Chandigarh – Myth and Reality

Author: Christian Schittich

“City Beautiful” Chandigarh calls itself, but its beauty lies less in the actual built fabric than in the fact that the city is relatively clean and above all a green civic area. Created in the 1950s, this model urban project also boasts a per capita income that is among the biggest in India. It has the highest property prices and an economic growth rate that is almost double that of the rest of the country.

The inhabitants are proud of their city’s well-functioning infrastructure and its adequate water and power supplies. For architects around the world, Chandigarh – the vision Le Corbusier realized in built form – is anyway a mythical place. Now, though, it is in danger of losing that image.