GATE Architecture & Planning Planning Syllabus

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.

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.

What is Kevin Lynch's contribution to understanding user perception of cities, and his five elements of imageability?

In 'The Image of the City' (1960) Kevin Lynch studied how people mentally map and perceive urban form (legibility/imageability). His five elements are: Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes, and Landmarks — the components people use to structure and read the city.

Name India's first comprehensive National Housing Policy and the major subsequent housing policy.

India's first National Housing Policy was adopted in 1988 (further articulated 1994/1998). It was succeeded by the National Housing and Habitat Policy, 1998, and then the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (NUHHP), 2007, whose goal was 'Affordable Housing for All' with a strong public-private partnership emphasis.

What is the central goal of the National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (NUHHP), 2007?

NUHHP 2007's central goal is 'Affordable Housing for All', with special emphasis on the urban poor/EWS and LIG. It promotes public-private partnerships, reservation of land/housing for EWS-LIG (e.g. 10–15% land or 20–25% FAR), in-situ slum upgradation, and a facilitative role for the government rather than a direct provider role.

Define a slum as per the Indian Census / Slum Areas Act.

Under the Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956 and Census of India, a slum is an area of buildings that, by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement of streets, lack of ventilation, light, sanitation or any combination, are unfit for human habitation or detrimental to health and safety. Census recognizes notified, recognized and identified slums.

Distinguish between a slum and a squatter settlement.

A slum is a legally occupied but physically dilapidated, overcrowded, under-serviced residential area (occupants may own/rent legally). A squatter settlement is an informal settlement on land illegally occupied (no legal tenure) by people who build unauthorized dwellings; it lacks security of tenure, the defining difference being legal land status.

What are the four 'shelter deprivations' UN-Habitat uses to define a slum household?

UN-Habitat defines a slum household as one lacking one or more of: (1) durable housing of permanent nature; (2) sufficient living area (no overcrowding — not more than three persons per room); (3) access to improved/safe water; (4) access to improved sanitation; plus (5) security of tenure (often cited as the fifth).

Differentiate slum clearance, slum improvement/upgradation, and in-situ redevelopment as policy approaches.

Slum clearance demolishes slums and relocates residents (often to the periphery). Slum improvement/upgradation provides basic services and tenure in place without demolition (e.g. EIUS). In-situ redevelopment rebuilds permanent housing on the same land, often using land as a resource with private developers (e.g. PMAY ISSR), retaining the community on site.

What planning norm does the URDPFI recommend for residential density and EWS/LIG land reservation?

URDPFI recommends gross residential densities by city size (e.g. ~75–125 persons/ha gross for large cities, higher net densities), and reservation of land for EWS/LIG housing in residential schemes — commonly 15% of land or 35% of FAR in housing projects — to ensure inclusionary affordable housing.

What is the recommended minimum dwelling area for an EWS unit under Indian affordable housing norms (PMAY/NBC)?

Under PMAY and affordable-housing norms, an EWS dwelling unit is generally taken as a carpet area of up to 30 sq m (about 21–27 sq m minimum), and an LIG unit up to 60 sq m carpet area. The National Building Code prescribes minimum room sizes and a minimum habitable dwelling area for such units.

State the neighbourhood unit concept and its key planning parameters.

Clarence Perry's Neighbourhood Unit (1929) organizes residential area around an elementary school within walking distance (~400 m / quarter-mile radius), serving roughly 5,000 people, with internal local streets, arterial roads on the perimeter, shops at junctions, and a central open space — a self-contained community module.

In community facility planning, what is a 'threshold population' standard? Give examples used in URDPFI norms.

A threshold population is the minimum population required to justify provision of a facility. URDPFI examples: a primary school per ~5,000 population, a senior secondary school per ~7,500–15,000, a dispensary per ~15,000, a nursing home/polyclinic per ~1,00,000, and a general hospital per ~2.5 lakh population, etc.

What is meant by 'housing for special areas and needs'?

It refers to housing planned for groups and contexts requiring tailored standards — e.g. hill/coastal/disaster-prone areas (climate and hazard-responsive design), rural housing, housing for industrial workers, the elderly, differently-abled (barrier-free/universal design), defence/police, and disaster relief/rehabilitation housing — addressing specific physical, social and accessibility requirements.

What is Geographic Information System (GIS) and what are its four key components?

GIS is a computer-based system to capture, store, manage, analyse and display spatially referenced (geographic) data. Its components are: hardware, software, data (spatial + attribute), people (users/analysts), and methods/procedures. It links location with attribute information for spatial analysis.

Differentiate raster and vector data models in GIS.

Raster represents space as a grid of cells/pixels each holding a value — good for continuous data (elevation, imagery), simpler analysis, but storage/resolution trade-offs. Vector represents features as points, lines and polygons with coordinates and topology — good for discrete features (roads, parcels), precise, compact, better for network analysis.

Define remote sensing and distinguish active from passive remote sensing.

Remote sensing is acquiring information about an object/area from a distance, usually via electromagnetic radiation recorded by sensors on satellites/aircraft. Passive sensors record naturally available radiation (reflected sunlight/emitted heat, e.g. optical imagery). Active sensors emit their own energy and record the return (e.g. RADAR, LiDAR), and can work day/night through clouds.

In remote sensing, define the four types of resolution.

Spatial resolution: smallest ground area (pixel size) a sensor can distinguish. Spectral resolution: number and width of wavelength bands recorded. Radiometric resolution: number of intensity (brightness) levels/bits per pixel. Temporal resolution: revisit frequency (how often the same area is imaged).

How are GIS and remote sensing applied in urban and regional planning?

Applications include: land-use/land-cover mapping and change detection, urban sprawl and growth monitoring, suitability and site analysis (overlay), infrastructure and utility mapping, transport network analysis, disaster risk/flood zoning, environmental and resource assessment, base-map and DSS creation, and monitoring plan implementation.

List the main types of surveys used in physical/urban planning.

Key survey types: Physical surveys (terrain, geology, soil, climate, hydrology), Topographical surveys (relief, contours, levels), Land use surveys (existing use of land mapped parcel-by-parcel), Socio-economic surveys (population, income, employment, household data), plus traffic/transport, infrastructure, and building-condition surveys.

What is a topographical survey and what does it record?

A topographical survey measures and maps the three-dimensional configuration of the land surface — natural and man-made features, spot levels, contours, slopes, drainage, vegetation and existing structures — providing the base map (with relief shown by contours) used for site planning, levelling and infrastructure design.

What is the purpose of a land-use survey in master plan preparation?

A land-use survey records the existing use of every parcel of land (residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, public/semi-public, agricultural, vacant, transport) to produce the existing land-use map. It establishes the baseline for analysing deficiencies, projecting future needs and allocating proposed land uses in the development plan.

State the Law of Demand and the Law of Supply.

Law of Demand: other things equal, as the price of a good rises its quantity demanded falls, and vice versa — an inverse relationship, giving a downward-sloping demand curve. Law of Supply: other things equal, as price rises quantity supplied rises — a direct relationship, giving an upward-sloping supply curve. Equilibrium occurs where demand equals supply.

Why is the supply of urban land considered inelastic, and how does this affect land value in planning?

Land is fixed in total quantity and immobile, so its supply is highly price-inelastic (nearly vertical supply curve). Consequently, increases in demand (population, accessibility, permitted FAR) translate largely into higher land prices/rents rather than more land. This underlies land-value capture, betterment levies and the importance of zoning in shaping values.

Explain bid-rent theory and its implication for urban land use.

Bid-rent theory (Alonso, building on von Thünen) holds that the rent a use can pay declines with distance from the city centre/CBD because accessibility falls. Different uses have different bid-rent gradients; the use willing to pay the most occupies each location, so commerce/retail dominates the centre, then offices/residential, then lower-density uses outward — producing concentric land-use rings.

What are common methods of graphic presentation of spatial/statistical data in planning?

Methods include thematic maps — choropleth (shaded by value ranges), isopleth/isoline (lines of equal value, e.g. contours), dot maps (one dot = quantity), proportional/graduated symbols, flow maps (movement/desire lines), and dasymetric maps — plus charts/graphs (bar, pie, histogram, scatter) for non-spatial summaries.

Differentiate a choropleth map from an isopleth (isoline) map.

A choropleth map shades predefined enumeration areas (e.g. wards, districts) by class intervals of an aggregate value (density, literacy), implying uniformity within each unit. An isopleth/isoline map connects points of equal value with lines (e.g. contours, isobars) to show a continuous surface independent of administrative boundaries.

What is the Panchayati Raj system and which Constitutional Amendment gave it statutory three-tier structure?

Panchayati Raj is India's system of rural local self-government. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 (effective 1993) gave it constitutional status with a three-tier structure — Gram Panchayat (village), Panchayat Samiti/Block (intermediate), and Zila Parishad (district) — for States with population over 20 lakh, with elections every 5 years and reservations.

Which Constitutional Amendment provides for urban local self-government, and what planning bodies does it mandate?

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 provides for urban local bodies (Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats). It mandates the District Planning Committee (DPC, Art. 243ZD) to consolidate rural and urban plans, and the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC, Art. 243ZE) for metro areas over 10 lakh, plus Ward Committees and the Twelfth Schedule of 18 functions.

What is the significance of the 12th Schedule of the Constitution?

Added by the 74th Amendment, the Twelfth Schedule lists 18 functions that may be devolved to urban local bodies — including urban planning (town planning), regulation of land use, planning for economic and social development, roads, water supply, public health, slum improvement, and urban poverty alleviation — defining the functional domain of municipalities.

What were the key features of the Land Acquisition Act 2013 (RFCTLARR) compared to the 1894 Act?

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 replaced the colonial 1894 Act. It mandates consent (80% for private projects, 70% for PPP), Social Impact Assessment, higher compensation (up to 2× market value in urban and 2–4× in rural areas), and statutory rehabilitation & resettlement (R&R) entitlements for affected families.

What is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and name common PPP models used in infrastructure.

A PPP is a long-term contractual arrangement where a private party finances, builds and/or operates a public infrastructure asset/service, sharing risks and rewards with the government. Common models: BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer), BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer), BOO, DBFO, and the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) combining annuity and toll-based payment.

What is a Decision Support System (DSS) in the planning context?

A DSS is an interactive, computer-based system that combines data, analytical models and a user interface to help planners evaluate alternatives and make complex, semi-structured decisions. A Spatial DSS (SDSS) integrates GIS so that spatial data, scenario models and visualization support location-based planning decisions (e.g. site selection, growth scenarios).

What is a Land Information System (LIS) and how does it differ from a general GIS?

An LIS is a specialized GIS focused on land parcels — integrating cadastral (ownership/boundary), legal tenure, valuation, land-use and registration data tied to precise parcel geometry. Unlike a general GIS (any spatial theme), an LIS is parcel/cadastre-centric and supports land administration: titling, taxation, registration and land management.