URDPFI Infrastructure Planning — Consolidated Revision + Memorisation

Covers: Hierarchy • Road Types • Design Speeds/ROW • Lanes • Footpaths (IRC 103) • PCU • Design Service Volume (IRC 106) • Parking/ECS (MPD/NBC refs) • Quick Numericals • Mnemonics • Flashcards • Active Recall

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Active Recall (hide numbers—click to reveal)

Mnemonics (Quick View) Hierarchy Road Types Design Speeds & ROW Lanes & Arrangements Footpaths PCU Factors Design Service Vol. Parking & ECS Quick Numericals Flashcards 7-min Drill

Tip: Toggle Active Recall to hide all figures; click any blurred number to reveal. Use Flashcards for fast memory loops.

0) Mnemonics – “Manik tricks” at a glance

Hierarchy

“Happy Neighbours Create Districts, Zones, Sub-cities, Cities.”

H(5k)N(5–15k)C(≤1L)D(5L)Z(10L)S(25–50L)C(50L+)

Road order

E-A-S-D-L-A → “Expressways Are Superb; Distributors Link Access.”

Footpaths (by land use)

Re-Co-Bu-Hi-Shop → 1.8–2.5–3–4–3.5–4.5 m

Parking ECS (fallback)

CRGP: Commercial 3.0 • Residential 2.0 • Govt 1.8 • Post/Vet 1.33

Area per ECS

B-M-G-O-A: 32–30–28–23–16 m²

PCU chant

0.5 → 1 → 1.5 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 (light → heavy)

1) Hierarchy of Urban Development

Housing Cluster / Neighbourhood: ~5,000 (min: convenience shopping, open area, Anganwadi, milk booth)
Neighbourhood: 5,000–15,000
Community: Up to 100,000
District: 5 lakh
Zonal: 10 lakh
Sub-city: 25–50 lakh
City: 50 lakh +

2) Urban Road Classification & Functions

Urban Expressway: Divided, through traffic, access control, grade separations.
Arterial: Primary mobility, longest trips, restricted side access.
Sub-arterial: Mobility; can act as arterial depending on context/land use.
Distributor/Collector: Balance of mobility & access; links access streets to higher order.
Local Street: Neighbourhood use; discourage through traffic; traffic calming, NMT friendly.
Access Street: Access to properties/areas; majority of trips start/end here.

3) Design Speeds & Space Standards (ROW)

Speeds ↓: 80 → 50 → 50 → 30 → 10–20 → 15 km/h

Road type	Design speed	Typical ROW
Urban Expressway	80 km/h	50–60 m
Arterial	50 km/h	50–80 m
Sub-arterial	50 km/h	30–50 m
Distributor/Collector	30 km/h	12–30 m
Local Street	10–20 km/h	12–20 m
Access Street	15 km/h	6–15 m

4) Lane Widths & Typical Arrangements

Car lane: 3.0–3.5 m; Bus (segregated): 3.5 m; Local/Access often 2.75–3.0 m.
Arrangements: UE 6-lane divided min; Arterial 6-lane divided min; Sub-arterial 4-lane divided min; D/C ≤ 4 lanes (or 2×3.0–3.3 m); Local/Access 1–2 undivided.

Quick code: “6D – 6D – 4D – ≤4/2 – ≤2” (Express / Arterial / Sub-art / D-C / Local-Access)

Design cautions: Include footpaths & NMT + utility corridor in RoW; define road levels with drainage/slope; no two levels without a median/separator.

5) Footpaths: LOS, Widths & Capacity (IRC 103-2012)

Target: design for LOS-B (comfortable); under constraints, LOS-C acceptable.
Minimum free walkway: not less than 1.8 m.

Adjacent land use	Recommended width
Residential/Mixed (min free)	1.8 m
Commercial/Mixed	2.5 m
Bus stops	3.0 m
High-intensity commercial	4.0 m
Shopping frontages	3.5–4.5 m

Capacity table (both-way & all-one-direction)

Width (m)	Both dir — LOS-B (p/h)	Both dir — LOS-C (p/h)	All one dir — LOS-B (p/h)	All one dir — LOS-C (p/h)
1.8	1350	1890	2025	2835
2.0	1800	2520	2700	3780
2.5	2250	3150	3375	4725
3.0	2700	3780	4050	5670
3.5	3150	4410	4725	6615
4.0	3600	5040	5400	7560

Rule of thumb: LOS-C ≈ 1.4 × LOS-B (same width).

6) PCU Equivalency Factors

Vehicle type	PCU
Passenger car / tempo / auto / jeep / van / agri-tractor	1.0
Truck / Bus / tractor-trailer	3.0
Motor-cycle / scooter / cycle	0.5
Cycle-rickshaw	1.5
Horse-drawn	4.0
Bullock cart	5.0
Hand-cart	6.0

Light→Heavy: 0.5 → 1 → 1.5 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6

7) Design Service Volume (IRC 106-1990, design at LOS-C)

Arterial

Facility	PCU/h
2-lane (two-way)	1500
4-lane undivided	3000
4-lane divided (two-way)	3600
6-lane undivided (two-way)	4800
6-lane divided (two-way)	5400
8-lane divided (two-way)	7200

Divided ladder: 3.6k → 5.4k → 7.2k

Sub-arterial

Facility	PCU/h
2-lane (two-way)	1200
4-lane undivided	2400
4-lane divided (two-way)	2900
6-lane undivided (two-way)	3800
6-lane divided (two-way)	4300

Collector

Facility	PCU/h
2-lane (two-way)	900
2-lane (one-way)	1400
3-lane (one-way)	2200

Collector pegs: 900 → 1400 → 2200

8) Parking – ECS (Vehicles, Land Use) & Area per ECS

Vehicle → ECS

Vehicle	ECS
Car/Taxi	1.0
Two-wheeler	0.25
Auto-rickshaw	0.50
Bicycle	0.10
Truck/Bus	2.5
Emergency vehicle	2.5
Rickshaw	0.8

Expanded Land-Use Norms (ECS/100 m²)

Residential

Plots 250–300 m²: 2 ECS
Plots >300 m²: 1 ECS/100 m² built-up
Group/Cluster housing: 2.0
Guest house/lodging/dharamshala: 2.0

Commercial

Convenience/local/service market: 2.0
Community centre: 3.0
District/Sub-CBD/Sub-city: 3.0
Metropolitan city centre: 3.0
Hotel: 3.0 + rooms rule (1/4, 1/3, 1/2 for 2–10L, 10–50L, >50L)
Service apartments: 3.0
Railway/MRTS/ISBT with commercial: 3.0
Integrated freight/wholesale: 3.0 (common parking for plots ≤300 m²)

Socio-Cultural

Community hall: 3.0
Recreational club: 2.0
Auditorium/meditation/cultural centres: 2.0
Science centre: 2.0
International convention centre: 2.0
Old age home/hostels/night shelter etc.: 1.8
Sports (intl. events): 2.0

Public & Semi-Public

Integrated office complex / District court: 1.8
Head post office / Veterinary hospital/dispensary: 1.33
ISBT / Metro / Hospitals / Nursing & paramedical: 2.0
Medical college: as per regulator
Amusement park: 3.0

Industry & Mixed

Industry (incl. flatted): 2.0
Mixed-use within premises: 2.0 (else pay or MLCP; applies even if residential for professional use)

Fallback (when not prescribed) — “Table 8.12”

Use Premises	ECS / 100 m² floor area
Residential	2.0
Commercial	3.0
Manufacturing	2.0
Government	1.8
Public & Semi-Public	2.0

Area per ECS (space standards)

Parking type	m²/ECS
Basement	32
Multi-level (ramps)	30
Ground floor covered	28
Open	23
Automated multilevel (lifts)	16

B-M-G-O-A: 32–30–28–23–16 m²

9) Quick Numericals (plug-and-play)

ECS needed = Floor area / 100 × norm
Parking area = ECS × (m²/ECS)
Footpath sizing: if you know LOS-B flow, LOS-C ≈ 1.4× at same width.

Examples

District Centre 8,000 m² @ 3 ECS/100 m² → ECS = 240. If MLCP (30 m²/ECS) → area ≈ 7,200 m².
Group Housing 18,000 m² @ 2.0 ECS/100 m² → ECS = 360. If open parking (23 m²/ECS) → area ≈ 8,280 m².
Need two-way pedestrian capacity ≈ 4,410 p/h (LOS-C)? Choose 3.5 m footpath.

10) Flashcards (tap to flip, then Next)

Click “Start” to begin

11) 7-Minute Rapid-Revision Drill

Hierarchy mnemonic (H-N-C-D-Z-S-C) + populations.
Road ladder (E→A→S→D→L→A) with speeds & ROWs.
Lanes & bus widths (3.0–3.5; bus 3.5) + arrangements (6D/6D/4D/≤4/≤2).
Footpaths: 1.8/2.5/3/4/3.5–4.5 + LOS-C ≈ 1.4× LOS-B.
PCU chant: 0.5, 1, 1.5, 3, 4, 5, 6.
DSV anchors: Arterial (1500/3000/3600/5400…), Sub-art (1200/2400/2900/4300), Collector (900/1400/2200).
Parking ECS: CRGP + B-M-G-O-A areas.

Sources: URDPFI Guidelines (2014); IRC 103-2012 (footpaths); IRC 106-1990 (DSV); MPD-2021 / NBC refs (ECS). Use alongside studio notes/DPR norms as applicable.

Town Planning India