Modernism is a movement that emerged out of the First World War, which brought about radical changes in the field of architecture and urban planning. It called for functional and efficient design as the primary basis of all architecture, a far cry from the existing styles focusing on proportionality and ornamentation. It was also during this time that the devastation caused by the two World Wars had led to the massive destruction of urban infrastructure, which led to the emergence of a large number of urban thinkers who were grappling with the question of “What makes an ideal city?”. An important step towards answering this question took place in 1928 with the establishment of CIAM or International Congresses of Modern Architecture, which grew over decades to act as a think tank of urban planners all over the world.
While the CIAM’s findings were never unanimously agreed upon, they acted as an important starting point for the creation of well-functioning cities in the postwar world. Post-independence, newly planned Indian cities were also heavily influenced by the ordered principles of modernism which were in great contrast to typical chaotic organic growth. This influence of modernism in India started with Le Corbusier’s planning of Chandigarh but eventually found its way into the development of many cities over the past decade.
Towers in the Park
Le Corbusier, often dubbed ‘the father of modern architecture’, spearheaded the discussions at the meetings of CIAM, and compiled his interpretations into the Athens Charter, which became the backbone of modernist planning in the years to come. Corbusier envisioned cities to be ‘Towers in the Park’, meaning that the solution for the decongestion of towns lay in making use of the skies and expanding upwards. This solution, made possible by innovations in material, ensured that a greater density of people could now reside on the same parcel of land leaving ample space around for the creation of parks and open green areas. He believed that each city was a machine with various parts, and in the hands of efficient urban planning, it would function at its peak. This machine consisted of primarily 4 parts: Places to stay, spend leisure time, work, and commute. Each of these parts was analyzed by the CIAM in detail to propose possible solutions for their improvement.
Dwellings, or places of stay, are to be designed by considering public health as the primary concern. “Sun, vegetation, and space are the 3 raw materials of urbanism” since these constitute the basic needs of man. In addition, all dwelling units should uphold a minimum standard of living by following the universal laws of hygiene, irrespective of economic capacity. There should be a limit to the density of dwelling units in a city and high-rise structures should be encouraged to leave free open areas on the ground. Recreational spaces should be positioned in a manner that is accessible to residents on a daily basis. There should be spaces for games and relaxation in addition to means of accessing the prominent natural features around the city. The distance between places of stay and places of work needs to be minimal to reduce the time and cost of traveling to and from these places. In industrial cities, this can be implemented by positioning industries along transportation routes and making a linear city. In such a city, dwelling units will be placed parallel to transportation lines and can be separated by a zone of vegetation. Pedestrian and automobile networks should function independently. Traffic routes should be analyzed and roadways should be built according to the traffic flow and speeds which they are meant to accommodate.
The Case of Indian Cities
Illustrated below is a case of how modernist planning influenced the urban fabric of Indian cities by comparing the unplanned organic growth of Mumbai with its twin satellite city Navi Mumbai.
A Filled City of Dreams
By the year 1960, Mumbai had reached a population of 4 million. The small port town that had been created by the British in between 7 islands as a ‘Gateway to India’, was now growing at an alarming rate, acting as a hotbed for the growth of industries and migrant populations. This influx of migrant workers exerted stress on the land which was deeply rooted in caste inequalities. The southern tip of Mumbai housed industries and the only direction available for expansion on the peninsula was upwards. This led to the creation of suburbs in the central and northern parts of the city where people lived and traveled southwards to work.
As the population grew with predictions to hit 16 million, there was no further scope for Mumbai to develop upwards. To relieve the land stresses, CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Cooperation of Maharashtra) proposed the creation of Navi Mumbai or New Bombay as a satellite twin city that would implement modernist principles of urban planning. The creation of Navi Mumbai was aimed at introducing an east-west movement in contrast to the existing north-south with large travel times from the suburbs, eventually connecting the growing city to the mainland.
A New Bombay
While Mumbai was a monocentric city that had grown upwards in the past decades, Navi Mumbai was envisioned as an urbanist strategy to decongest Mumbai with modernist principles. Navi Mumbai was planned as a linear city, as suggested by the Athens Charter, with decentralized nodes to encourage polycentric growth. It had 12 self-contained nodal townships, which were further divided into a grid-based sectoral planning to house the residents of this new city. These nodes segregated all necessary requirements of residential areas, schools, markets, and places of work, and adopted the modernist model of single-use zoning. Woodland corridors were planted and a plan was formalized to plant 1000 trees annually, which would be fed by streams flowing from the Western Ghats. Each of these nodes was then arranged along mass transportation lines to ease communication between nodes. These nodes were estimated to become home to around 100,000-200,000 residents, amounting to a settlement with a total population of around 2 million.
Over the years political struggles inhibited the growth of Navi Mumbai into its utopian self. As the value of land dwindles, large areas of the city are now covered in informal settlements, defeating the purpose of its intensive planning. Despite this, the implementation of CIAM’s principles is evident and created hope for the development of a modernist city akin to Chandigarh.
Implementation of the Charter
Navi Mumbai is planned from a clear derivation of the Charter’s principles. Spaces of dwelling are high-rise structures that have been well planned in sectors to allow for proper penetration of natural elements. Broad streets for accommodating traffic flows are lined with green cover and have been arranged along linear corridors to ease movement between places of work and stay. Polycentric growth ensures that people can reside near their places of work. Sectors share ample green spaces and parks which follow the requirements of leisure spaces. Like Navi Mumbai, these modernist principles are implemented in various Indian cities including Chandigarh, Gandhinagar, and Bhubaneswar. Over time these principles were widely criticized by urban planners who sought a more human-centric experience in the city. Modernism was eventually replaced by New Urbanism which was more perceptive of the diversity seen in the Indian context. But at its core modernist principles continue to act as an efficient economic model for creating ‘ideal’ cities.
Citations for books:
Corbusier, Le (1973). The Athens Charter. New York: Grossmann Publishers.
Citations for online resources:
RTF | Rethinking The Future. (2021). Theory in Architecture: Athens Charter. [online] Available at: https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/rtf-architectural-reviews/a4789-theory-in-architecture-athens-charter/.[Accessed 15 Nov. 2024]
Gamesby, R. (2012). Mumbai case study. [online] Coolgeography.co.uk. Available at: https://www.coolgeography.co.uk/A-level/AQA/Year%2013/World%20Cities/Mumbai/Mumbai.htm.[Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].
SlideShare. (2017). Navi mumbai. [online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/navi-mumbai-79928470/79928470 [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].
urbanarchoffice (2021). The Uprising against the Modernism! [online] UrbanArch Foundation. Available at: https://www.urbanarchfoundation.com/post/new-urbanism [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024].
Urban Design lab. (2022). Modernist City Planning Ideals: A Roadmap To Decline? [online] Available at: https://urbandesignlab.in/modernist-city-planning-ideals/?srsltid=AfmBOorGup8rdUfqjwzgjZeoDEQ7q2hgH0KMAYwexcncH2M4Nrh1fjyv [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024].
Planetizen (n.d.). What Are Le Corbusier’s Towers in the Park? | Planopedia. [online] Available at: https://www.planetizen.com/definition/le-corbusier [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024].
Ganju, M.A., Kanvinde, S., Rajagopalan, S., Maniktala, A., Chauhan, M., Seth, P.C., Rajeev, S., Kanvinde, S. and Singh, J. (2004). India-Tech Foundation Award, October 2004. Profession and Planning Practice, Discourse, [online] 2012. Available at: https://architexturez.net/pst/az-cf-179405-1466913911. [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024]
Ananthakrishnan, M., Browder, J., Jacobson, W. and Knox, P. (1998). The Urban Social Pattern of Navi Mumbai, India. [online] Available at: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/7d694fa2-a3ad-45a5-b46d-a31ee152b6b8/content. [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024]
Citations for YouTube videos:
UrbanAge (2011). Urban Age Mumbai’07: #14 Charles Correa Mumbai: Which Way Forward? [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/CfQFquu068g [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].
BlessedArch (2023). Corbusier’s Society of Modernists. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/ClejM5nd7Ac?si=fFL30U0kk7TMEwaj [Accessed 19 Nov. 2024].
