B H U B A N E S H WA R

CITY
NEIGHBOURHOOD
PLANNING

KRITHIK K A
INTRODUCTION TO THE CITY
• Bhubaneshwar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa.
• Bhubaneshwar, derive from Tribhubaneshwar, which
means the "Lord of the three world (Tribhuban)", which
refers to Shiva.
• With many Hindu temples, which span the entire
spectrum of Kalinga architecture, it is often referred to as
a 'Temple city of India’.
• It replaced Cuttack as the capital in 1948.
• The modern city was planned by German architect and
town planner Otto H. Konigsberg.
 SALIENT FEATURES OF BHUBANESHWAR
CITY BHUBANESHWAR
STATE ODISHA
DISTRICT KHODRA
AREA 148.10 sq. km. (Municipal Area)
393.57 sq. km. (Development Area)
POPULATION 837,737
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION Longitude85° 44' TO 85° 55’
ELatitude20° 12' TO 20° 25’ N
Benchmark 45 M. above the mean sea level
CONNECTIVITY AIR: City has modern airport with regular flights to New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Raipur.
ROAD: City is well connected by a road network with the urban centres of the state and
neighbouring state.
RAIL: City is well connected by a rail network and the Bhubaneshwar rail head lies on the
Chennai - Kolkata Railway line.

CLIMATE Tropical climate with maximum temperature of 43 °C and minimum temperature of 12 °C

Average annual rainfall of 1498 mm.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR Bhubaneshwar Municipal Corporation

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES oriya, english

(source: census, 2011)

THE CITY STRUCTURE
• Bhubaneswar was confined to the temple town.
• It was developed to south-east of the railway line, before any
planning and development initiative took place for the capital city.
• Railway link to the town was through the Bhubaneswar Station Road,
the station being connected to the temple town through minor road
which was upgraded to the status of National Highway.
• The road link from Cuttack was through Old Jagannath Road which
led to the temple area through the present Tankapani Road.
• Subsequently, the National Highway No 5 crossing Rasulgarh area
passed through the Old Station area and following the alignment of
Rajpath passed through Jagamara to meet its existing alignment at
the Khandagiri junction.
THE NEW CAPITAL (1948-56)
• On 13th April 1948, Bhubaneswar got back its status when the
foundation stone of the present capital township was laid by Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru .
• Bhubaneswar was born as the new capital of Orissa in close
proximity of the old temple town, the Master Plan for the new
township was prepared by the famous architect Dr . Otto. H.
Koenigsberger in 1954 on the basis of the concept of
neighbourhood unit planning.
• The capital town was planned in 1948 and was built between 1948
and 1961 at a respectful distance from the temple town with no
conscious steps taken to preserve the individual identities of each .
• The city grew fast and the intervening areas were filled up quickly.
• NORTH - About 22.5 km towards village Patia.
• NORTH-WEST About 14.5 km.
• WEST – About 11 km.
• SOUTH-WEST- About 8 km
• SOUTH – About 6.5 km
• EAST - About 9.5 km
THE CITY TODAY
• The city which was planned originally for 40, 000 people with an area of 16.84 sq. km. of
land is now accommodating about 8 lakhs 50 thousands people with an area of about 148
sq.km.
• The city has extended in seven different directions during the last few decades. This
extension has got varied length and dimensions from the core of the original town, which
has been supposed to lie at the Lingaraj temple area.
• From the centre of growth of the original temple town, the present town has extended
maximum towards north i.e. about 22.5 km. towards village Patia.
• Its extension towards north-west is about 14.5 km., west 11 km., south-west 8 km., south 6.5
km and east 9.5 km.
• Virtually, it has no growth towards south-east due to the location of the flood plains of
Kuakhai and Daya River.
• Presently, the city has been extended up to the Chandershekharpur in the north and beyond
Daya West Canal in the south.
• In the east, the development is confined to the Daya West Canal. In the west, the city has
expended well beyond the khandagiri Junction.
• The land between Daya west Canal and the Kuakhai is put to the agricultural use, which is
rapidly being put to Brick kiln.
WHAT IS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
• The term neighbourhood is often used to describe the different
divisions of urban or rural settlements. In its definition, a
neighbourhood is the vicinity in which people live. Lewis Mumford
presented ‘neighbourhood’ as a ‘fact of nature’, which comes into
existence whenever a community of people share a place. Since the
early ages of humanity, for practical, economical, sociological and
psychological reasons, people have tended to live close together in
sections of an area and form communities. Those neighbourhoods
have some particular physical or social characteristics that
differentiate them from the rest of the settlement. The assembling of
these neighbourhoods has formed towns, villages, and cities.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING OF
CAPITAL CITY BHUBANESHWAR' NEED
TO HAVE
• A unique local identity and sense of place.
• Clean natural environment, including water and air.
• Regular blocks divided in to uniform plots..
• Straight streets intersecting at right angles.
• Rectilinear plots according to predetermined units of measurement
[symmetrical layout/Grid Planning].
• Administrative and Government offices planned to be in one unit of space.’
• Capital Complex' consisting of Secretariat ,Legislative Assembly, High court,
Raj Bhavan, MLA Quarters, Ministers Quarters etc.
• Commercial complex.
• Open, accessible, and well-kept public spaces and parks.
• Hospitals, schools, Open grounds for meetings etc.
• Green Belts and water bodies to be Eco friendly.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING
PRINCIPLES OF BHUBANESWAR
• Design of the New Capital is based on the system of neighbourhood units which
means a group of houses, large enough to afford the major amenities of urban
life like schools, dispensaries, shopping centres, entertainment, public libraries,
etc. but at the same time small enough to keep all these amenities in short
distances, so that the main advantage of rural life can be preserved.
• To avoid boredom and uniformity the neighbourhood units are individually with
the object of giving it a distinct character.
• In contrast to the Old Town, the land under different uses are segregated from
each other so that the foul smell, smoke or dust of industry does not affect the
residential areas nor the crown and of a commercial area affect the silence and
solemnity of an administrative or educational area.
• An area of 231 acres has been allotted for an Industrial Estate
OBJECTIVE OF BHUBANESWAR
PLANNING
• To undertake works pertaining to construction of housing
colonies, shopping centers, markets, industrial estates and
provide public amenities.
• To prepare development plans including zonal development
plans.

• To regulate development and use of land including private land.

• To undertake schemes for improvement and clearance of slums

and re-development programs.
• To enhance the green cover of the city by taking up mass
plantation programs
It has two distinct divisions - the old town and the new capital
The following staged have affected the structure of the city :
1. the temple town up to - 1948
2. the new capital (1948-1956)
3. growth of institutions (1948-1974)
4. developments in Organised sector (1974 onwards)
5. the present Bhubaneshwar
1. LAND USE
• MASTER PLAN (1968-1988)
• Bhubaneswar was having a Master Plan since 1968.
• Seven functional land-use zones for Bhubaneswar were identified. These functional zones
have some specific land uses they are;
1. residential zone,
2. commercial zone,
3. industrial zone,
4. public and semi-public zone,
5. open space zone,
6. green belt zone
7. transportation zone.
• Koenigsberger viewed the city as an autonomous body, having its own law and jurisdiction,
political jurisdiction, right of self determination, and an organised sense of communal
relationship along secular lines.
• In spite of secular intentions and attitude towards Bhubaneswar, the temple town and the
capital city exerted an influence on each other to establish their dominance.
COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
(1988-2001)
• Due to the increasing population and the changing socio-economic
status of the city, the Master Plan of 1968 was re-examined,
evaluated and modified and in 1993 an improved Comprehensive
Development Plan prepared by Bhubaneswar Development
Authority came into force.
• The C.D.P. for Bhubaneswar proposed to be perspective plan with a
time horizon of 1988 2001 specifying the various land use zones
with a set up zoning regulations for regulating all the development
in zones.
THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE FOR THE PREPARATION
OF THE COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
ARE GIVEN
• To develop BELOW:
an urban environment capable of sustaining a population of 10
lakhs with facilities and services by 2001.
• To promote a more dynamic growth of the economy with increased
production goods and services, with increased employment opportunities
and to enable to capital city to play its role of the effectively as the centre of
administration, institutions and tourism for the reason with the state of
Orissa while retaining its horay traditions as the temple city.
• To enable the development authority for a sustained development planning
and effective plan implementation.
• To ensure effective coordination amongst various agencies that has
Bhubaneswar Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation,
Semi-Government/Private Agencies and Citizens in the process of
development of the capital city through effective mobilization of resources
and leadership.
Religion Hindu, Muslim, Others

Temple car Festival, Ratha-Yatra, Shivaratri, Diwali, Ganesh Puja, Nuakhai

Festival and Saraswati Puja, Eid, Christmas, Adivasi Mela, Toshali National Crafts
Mela, Rajdhani Book Fair and Khandagiri Utsav etc.

Bhaskaresvara Temple, Brahmesvara Temple, Kapilesvara Mahadeva

Temple, Lingaraja Temple, Mukteshvara Temple, Oberoi Hotel,
Monuments
Parasuramesvara Temple, Rajarani Temple, Ramesvara Temple, Vaital Deul
(Temple)
Lingaraj Temple, Nandankanan Zoological Park, Udayagiri and Khandagiri
Places of interest
Caves, Dhauli, Rajarani Temple etc.
Bapuji Nagar, Unit 2 & 3 Market, Ashok Nagar, Janpath and Cuttack-Puri
Markets
Road at Saheed Nagar, Satya Nagar .
Hotel Ginger, The Crown, Hotel Grand Central, Hotel Arya Palace, Hotel
Hotel Pushpak, Hotel Swosti, Hotel Excellency Bhubaneswar, Empires Hotel, The
New Marrion, The Royale Midtown etc.
Major industries in Bhubaneswar Information Technology, Iron and Steel,
Industries Hand looms, Fertilizer, Paper, Sugar, Cement, Ferro Alloy, Aluminium,
Minerals, Forest based industries.

Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Agricultural University,

Utkal University of Culture, KIIT University, Siksha O Anusandhan
University, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Hi-Tech Medical College &
Hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Rama Devi
Women's College, Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar College. IIT Bhubaneswar,
International Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar, Xavier
University/College
Institute of Management, Institute of Mathematics and Applications,
National Institute of Science Education and Research, National Institute of
Fashion Technology, Institute of Physics, Institute of Life Sciences, Institute
of Minerals and Materials Technology, Central Institute of Freshwater
Aquaculture, Regional Medical Research Center and Regional Institute of
Education College of Engineering and Technology etc
PRESENT LANDUSE
• The residential areas are confined in Unit No. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XI.
The residential areas have been planned in the form of self-contained
neighbourhood with each unit having its own high schools, shopping centers,
dispensaries, play areas etc.
• The market complex in Unit - 2 and Unit - 1 comprises of weekly and daily markets
are considered to be the main shopping center of the city.
• The land under the industrial use includes the Coach Repairing Factory, the
Industrial Estates at Mancheswar and Bomikhal and also a number of service
industries now functioning at the Cuttack Road and Rasulgarh area.
• Also, a large number of industrial units have been established in Mancheswar
Industrial Estate located in the area lying between Daya West Canal and the Railway
line. Large Industrial Estates are also being developed at Patia, Chandrasekharpur
and Pathargadia.
• Also, a large number of industrial units have been established in Mancheswar
Industrial Estate located in the area lying between Daya West Canal and the Railway
line. Large Industrial Estates are also being developed at Patia, Chandrasekharpur
and Pathargadia.
KOENIGSBERGER SUGGEST SEVEN TYPES
OF ROADS -
• 1. footpaths,
• 2. parkways,
• 3. cycle paths,
• 4. Arterial Road (200ft. wide with 10ft. Wide foot-paths)
• 5. Major Unit Road (150ft. Wide)
• 6. Major Housing Street (100ft. Wide)
• 7. Minor Housing street (40ft. Wide).

The overall widths of land earmarked for roads and streets were not
determined by traffic alone but also by requirements for storm water drainage services
like overhead electric lines, telephone, water and the need of adequate light and air to
the adjoining houses.
The overall width of land allotted for road purposes was, therefore, dependent
on the height of houses on both sides.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
PARTICULARS ORISSA BHUBANESHWAR CITY

Workers Participation Rate - Urban (in %) 30.62 33.30

Proportion of Main Workers to Total Workers (in %) 89.80 94.76

Urban Sex Ratio (Females per 1000 males) 895 796

Literacy Rate (in %) 81.00 78.02

•The table presents the key social-economic feature of the city and their comparison with that of
the urban Orissa.
It may be observed that the city had better workers participation rate (33.3%) than that of the
urban Orissa.
•Proportion of the main workers to the total workers is better in the city than the urban Orissa.
• Literacy rate and the sex-ratio in the urban Orissa is better than that of the city.
•The Bhubaneshwar city has been functioning as an administrative city with sustained growth in
tertiary economic activities.
•Major economic activities of the city are trade and commerce, tourism related activities and to
some extent, industrial activities.
Source: Census of India, 2001
OBSERVATION
• There is a total absence of provision of areas for a number
of urban activities such as industrial, institutional etc. which
were not envisaged then .
• With an absence of economy in allotting land for different
uses, the development spread over large areas, with even
residential quarters allotted in much larger areas then was
necessary .
• Such a sparse development pattern resulted in much lower
density of population, then was desirable and involved
higher unit cost of infrastructure development.
CONCLUSION
• It is time to rethink the concepts of self-sufficient-neighbourhood planning applied in Bhubaneswar by
Otto Koenigsberger. Neighbourhood unit planning offers many advantages. It is part of the
development plan which provides the opportunity to develop each unit as per the present as well as
future need.
• It can provide parks, gardens and playground for recreation and leisure activity considering the number
of population. The people of the neighbourhoods need not go to big market complexes and big
shopping malls which are located at several kilometres from each neighbourhoods. It is a good
opportunity to give priority to pedestrians and cyclists to move in their own neighbourhood. This way
residents travel short distances for their daily need. It will reduce the transportation cost and protect
the area from air pollution. It is necessary to think about the urban development which will create a
healthy environment for future.
• In the pandemic situation people should change their behaviour and they should avoid large gathering
in market complexes and big malls. Rather, they should avail the facilities provided in each
neighbourhoods and prevent overcrowding.
• There is a need to provide green spaces between the neighbourhoods. The open spaces, parks,
recreational areas and plantation should be properly organised in each neighbourhood to provide
environmental functions such as control of microclimate and environmental pollution. Besides, it is
desirable to provide healthcare facility to all residents. This will create a healthy environment during
pandemic situation and also for the future.
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