The new capital city was planned by Chief Architect H.K. Mewada, educated at Cornell University, and his assistant Prakash M Apte. Both Mewada, and Apte had worked as trainees under legendary architect Le Corbusier in the Chandigarh Project in the 1950s. Gandhinagar's streets are numbered, and have cross streets named for letters of the Gujarati alphabet (e.g., "k", "kh", "g", "gh", "ch", "chh", "j"). All streets cross every kilometer, and at every crossing traffic circles decrease the speed of traffic.
The city has developed in four distinct phases:
- Phase 1: After the city's infrastructure was completed in 1970, and until 1980, it was known as 'Gandhian City,' since it was based on Gandhi's concepts and principles.
- Phase 2: Between 1980 and 1990, a time of low pollution, it was known as 'Unpolluted City'.
- Phase 3: After 1990, many trees were planted, and the city became the 'Green City.'
- Phase 4: In 2002, Gujarat's Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, proposed a new, triple focus for the city: it should be green, It should use solar energy, and It should be cosmopolitan.
The new city is linked with Ahmedabad on the south by a direct road, having a straight alignment and a right of way 91.44 meters (300.0 ft) wide between the proposed capital and the railway station of Khodiar about ten kilometres (six miles) to the west.
This road was proposed to be extended further to the south to join the State Highway at Surkhej near Ahmedabad. A road over bridge was to be provided at the crossing of this road and the Ahmedabad Delhi metre gauge line at Khodiar. Thus, traffic from Saurashtra area could directly come to Gandhinagar without going through Ahmedabad. The road link to Khodiar also connects the new city with Ahmedabad-Mount Abu State Highway. The site is connected to National Highway No, 8 (Bombay-Delhi) across the river by 5 km (3.1 mi) link road.
The alignment of the proposed extension of the broad-gauge railway from Sabarmati to the Fertiliser Complex at Saij near Kalol and also to the thermal power station installed in the industrial area in Gandhinagar, was to run along the western boundary of the township. It was proposed to have a railway station in the center along the western boundary of the township. The railway line was to run under proposed road over bridge at Khodiar and where it crosses the Ahmedabad-Kalol State Highway, there was to be a road over bridge. The new city was thus very well linked by road, rail and air with.all parts of the state and the country.