Article Title: As we build smart cities, let’s look at our ancestors, the Harappans

Article Summary

In this article, the author speaks about the need to look deep into the past for a well-designed city of the future. The author talks about the rapid modernisation of the state of Haryana and its smart cities and suggests that we may need to pick up some lessons from the smartly designed Harappan cities of this region. She mentions the work of renowned archeologists Shinde whose work excavating Harappan sites reiterate the ancient Indian knowledge system in terms of town planning principles, which are relevant for cities even today. There are several reasons why the town planners and designers are unable to capitalise on our own knowledge of these advanced traditional systems. She blames the hiatus created by our current colonial mindset leads us to believe that there is a total disconnect with our past and these principles cannot be applicable to the needs of the advanced societies today. Adding to this, there is a complete gap in a holistic approach towards understanding and interpreting these age-old town planning systems. She suggests that we must break out of the limited disciplinary frameworks and arrive at a convergence aimed at linking this historic knowledge with the current planning of cities and towns.