"It doesn't look like India": British architect praises urban planning, cleanliness, and safety of this planned city in a country with 1,476,625,576 inhabitants

“It doesn’t look like India”: British architect praises urban planning, cleanliness, and safety of this planned city in a country with 1,476,625,576 inhabitants

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 03/06/2026 at 20:32

Be the first to react!

Russell Henderson’s reaction to Chandigarh brought to social media a less common image of India, marked by urban planning, cleanliness, bike paths, wide sidewalks, and a sense of security in a city designed by Le Corbusier and organized into sectors.

The comment from a British architect about Chandigarh rekindled international curiosity about a planned, clean, and safe India. Russell Henderson, now based in Tanzania, posted his first impressions of the city on Instagram, highlighting organization, wide sidewalks, bike paths, and the absence of litter.

Architect sees in Chandigarh a portrait not often associated with India

During the walk recorded on video, Henderson questioned whether that setting really seemed like an Indian city. The reaction came in the face of wide streets, well-maintained sidewalks, and urban spaces that, for him, contrasted with images of chaos often associated with the country on social media.

The architect, who has worked in the UK, Thailand, and Australia, stated that Chandigarh showed a side of India rarely seen by foreigners online. The assessment drew attention because it came from a direct observation, made while he was moving around the city with a camera during the day and at night.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Urban planning helps explain the impression of order

Chandigarh was designed in the 1950s by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. The city became known for its modern infrastructure, wide boulevards, tree-lined avenues, and division into “sectors,” areas conceived as small urban units.

This organization appeared as a central point in Henderson’s remarks. Observing the traffic and roads, he said he believes Chandigarh will remain congestion-free for many years, due to the planning, road space, parking spaces, and wide streets.

The city is also the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. Comments from residents attributed part of the urban maintenance to the central government budget and the presence of important government offices of the two states.

Social media reaction reinforces local pride

The post elicited positive reactions among Indian users. Some thanked the architect for showing a favorable image of India. Others expressed pride in Chandigarh and defended the city as one of the best living options in the country.

One comment highlighted that local zoning is heavily regulated and that the real estate market reflects this perception of quality of life. Another resident stated that the urban routine also matters: people walk, cycle, avoid littering in public places, and frequent parks.

Besides the organization, Chandigarh boasts well-known attractions such as Sukhna Lake, the Rose Garden, and the Rock Garden.

The period between October and March is pointed out as the most suitable for visiting these spaces, due to the mild climate favorable to outdoor activities.

The reaction, however, did not turn the assessment into an official ranking. The case gained traction by bringing together tourism, architecture, and daily life, showing how an experience recorded on video can broaden the debate on urban planning, public maintenance, and external perceptions of major Indian cities, without repeating simplified stereotypes about the country.

0 Comments

most recent

older Most voted

“It doesn’t look like India”: British architect praises urban planning, cleanliness, and safety of this planned city in a country with 1,476,625,576 inhabitants

Russell Henderson’s reaction to Chandigarh brought to social media a less common image of India, marked by urban planning, cleanliness, bike paths, wide sidewalks, and a sense of security in a city designed by Le Corbusier and organized into sectors.

Architect sees in Chandigarh a portrait not often associated with India

Urban planning helps explain the impression of order

Social media reaction reinforces local pride

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

Scientists considered detonating 213 nuclear bombs in the Sahara to create an artificial sea the size of El Salvador, with each explosion being a hundred times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, and the goal was to generate more energy than Egypt’s largest hydroelectric plant.

Heir worked at thirteen in an ice cream factory without revealing he was the owner’s son; today, at twenty-five, he leads the best-selling ice cream brand for home consumption in the Northeast, grosses almost R$ 300 million, has 145 stores, and competes with multinationals with regional flavors.

The largest gas ship ever ordered will cross the oceans hoisting giant rigid sails that retract automatically to save fuel.

As the Trump name returns to the high-end real estate market, Ivanka Trump announces the Sazan project; Mediterranean island set to feature hotels, beaches, leisure, and exclusive residences.

Unemployed and with a child to support, Joab turned hot coffee into a fresh start: he wakes up at 2 a.m., sells on Anhanguera, lets drivers pay later through the “trust Pix,” and conquers the internet even when some continue their journey without depositing.

The explosion in Siberia, recorded on June 30, 1908, over Tunguska, released energy estimated between 10 and 15 megatons of TNT, devastated about 2,150 square kilometers of forest, knocked down approximately 80 million trees, and remains one of the biggest warnings about near-Earth objects.

“It doesn’t look like India”: British architect praises urban planning, cleanliness, and safety of this planned city in a country with 1,476,625,576 inhabitants

Russell Henderson’s reaction to Chandigarh brought to social media a less common image of India, marked by urban planning, cleanliness, bike paths, wide sidewalks, and a sense of security in a city designed by Le Corbusier and organized into sectors.

Architect sees in Chandigarh a portrait not often associated with India

Urban planning helps explain the impression of order

Social media reaction reinforces local pride

A giant printer called the “Ferrari” of concrete has landed in Latin America and can already build a 120-square-meter house in just 48 hours, making the traditional construction site look like something from the last century.

Brazil will harvest a record crop of up to 357 million tons of grains, but it does not have the capacity to store a large part of it. The storage deficit has reached the highest level in history and is equivalent to almost the entire production of Argentina.

Four times faster than the Concorde, capable of taking passengers from New York to London in less than an hour at Mach 5.5, and with an engine that switches from turbojet to ramjet mid-flight at Mach 3.5, the Hermeus Quarterhorse went from paper to its first flight in just 19 months.

She started by collecting oyster shells from restaurants and today she has already accumulated more than 10 tons to restore reefs, recover coastal habitats, and demonstrate how a common waste can become a tool for ocean conservation.

SpaceX will dock a $843 million vehicle to the International Space Station to push a nearly 420-ton laboratory against the atmosphere and make the debris fall in a controlled manner into the ocean.

Scientists considered detonating 213 nuclear bombs in the Sahara to create an artificial sea the size of El Salvador, with each explosion being a hundred times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, and the goal was to generate more energy than Egypt’s largest hydroelectric plant.

As the Trump name returns to the high-end real estate market, Ivanka Trump announces the Sazan project; Mediterranean island set to feature hotels, beaches, leisure, and exclusive residences.

Unemployed and with a child to support, Joab turned hot coffee into a fresh start: he wakes up at 2 a.m., sells on Anhanguera, lets drivers pay later through the “trust Pix,” and conquers the internet even when some continue their journey without depositing.

Bermuda Triangle: the real mystery lies beneath the Earth and not in the missing ships; scientists find a 20 km rock layer under the Atlantic, formed more than 30 million years ago at almost 50 km depth.

Ford ‘returns’ to Brazil in a triumphant and unusual way: a 11,000 m² theme park brings together 40 rare vehicles, a 1929 airplane with the original engine, a replica of Route 66, and attractions inspired by old USA in Serra Gaúcha.

What is trash for many became the entrance of a house for an Australian who spent seven years collecting over 450,000 cans and bottles on beaches and at festivals, demonstrating how a system that pays for recycled packaging can transform waste into income and remove trash from the environment.

Heir worked at thirteen in an ice cream factory without revealing he was the owner’s son; today, at twenty-five, he leads the best-selling ice cream brand for home consumption in the Northeast, grosses almost R$ 300 million, has 145 stores, and competes with multinationals with regional flavors.

The largest gas ship ever ordered will cross the oceans hoisting giant rigid sails that retract automatically to save fuel.

As the Trump name returns to the high-end real estate market, Ivanka Trump announces the Sazan project; Mediterranean island set to feature hotels, beaches, leisure, and exclusive residences.

Unemployed and with a child to support, Joab turned hot coffee into a fresh start: he wakes up at 2 a.m., sells on Anhanguera, lets drivers pay later through the “trust Pix,” and conquers the internet even when some continue their journey without depositing.

The explosion in Siberia, recorded on June 30, 1908, over Tunguska, released energy estimated between 10 and 15 megatons of TNT, devastated about 2,150 square kilometers of forest, knocked down approximately 80 million trees, and remains one of the biggest warnings about near-Earth objects.