- A Planning Approach for Fast Changing ‘Socio-Political‘ Environment: A Case of Delhi Master Plan    537 kb by    Uttarwar, P S | psuttarwar@gmail.com    Short Outline The Master Plan remains to be the only planning instrument which stood the test of time despite criticism, severe limita-tions/¬slow pace of implementation. The Master plan with some innovative ideas, shifts from ‘standard based planning’ to ‘procedure based planning’. Abstract Urban Planning in India has gone through considerable changes. India as an emerging economic power has been pursuing planning policies with an objective to uplift standard of living of all strata of the society. Economic development in terms of per capita income, and availability of resources for infrastructure development, these two factors have impacted and shaped policies, approaches and direction of land use planning in the present context. Focus of planning shifted from ‘the principle of controlled development of land’ to ‘the principle of demand and supply’ of open economy. Due to this paradigm shift, traditional planning needs to readjust its planning tools like master plan and zonal plans, in such a way that it recognizes ground realities and it is also acceptable to the people. The concept of master plan and structure plan are both being questioned in terms of their nature and effectiveness. Never the less, stakes related to controlling the urban development are crucial for the future of humanity. City dwellers are expected to account for roughly half the world’s population in the 21st century. The increase in urbanization of the world population is inescapable and irreversible. Thus, urban planning becomes essential and fundamental for any future development policies. Over the years, physical and economic development maintained the same pace. However, the process of economic evolution initiated in 1990 has increased pace of economic development and raised per capita income. Unfortunately, the physical development or planning process could not measure the pace of economic development. This situation led to distortion in the fabric of physical development within and outside the city. An exegesis of planning policies and strategies implemented through master plan document is needed on the basis of past experience of last five decades. Keywords Procedure based Planning Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2012: Fast Forward: Planning in a (hyper) dynamic urban context   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper