This article examines the progression of urban and residential planning in India before its independence in 1947, emphasizing on the socio-cultural, political, and economic factors that influenced urban growth. India’s pre-independence urban planning shows a long history of creative architecture and flexible design. For example, the Indus Valley Civilization had well-planned towns, while the Mughal and British colonial periods had well-planned cities. The research investigates indigenous planning ideas derived from literature, like as the Vastu Shastra, with exogenous influences established under Islamic and European dominion. It looks at how settlements are organized in space, the different types of housing, and how colonial infrastructure projects affected these things, especially the rise of hill stations, cantonments, and presidency towns. The article offers a nuanced knowledge of the conception, construction, and habitation of urban environments through the analysis of case studies like Mohenjo-Daro, Jaipur, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), and Bombay (now Mumbai). The research emphasizes the convergence of tradition and modernization, illustrating how pre-independence planning methodologies established a groundwork for current urban challenges and strategies in post-independence India.

Keywords: Vastu shastra, Indus valley civilization, colonial architecture, Mughal urbanism, traditional housing, and urban planning in India before independence

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1. Gupta S, Shah C, Shah D, Deore P, et al. A grassroots-oriented urban planning strategy to enhance the socio-economic aspects of a city utilizing 2D and 3D GIS: A case study of Ahmedabad City, India. ISPRS Ann Photogramm Remote Sens Spatial Inf Sci. 2018;IV–4:73–80. doi:10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-4–73–2018.
2. Bhatti ZS. Understanding traditional domestic architecture in Pakistan: Insights for modern design [Master’s thesis]. Philadelphia (PA): University of Pennsylvania; 2018. Available from: [email protected].
3. Gupta A. The Imperial’s colonial construction and postcolonial persistence in the New Delhi Plan. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller; 2005.
4. Sharma P. India’s unbalanced urban growth: an assessment of trends and policies. J Glob Initiatives. 2018;13(1). doi:10.32727/11.2018.229.
5. Singh A. Confrontation, comparison, and rebuilding of the walled city of Shahjahanabad [S.M. thesis]. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture; 2006.
6. Hazareesingh S. Colonial modernism and the erroneous paradigms of urban renewal: unequal development in Bombay, 1900–25. History Cities. 2001;28(2):235–55. doi:10.1017/s096392680100205x. PMID: 19213158.
7. Tošković D. A look at Salt Lake City, Kolkata, India: Master planning and making it happen. Spatium. 2008;(17–18). doi:10.2298/SPAT0818098T.
8. Aloyants D, Kotin Y. Jawaharlal Nehru, Le Corbusier, and the effort to build the “ideal city” in South Asia. Vestn Saint Petersburg Univ Asian Afr Stud. 2019;11(2):236–51. doi:10.21638/spbu13.2019.208.
9. Kumar GS, Sekhar Kar S, Jain A. Health and environmental sanitation in India: Issues for prioritizing control techniques. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
10. Vennu V. Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and health conditions in India: Results from the national sample survey. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
11. Shephard RJ. Making the rules and infrastructure needed for health and fitness. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

This article examines the progression of urban and residential planning in India before its independence in 1947, emphasizing on the socio-cultural, political, and economic factors that influenced urban growth. India’s pre-independence urban planning shows a long history of creative architecture and flexible design. For example, the Indus Valley Civilization had well-planned towns, while the Mughal and British colonial periods had well-planned cities. The research investigates indigenous planning ideas derived from literature, like as the Vastu Shastra, with exogenous influences established under Islamic and European dominion. It looks at how settlements are organized in space, the different types of housing, and how colonial infrastructure projects affected these things, especially the rise of hill stations, cantonments, and presidency towns. The article offers a nuanced knowledge of the conception, construction, and habitation of urban environments through the analysis of case studies like Mohenjo-Daro, Jaipur, Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), and Bombay (now Mumbai). The research emphasizes the convergence of tradition and modernization, illustrating how pre-independence planning methodologies established a groundwork for current urban challenges and strategies in post-independence India.

Keywords: Vastu shastra, Indus valley civilization, colonial architecture, Mughal urbanism, traditional housing, and urban planning in India before independence

🔒 This is a subscription article

Full text is available to subscribers and institutional members. Please choose an option below to access it.

1. Gupta S, Shah C, Shah D, Deore P, et al. A grassroots-oriented urban planning strategy to enhance the socio-economic aspects of a city utilizing 2D and 3D GIS: A case study of Ahmedabad City, India. ISPRS Ann Photogramm Remote Sens Spatial Inf Sci. 2018;IV–4:73–80. doi:10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-4–73–2018.
2. Bhatti ZS. Understanding traditional domestic architecture in Pakistan: Insights for modern design [Master’s thesis]. Philadelphia (PA): University of Pennsylvania; 2018. Available from: [email protected].
3. Gupta A. The Imperial’s colonial construction and postcolonial persistence in the New Delhi Plan. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller; 2005.
4. Sharma P. India’s unbalanced urban growth: an assessment of trends and policies. J Glob Initiatives. 2018;13(1). doi:10.32727/11.2018.229.
5. Singh A. Confrontation, comparison, and rebuilding of the walled city of Shahjahanabad [S.M. thesis]. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture; 2006.
6. Hazareesingh S. Colonial modernism and the erroneous paradigms of urban renewal: unequal development in Bombay, 1900–25. History Cities. 2001;28(2):235–55. doi:10.1017/s096392680100205x. PMID: 19213158.
7. Tošković D. A look at Salt Lake City, Kolkata, India: Master planning and making it happen. Spatium. 2008;(17–18). doi:10.2298/SPAT0818098T.
8. Aloyants D, Kotin Y. Jawaharlal Nehru, Le Corbusier, and the effort to build the “ideal city” in South Asia. Vestn Saint Petersburg Univ Asian Afr Stud. 2019;11(2):236–51. doi:10.21638/spbu13.2019.208.
9. Kumar GS, Sekhar Kar S, Jain A. Health and environmental sanitation in India: Issues for prioritizing control techniques. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
10. Vennu V. Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and health conditions in India: Results from the national sample survey. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
11. Shephard RJ. Making the rules and infrastructure needed for health and fitness. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.