Urbanisation in India : An Analysis of Trends and Patterns of Key Aspects for Some Policy Implications (original) (raw)

URBANIZATION IN INDIA – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE CONSEQUENCES

Population increase is a natural phenomena but this increase is disproportionate in the rural and urban segment of the society. Urban population is growing more rapidly than the rural, resulting gradual decrease in the percentage share of rural population among total population across the world. This urbanization process has been aggravated by the urban growth of Asian continent which has a lion-share of world population. The South Asian region though predominantly rural (accounted for 69.9% rural population as on 2010), has recorded much higher annual growth of urban population. India, the leading country in South Asia has shown an unprecedented increase in urban population in last few decades and its urban population has increased about 14 fold from 1901 to 2011. This growth is mainly uneven but not skewed and not concentrated to a single city of the country. The state-wise distribution of large cities and million plus populous cities has been mapped across the country. The paper depicts the state-wise/region-wise trend of urbanization based on historical time-series data and future state of urbanization across the country. The urbanization is considered as a potential demographic dividend but rapid and unplanned urbanization is creating havoc, particularly in metropolitan cities in India. The carrying capacity of cities and environmental condition is under threat due to unexpected urban growth and unplanned industrialization respectively. The problem of slums and other infrastructure facilities can be managed through effective infrastructure planning and government initiatives. Although these analyses are based on secondary data and futuristic projection based on it has some variability as urban growth is affected by several factors, yet it makes an attempt to map the extent of distribution of urban growth across the country.

Urbanisation in India Pranati Datta Population Studies Unit

2006

Regional and Sub-Regional Population Dynamic Population Process in Urban Areas European Population Conference 21-24 June, 2006 Urbanization is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial one. It is a long term process. This paper endeavors to illuminate on the process of urbanization in India over a century with emphasis on level, tempo of urbanization and urban morphology using Indian Census data during 1901-2001. It will try to trace urban problems and related policy issues. At the moment, India is among the countries of low level of urbanization. Number of urban agglomeration /town has grown from 1827 in 1901 to 5161 in 2001. Number of population residing in urban areas has increased from 2.58 crores in 1901 to 28.53 crores in 2001. Only 28% of population was living in urban areas as per 2001 census. Over the years there has been continuous concentration of population in class I towns. On the contrary the concentration of population in medium ...

URBANIZATION PROCESS, TREND, PATTERN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN INDIA

The study attempts to understand the Urbanization Process, Trend, Pattern and its Consequences based on census data during 1901-2011 in India. The regional variations in the distribution of urban population are significant. Results show that India urban population has increased from 2.58 crores in 1901 to 37.71 crores in 2011 due to rapid industrialization and rural to urban migration. Percent urban has increased from 11% in 1901 to 31% in 2011; Urbanization in India has been relatively slow compared to many developing countries. India is at acceleration stage of the process of urbanization According to 2011, Census of India; Goa is the highly urbanized state with an urban population of 62.1 percent. The numbers of million plus cities have increased from 9 in 1951 to 23 in 1991 and to 50 in 2011. Share of Metropolitan cities population has increased 18.9 percent in 1951 to 42.3 percent in 2011 Rapid urbanization raises many issues that might have both positive and negative impacts on the environment. The monitoring urbanization is a vital role of planner, management, governmental and non governmental organizations for implementing policies to optimize the use of natural resources and accommodate development at the same time minimizing the impact on the environment.

URBANISATION IN INDIA-TRENDS AND ISSUES.

Urbanization is one of the important outcomes of the process of the economic growth and is one of the oldest phenomenon of the human existence and the process of civilization. The growth of urban population and hence the process of urbanization has been very rapid in the recent years specifically during the 20th century. Urbanization in India, like the other developing regions, has also been witnessed largely in the second half of the 20th century. The growth of cities of different class sizes in India indicates a faster growth of the urban population and its concentration in the big cities. Moreover, there has also been a considerable increase in the number of cities with million plus population in the country. The major issues related to urbanization include migration, degradation of environment, pollution, slum settlements and urban poor raise significant concerns regarding the urbanization process. Tackling these issues requires high amount of planning both at micro as well as macro levels. The modern approach to planning is viewed in terms of moving away from the traditional planning system and is required to have a decentralized and participatory approach.

Trends in urbanization in India

ONE of the dominant concerns of the present age is the improving the living conditions of the rapidly increasing population living in cities. For the first time in human history beginning 2007, more than half of the world’s population will live in cities (Sclar et al., 2005). Estimates by the United Nations suggest that the world’s urban population has been increasing at a rate of 1.8 per cent annually and will soon outpace the overall world population growth rate of 1 per cent (United Nations, 2005). Nearly 48 per cent of the world’s population lives in urban areas and the prime locus of this spurt in city dwellers are the developing countries such as India (Sclar et al., 2005; United Nations, 2005). India, as the rest of the developing world, is urbanizing rapidly. 27.8 per cent of the country’s population comprising 285.4 million people, live in urban areas (see Fig. 1). India’s urban population grew by 31.2 per cent during the decade 1991-2001 which is significantly higher than ...

Trends of Urbanization in India: Issues and Challenges in the 21 ST Century

The Globalization has great impact on the country like India, which increases the economic growth of the country, and because of this, we are seeing a growing urbanized India. Historically, India's population has been predominantly rural, but since the year 1991 the urban population was increasing, and today it stands about more than 30% of the total population of the country. Although, urbanization in India has been underpinned by the rapid growth in the economy especially from the last decade of the 20 th Century, and there is transformation from rural economy, based on agriculture and its allied activities to the modern economy related to industrial activities. However, as India's urbanization process is increasing we are seeing its negative impacts on the urban areas, by way of lack of basic facilities like infrastructure, drinking water, housing, transport etc. Thus, this article tries to present the urbanization taking place in India, and also gives particular attentio...

Urbanisation in India: A Demographic Reappraisal

2001

The United Nations estimates indicate that at mid 1990s, about 43 per cent of the world population lived in urban areas. With the urban population growing two and a half times faster than its rural counterpart, the level of urbanisation is projected to cross the 50 per cent mark in 2005. United Nations projections further show that by 2025, more than threefifth of the world population will live in urban areas (U. N. 1993).

URBANIZATION IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW OF TRENDS, CAUSES, AND CHALLENGES

International Journal of Asian Economic Light (JAEL)), 2023

India has seen increasing urbanization in recent decades, with the nation’s urban population expected to reach 600 million by 2031. This paper outlines the trends, causses, challenges and implications of urbanization in India and investigates the factors that fueled for expansion of urban sprawl, and its subsequent social, economic, and environmental consequences. Rural-urban migration has been one of the key motivations, driven by a desire for greater economic prospects, social mobility, and higher living conditions. Natural population increase in towns and cities has also contributed significantly to urbanization. The expansion of the service sector as well as the emergence of industrial businesses have lured and drawn people to cities in large number. On the positive side, urbanization has boosted economic growth, raised living standards, and expanded access to essential services. On the negative side, urbanization has resulted in a number of issues such as slum expansion, traffic congestion, pollution, and inadequate infrastructure. India’s urbanization has offered mixed results containing both opportunities and treats. As it is inevitable process, it briefly suggests a few policy recommendation from urban sociology point of view.

Toward a better appraisal of urbanization in India

Cybergeo : European Journal of Geography, 2011

Until now, studies of urbanization in India have been based only on official urban figures as provided by Census surveys. This approach has inevitably introduced several avoidable biases into the picture, distortions which are further compounded by numerous regional inter-Census adjustments. A much sounder option is now available in the Geopolis approach [www.e-geopolis.eu\], which follows the United Nations system of classifying as urban all physical agglomerates with at least 10,000 inhabitants. From this standpoint, the Indian scenario exhibits all signs of a much-diffused process of urbanization rather than a major demographic polarization led by mega-cities. While 3,279 units were officially categorized as urban, the Geopolis criterion has identified 6,467 units with at least 10,000 inhabitants. Moreover, Geopolis estimates the urban population at 37% for 2001, which is 10% more than the official Census estimate. In absolute terms, this difference accounts for 100 million inhabitants. Brought to light by both physical identification and gradation of the census units of all localities as well as a study of the morphological profiles of individual agglomerates, a major finding reveals a greater spread of the country’s metro and secondary cities than previously believed. Statistical and political considerations have obscured the emergence of small agglomerations of between 10,000 and 20,000 inhabitants. This omission can only be seen as a gap in the national policy on planning and urban development. In other words, the country seems to be firmly headed toward an extended process of metropolitanization alongside diffused combinations of localized socio-economic opportunities, clusters, cottage industries, and market towns partially interlinked by developmental corridors. Far from a dual model of modern versus traditional, urban versus rural, metro city versus small town, the Indian subcontinent features many sub-regional settings which converge, overlap, and diverge. This study of the distribution of current and emerging agglomerations challenges the pertinence of the urban/rural divide.