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Contemporary urbanization as experienced in India is characterized by urban sprawl, which increases commuting distances and promotes private individual transport. This article takes India's largest region as a case study and uses data from the Census of India on commuting, the population, socio-economic and infrastructural factors as well as spatial data on urban and rural administrative boundaries to understand commuting patterns. This article has two major objectives: first, to map spatially commuting patterns (distances to work and modes of travel); second, to estimate the effect of people-based (minorities, illiteracy rate, household facilities) variables and place-based (basic amenities, road and rail network densities, etc.) variables on commuting. The research findings are as follows: short trips are prevalent in urban areas, while intermediate and long trips are prevalent in rural areas. Short trips are common in areas with a high share of minorities as well as illiteracy rates. Long trips are undertaken by public transport such as trams and buses, intermediate trips by two-wheelers and buses, and short trips on foot and by bicycle. Areas with high prevalence of long trips have a better provision of basic amenities. The paper recommends the folloiving measures to reduce motorization and long commuting distances: (i) government initiatives to reduce private transport and promote transitbased transportation; (ii) the integration of rural and urban areas through public transport; (iii) the establishment of a unified regional transportation authority to integrate regional transportation; and (iv) the introduction of subsidies to reduce private transportation and the implementation of transportation policy proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's increased pace of urbanisation is evident, but the question remains as to whether India can harness its developmental potential by providing social infrastructure to meet its projected growth. This paper investigates the urbanisation trajectory with respect to the provision of social infrastructure in the Capital Region of India. First, it applies the differential urbanisation model and predicts counter‐urbanisation to be the next stage of development. Second, using socio‐economic indicators, the paper finds high literacy rates and non‐agricultural employment in small towns. Third, it explains deconcentration of large cities as an outcome of congested social infrastructure provision. Fourth, it determines that small towns continue to have poor provision of social infrastructure. This paper recommends the integration of spatial planning with social infrastructure planning, the empowerment of lower‐tier authorities for social infrastructure delivery, and measures for raising local government revenue in the region and in similar regions throughout the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes and applies a novel interdisciplinary framework to study peri-urban land use dynamics in India, which is theoretically embedded in the concepts of land use transition, land change science and neoliberlisation of nature. The framework is operationalised by a mixed methods approach cutting across scale and time to provide a comprehensive understanding of land use transitions. The paper proves the applicability of land use transition theory in India by establishing that the core state Delhi is in the "urbanised/industrialised" stage of land use transition, whereas the peripheral states are in a transition from "frontier" to "agricultural" stage of land use transition. The paper also provides evidence for different political economy-derived logics of nature's neoliberalisation. Field visits as well as expert and household interviews uncover a nexus between the state, civil society and economy in exploitation and degradation of natural resources for their vested interests. The use of local and global open access data in the framework makes it transferable to similar regions of the Global South facing data constrains. • Interdisciplinary framework is applied to India's land use transition analysis. • Theoretical approach is embedded in land change science and political economy. • Mixed methods approach cutting across scale and time is applied. • Stages of land use transition trajectory are detected for peri-urban areas in India. • Urban expansion is faster than population growth and depleted arable land and water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The policy of economic liberalization pursued by the Indian government since the 1990s in response to an economic slowdown has led to the creative destruction of institutional space and the built environment. India launched the Smart Cities Mission and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to enhance infrastructure delivery and employment opportunities. Focusing on these cases and using direct observation and in-depth personal interviews, this paper explores the role of emergent neoliberal projects in the country's institutional and spatial restructuring at different scales. The aim is to make a twofold contribution to urban research: first, to contribute to the discourse on neoliberalism by identifying institutional and spatial restructuring in India based on the concept of creative destruction; and second, by validating the significance of strong state and political willingness in distributing neoliberal benefits such as affordable housing and services to the poor. The paper argues for a stronger role of the state in creating equity in the urban development process and infrastructure delivery. • Institutional and spatial restructuring under neoliberal projects in India is examined. • The concept of "creative destruction" is operationalized. • Moments of restructuring are supported by in-depth personal interviews. • A stronger role of the state in urban development process is argued for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, scholars of urban studies have advocated strategic spatial planning as a way to better integrate infrastructure provision with spatial development in the Global South, especially given escalation in large-scale development projects under neoliberalism. This paper outlines a conceptual framework that applies a multi-method approach to policy evaluation so as to identify gaps in policy integration. In particular, content analysis is used to analyze consistency between policy documents, while GIS analysis and regression analysis are employed to identify and describe the current status as well as the potential future impacts on spatial development. Applying the framework to the case of an envisioned transport corridor in India, the study shows how spatial planning instruments remain detached from infrastructure funding policies, the national government's spatial development initiative is isolated from that of state governments, and the expansion of built-up area outside municipal boundaries is escalated by state government funding for urban development and decentralization planning. The findings lend support for specific institutional reforms of national- and state-level planning to ensure the integration of spatial development with infrastructure provision. • A conceptual framework for strategic spatial planning in the Global South is outlined. • A disconnect between spatial and infrastructure funding policies is established. • National and state governments development initiatives remain separated. • Policy reforms are derived to integrate spatial and infrastructure funding policies. [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]