India's Chandigarh serves as the joint capital of the two neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana. It is a city, district, and union territory. To the west, south, and east of Chandigarh are the states of Punjab and Haryana, respectively. It makes up the majority of the Greater Chandigarh region, which also includes the nearby satellite cities of Panchkula and Mohali. It is situated 229 kilometers (143 miles) southeast of Amritsar and 260 km (162 miles) north of New Delhi. One of India's first planned cities after independence, Chandigarh is renowned around the world for its architecture and urban planning. Le Corbusier, a Swiss-French architect, devised the city's master plan, which was based on earlier designs made by Maciej Nowicki, a Polish architect, and Albert Mayer, an American urban planner. A group led by Le Corbusier, Jane Drew, and Maxwell Fry developed the majority of the city's housing and public facilities. At the 40th World Heritage Conference in July 2016, Chandigarh's Capitol Complex—a component of a global ensemble of Corbusier's structures—was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Since its initial construction, Chandigarh has expanded significantly and has influenced the growth of two satellite cities in neighboring states. With a total population of more than 1,611,770, the metropolitan areas of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula jointly constitute a "tri-city". One of the highest per capita earnings in the nation is found in the city. Among Indian states and territories, the union territory has one of the highest Human Development Indexes. According to a survey by LG Electronics, it was the happiest city in India in 2015. Chandigarh was recognized as one of the few master-planned cities in the world in 2015, according to a BBC article, for combining impressive architecture, cultural advancement, and modernization.
