Urbanization Urban Development And Metropolitan Cities In India

This book discusses population growth and the resultant problems, and highlights the need for immediate action to develop a set of planned satellite towns around Indian megacities to reduce their population densities and activity concentrations. It addresses problems like unplanned spatial expansion, over-concentration of populations, unmanageable situations in industrial growth, and poor traffic management, concluding that only megacities and their satellites, when planned properly, can together mitigate the urgent problem of urban concentration in and around the megacities. Identifying the general problems, the book develops a quantitative and spatially fitting regional allocation model of population and economic activities. It also offers a policy-based planned program of development for the selected megacities in India along with their satellites and fringe areas to ensure a healthy, balanced and prospective urban scenario for India in the coming decades.

By the turn of the century we are told by the experts, there will be several cities in developing countries whose population will exceed ten million. The largest cities in the world in future are likely to be Mexico City, Bombay and Calcutta, not London, Paris, New York or Tokyo. Several cities in developing countries have a population exceeding two million already and are expected to reach five million in a few years time. In India, the breakdown of city services like transporatation and water supply has become a cause of widespread concern. Rights of pavement dwellers have been taken up to the Supreme Court of India. Their eviction has been halted, after a fast by the actress Shabana Azmi in mid-1986. Why is there a breakdown of city services? Can the pressure on cities be reduced by diverting development to other parts of the country? Such questions can best be answered by someone with direct experience of city management.

This volume analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian urban system, interrelating the geographical dimension with historical and socio-economic aspects.

This study identifies priority areas for India's policymakers as they try to harness economic efficiency and manage spatial equity associated with urbanization.