• Gopal Kumar Johari
• Dr. Karamjit Singh Chahal

As the seat of government and centre of decision making, the capital city is of prime importance in any country. Large scale services, industrial and commercial activities, administrative functions along with the presence of infrastructure and economies of scale renders the capital city - a place a strong magnet, leads to an explosive growth of population and expansion of the. The concentration of population in and around the capital cities creates a variety of problems including traffic, congestion, shortage of housing, increased pressure on physical infrastructure among others. All these issues need to be resolved at wider regional level. Quite often, a Capital Regional Plan or NCR Plan is an answer to these problems. In modern times Greater London, prepared by Sir Abercrombie in 1944 is considered as first National Capital Regional Plan to contain the development, by creating a green belt around and development of a ring of new towns. In contrast, Copenhagen went with ‘Finger plan’ in 1947, emphasizing linear development along the major routes. However Tokyo in 1965, opted for a single corridor of development leading to a ‘counter magnet’, whereas Paris adopted the two axes of development bye-passing the capital city. The plans of both - Paris and Tokyo - were based upon the availability of rapid mass transportation. In short, the strategies adopted by various countries for solving the problems of their national capital can be summarized into four types: Development of ring towns, Laying out of corridor, Adoption of counter magnets and Construction of new capitals. The current paper discusses these above-mentioned planning strategies for National Capital Regional Plans of world’s important capitals from developed countries which has a long history.

National Capital Regional Plan, Growth Pattern

"National Capital Region : A Global experience", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no.479-490, May-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905K63.pdf

"National Capital Region : A Global experience", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 5, page no. pp479-490, May-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1905K63.pdf