• Diversify ways of transportation
• Expand the green area

PAVITHRA V B 22
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

PAVITHRA V B 23
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

PAVITHRA V B 24
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

PAVITHRA V B 25
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
Le Corbusier - Linear city

PAVITHRA V B 26
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
Le Corbusier- Chandigarh City Planning
CHANDIGARH was the first planned city after independence from British rule in 1947. It is the capital city of the
states of Punjab and Haryana.
The city is located at the picturesque junction of foothills of the Himalayas Mountain range and the
Ganges plains. It houses a population of 1 ,054,600 inhabitants (2001 ) and is one of the richest cities of
the nation.
American architects Albert Mayer and Mathew Novicki were the first architects to be appointed for
the project. After the death of Novicki in 1950, Le Corbusier was commissioned.

PAVITHRA V B 27
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]

The basic planning of the

city is a sector:
• To accommodate 3,000 to
25,000 persons.
• 30 sectors in Chandigarh
• 24 are residential.
• The sectors surrounded by
high speed roads
• bus stops every 400m.
• The main principle of the
sector is that never a door will
open on the surrounding of fast
vehicular road.
• The size of the sector is
based on the concept of no
pedestrian need to walk for more
than 10min
.

PAVITHRA V B 28
 [Human Settlement & Planning] [UNIT -3 ]
The primary module of city’s design is a
Sector, a neighborhood unit of size 800
meters x 1200 meters.

Each SECTOR is a self-sufficient unit

having shops, school, health centers
and places of recreations and worship.

The population of a sector varies between

3000 and 20000 depending upon the sizes
of plots and the topography of the area.
A Hierarchy of Green Spaces can be observed in the layout ranging from Public Greens at City

Private
Green
Areas
The Leisure Valley is a green sprawling space
extending North-East to South-West along a
seasonal river let gradient and was conceived by
Le Corbusier as the lungs of the city.

Apart from large Public Parks and special Botanical

Gardens, it houses series of Fitness Trails,
amphitheaters and spaces for open-air
exhibitions.

PAVITHRA V B 29