Search

This article examines the growth of census towns in India's Capital Region because the unregulated growth of census towns has been the key feature of recent urbanization in India. The article first examines the population and municipal status dynamics, location and economic characteristics of census towns as well as their migratory and commuting patterns. The status and costs of providing basic amenities and social infrastructure are then analyzed. The paper emphasizes the contribution of contemporary theories that explain the growth of census towns and the role of secondary and primary data in capturing their characteristics. Taking advantage of the economic potential of India's urbanization as census towns will require the following: (i) the enforcement of reforms to empower Gram Panchayat for spatial planning and growth regulation; (ii) the discontinuation of subsidized infrastructure provision and charging development tax; and (iii) investment in decentralized infrastructure for more accountable and more efficient delivery of basic amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically examines the applicability of the planetary urbanization concept to understand the complexities associated with the rural-to-urban transformation process unfolding in India. It contributes to the rural-urban debate by investigating the role of non-urban spaces – here census towns – in accelerating India's process of urbanization. The Capital Region of India is taken as a study area and a mixed methods approach is used to establish concentrated and extended urbanization as interlinked processes in relation to the growth of census towns. The applied mixed methods approach helps to overcome the critiques of deploying Global North theories, here planetary urbanization, on the Global South context by not only establishing a general pattern and dynamics of growth but also by contextualizing the local characteristics of rural to urban transformation as census towns. The analysis established a dense network of transport and a high level of commuting for work between statutory towns and census towns in the urban periphery and hinterland overcoming the traditional urban and rural divide. This paper makes a methodological and analytical contribution to the concept of planetary urbanization, whereby growth of census towns can be explained as an interlinked process of concentrated, extended and differential urbanization. The political economy analyses established that the differences between statutory and census towns can be traced back to state rescaling and investment policies. In this process, rural areas are rapidly acquiring urban characteristics as census towns and to some extent perform better on socioeconomic and infrastructural aspects compared to statutory towns (official urban areas). • Concept of planetary urbanization applied to India's rural to urban transformation. • Concentrated and extended urbanization established as interlinked processes. • Rural areas are rapidly acquiring urban characteristics as census towns. • Mixed methods help overcome the critique of planetary urbanization concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the potential of urban cycle models to investigate the current challenges of urbanisation in India. It contributes not only by empirically examining the past, current and future trend of urban development, but also by predicting the demand for social infrastructure for sustainably accommodating the predicted growth. Using a non-spatial model, rapid growth is predicted in small cities in developed regions and in intermediate cities in developing regions. The adopted spatial model suggests a decline of megacity cores, but the growth of million-plus city cores and respective peripheries should be anticipated. Socio-economic factors are helpful for understanding the growth of million-plus city cores and megacity suburbs. In those cities predicted to grow, the provision of health and education infrastructure will be below the government norms. Given the data constraints, rapid growth and institutional constraints, this research develops and implements an analytical approach, thereby enhancing understanding of spatial development and elucidating the policy reforms needed to reduce the spatial disparities in India. This approach is transferable to the regions of the Global South facing similar constraints. • Urban cycle models are revisited to establish urbanisation stages in India. • Growth of small and intermediate-size cities is predicted. • Megacities core will decline and million-plus cities core will grow. • Provision of health and educational infrastructure is inadequate in cities. • Policy reforms for reducing spatial disparities in the Global South are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urbanisation process in the Global South is characterised by the blurring of the boundaries between urban and rural areas and the lack of institutional capacity, which have made the process highly unsustainable. In India, an example of such development is the rapid growth of "census towns". These settlements are not acknowledged as urban by the state, but they play an important role in accommodating population growth. This paper aims to elucidate and understand the process and characteristics of Indian urbanisation better in light of relevant theoretical discourses by using a mix of statistical analysis and field survey. It argues for moving from traditional master planning, which originated from the Global North to a more participatory and strategic approach in order to achieve infrastructure integrated development. • Contemporary theories are validated on census towns growth in India. • Mixed-methods approach helps uncover important characteristics of urbanisation. • Census towns are unplanned developments, but are crucial for Indian urbanisation. • A move from master planning to participatory strategic planning is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]