Delhi's Changing Built Environment

Description

The rapid expansion, urban form and development of the built environment in the world’s second most populous city, Delhi, has been the consequence of social, political, economic, planning and architectural traditions that have shaped the city over thousands of years. Whilst seamless at times, these traditions have often resulted in the fragmented development of the city’s built environment. This book charts the political, economic and social forces that drove development in India generally and in Delhi in particular, and investigates the drivers and constituents of Delhi’s urban landscape. The book provides a lens through which to examine the development path of a mega-city, which can be used as a guide in the development of emerging urban centres. Furthermore, the strengths and weaknesses of Delhi's built environment are critically analysed, with consideration to the role of the market, finance and policy over time. This book not only provides valuable insight into the physical evolution of Delhi and its surrounds, but it also asks broader questions about how people, power and politics interact with urban environments. It is essential reading for planners, architects, urbanists and social historians. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of figures List of tables 1 Delhi and its surrounds: an introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.2 What is built environment? 1.3 An institutional pyramid 1.4 Delhi and its surrounds 1.5 The dynamics of political, economic and social context 1.6 The structure of the book 2 The market, policy and regulatory context of Delhi and its surrounds: review and assessment 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The treatment of land during the Mughal period 2.3 Land tenure during the administration of the British East India Company 2.4 Land tenure during the British Empire 2.5 Post-independence shift in the development paradigm 2.6 Managing Delhi’s urban growth prior to master planning 2.7 The “Master Plan” era 2.8 National Capital Region – Delhi in a regional context 2.9 Current state of Delhi 2.10 Noida, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad – the modern surrounds of Delhi 2.11 Conclusion 3 Evolution of urban form and imageability 3.1 Defining ‘urban’ 3.2 Defining ‘urban form’ 3.3 Delhi as a part of the first urbanisation in India – Indus Valley Civilisation 3.4 Delhi as the sacred city of ‘Indraprastha’ – Vedic period 3.5 Delhi rehabilitated as Lal Kot (1052 AD) 3.6 Shahjahanabad – the imperial capital of the Mughals (1639) 3.7 Transformation of Shahjahanabad into a commercial city – 1857 to 1931 3.8 ‘New’ Delhi (1911–31) – a federal capital 3.9 Fragmented growth of Delhi (1931 onwards) 3.10 Lal Dora 3.11 Master Plan of Delhi – 1962, 2001 and 2021 3.12 Conclusion 4 Continuities and discontinuities 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Pre-Islamic architecture at Delhi 4.3 Islamic architecture at Delhi 4.4 Continuities and discontinuities – Hindu and Islamic architecture 4.5 Islamic architecture in Islamic lands 4.6 First phase of Islamic architecture – the Delhi Sultanate 4.7 Khilji dynasty (1290–1320 AD) 4.8 Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413 AD) 4.9 The Sayyid (1414–51), Lodi (1451–1526) and Suri (1539–45) 4.10 Mughal architecture (1526–1858) 4.11 The British Raj (1858–1945) and European architecture in Delhi 4.12 The modern Delhi – post-1947 4.13 Conclusion 5 The intersection of surrealism, welfarism and consumerism 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Dreams – surrealism 5.3 Welfarism 5.4 The built spaces of ‘consumerism’: malls, metro and Mal à propos 5.5 Embracing disruptions in time and space: summing up Index