Urban thinkers weigh Chandigarh’s worldwide influence, its limits, and what its future planning must learn

A city that shaped global planning thought

Speakers said Chandigarh left an imprint far beyond India by reinforcing, in the decades after the Second World War, the belief that cities could be comprehensively planned through master plans, zoning and regulation. Conceived soon after Independence, Chandigarh became a reference point for planners in newly independent and rapidly urbanising countries.

Bimal Patel said the city inspired a nationwide push for master-planned development in India, influencing the first Master Plan of Delhi and, by the 1970s, hundreds of plans across Indian states. Similar planning ideas also travelled to other parts of the world, particularly in post-colonial contexts.

Where planning succeeded and where it failed

Alain Bertaud, who worked in Chandigarh in the early 1960s with Pierre Jeanneret, said the city demonstrated that top-down planning works best for large-scale infrastructure such as arterial roads, green spaces and mobility systems. However, his experience of living and working in the city showed that everyday urban life cannot be fully designed in advance.

He pointed out that informal markets, small shops and unplanned activity played a crucial role in meeting residents’ daily needs. Many workers who built Chandigarh, he said, could not afford to live in the city and settled outside it, underscoring the limits of rigid planning.

Lessons from the master plan era

Patel said the replication of Chandigarh-style master planning across India produced serious unintended consequences, including land scarcity, rising prices, housing shortages and the spread of illegal colonies. Planning authorities accumulated excessive discretionary power, while architects and developers focused on navigating regulations rather than responding to real demand.

Despite repeated failures, the master plan approach persisted for decades, he said, because it served entrenched institutional and political interests.

Cities as labour markets

Bertaud said cities should be understood as large labour markets whose success depends on easy movement of people, jobs and skills.

He criticised Chandigarh’s inward-looking sector design for limiting connectivity and said improving access between sectors and across the wider metropolitan region would enhance economic efficiency and opportunity.

He also suggested that planning decisions should be reviewed frequently so that policies causing harm can be corrected in time.

A call for flexible planning

Both speakers agreed that governments must focus on planning essential infrastructure, but allow flexibility in how residents use private space. Excessive regulation, they said, stifles adaptation and innovation, while markets and incremental development help cities respond to changing needs.

Shiv Dutt Sharma’s tribute

Shiv Dutt Sharma, who later became Chief Architect of the Indian Space Research Organisation, described Chandigarh as a flawless city and a proud legacy of modern Indian architecture. His praise reflected the deep attachment of the city’s original planners to its founding vision.

The event, organised by the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation, was the first in a year-long series of programmes planned to commemorate 75 years of the making of Chandigarh and to reflect on its evolution, challenges and future.

The author is an intern with The Indian Express