The City Development Plan (CDP) is both a planning process and a product which promotes partnerships among the various stakeholders in a city such as city government, the private business sector, civil society, academic, and national government agencies to jointly analyze growth issues, develop a vision for the future, formulate development strategies, design programmes, prioritize projects, mobilize resources (manpower and financial), implement, monitor and evaluate on regular basis. Unlike conventional Urban Master Plans that are 'deterministic' and 'land use focused' in nature, the CDP's will be a living document that can be review on annual or regular basis.

A CDP is a perspective of and a vision for the future development of a city. Essentially, it addresses following questions:

1. Where are we now?
2. Where do we want to go?
3. What do we need to address on priority basis?
4. What interventions do we make in order to attain the vision?

The CDP is anchored on the universal principles of a sustainable city, these are:

1. Livability - what can be done to ensure a healthy and dignified standard of living for the city's residents?
2. Competitiveness - how can the cities be more competitive in the global economy?
3. Bankability - how can the cities be more sustainable? How can public-private partnerships be promoted and/or enhanced?
4. Good Governance - how can a city's management be improved? How can accountability, integrity and transparency be made an integral part of a city's management?

The key aspect of CDP preparation is extensive involvement of the local communities/stakeholders in decision-making process. The Government of India under its flagship programme 'Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission' (JNNURM) has initiated reform-linked mission mode plan for long-neglected cities, to improve their poor infrastructure and quality of life that falls far short of global benchmarks. Under the mission two cities 'Jaipur and Ajmer-Pushkar' are eligible from the State of Rajasthan. These cities are important tourist and religious hubs of the country, its history and heritage is its character. The Government of Rajasthan has mandated PDCOR Limited as consultant to prepare CDP's for the eligible cities.