Quick Summary
Advanced Urban Design: Indus Valley cities had grid-pattern layouts, well-planned roads, and multi-storey buildings made with standardized burnt bricks.
Sophisticated Infrastructure: Featured underground drainage, public baths (like the Great Bath), granaries, and water management systems.
Civic Planning & Legacy: Divided into citadel and lower town, the civilization showcased early municipal planning—setting a foundation for modern urban development.
Table of Contents
The Town Planning of Indus Valley Civilization stands as a remarkable example of early urban development, showcasing organized city layouts, drainage systems, and public infrastructure far ahead of their time. As one of the world’s earliest civilizations, it proves that humans, even in the Bronze Age, could build structured societies beyond basic survival.
Emerging near the Indus River, this civilization developed due to agriculture and trade, forming some of the most advanced urban centers of the ancient world. Archaeological findings reveal that the Indus Valley’s town planning outshined many later civilizations regarding design and efficiency.
Indus Valley urban planning exemplifies extraordinary foresight, with its meticulous grid layouts, advanced drainage systems, and standardized brick construction. This blog explores the revolutionary features of Indus Valley town planning—why it was ahead of its time and how it continues to inspire modern urban development.
Despite its widespread existence, little remains of the Indus Valley Civilization today. Fortunately, the remains include two key archaeological sites: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. By excavating these two sites, we deduced that the Indus Valley Civilization had grid-based systematic town planning.
Additionally, the Indus Valley Civilization had urban planned cities beyond Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, namely Chanhudaro, Kalibanga, Dholavira, Surkotada, and Lothal. These centers had towns with sophisticated urban planning like efficient drainage systems and the right-angle street turns.
Comparative analysis of urban layouts in these sites indicates that the towns in this civilization were far more advanced for their time. Thus, town planning of Indus Valley Civilization is a significant characteristic that implies advanced development.
We have inferred that Indus civilization settlements prevailed over modern civilizations. To consolidate this inference, we must divulge the infrastructures that made the town planning of Indus Valley civilization ahead of its time. As with any civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization focused on maintaining the quality of life.
To ensure a better life, the town planning of Indus Valley Civilization had public infrastructures like roads, streets, and sewers. By analyzing the urban layouts, we can also conclude the evidence for the civilization’s political and administrative regional areas.
Such regional areas include public granaries, dams, canals, and the great bath. They significantly showcase the advanced development of the Indus Valley civilisation. Let’s untangle town planning of Indus Valley Civilisation.
Closed Drainage System:
Brick Channels in Every Street:
Manholes for Maintenance:
Brick Culverts with Corbelled Roofs:
Residents achieved economic stability through agriculture and trade, leading to the development of the earliest civilizations. Indus Valley Civilization was no exception to economic stability. For the efficient exchange of goods, the town planning of Indus Valley Civilization had roads and streets.
In town planning, the roads divided the urban settlements into rectangular blocks. The streets exhibited straight paths and intersected each other at right angles. They were also 13 – 34 feet wide and spaced well enough to accommodate large traffic.
Residents of the Indus Valley Civilization could easily commute because the roads and streets followed a grid-based layout. Lampposts alongside the roads suggest the existence of street lights, and dustbins on the streets indicate municipal administration as well.
The Indus Valley Civilization constructed buildings with burnt bricks, distinguishing them from structures in other early civilizations that used stones. They connected the drainage system well to these buildings. To prevent water leakage, builders occasionally used sunburned bricks and baked bricks to construct buildings.
Furthermore, excavations indicated the existence of door and window frames. And wood was used to build these frames. Extensive excavation in the archaeological sites of the Indus Valley civilization even found evidence for the existence of mud mortars and gypsum cement.
In the town planning of Indus Valley Civilization, buildings like houses, citadels, and halls were built for holding meetings and workmen’s quarters. These buildings also had efficient frameworks for water supply from public wells found by the side of the streets.
The houses built in the urban settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization were of great significance in understanding its town planning. Excavation of the Indus Valley Civilization remains indicates the existence of terraced houses built using burnt bricks.
These excavations also found that every house consisted of two or more rooms. And there were more than one-storied houses. Likewise, archaeologists found evidence that the houses were designed with pillared halls, bathrooms, paved floors, kitchens, and wells.
A notable feature of the Indus Valley town planning is that the urban settlement had two sections. We refer to the sections as upper and lower towns of the Indus Valley civilization. The partition was inferred due to lower houses in lower towns and citadels in upper towns.
The Great Bath is one of the most significant features of town planning of the Indus Valley Civilization. The evidence from excavation indicated the great bath was a water tank of Mohenjo-daro. The Great Bath was constructed using bricks to resemble the structure of a modern-day swimming pool.
A gypsum coating prevented the Great Bath from leaking. Water was supplied to the Great Bath from a well situated in one of the adjoining rooms. Some of the Great Baths even facilitated hot baths.
The Great Bath’s water tank was approximately 39 feet long, 23 feet wide, and 8 feet deep, with a flight of steps at both ends. Additionally, the Great Bath was surrounded by 8-foot-thick outer walls. These walls successfully withstood and protected the Great Bath for 5,000 years from natural ravages.
The excavations claimed that the largest infrastructure built in the town planning of Indus Valley Civilization was a granary. It was approximately 149 ft long and 49 ft wide. In the archaeological site of Harappa, researchers found a series of brick platforms serving as bases for two rows of six granaries.
Similarly, brick platforms have been discovered in the southern part of Kalibangan. These granaries stored grains collected as revenue and for emergencies. A large drain with a corbelled roof cuts through the edge of the granary, indicating that the drain was built after the granary itself. The drain is more than 6 ft in depth.
The Indus Civilization is widely known among archaeologists for its urban culture and town planning. The town planning of Indus Valley Civilization showcases the profound knowledge of the Indus Valley people.
Information furnished by the excavations inferred that the upper and lower towns of the Indus Valley Civilization were well-organized. However, organized cities are not the only feature of town planning. There was evidence that contributed to the existence of the defensive measures in town planning.
The town planning of the Indus Valley Civilization protected the civilization from natural disasters and military conflicts. The mountains in the north and the desert in the west acted as natural barriers to civilization.
The houses, made of burnt bricks, were protected from floods. Massive walls around the city ensured urban security throughout the town planning of the Indus Valley civilization. These features make the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilisation even more special and advanced for its time.
The Indus Valley civilization is also known as the Harappan civilization because distinctive evidence for its existence was first found in the ‘Harappa’ archaeological site. It had massively populated independent administrative districts called urban centers. Small communities became large urban centers during the mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE). Some famous urban centers are the Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Ganeriwala, situated in modern-day Pakistan, and Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal, situated in modern-day India.
The discovery of the cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro enhanced the excavation of the Indus Valley Civilization. The ruins of these cities provide evidence of Indus Valley Civilization houses and drainage systems such as the channels, brick culverts, and storeys of houses.
Archaeologists worldwide have been astonished by the evidence of urban settlements and civilization construction. These cities were well-known for their multi-tiered settlements, such as houses and buildings with more than two storeys.
The Harappan Civilization, flourishing around 3300-1300 BCE, is renowned for its remarkable town planning. Here are some of the hallmarks of town planning of the Harappan Civilization:
The Indus Civilization map shows that many of its cities are in modern-day India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Considered the most widespread civilization among the four earliest civilizations, the town planning of the Indus Valley Civilization stands out.
As per the Indus civilization map, The civilization lengthened from Pakistan in the west to Uttar Pradesh in the east. Similarly, it expanded from Afghanistan in the north to Gujarat in the south. The states of Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh in India host the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Likewise, the ‘Harappa’ and ‘Mohenjo-daro’ are located in the Sindh region of Pakistan. Additionally, the Indus Valley civilization cities in Afghanistan are Shortugai and Mundigak. The Rakhigarhi, the largest settlement of the Harappan site, is a key archaeological site located in the Indian State of Haryana.
The Indus Valley Civilisation people had massively great skills in arts and crafts. They made highly realistic human and animal figures. The artifacts of town planning of the Indus Valley Civilization became apparent during the second half of the third millennium, known as the Bronze Age.
Archaeologists document the artifacts they find using pictures with names from the Indus Valley Civilization. The artifacts include seals, pottery, sculptures, ornaments, and terracotta figures made by the people of the civilization.
How people made these artifacts establishes a connection to the daily life and culture of the Harappa Civilization. In the future, we will use pictures of the Indus Valley Civilization with names to identify the found artifacts.
Researchers discovered a jewellery-making factory at the Rakhigarhi archaeological site, for instance. This shows that the people wore complex gold jewellery in their daily lives and used metal and terracotta decorations in their houses.
The Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1300 BCE) astounded archaeologists with its remarkably advanced urban and town planning of Indus Valley civilization. Here’s a glimpse into their sophisticated approach:
The town planning of Indus Valley Civilization is an important topic in the UPSC IAS exam. This topic covers the prominent part of the art & culture subject in the General Studies Paper-1 syllabus. It also covers a significant part of the UPSC Prelims Syllabus – General Studies Paper-1.
The key aspects of town planning of Indus Valley Civilization emphasised in UPSC exams include:
The ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization town planning represent the attempts of our ancestors to develop a civilized society. One such striking attempt that showcases the brilliance of the Indus Valley civilization is urban planning. Furthermore, it represents the origin of our culture and heritage.
The Indus Valley Civilization prospered for over 4,000 years and has now evolved into metropolitan cities of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Indus Valley Civilisation houses and drainage system led to the construction of sophisticated cities and the invention of sewage systems.
Additionally, using burnt bricks in houses instead of stone paved the path for modern-age constructions using bricks. Cities now incorporate well-organized establishments and regular layouts, drawing from the base concept of the town planning of Harappan Civilization.
The town planning system of the Indus Valley Civilization has captivated many archaeologists. They meticulously designed residential houses, public buildings, and streets, ensuring an efficient and organized layout. Every home was seamlessly connected to the drainage systems running along the roads, reflecting a high level of urban planning.
The two main planned cities of the Indus Valley Civilization were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Cities like Chanhudaro, Kalibanga, Dholavira, Surkotada, and Lothal were also a part of the urban planned cities.
The Indus Valley civilization used burnt bricks for construction instead of stones, leading to the absence of evidence for stone construction. Many archaeological sites like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro provide evidence for the construction of houses and buildings with burnt bricks.
The most significant feature of the Indus Valley Civilization that indicates the advanced development is the closed drainage system. Some of the other features of the Indus Valley Civilization town planning include brick construction, public granaries and baths, city walls, and grid patterns.
Yes, the modern-day northeast Afghanistan was a part of the Indus Valley Civilization. The cities of the Indus Valley civilization situated in Afghanistan are Shortugai and Mundigak.
The decline of the Harappan Civilization is attributed to multiple factors, including climate change, shifting river courses, droughts, declining trade, and possible invasions. These factors gradually weakened the urban centers, leading to their eventual abandonment.
Grid-pattern streets, advanced drainage, fortified walls, citadel-lower town layout, burnt brick construction, planned houses, and granaries.
Authored by, Amay Mathur | Senior Editor
Amay Mathur is a business news reporter at Chegg.com. He previously worked for PCMag, Business Insider, The Messenger, and ZDNET as a reporter and copyeditor. His areas of coverage encompass tech, business, strategy, finance, and even space. He is a Columbia University graduate.
Editor's Recommendations
Chegg India does not ask for money to offer any opportunity with the company. We request you to be vigilant before sharing your personal and financial information with any third party. Beware of fraudulent activities claiming affiliation with our company and promising monetary rewards or benefits. Chegg India shall not be responsible for any losses resulting from such activities.
Chegg India does not ask for money to offer any opportunity with the company. We request you to be vigilant before sharing your personal and financial information with any third party. Beware of fraudulent activities claiming affiliation with our company and promising monetary rewards or benefits. Chegg India shall not be responsible for any losses resulting from such activities.
