Confrontation, comparison and reconstruction of the walled city of Shahjahanabad

Cities offer a platform for cultural, social, physical and economic co-existence and conflict. Many traditional cities of India, which were conceived on the basis of relative autonomy of the existing societal structure, got transformed in to complex, fragmentary patterns of urban development due to their failure to support continuous population pressure and new trends of urbanization. One of these cities, Shahjahanabad (commonly known as Old Delhi), stands out as one of the perfect examples. The walled city of Shahjahanabad initially evolved on the basis of formal geometries of axial planning, and later got transformed in to a chaotic hub of complex form; initially due to the conscious neglect by the British colonialism and later due to endless problems generated by human immigration. Although, the walled city is known for its historical significance due to numerous architectural monuments, the indigenous settlement is tabooed as "Old Delhi" due to its persistent socio- cultural patterns that isolate the traditional core of Delhi from rest of the city structure. Nonetheless, the walled city of Shahjahanabad is characterized by its introvert nature of public activities bolstered by specialized bazaars and indigenous neighborhoods (Mohallas) structured around religious sanctuaries.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Singh, Ajit, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael Dennis.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35127

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35127