A special study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements. for the degree of Master of Science

Special Studies Project Report (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1978

The countries of the sub-continent have a common history and form a common socio-economic and cultural pattern. These countries have been undergoing the process of urbanization for the last few decades. Urban problems are increasing in the absence of requisite physical planning guidelines. Most of the cities and urban centers do not have physical plans. few large metropolises do have physical development plans. However, These plans were prepared by national and international experts working in the field of town and country planning. Planning standards shown in different plans are different solutions in meeting a situation. For a similar situation, one plan evolved a new standard, while a second one opted for a British standard, and a third plan adopted a compromised version of British standards and local needs. This study made a comparative analysis to see whether the standards adopted in the six large metropolises form a common emerging pattern for the sub- continent or whether they are still modelled after the British examples. From the analysis, it was found that the port cities of the sub-continent, namely, Calcutta, Bombay and Karachi adopted standards suited to the existing socio-economic conditions of the cities themselves. The administrative cities, namely, Dacca, Delhi and Lahore, still influenced by the British examples, adopted ambitious standards depending heavily on national and state administrative agencies. Since a future development plan for Dacca is under consideration by the Government of Bangladesh, this study showed, as a guide, a wide range of recommendations made in other plans based on their existing situations.