CHANDIGARH
of LE CORBUSIER with the master plan of Chandigarh Picture
LOCATION & HISTORY 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
1.1 Chandigarh – Chandigarh
is only planned city in India with a population 4,707,030 in the
year 2011. The
construction of capital city of joint Punjab was started in early 50s.
One
of the finest example of urban development.
The
City Chandigarh was declared a Union Territory in the year 1966 with joint capital of both the states of Punjab The
and Haryana. It is situated in the foot of Shivalik hills.
area of Union Territory of Chandigarh is 114 sq. km. only with 22 villages falling in the jurisdiction of Union Territory. Since the formation of Union Territory in the year 1966, all the functions such as water supply, sewerage, storm water drainage, city roads, solid waste management and fire wing etc. were looked after by respective departments of Chandigarh Administration. With the formation of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh in the year 1994 (with 20 wards) with its jurisdictional area of 79.34 sq. kms.; the functions of original works & maintenance for V4,V5 and V6 roads; water supply, sewerage, storm water drainage, solid
The city Chandigarh because of its unique concept is known as ‘City beautiful’. It is one of the greenest city of India with its 1400 nos. green belts / parks/ gardens. The quality of life is the consideration of people in Chandigarh. The maintenance of basic urban service is altogether different than the conventional old cities. Moreover it is the regional center of three adjoining States of Punjab, Haryana ad Himachal. It is hub of political and bureaucratic activities of adjoining States. The high profile services provided by Chandigarh Administration & Municipal Corporation is a role model for other urban cities.
The city Chandigarh is located in western side of river Gaggar and Shimla National highway. It is linked by rail with National Capital Delhi and hill station Shimla. The National and state highways also connect this city with Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ambala, Patiala and Manali. The city Chandigarh is having direct air link to Delhi and Bombay and airport is also being upgraded.
1.2 Historical Background Chandigarh derives its name from the temple of Goddess “Chandi” (the goddess of power) located in the area and a fort or “garh” lying beyond the temple. The city has a pre-historic past. The gently sloping plains on which modern Chandigarh exists, was in the ancient past, a wide lake ringed by a marsh. The fossil remains found at the site indicate a large variety of aquatic and amphibian life, which was supported by the environment. About 8000 years ago the area was also known to be a home to the Harappa's. Since the medieval thru' modern era, the area was part of the large and prosperous Punjab Province, which was divided in to East & West Punjab during partition of the country in 1947. The city was conceived not only to serve as the capital of East Punjab, but also to resettle thousands of refugees who had been uprooted from West Punjab. In March 1948, the Government of Punjab, in consultation with the Government of India, approved a 114.59 Sq.Kms.tract of land at the foothills of Shivaliks as the site for the new capital. The location of the city site was a part of the erstwhile Ambala district as per the 1892-93 gazetteer of District Ambala. The site was selected by Dr.M.S Randhawa, the then Deputy Commissioner of Ambala. Before the new capital came up, the original site had about 59 villages. The foundation stone of the city was laid in 1952. Subsequently, at the time of reorganization of the state in 1967 (01.11.1966) in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital of both, Punjab and Haryana while it itself was declared as a Union Territory and under the direct control of the Central Government.
1.3 Geology The Union Territory of Chandigarh is located in the foothills of the Shivalik hill ranges in the north, which form a part of the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. It is occupied by Kandi (Bhabhar) in the north east and Sirowal (Tarai) and alluvial plains in the remaining part.
The subsurface formation comprises of beds of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand, silt, clays 3 and some Kankar. The area is drained by two seasonal rivulets viz Sukhna Choe in the east and Patiala-Ki-Rao Choe in the west. The central Part forms a surface water and has two minor steams. The steam passing through the central part is called N-Choe and the other Nala which initiates at Sector 29.
INITIAL PROPOSALS
Fan-shaped Master Plan proposed by Albert Mayer
Grid-Iron Master Plan proposed by Le Corbusier
BASIC PLANNING CONCEPTS
The city plan was conceived as post war ‘Garden City’ wherein vertical and high rise buildings were ruled out, keeping in view the living habits of the people. Le Corbusier conceived the master plan of Chandigarh as analogous to human body, with a clearly defined Head (the Capitol Complex, Sector 1), Heart (the City Centre Sector-17), Lungs (the leisure valley, innumerable open spaces and sector greens), Intellect (the cultural and educational institutions), Circulatory system (the network of roads, the 7Vs) and Viscera (the Industrial Area).
Type or Roads
Functions/Names
V-1
Roads connecting Chandigarh with other cities like Ambala,Kharar and Shimla. They have dual carriageway, good tree plantation and distinctive central verge lighting. The Madhya Marg and Dakshin Marg are two roads, which merge into V-1s leading the Kalka and Ambala, respectively.
V-2
They are the major avenues of Chandigarh, with important institutional and commercial functions running alongside. In Chandigarh they are identifiable as ‘Marg’, Madhya Marg,Dakshin Marg, Jan Marg, Himalaya Marg, Uttar Marg and Purv Marg are important examples.
V-3
They are the corridor- streets for fast moving vehicular traffic. A sector is surrounded either by V-2 of V-3 roads.
V-4
Roads bisecting the Sector with shopping complex located along their southern edge.
V-5
Roads meandering through the sector giving access to its inner lands.
V-6
Roads coming off of the V-5s and leading to the residentialhouses.
V-7
They are intended for pedestrian movement and run through the middle of the sector in the green areas. A few examples are along the Jan Marg, in the Punjab University & Sector-15.
V-8
They are intended to run parallel with V-7s for the bi-cycles. Not properly developed, as yet.
View of typical Roads and Round- abouts in the city
The primary module of city’s design is a Sector, a neighbourhood unit of size 800 meters x 1200 meters. Each SECTOR is a self-sufficient unit having shops, school, health canters 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. Layout
HIERARCHY of GREEN AREAS 1
2
3 4
A Hierarchy of Green Spaces can be observed in both the layout ranging from Public Greens at City Level to Semi-Private to Private Green Areas. 1.City Level Public Green Space with Artificial Water Body 2.Free- Flowing Green Space, connecting the entire site 3.Semi-Private Green Areas for neighbourhood pockets 4.Private Green Areas for Residential Units
Apart from large Public Parks and special Botanical Gardens, it houses series of Fitness Trails, amphitheatres and spaces for openair exhibitions.
The Leisure Valley is a green sprawling space extending NorthEast to South-West along a seasonal riverlet gradient and was conceived by Le Corbusier as the lungs of the city.
Population As per the provisional population totals of Census 2011, Chandigarh UT has a population of 1,054,686 compared to 900,635 in 2001. In absolute terms the population of Chandigarh has increased by 154,051 during 2001 - 2011. Among States and Union Territories of India, it ranks 30th and accounts for 0.09 percent of country's total population. Figure 1 shows comparative size of population of States and Union Territories in India as per Census 2011.
