GATE Architecture & Planning Planning Syllabus

Planning syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Planning in GATE Architecture & Planning, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Regional and Settlement Planning

   11 topics

   • Regional delineation
   • Settlement hierarchy
   • Types and hierarchy of plans
   • Various schemes and programs of central government
   • Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
   • SEZ, SRZ etc.
   • Public Perception and user behaviour
   • National Housing Policies, Programs and Schemes
   • Slums, Squatters and informal housing
   • Standards for housing and community facilities
   • Housing for special areas and needs
2. 2

   Planning Techniques and Management

   10 topics

   • Application of G.I.S and Remote Sensing techniques in urban and regional planning
   • Tools and techniques of Surveys – Physical, Topographical, Land use and Socio-economic Surveys
   • Urban Economics, Law of demand and supply of land and its use in planning
   • Graphic presentation of spatial data
   • Local self-governance, Panchayatiraj institutions
   • Planning Legislation and implementation – Land Acquisition Act, PPP etc.
   • Decision support system and Land Information System
   • Urban geography and econometrics
   • Management of Infrastructure Projects
   • Demography and equity in planning
3. 3

   Infrastructure Planning

   8 topics

   • Process and Principles of Transportation Planning and Traffic Engineering
   • Road capacity and Travel demand forecasting
   • Traffic survey methods, Traffic flow Analysis
   • Traffic analyses and design considerations
   • Traffic and transport management and control in urban areas
   • Mass transportation planning
   • Intelligent Transportation Systems
   • Urban and Rural Infrastructure System Network

Planning flashcards for GATE Architecture & Planning

22 of 54 cards from the Planning deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What is regional delineation in planning?

   The process of dividing a territory into regions (zones with shared characteristics) for planning and administration. Bases include formal/uniform regions (homogeneity of one or more attributes, e.g. soil, climate, language), functional/nodal regions (interdependence around a node, e.g. a city and its hinterland), and planning/programming regions (defined for administrative implementation of plans).

2. Distinguish a formal (uniform) region from a functional (nodal) region.

   A formal region is defined by internal homogeneity of one or more attributes (e.g. a wheat-growing belt, a Hindi-speaking area). A functional (nodal) region is defined by the interdependence/flows that bind areas to a central node (e.g. commuting, trade flows to a market town), so it is heterogeneous internally but functionally integrated.

3. State Christaller's Central Place Theory and the three principles that organize the hierarchy.

   Central Place Theory (Walter Christaller, 1933) explains the size, number and spacing of settlements as service centres on an isotropic plain. Hexagonal market areas nest according to the k-value: marketing/supply principle $k=3$, transport principle $k=4$, and administrative/political principle $k=7$. Key concepts: range (max distance a consumer travels) and threshold (minimum demand needed to sustain a service).

4. State Zipf's rank-size rule for settlement hierarchy.

   The rank-size rule states that the population of the $n$th-ranked city is the population of the largest city divided by its rank: $$P_{n}=\frac{P_{1}}{n^{q}}$$ where $P_{1}$ is the largest city's population and the exponent $q\approx 1$ for a balanced (log-normal) urban hierarchy.

5. What is 'primacy' / the law of the primate city in settlement hierarchy?

   Mark Jefferson's law of the primate city holds that a country's leading city is disproportionately larger and more dominant than the second city. The two-city primacy index $=\frac{P_{1}}{P_{2}}$; a value substantially greater than 2 indicates a primate (top-heavy) urban system rather than a rank-size balanced one.

6. Define range and threshold as used in central place theory.

   Threshold is the minimum population or demand required to make the provision of a good or service economically viable. Range is the maximum distance consumers are willing to travel to obtain that good or service. A central function is offered only where its range exceeds its threshold.

7. In the Indian three-tier plan system, name the three hierarchical levels of spatial plans and their typical horizons.

   Perspective Plan (long-range vision, 20–25 years), Development Plan / Master Plan (medium-term, ~10–20 years statutory land-use plan), and Annual Plan plus the Zonal/Local Area Plan (short-term, detailed implementation). This corresponds to the UDPFI/URDPFI hierarchy of Perspective, Development, Zonal/Local Area and Annual plans.

8. What is a Master Plan (Development Plan) and what does it statutorily control?

   A Master Plan is a statutory long-term (typically 20-year) physical development plan for a city prepared under town planning legislation. It allocates land use (residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, public/semi-public, transport), sets zoning regulations, density and FAR/FSI norms, road network, and reserves land for public purposes, guiding the city's growth.

9. Differentiate a Master Plan, a Zonal Plan and a Layout Plan.

   Master Plan: city-wide statutory land-use and policy framework (~20 yrs). Zonal/Development Plan: breaks the master plan into zones with detailed land-use and infrastructure proposals. Layout (subdivision) Plan: parcel-level plan showing plots, internal roads, open spaces and services for a specific site, prepared for sanction of development.

10. What are the main types of plans by their nature/purpose in planning practice?

    By purpose: Perspective/Strategic plans (vision and goals), Statutory Master/Development plans (legally binding land use), Action/Project plans (specific schemes), Regional plans (multi-settlement), and Annual plans (yearly implementation and budgeting). They differ in scale, time horizon and legal force.

11. What document replaced the UDPFI Guidelines for spatial planning in India, and in what year?

    The URDPFI Guidelines — Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation Guidelines, 2014–15 (MoUD) — updated and replaced the earlier UDPFI Guidelines (1996). They provide the recommended hierarchy and content of perspective, development, zonal and local area plans.

12. What is JNNURM and when was it launched?

    The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, launched in December 2005, was a major centrally sponsored urban reform-linked investment scheme. It had two sub-missions — Urban Infrastructure & Governance (UIG) and Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) — plus UIDSSMT and IHSDP for smaller towns, and required reforms like property tax and double-entry accounting.

13. List the four flagship urban missions launched by the Government of India in 2015.

    Smart Cities Mission (100 cities), AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, water/sewerage/green spaces in 500 cities), HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana), and PMAY-U (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban, Housing for All). All launched in mid-2015.

14. What is the AMRUT scheme's main objective?

    AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, 2015) aims to provide basic civic infrastructure — assured water supply, sewerage and septage, stormwater drainage, non-motorized urban transport and green/open spaces — with priority to the urban poor, in 500 selected cities/towns, and to drive governance reforms.

15. State the four components/verticals of PMAY-Urban (Housing for All).

    PMAY-U (2015) has four verticals: (1) In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) using land as resource with private participation; (2) Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) — interest subsidy on home loans; (3) Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP); and (4) Beneficiary-Led individual house Construction/enhancement (BLC).

16. Define Transit Oriented Development (TOD).

    TOD is a planning strategy that promotes compact, mixed-use, high-density, pedestrian- and cycle-friendly development within walking distance (typically 500–800 m, ~10 min) of mass transit stations, integrating land use with transit to reduce private vehicle dependence and increase ridership.

17. List the core '3 Ds' (and extended Ds) principles underlying Transit Oriented Development.

    The classic 3 Ds are Density (compact high-density development near transit), Diversity (mixed land uses), and Design (walkable, pedestrian-friendly street design). Extended frameworks add Destination accessibility and Distance to transit (the '5 Ds').

18. What is the typical influence zone / catchment of a TOD around a transit station?

    The TOD influence zone is generally taken as a walkable catchment of about 500–800 metres radius (roughly a 5–10 minute walk) from the transit station/corridor, within which higher FAR/FSI, mixed use, and density are intensified. Indian TOD policy commonly uses an influence zone of about 500 m on either side of the corridor.

19. What is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in India and under which Act is it governed?

    An SEZ is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave treated as foreign territory for trade, duties and tariffs, established to promote exports, investment and employment. It is governed by the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (and SEZ Rules, 2006), offering fiscal incentives, single-window clearance and streamlined regulation.

20. What is a Special Residential Zone (SRZ) / Special Recreation Zone in planning context?

    An SRZ is a designated special zone earmarked for a defined purpose with relaxed or special regulations — commonly a Special Residential Zone permitting large-scale planned housing/townships, or a Special Recreation Zone reserved for recreation, tourism and leisure development — created to channel specific development outside normal master-plan zoning constraints.

21. In SEZ terminology, what is the distinction between the 'processing area' and 'non-processing area'?

    The processing area of an SEZ is where the manufacturing/service export units are located and is fully duty-free and customs-bonded; the non-processing area provides supporting social and commercial infrastructure (housing, schools, hospitals, recreation) for the SEZ and does not enjoy the same duty exemptions on goods.

22. What is 'public perception' and why is it important in the planning process?

    Public perception is how citizens interpret, value and feel about their environment, plans and proposals based on experience, culture and information. It matters because planning outcomes depend on use and acceptance; perception studies (via surveys, mental maps, participation) inform user-responsive, legitimate and implementable plans.

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Planning Planning for GATE Architecture & Planning

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