In 1888, an extension scheme called the Lahore Gate Improvement Scheme was planned by Robert Clarke to draw residents away from the old city to a new type of market square, around which shops would be built. It remained incomplete. In 1936, the Delhi Improvement Trust built areas like Daryaganj South for wealthy Indians with houses being grouped around parks.

In 1947, due to the partition of India, a massive transfer of population took place on both sides of the new border. As a result, the population of Delhi swelled by about 5 lakh people, the kinds of jobs people did changed and the culture of the city became different.
The skills and occupations of the refugees were different from those of the people they replaced, because, while those who went to Pakistan were artisans, petty traders, and labourers, the new migrants '- were rural landlords, lawyers, teachers, traders and small shopkeepers. This large migration change the social environment of Delhi. An urban culture largely based on Urdu was overshadowed by new tastes and sensibilities in food, dress and the arts.

The British understood the symbolic importance of Delhi, as it had been the place from where the Mughal kings ruled. It had also become an important stronghold during the 1857 revolt, In which threatened the collapse of British rule in India. So, the British thought it important to celebrate British power in Delhi with pomp and show.
Thus, a Durbar was held in 1877 to acknowledge Queen Victoria as the Empress of India. Later, in December 1911, a Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the crowning of King George V This time the British announced the shifting of India's capital Delhi. These displays were held to show the people the ultimate power and supremacy of the British over India.

De-urbanisation is basically a process by which more and more people leave towns and cities due to the reduction of their political or commercial importance.
During the late 18th century, the earlier trade centers of Machlipatnam, Surat and 
Seringapatam were de-urbanized, as trade shifted to the Presidency cities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta due to the British rule in the country. Similarly, earlier centers of regional power collapsed when the British defeated the local rulers.

Three differences in the city design of New Delhi and Shahjahanabad are given in the table below

(i) The Partition of India in 1947 led to a massive transfer of population on both sides of the new border. As a result, the population of Delhi more than doubled through refugees from Pakistan. 
(ii) Thousands in Delhi were killed due to rioting and their homes were looted and burned.
(iii) Refugees roamed the streets of Shahjahanabad, searching for empty homes to occupy, forcing Muslims to leave or sell their properties.
(iv) The refugees had to take up new occupations ironsmiths, replacing the earlier Muslims.

The word 'renaissance' literally means rebirth of art and learning or a time of great creative activity. Before 1857, Delhi developed differently from the Presidency cities of Madras, Bombay or Calcutta, because of the living areas of Indians and the British were not sharply separated. The British lived along with the wealthier Indians in the walled city and learned to enjoy Urdu / Persian culture and poetry; they participated in local festivals. Further, the establishment of the Delhi College had led to a great intellectual flowering in the sciences as well as humanities, largely in the Urdu language, making people term it as the period of Delhi renaissance.