Development Without Damnation

In India, Chandigarh is the first example of planning a new city, taking care of the projected needs of the urban community in a systematic manner. It incorporates the principles of the 'three human establishments' as enunciated by Le Corbusier in his book, The Three Human Establishments. He advocated development of industrial settlements away from urban areas, which would be surrounded by agricultural greenbelts. Within the last fifty years, this city has grown into a prosperous urban community with good urban infrastructure and civic amenities and an almost pollution-free environment. This has led to the conviction that we can develop more such towns, observes veteran architect Jeet Malhotra.