Making and Unmaking of Chandigarh- A City of Two Plans

Book tries to traverse the journey of globally known and valued Capital City of Chandigarh for more than 7 decades since its establishment in 1950 , in terms of its conceptualisation, siting, hiring of 2 teams of professionals for planning the cities; crisis faced by city while planning, designing, construction and management of the new city; defining four functions used in the planning , defining and detailing grid iron pattern, explaining sector as the container of life; types of development and architectural controls put in place for both managing city both within and outside; giving concept of periphery control; defining genesis of unique Chandigarh Architecture; giving a concept of a finite city and concept of redensification of the city; showcasing experiment with low cost-housing to make houses qualitative despite being cost-effective; providing basic amenities of life to the poorest of the poor to lead a dignified life; explaining Chandigarh experiment with sustainability and sustainable development ; Rationalising traffic and transportation within/outside the city by giving concept of 7Vs; creation of an artificial lake for rain water harvesting and ; dealing with problem of villages besides putting in place Tree Preservation Order, to protect existing flora & fauna; and Advertisement Controls Order to save the city from visual pollution; besides defining agenda for valuing nature and making Sun, space and Greenery as the basic elements of city planning; Making Open Hand as the theme/symbol of the city- open to receive and open to give , briefing Master Plan 2031; explaining Edict evolved for the city defining agenda for planning of new cities in India.