CALCUTTA- colonial

city

 Like madras & Bombay, Calcutta was an early British

outpost.
The principles of urban design were used here
stemming from 18th century
Being the capital of British India in the 18th century,
Calcuttas rapid growth shows how the colonialist
converted three small villages of Sutanuttee,
Gobindapur
and
Kalikata. a center for
Origin:
English
established
trade and commerce in the eastern
banks of Hoogly river
Battle of plassey was a turning point in
the growth of Calcutta.

Early period: English east India

company established trading
post
Mughals opposed Charnlocks
location at river port of Hoogly.
Calcutta was the best location
because if its protected water
bodies, Hoogly river on north,
west and east.

 Calcutta a port town emerged into a commercial city in the late 18th &
early 19th century.
As the economic, social, cultural and political centre of British power,
this market city emerged as the colonial metropolis.

 Major change by abandoning

the old river front and
occupying the new front facing
the land(south of Esplanade)
public buildings were on
northern side of esplanade.
Eastward spread was
inevitable, as there were
drains and canals. Later the
canals were covered to make
roads, as they became
insanitary.
Tanks: all squares in Calcutta
had a tank (to solve the
drainage problem)

 Unlike most other British colonial

Indian cities, Calcutta had no
orderly patterned streets or the
baroque-styled urban landscape;
its streets sprawled irregularly from
Fort William.
There was also no esplanade in
front of the fort but there existed a
large park double Fort William in
Growing wealth led to transformation
scaleof a trading settlement into a
flourishing town.
The urban fabric represented the contradiction between the rulers and the
ruled. It came to be divided into a 'white town' with tree-lined avenues,
spacious bungalows,

Black city vs white city

The beginning of the 19th

century saw white Calcutta
decked in stuccoed cotrture
of classical Baroque" with
an emphasis on designing
the external facades rather
than a full treatment of the
interior.
Starting at the Esplanade,
this architectural scheme
for the city's front was
pushed westward by the
Town Hall, with the
Government House
becoming the centre piece
of the arrangements.

 The Romans developed the

Port of London around 50AD
when theyestablished a
settlement called Londinium
on the River Thames.
It later became a major
trading and ship building
area for the Saxons,
Normans and Tudors.
London was a port long
before it became a great city
and the capital of England.
The great fire

 In the course of 19th century London witnessed an

unprecedented shift from rural to urban living.
London in 1800 was compact
River Thames- Wherries were the first river taxis.By 1850s
these carried several million passengers annually.
Railways- The railway boom in 1830s and 1840s meant new
routes into London
Streets- Light horse-drawn cabs became fashionable among
rich Londoners

Urbanisation of London intensified during the 19th

century.
Life changed dramatically during the industrial
revolution.

 Despite the decline, and the devastation caused by the war, the century
saw the largest urban expansion in Londons history as people left the
crowded city centre for spacious suburban developments.Interest in early
20th century and post-war architecture however continues to grow.
Victorian period(1837-1901)
slums London arose initially as
a result of rapid population
growth and industrialisation.
They became notorious for
overcrowding, unsanitary and
squalid living conditions.

Population increase
Growth of the city
Child labor
Housing shortage
Slums
Over crowding
Poor sanitary
conditions

 Urbanization of London intensified

during industrial revolution
As city grew in size, poverty became a
major factor
Rise in population created a sense of
confusion on the streets.
The Industrial Revolution gathered
steam, and accelerated the migration
of the population from country to city.
The result of this movement was the
development of horrifying slums and
cramped row housing in the
overcrowded cities.

Railways
In addition to continued
growth, railway termini
brought more people
into the capital
Traffic congestion
became a serious
problem and the
solution was to
construct railways