Theories of modernity and post modernity and relevance to social,

urban and rural planning

(By: Nony Gupta, M.Plan I Sem, Sec-C)
Abstract
Social structures and lifestyles have, in one way or the other, influenced planners to rethink the
process of planning and its focal points. In the ever-changing society, some of the most relevant
are the theories of Modernity and Post modernity. Since planning is all about learning from the
past and dealing with the future trends, societal changes are an integral part to understand the
process as a whole. This assignment is an attempt to understand the essence of modernity and
post modernity and venture various aspects that relate social, urban and rural planning to the
same.
Modernity
Modernity was an era of enlightenment, one which made the human race realize the importance
of mankind and led to the rise of Humanism, which dealt with not just the obvious importance
of human race but also critical and rational thinking. Therefore, the very essence of modernism
began with the basics of rational thinking. Modernity tries to see things in totality It enables
us to see all sorts of artistic, intellectual, religious and political activities as part of one dialectical
process and to develop creative interplay among them (Berman, All that is Solid Melts into Air,
1982). It unites people across the bounds of ethnicity and nationality, of sex and class and race. It
enlarges our vision of our experience, shows us that there is more to our lives than we thought.

Critique of Modernity and Post-modernity

Post modernism, in itself, is a skepticism or suspicion towards theory or totality, contrary to the
belief in modernity. There are many definitions of post modernity, however the most common
one is, in Lyotards (1984) phrase an incredulity towards meta-narratives, narratives being
the speculative grand narrative that charts the progress of knowledge towards systematic truth
and the grand narrative of emancipation, emancipating humanity from mysticism and dogma

through education. Post modernists claim to see through the grand narratives of modern
culture, especially the narrative of humanity as a hero of liberty. It is the mark of post-modern
sophistication to have lost even nostalgia for the lost narrative (Berman, All that is Solid Melts
into Air, 1982). Therefore, post modernists were critical in the theory of totality, stating that there
is no such thing and that there is requirement of traditional aspects as well as modern thinking.
Urban and Rural Planning
The new age of technology science and rational thinking has influenced many field of practical
knowledge. One such profession is urban and rural planning. While planning in itself is a
scientific approach towards development, it largely deals with sociological aspects of todays
world. The major aspects of planning are initiated with the context of the place we are talking
about. This links many subjects to the planning of a city or a town.
Planning has always been difficult to define; it can be said to have had only briefly a dominant
paradigm and has remained on the fringes of critical social theory(Dear,1986;Friedmann,
1987). Critical theory is a school of thought that stresses the reflective assessment and critique of
society and culture by applying knowledge from the social sciences and the humanities.
Relevance of Modernity in Planning
Theories of modernity and post modernity are subject to everything that we do today; its a way
of life that has knit together the urban structure that we are experiencing day-to-day. The
modernist planning looks at rational decision making rather than political manifestations and
provides a critical approach towards planning practice. The humanism that we talk of in the
modernity, takes form of a democratic approach in planning. Peoples participation and
reflective planning are examples of this kind of thinking. The era of modernity changed the
perspective of all and planners, being the translators of society were trying to adopt this
inevitable change in knowing what the society will eventually want and how things will shape
up. The planning practice saw a shift from personal goals to collective goals in a coordinated and
functional urban form. The initial thrusts of the modernist project of planning were to diminish
the excesses of industrial capitalism while mediating the intramural frictions among capitalists
that had resulted in a city inefficiently organized for production and reproduction.

On the contrary planners were somewhat anti-intellectual; impatient with abstract theorizing
and thus with social theory. Nevertheless, the aim of modernist planners was to act as experts
who could utilize the laws of development to provide societal guidance. Modernist planning
seems suspended between modernity and post-modernity. (Beauregard, Between modernity and
post modernity: The ambiguous position of US planning, 1989)
The Indian Context Gandhis and Nehrus view on Development
India was not far away from gaining independence when the modernism that was going around
in its counterparts, hit it as well. Post-independence, India was liberalized and there was an urge
to create new cities and towns that would help the country function in a more efficient manner.
These cities were looks as catalysts of change, as the pioneers of growth and therefore a lot went
into the planning of cities, all at the time when Modernity was believed in all its forms. The two
main political figures had very contrasting views on development though Gandhian idea of
self reliant village republics as well as Nehruvian vision of modern, industrialized nation
(Batra, A Review of Urbanization and urban policy in post-independent India, 2009).
Chandigarh, example of Modern planning
The architectplanner Le Corbusier, together with Nehru, provided the new planning model and
architectural design that would overshadow imperial New Delhi. Chandigarh was to serve as a
training school for Indian planners, who could then duplicate their experience in other cities to
improve urban India, and also influence rural India. The story of Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar and
Gandhinagar is not one of success or failure or even of comparative satisfaction with the quality
of life in a new city. It is, rather, a chronicle of a period during which India made a bold attempt
to make a break with her past within the confines of a sociourban experiment that included,
along with an innovative master plan, modernist buildings, new landuse patterns, provisions for
education, recreation, medical and social services, the careful and deliberate inclusion of ideas
that had their origin in a culture far removed from her own. Between the ideas of the planners
and hopes of the government officials there lies a narrative of planned cities and the people who
inhabit them, and the influence of modernism on India. The below provides an insight at what
Jawaharlal Nehru had posed when he thought of a city in the modernity approach:

I have welcomed very greatly one experiment in India: Chandigarh. Many people argue about
it; some like it, some dislike it. It is the biggest example in India of experimental architecture. It
hits you on the head and makes you think. You may squirm at the impact but it has made you
think and imbibe new ideas, and the one thing which India requires in many fields is being hit on
the head so that it may think. I do not like every building in Chandigarh. I like some of them very
much. I like the general conception of the township very much but, above all, I like the creative
approach, not being tied down to what has been done by our forefathers, but thinking in new
terms, of light and air and ground and water and human beings [- Jawaharlal Nehru. Speech, 17
Mar 1959.
Conclusion
Theories of modernity and post modernity and debatable and are carried over all aspects of our
lives. Planning sees these as a societal guidance which can be interpreted in the planning or
urban and rural area. Although, planning in itself has its own theories and trends according to
contextual setting, the overall indicators and aspects of planning are very much linked with
Modern and post-modern themes. The risk society and network society are outcomes of
modernity and show the human connection that has evolved over time. As planners, there is a
need to recognize these social aspects, not just in the practice itself, but our perception of the
world as a whole.

References

All that is solid melts into Air By Berman Marshall , 1982

Between modernity and post modernity: The ambiguous position of US planning, by

Beauregard, 1989

A Review of Urbanization and urban policy in post-independent India, by Lalit Batra,

2009

Urban Planning in India by Sahay Shrey, Siddhartha Kandoi, Soumil Srivastava

Urban planning/utopian dreaming: Le Corbusier's Chandigarh today Utopian Studies,

Wntr, 2002 by Peter Fitting

http://www.nehrumemorial.nic.in