Town-Planning

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 6: The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 6.3

Learn

Harappan cities were carefully planned. Straight streets ran north–south and east–west, crossing at right angles to make a grid. Many cities had a raised area (sometimes called a citadel) with big public buildings, and a lower town where most people lived.

Houses were built of baked bricks of a standard size, in the ratio 1 : 2 : 4 (thickness : width : length), even in cities hundreds of kilometres apart. Many houses had rooms around a courtyard, a bathing area and sometimes an upper floor.

Waste water flowed from houses into covered drains along the streets, with openings for cleaning. Few ancient cities anywhere in the world had such good drainage!

Some cities were surrounded by thick walls (fortification), with gates. At Dholavira, the big North Gate led into the "castle" area. Planning like this needed careful rules and an administration that people followed.

Explore: how did waste water flow?

1. Put the steps in order.

Remember

• Harappan cities had grid streets, a raised area and a lower town, and covered drains.
• Standard baked bricks (1 : 2 : 4) were used across the civilisation.

Quick check

Which feature shows that Harappan cities were planned?

1. Streets crossing at right angles in a grid
2. Houses scattered anywhere
3. No drains
4. Only tents

Think about it

Bricks of the same ratio were used in cities hundreds of kilometres apart. What does that suggest?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.