Harappan Town Planning (Indus Valley Civilization)

The Harappan cities (like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa) were meticulously planned. The main streets intersected each other at perfect right angles (90 degrees), dividing the city into large rectangular blocks. This grid pattern is similar to modern well-planned cities.

Most cities were divided into two main parts:

• The Citadel (Upper Town): Built on a raised platform (mud-brick platform). It contained important public buildings like the Great Bath, granaries, and assembly halls.
• The Lower Town: This was the residential area where common people lived.

Unlike other ancient civilizations that used sun-dried bricks, Harappans used standardized, fire-baked bricks to build their houses. The houses had 1 or 2 stories, a central courtyard, and their own private drinking water wells.

Perhaps the most impressive feature was their drainage system.

• Every house had a bathroom connected to the main street drains.
• The street drains were covered with bricks or stone slabs and had regular inspection holes for cleaning.
• This shows that Harappans placed extreme importance on public hygiene and sanitation.