URBAN SOCIOLOGY

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B.A.(Sociology) – Second Year

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Paper Code : BASO1921

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PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
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(A Central University)

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

R.V. Nagar, Kalapet, Puducherry – 605 014
Advisory Committee Academic Support Committee
1. Prof. Gurmeet Singh 1. Dr. A. Punitha
Vice-Chancellor, Asst. Professor, DDE
Pondicherry University Pondicherry University

2. Prof. Rajeev Jain 2. Dr V. Umasri

OSD, C&CR, Asst. Professor, DDE

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Pondicherry University Pondicherry University

1. Dr. Arvind Gupta 3. Dr. Sk. Md. Nizamuddin

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Director, Asst. Professor, DDE

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Directorate of Distance Education Pondicherry University
Pondicherry University

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Review Committee Administrative Support

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1. Dr. C. Aruna 1. Dr. A. Saravanan
Professor & Head

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Deuty Registrar,
Dept. of Sociology Directorate of Distance Education
Pondicherry University Pondicherry University
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2. Dr V. Umasri
Asst. Professor, DDE
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Pondicherry University

Course Writer
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Dr. Lucy Mishra

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Assistant Professor
School of Social Science, Finance & amp; Humanities,
KIIT University, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.
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Copyright
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This book may not be duplicated in any way without the written consent of the Pondicherry
University except in the form of brief excerpts or quotations for the purpose of review.
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The information contained herein is for the personal use of the DDE students, Pondicherry
University and may not be incorporated in any commercial programs, other books, databases
or any kind of software without the written consent of the author. Making copies of this book or
any portion, for any purpose other than your own is a violation of copyright laws. The author
has used their best efforts in preparing this book and believes that the content is reliable and
correct to the best of their knowledge.
BA II Year Paper Code: BASO 1921

URBAN SOCIOLOGY

Unit - I

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Introduction to Urban Sociology: Origin, Nature and Scope,Importance of

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the Study of Urban Sociology in India.

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Unit - II

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Basic Concepts: The City, Urbanization, Urbanism, Urbanity, Suburb,
Metropolitan, Corporation and Neighborhood

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Unit - III

Process of Urbanization in India: Growth of Urban Population in India,

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Emergence of Cities, Causes and Consequences of Urbanization

Unit - IV
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Urban Social Structure: Urban Family, Urban Social Stratification Caste

and Class, Occupational Divisions.
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Unit - V
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Urban Slums: Problems and Challenges, Urban Development Programmes.

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Unit - VI

Urban Governance: Meaning and Principle of Urban Governance,Urban

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Governance in India, Urban Violence: Challenges to Urban Governance.

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 References:

Berge E.E. 1962. Urban Sociology, New York: Free Press.

Bose, Ashish 1973. Studies in India's Urbanization, New Delhi: Tata
McGraw Hill.
D Souza Alfred, 1978. The Indian city: Poverty Ecology and Urban
Development, New Delhi: Manohar.

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David A.Karp, Gregory P.Stone, William C. Yoels, 1991. Being Urban: A

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Sociology of Urban Life, London: Praeger.
Mahala, O. M. 2011. Urban governance in India: emerging challenges in

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liberalized era, New Delhi: Authors press.

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Rajendra K. Sharma, 1997. Urban Sociology, New Delhi: Atlantic

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Publishers.
Rao M.S.A. 1974. Urban Sociology in India, New Delhi: Orient Longman.

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Shrivastava, A.K. 1989. Urbanization: Concept & Growth, New Delhi:
H.K. Publishers.
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Simon Parker, 2004. Urban Theory and the Urban Experience: Encountering
the City, London: Routledge.
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Wilson R.A, and Schlutz David, 1978. Urban Sociology, London: Prentice
Hall.
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIT TITLE PAGE NO.

1 Lesson 1.1 - Introduction to Urban Sociology 1

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2 Lesson 2.1 - Basic Concepts 21

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3 Lesson 3.1 - Process of Urbanization in India 81

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4 Lesson 4.1 - Urban Social Structure 103

5 Lesson 5.1 - Slums

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6 Lesson 6.1 - Urban Governance 153

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 Notes
UNIT - I

Lesson 1.1 - Introduction to Urban Sociology

Structure

1.1 Learning Objectives

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1.2 Introduction

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1.3 Meaning of Urban Sociology
1.4 Origin and Development

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1.5 Importance of Urban Sociology

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1.6 Nature and Scope of Urban Sociology

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1.7 Urban Sociology in India
1.8 Urban Sociological Studies in India
1.9
1.10
Let us Sum Up
Keywords
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1.11 Self-Assessment Questions
1.12 References
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1.1 Learning Objectives

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After reading this unit, you will be able to:

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➢ 
Understand the meaning, nature of urban sociology.
➢ 
Come to know about the origin and development of urban sociology.
➢ 
Have a comprehensive understanding about the significance of the
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Chicago School in the origin and development of urban sociology.

➢ 
Know in detail about the subject matter and scope of urban
sociology.
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➢ 
Understand the importance of the study of urban sociology in India.
➢ 
Comprehend some of the urban sociological studies done in India.
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1.2 Introduction
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For a common man a resident of a village is referred to as folk and

urbanite is the term reserved for a resident of a city. In common
parlance, town or city is generally considered as the opposite of village.
The term ‘Urbane’ can be traced to the old French term ‘urbain’ which
means French pattern of stress. The words ‘urban’ and ‘urbane’ were
derived from the Latin word ‘Urbanus’ having the meaning ‘belonging
to a city’. Both the words urban and urbane were used interchangeably.

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Notes
The history of cities can be tracked to some ten thousand years
ago. It is perhaps only a few hundred years ago that the scientific interest in
the city grew up. The science of urban Sociology is a recent phenomenon.
Giovanni Botero’s book “Delle Cause della grandezza della citta” was most
probably the first book on city which was published in 1598. The English
translation of the book was published in the year 1806 titled ‘A Treatise
Concerning the Causes of the Magnificence of and Greatness of Cities.’

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The importance of the lies in the fact that it came to public notice that
the city as an object of scientific enquiry started to occupy the minds

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of the scholars, who have attempted to study the city from an empirical

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perspective. Scholars from diverse backgrouds took keen interest in the
study of urban life or city life i.e. the statisticians, the economists, the

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historians, scholars related to population studies, administrators, planners

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and social reformers etc. have devoted much attention to the study of city
in concrete manner.

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Some of the basic urban problems were investigated by scholars like
Mayr, Ruecher, Supan, Grault, Adna Weber, Hurd, Willcox and Ravenstein.
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The irony is that none of these scholars work was urban sociology in true
sense. In spite of Sociology being established as a distinctive branch of
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science, urban study was not in focus till very late. The 1910 publication
“L’Origine et la function economique des villes’ by Rene Maurier who was
a sociologist was the first monograph on city. In this book urban study
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had largely economic connotations. The other famous works on urban

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sociology were by George Simmel (Die Grosstadte und das Geistesleben;

translated as ‘The Metropolitan and Mental Life’), 1903; Max Weber’s Die
Stadt (The City), 1921 and R. Maurier’s (Le Village et la ville), 1929. Some
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of the famous explorative studies on urban sociology of that time included

Jane Addam’s Hull House Maps and Papers published in 1893 and Robert
Woods “The City and Wilderness’ published in 1899. Following the footsteps
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of Charles Booth’s study of life and labour in London in 1888, Sophonisba

P. Breckinridge studied the housing in Chicago in 1908. Roundtree’s study
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of town life and destitution in New York was an important study on the
problems of city life. The real turning point in city study came from the
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writings of Robert E. Park’s article ‘The City’ which was first published in
the American Journal of Sociology in 1915.

The real recognition to urban sociology came in 1925 when

American Sociological Society conducted an annual meeting on Urban
Sociology. E.W. Burgess published the papers presented in this meeting

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under the title ‘The Urban Community.’ The pioneering efforts of Park,
Burgess and McKenzie has been unforgettable because they had published
‘The City’. Due to the efforts of the students of Park and Burgess the
Chicago School of Urban Sociology flourished.

The common characteristics of Sociology and Urban Sociology

is the both the disciplines have emerged and developed in the Western
societies. There is significant contribution of Chicago School behind the

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origin and growth of Urban Sociology. It can be safely concluded that an

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urban area has the following characteristics:
➢ 
The population of a city generally rely on occupations other than

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agriculture for their sustenance.
➢ 
Generally, city refers to a larger settlement of population and the

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structure of neighborhood is differentiated.

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➢ 
The city is characterized with high density of population along with
complex form of division of labour.

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The city life boasts of diverse pattern of interaction and the
interpersonal relationship is distinct from village folk.
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Therefore, to give you the right perspective about this branch of
sociology many of the details and discussions are given in this unit.
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1.3 Meaning of Urban Sociology

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The name Urban Sociology indicates the study of urban life and
urban areas. The Latin word ‘Urbanus’ which means belonging to a city
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is the precursor of the word ‘urban’. The word ‘Urbane’ seeks its origin
from the French word ‘Urbain’. At many instances both the words are used
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interchangeably which had similar meaning. In common parlance, the

word ‘urban’ is used to mean being polite, refined, specialized or elegant.
The reason behind this may be due to the fact that these characteristics
are typically found among the urban residents in contrast to the village
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people.
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Definition
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According to Jary and Jary “The study of social relationships and structures
in the city”.

According to Flanagan “A cohesive sub-discipline wit6hin sociology,

related in some systematic manner to a particular kind of special space,
the urban arena”.

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Notes
According to Barker “urban sociology deals with the impact of the city
life on social action, social relationship, social instruction and the types of
civilization derived from and based on urban modes of living.”

According to Professor House urban sociology defined as ‘the specialized

study of city life and problems.

According to Nels Anderson - “Urban sociology concerns society and

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living in towns and cities”.

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According to E.Bergal – “Urban sociology deals with the impact of city
life on social actions, social relationships, social institutions and types of

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civilizations derived form and based on urban modes of living”.

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According to Quinn - “In sociological sense, the science related to the
study of structure of cities and urbane in urban sociology.

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Urban sociology is a study of impact of city life on man’s social actions,

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social relationships, social institutions and types of civilization derived
from and based on urban modes of living. it is a normative discipline
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of sociology seeping to study the structures, environmental processes,
changes and problem of an urban area and by doing so provide inputs for
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urban planning and policy making.

Urban sociology
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Urban + socious + logus

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City + society + science

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It can be said that urban sociology is scientific study of urban

society.
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 Notes

The Earliest Cities

Early cities developed in a few regions, from Mesopotamia to Asia

to the Americas. The very first cities were founded in Mesopotamia
after the Neolithic Revolution, around 7500 BCE. Mesopotamian
cities included Eridu, Uruk, and Ur. Early cities also arose in the Indus
Valley and ancient China. Among the early Old-World cities, one of

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the largest was Mohenjodaro, located in the Indus Valley (present-day
Pakistan); it existed from about 2600 BCE, and had a population of

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50,000 or more. In the ancient Americas, the earliest cities were built in

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the Andes and Mesoamerica and flourished between the 30th century
BCE and the 18th century BCE.

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1.4 Origin and Development of Urban Sociology

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Cities appeared some ten thousand years ago. The scientific interest
in the city is, however, a few hundred years old and the science of urban
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sociology is still more recent. The origin of Urban Sociology is a distinct
branch of the sociology discipline. It is associated with the Chicago School.
The concept of urban sociology evolved from a series of studies conducted
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at the University of Chicago during the 1920s and 1930s.

The first department of Sociology in the U.S.A. was started at

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University of Chicago in the year 1892. The department was headed by

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Albion. W. Small and scholars such as Charles R. Henderson, W.I. Thomas

and George E. Vincent were part of the department. Early in the 1920s
sociologists at Chicago began the rigorous work of gathering the facts
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of urban life, guided by theoretical notions concerning the growth and

structure of cities and the nature of human beings and its institutions.
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Urban sociology emerged as a distinct branch of the sociology

around early 20th century in the West, especially after the Industrial
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Revolution. It became popular in America: Cities, such as, Chicago became

the hub of urban sociology. The social changes caused by Industrial
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Revolution and the development of cities motivated social scientists

to make the city the subject matter of study. Due to the rapid process
of urbanization that took place from the late 19th century through the
first part of the 20th century ‘Urban sociology’ emerged as an attempt to
understand this process, and the consequences that it had for social life. At
the core of this field was the increasingly prominent and rapidly growing

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Notes
American city.

The studies on urban centers or cities developed as the subject

matter of study in Social Science disciplines through the writings of the
Chicago School of thought. The theoretical formulations of social thinkers
such as Karl Marx, Max Weber and Durkheim had focused on cities or
urban centers. The central concern of all these writers was with social,
economic and political implications of the development of capitalism in

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the West, they did not consider It useful to develop a specifically urban

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theory. During that period there was a rapid growth of cities in the west
which was natural for the disruptive social change in the societies. It is very

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obvious that the theories of Durkheim (disintegration of moral cohesion),
Weber (the growth of calculative rationality) and Marx (the destructive

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forces unleashed by the development of capitalism) are centered on urban

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life.

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After the Industrial Revolution, sociologists such as Max Weber and
Georg Simmel began to focus on the accelerating process of urbanization
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and the effects it had on feelings of social alienation and anonymity.
Notably, Georg Simmel is widely considered the father of urban sociology
for his contributions to the field in his works such as: The Metropolis and
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Mental Life: published in 1903.

The early three sociological classics on urban sociology were —G.

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Simmel, Die Grosstadte und das Geistesleben, 1903; Max Weber, Die
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Stadt, 1921; and R. Maurier, Le Village et la ville, 1929. However, the real
impetus came from Robert E. Park. His article “The City,” which heralded
the coming of a new era, was first published in the American Journal of
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Sociology in 1915; yet at that time it received little attention. Sociology

was still a general science without much specialization. Indeed, it was
still trying for recognition, which it gained quite slowly. The year 1925
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marks the turning point. Park republished his article, together with other
contributions, in a small book, The City. In the following year, he and his
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co-editor Burgess published a similar volume of short articles called The

Urban Community. The response was remarkable. The first textbook on
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urban sociology appeared in 1929. Since then, the new field has flourished
and expanded.

It is however important to mention that the status of urban

sociology is closely related to the level of development and urbanization of
a particular nation. Since there was a concentration of scholar in the field

6
 Notes
of sociology in Chicago City, such as, Robert E. Park, Robert D. Mckenzie;
E.W Burgess, Louis Wirth working on urban Sociology and contributing
vast number of studies in this field; Chicago School of Thought’ emerged.

Further, the birth of urban sociology has a close association

with the expansion of Chicago city. Rapid commercialization and
industrialization of the city occurred in later 19th century. There was
a massive influx of migrants from places like, Europe, France, Sweden,

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Germany, Czechoslovakia etc. and the city became more and more complex

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as it became multi-cultural, multilingual and with unequal distribution of
wealth (Fredrick Cressey 1971). The population of Chicago doubled from

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1898 to 1930. This rapid growth was accompanied by marked changes in
the distribution of the city’s population. Not simply did the population

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expand over a large area but certain sections of the city grew more rapidly

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than others. This rapid growth and expansion of the city witnessed in
Chicago and in other parts of the world became the focus of study of the

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Chicago Sociologists. The metropolis, the great urban complex which
plays a dominant role in the social life of its inhabitants and the cultural,
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political and economic life of the nations of the world over became the
integrating theme of the Chicago School.
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By 1920s the Chicago School found that the natural areas could be
significantly studied in two aspects:
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a) The spatial pattern: This includes the topography of the local

community and the physical arrangement which not only include
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land space but also the structures that the people constructed, that
sheltered the inhabitants and provided the places of work and play.
b) The cultural life: The modes of living and customs and standards.
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The spatial aspect gave rise to ecological studies, all that could be
mapped, the distribution, physical structures, institutions, groups
and individuals over an area.
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Activity:

Observe ethe society in which you live. Whether it is a village, town,

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city, metropolis- observe the physical characteristics. Note about its

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culture, society, values, physical infrastructure, the amenities available.

Write two pages based on your observations on your village/city/town/
metropolis.

Compare it with other students.

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Notes
1.5 Importance of Urban Sociology

As a branch of sociology, the study of urban sociology is crucial now

a days. Urban sociology tries to study the urban life of both developed and
developing countries. The urban life of an advanced country is taken as an
example to be followed by the underdeveloped and developing countries.
They are considered as the torchbearers of the revolutionary change in
the political, social, economic and cultural movements. Advancement

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of industrialization and technological development attracted the people

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of villages towards cities and towns, and this has chased urbanization
to a great extent. Due to this, the personal tendencies and trends, and

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norms and standards of all social institutions have also undergone a
tremendous change. The urban society is also witnessing an increase

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in crimes and corruption leading to social disorganization. Apart from

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these, many grave economic and political problems have also cropped up
forcing governmental organizations to pay attention to find solutions to

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these problems. In the present urban societies, the service of the urban
sociologist is equally important as those of the doctor, engineer or any
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other professional. Without the help of urban sociologists, urban social
problems cannot be effectively solved. The importance of urban sociology
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can be realized from the following reasons cited below:

a. Reconstruction of urban society
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b. Study of urbanization
c. To solve the problems that crop up due to the extension of
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urbanization
d. Urban planning
e. Proper implementation of community projects
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f. Study of the ever-changing urban social structure

Thus, urban sociology is not merely a theoretical study but has an
applied aspect as well.
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1.6 Nature and Scope of Urban Sociology

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Urban sociology is one of the broadest and multidisciplinary of

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all sociological fields. It depends on the related sciences and borrows

from history, economics, social psychology, public administration, and
social work. It tends to overlap geography with its emphasis on spatial
distribution of social institutions and social groups within the city; political
science, with its emphasis on political behavior, power and with decision
making; economics, with its perspective on public policy, taxation, and

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 Notes
public expenditures; and anthropology with respect to culture of groups.

The subject-matter of sociology is cities and their growth, and it

deals with such problems like planning and development of cities, traffic
regulations, public waterworks, social hygiene, sewerage works, housing,
beggary, juvenile delinquency, crime and so on. Thus, the scope of urban
sociology becomes wider as it not only tries to study the urban setup and
facts but also tries to give suggestions to solve problems arising out of

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dynamic nature of the society. In many ways the interests of urbanology (A

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specialist in urban sociology) and ecologist also overlaps with those of town
and city planners, social workers, various other specialists in education,

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race relations, housing, and urban development and rehabilitation (Gist,
1957). Therefore, there is a need to clarify/redefine many basic concepts

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in the field: community, ecology, city, urban, urbanism, urban society,

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urbanization, industrialization, modernization and so on.

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Community: The term has many meanings. Sometimes it is used to
denote a common habitat or the totality of all persons living in the same
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area. Frequently the term indicates more than merely a locality or its
residents. Davis, for instance, stresses what he calls “social completeness”.
Accordingly, he defines a community, as “the smallest territorial group that
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can embrace all aspects of social life ...It is the smallest social local group
that can be, and often is, a complete society”. McIver and Page approach
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the problem from a somewhat different angle, emphasizing relationships

rather than social organization: “The basic criterion of community ... is
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that all of one’s social relationships may be found within it.” We can indeed
speak of a community if common habitat creates positive emotional ties
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between all - residents or at least all groups of residents. It is characterized

by feeling of belongingness and friendly feeling towards each other,
cooperation is promoted and community can fulfil all its functions.
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Ecology: It was Robert E. Park who appropriated the principles of

natural science (ecology) for the analysis of urban spaces or urban ecology
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(Flanagan, W. 1993). In simple words, ecology is the science, which studies

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the relationship between living things and the environment. The city like
any other environment, is a conditioning rather than a determining factor.

Urban ecology refers to an idea that emerged out of the Chicago

School that likens urban organization to biological organisms. Urban
ecology has remained an influential theory in both urban sociology and
urban anthropology over time. The theory is essentially an extended

9
Notes
metaphor that helps to explain how conflicting subgroups exist in shared
urban spaces and systems. Like biological systems, urban subgroups are
dependent on one another for healthy functioning and are also dynamic—
that is, they flourish and decline based on political, economic, and social
tides. Relating this to functionalist theory, one can look at immigration
and emigration trends. As people enter and leave a country, they are
dependent upon one another, as well as the new culture, to assimilate and

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enter into a new society. Immigrants become emigrants and vice-versa; in
this way, the chain of life continues in terms of societal relations.

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Any thorough discussion of the development of urban sociology

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must explain difference between the two organizing topics in the field:
urbanization and urbanism. Urbanization refers to the origins of cities and

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the process of city building. What people migrate from rural areas to the

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cities; due to pull or push factors; temporarily or permanently; the process
of urbanization takes place. In practice, urbanization refers both to the

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increase in the percentage of population residing in urban areas and to the
associated growth in the number of urban dwellers, in the size of cities and
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in the total area occupied by urban settlements. It studies the way social
activities locate themselves in space and according to interdependent
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processes of societal development and change.

Urbanism, in contrast, studies the ways of life that may be found

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within the urban community. It deals with culture, symbols, patterns of

daily life, and processes of adjustment to the environment of the city,
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but also with social conflict and political organization at the street,
neighborhood, and city levels. As believed by Louis Wirth; it is a way of
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life distinct from the life in the rural areas.

The philosophical foundations of modern urban sociology

originate from the work of sociologists such as Karl Marx, Ferdinand
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Tönnies, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber and Georg Simmel who studied
and theorized the economic, social and cultural processes of urbanization
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and its effects on social alienation, class formation, and the production or
destruction of collective and individual identities.
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These theoretical foundations were expanded and analyzed by

a group of sociologists and researchers who worked at the University of
Chicago in the early twentieth century. In what became known as the
Chicago School of sociology the work of Robert Park, Louis Wirth and
Ernest Burgess on the inner city of Chicago revolutionized not only the

10
 Notes
purpose of urban research in sociology, but also the development of human
geography through its use of quantitative and ethnographic research
methods. The importance of the theories developed by the Chicago
School within urban sociology have been critically sustained and critiqued
but still remain one of the most significant historical advancements in
understanding urbanization and the city within the social sciences. The
discipline may draw from several fields, including cultural sociology,

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economic sociology, and political sociology.

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The growth of cities and the urbanization of social life have long
stood at the center of social science inquiry. Urban housing, politics,

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intergroup relations, class and stratification patterns, economic structure,
demographic trends, and the nature of communities are among the most

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frequent areas of scholarly investigation. Social scientists have focused on

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social interactions in urban areas because cities have the unique capacity
to bring together many cultural strands. Economic problems and power

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dynamics are intensified as resources are scarce due to dense populations.
Cities also operate as zones of confluence for economic relationships and
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other types of diversity as new ideas, people, and goods are constantly
flowing through urban areas.
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The advent of globalization and the information and communication

technology revolution, have a profound impact on cities around the world
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and have revived academic interest in urban sociology.

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Urban sociology has its own characteristics, and these are stated
below.
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➢ 
It is the sociological analysis of city and its lifestyle.
➢ 
It concerns the dynamism of society stimulated by urbanization.
➢ 
It tends to identify the urban problems and implement possible
remedies to solve them.
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➢ 
It is factual study of urban social living.
➢ 
It plays attention to the social relation among the city dwellers.
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➢ 
It concerned with the geo-spatial cultural issues and comparative
analysis of urban ecology.
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➢ 
It studies the social relation which may harmonious or conflicting.
➢  It is the subtract area of general sociology.
➢ 
It is based on universal, authentic, and valid scientific data.

11
Notes

Write a note on “My City/Town/Village” based on its people, culture,

values etc. Discuss your report with your teacher and friends.

Urban Sociology deals with the impact of city life on social action,
social relationships, Social Institutions, and the types of civilizations
derived from and based on urban modes of living. Louis Wirth has written

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extensively on urbanism and described the complexity of our subject-
matter:

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“The city is not merely the point at which great numbers are

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concentrated into limited space, but it is also a complex heterogeneity in
almost every characteristic in which human beings can differ from one

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another. In this respect the city represents perhaps the most striking

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contrast to the social entities that we call primitive, folk, and peasant
societies. Consequently, the methods adapted to the understanding of

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the population of the metropolis are strikingly different from those
suited to simpler and more homogeneous societies. This accounts for the
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fact that in attempting to understand the city we have had to resort to
extensive statistical inquiries to determine the human elements of which
it is composed. They differ, as do all societies, in sex and age, but they
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show peculiar distribution of age and sex groups and great variations in
these respects as we pass from. area to area. They differ widely from one
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another in occupation, in view of the more extensive division of Labor,

which the growth of the market has made possible. They differ in wealth
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and in income, ranging from the. extreme of affluence to the depths of

the direst poverty and insecurity. The city, moreover, by virtue of its focal
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position in the complex of capitalistic civilization, has attracted within

its confines the racial and ethnic stocks of all the world and has more or
less amalgamated them and blended their traits into a new aggregate of
E,

hybrids, here mingling with one another and there segregating themselves
from one another, here collaborating and there at war, but in any case,
D

building a complex of cultures unprecedented in human history. This

heterogeneity of the human materials in the city is at once a source of
D

ferment and stimulation and of the frictions and conflicts that characterize
modern society” (Louis Wirth 1940).

According to Marshall 1998 urban sociology is concerned with

1. Urbanization
2. Rapidly growing industrial cities

12
 Notes
3. Complex social relationships, and
4. Social structures
According to Simmel (1903), urban sociology is the impressionistic
discussion of
1. Urban lifestyle and personality.
2. Urban social organization and culture.
3. Physical characteristics of cities.

ty
4. Social characteristics of inhabitants.

si
According to Jary and Jary (2000) it is concerned with-
1. Urban dimensions of society.

er
2. Forms of association and social life in urban environments.
3. Social order and organization in urban settings.

v
4. Role of urban development in social change.

ni
5. Community studies and neighborhood.
6. Study of housing.

U
7. Race and ethnic relationships.
Azam and Ali (2005) have classified the scope of urban sociology into five
rry
dimensions.
1. The social change perspectives, includes-
he

➢  Morphology of cities
➢  Population dynamics
ic

➢  Transformation of urban communities

➢  Change in behavioral pattern of city dwellers.
nd

➢  Structural change
2. The social organization perspective, includes-
➢  Individual, groups
Po

➢  Bureaucracy, and social institution

3. The ecological perspective,
➢  Population, environment, and technology
E,

4. The social problem perspective

➢  Poverty, unemployment, illness etc.
D

5. The social policy perspective includes recognition and identification

of the problems and ability to solve the identified problems.
D

Do you think you are an urban person or rural? List the attributes on
the basis of which you have decided your personality.

13
Notes

Urban Isolation

Social isolation has existed long before forced isolation during an

epidemic/pandemic or any similar event. Its effects have come into
prominence now with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation
includes a person staying in a confined space with little interaction
beyond the determined limits. A deficit of social support from being

ty
isolated may lead to stress, depression, and poor compliance (Boden-
Albala et al., 2005; Brooks et al., 2020). Social isolation is also an augur of

si
consequence events post-stroke (Boden-Albala et al., 2005). The urban
form has directly impacted polarizing societies, leading to the isolation

er
of communities primarily on socioeconomic factors (Antoniucci &
Marella, 2018). As cities attract a large number of people from rural

v
settlements, it leads to higher densities. With higher living costs in urban

ni
areas, people either started migrating towards the outskirts or ended up

U
living in slums or ghettos (Antoniucci & Marella, 2018; Garewa, 2006;
S. Wang, Kwan, & Hu, 2020). This has created polarized societies with
its effects visible in housing patterns, infrastructure, and even restricted
rry
access to transportation networks leading to constrained access to
resources and opportunities (Antoniucci & Marella, 2018; Benediktsson,
he

2018; S. Wang, Kwan, & Hu, 2020). The rise of gated communities is
another symbol of economic inequality present in several cities across
ic

the globe (Grundstrom, 2018 € ; Roitman & Recio, 2020).

These have led to the restricted use of public spaces creating spatial
nd

inequality and reduced interaction between different communities

(Benediktsson, 2018). Jaspers and Pieters (2016) conducted a study
spanning nine years with over 4200 individuals on ‘Materialism across
Po

life span’ shows patterns as to why individuals flock to cities for economic
gains. Individuals’ tendencies have shifted from happiness to a sense of
achievement as a significant reason for materialism. Indexing happiness
E,

factors across age groups and materialism resulted in materialism hardly

impacting an individual’s satisfaction. “The idea of materialism may be
D

conceived of as a cluster of beliefs and values” (Dittmar et al., 2014).

D

Every city has its unique characteristics. Urban experiences may vary
depending on the cities’ housing patterns, infrastructure availability,
civic participation opportunities, economic statuses, and other factors
(van Hoof et al., 2018). Thus, the results from this study cannot be
generalized. Policymakers will have to study a city in specific to address
its issues.

14
 Notes
Source-“Redressing urban isolation: A multi-city case study in India” by
Sameer Ali , Abraham George Journal of Urban Management journal
homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jum .

1.7 Urban Sociology in India

Urban studies were first initiated by a popular social scientist

ty
Patrick Geddes in the University of Mumbai in 1915. Later, the study of
urban problems was also taken up by geographers and sociologists in 1920.

si
During the decade 1914 to 1924 he made diagnostic and treatment surveys
of some 50 Indian urban centers and brought out two volumes of Town

er
Planning Towards City Development for Indore in 1918 (Boardman, 1976),

v
Yet unlike Park and Burgess, his works could not lay the foundation of the
subject in India. One of the main reasons was that the subject of sociology

ni
was itself in its budding condition in India. However, substantial progress

U
in research on urban problems was done in the post-independence period.
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) sponsored research
rry
on urban problems in areas of geography, sociology, economics, public
administration etc. Due to very low level of urbanization, the distinction
between rural and urban sociology was not meaningful in India.
he

It was only after the 1951 Census, which indicated a high rate
of growth of urban population in India that social scientists began to
ic

take real interest in urban studies. The interest continued unabated

nd

during the seventies. Consequently, urban sociology gained importance,

and problems of rural— urban migration, urban development, and
other related areas such as demography, neighborhoods, slums, social
Po

stratification, education, ethnic conflict and movements, kinship, religion,

politics, economy, social problems, and impact of urbanization on rural
areas attracted the attention of the sociologists and social anthropologists
E,

(Rao 1982).

The National Commission on Urbanization (NCU) report,

D

published in five volumes, highlighted the problems of urbanization at

D

the grassroots, sub-state, and state levels. NCU noted that urbanization is
a phenomenon of unique scope and dimension that can change the nature
of our lives fundamentally. This decade also saw some valuable studies
on slums and squatter settlements such as: Kaldate 1989; Dhadave 1989;
Sandhu 1989; Rao R.N. 1990; Das 1993; Desai 1995; De wit 1996; Purewal
2000; Lobo and Das 2001. In addition to this, many other publications

15
Notes
appeared as conferences and seminars volumes on different aspects of
urbanization such as human settlements, urban poor and sustainability
of human settlements. Some of the important works are Mohanty 1993;
Didde and Rangaswamy 1993; Roy and Das Gupta 1995; Kundu 2000;
Sandhu et al, 2001; Sharma and Sita 2001.

In a paper entitled “Indian Urbanism: A Socio-historical

Perspective”, which appeared in a special issue of ‘Contributions to Indian

ty
Sociology’ Satish Saberwal (1977) rightly observes that Patrick Geddes

si
before his appointment as the first Professor of Sociology in the University
of Bombay, oround sixty years ago prepared a Report regarding the re-

er
planning of six towns in Bombay Presidency. G.S Ghurey as a true successor
of Prof. Patrick Geddes wrote on “Cities of India” in the March 1953 issue

v
of the Sociological Bulletin. Though some Sociologists have come up with

ni
various publications on urban related phenomena, but nothing had such
deep impact or any intellectually engaging ideas creeped in.

U
rry
1.8 Urban Sociological Studies in India

During the 1920s when the studies on city life and urban social
he

phenomenon was gaining prominence in the western countries due to the

influence of Chicago school, Prof. Patrick Geddes established the department
of Sociology in the University of Bombay for the first time. For Partic Geddes,
ic

cities are nothing but symbolizes civilization. Prof. Geddes initiated number of
nd

urban studies in India. His notable contribution includes revival of indigenous

customs and use it for urban studies in India. Geddes could perceive the
interrelationship between urban spatial forms and urban social structure,
Po

and this led Geddes to conclude that if urban spatial forms can be changed
subsequently the urban social structure can also be changed. Between 1914
E,
D
D

Source- Asha Bhavan Centre: a NGO dedicated to the growth, welfare

and development of the underprivileged children and people from the
margininalized community. www.abcindia.org

16
 Notes
and 1924, Geddes prepared around forty town planning reports on behalf of
many governmental agencies and various institutions. All these works have
been incorporated in “Town Planning towards City Development.” All the
efforts taken up by Geddes were pioneering ideas concerning the revival as
well as the preservation of Indian urban centers and additionally these were
the earliest possible archival documents which shows the status of Indian cities
in the early phases of the twentieth century (Meller, Helen 1990). Though

ty
Despite the pioneering efforts of Patrick Geddes, the urban studies

si
in India took so may decades to claim its profoundness and M.S.A Rao
very aptly points out that the lackadaisical nature of the Indian Sociologists

er
towards Urban Sociology was because of the fact that the distinction
between rural and urban Sociology was not thought to be meaningful and

v
the level of urbanization in India considered to be at a lower level. Another

ni
anomaly in this regard was that both the traditional city and the village
were the elements of the same civilization.

U
Since 1950s the process of urbanization and urbanism has attracted
rry
the attention of the social scientists in India. According to D’Souza the social
scientists showed real interest in urban studies after the publication of 1951
Census Report which clearly revealed the growth of urban population in India.
he

Arnold Toynbee, Max Weber, Robert Redfield, Milton Singer, G.S.Ghurey,

D.N.Majumdar, Radhakamal Mukherjee and Gideon Sjoberg have showed
ic

interested in urban centric phemena of India. Prof. G.S. Ghurey of University

of Bombay, as a true successor of Prof. Geddes had shown immense interest
nd

in studying the urban phenomena in India. Ghurey focused on studying

the historical and comparative aspects of urbanization. He also studied the
Po

rural-urban relations. Ghurey in his article “Cities of India” published in 1953

gave emphasis on studying the political, Cultural, and ecological aspects of
the ancient and medieval cities. Weber (1962) has attempted to study Indian
cities from comparative and historical perspective with special focus on
E,

the institution of caste. According to him, caste continues to be the main

characteristics of traditional cities and it has great potential to obstruct the
D

realization of socio-legal equality, emergence of citizenry and thus modern

D

Indian cities are in true sense not autonomous.

Again, as per the 1971 census there was seen high rate of growth of
urban population which tempted the attention of the social scientists to look
into the matters of cities and associated problems which led to growth of rapid
interest and eventually resulted in the spread and growth of Urban Sociology
in India (D’Souza, 1974). Various issues concerning urban development,

17
Notes
rural-urban migration, slums, education, sanitation, religion, economics,
politics, ethnic conflicts, stratification, neighborhood, demography, impact
of urbanization on rural areas have catched the attention of Sociologists
and Anthropologists (Rao, 1982). 1980s was the decade when good number
of studies were done on Indian urbanism by some noted scholars like
Dimock and Inden (1970), Hambly (1968), (Ghosh (1973), King (1978) and
Saberwal (1978). Great number of studies were conducted on urbanization

ty
and associated problems in cities and towns. Some sociologically relevant
problems like slums, beggary, juvenile delinquency, and prostitution have

si
been investigated by urban sociologists and social workers.

er
During the 1980s and 1990s some Government initiatives were there
which prompted urban studies. The National Commission on Urbanization

v
came up with a five- volume Report which sheds light on the problems of

ni
urbanization at the grass root level, sub-state level and state level. After
the 1996 Istanbul Conference on Habitat by United Nations’ Centre for

U
Human Settlement (UNCHS), the Indian Government also strived hard
to conduct city studies for the purpose of preparing a national report on
rry
the status of Indian cities. As per the guidelines and recommendations of
the UNCHS, the Government of India has established the National Urban
he

Observatory. Government of India also plans to prepare urban database at

city level just like local urban governance as per the UNCHS guidelines.
ic

All these studies help us to know more about the scale and magnitude
of urbanization in Indian context. Though all the studies conducted during
nd

1950s, 1960s and 1970s were empirical generalizations about the urban
issues, but there was lack of scientific method. (D’Souza,1985). To sum
Po

up, these efforts provided more conducive grounds for undertaking urban
studies in India (Sandhu, 2002).
E,

1.9 Let us sum up.

This unit acquaints us with understanding the origin and development

D

of Urban Sociology. Many Sociologists have conducted number of studies on

D

urban social realities. This unit tries to cover in detail the origin and growth of
Urban Sociology as a distinctive branch of Sociology both in western context
as well as in India. In a very crude understanding, urban is thought as directly
opposite to rural. Urban Sociology primarily deals with the impact of city life
on social relations, social action, urban modes of living, social institutions and
so on. The contribution of Chicago school is very important because it played

18
 Notes
a pivotal role in institutionalizing Urban Sociology as a distinctive branch
of Sociology by producing works on urban social interactions and urban
social space. Patrick Geddes established the first department of Sociology in
the University of Bombay and he had contributed immensely by producing
important Reports on town planning from 1914 to 1924. The year 1925 was a
landmark for Urban Sociology as in this year American Sociological Society
called for an annual meeting on Urban Sociology. After this there was no

ty
looking back since Urban Sociology got recognized and institutionalized as
a sub-field of Sociology. Due to all its intricacies and complexities, Urban

si
Sociology deserves attention from several perspectives viz. social organization,

er
city and civilization, ecological and social problems approach. Despite early
attempts to study cities began in the 1920s, it is only in the 1950s that many

v
empirical and scientific studies on cities were conducted. The census of 1951

ni
was important in this respect because this report highlighted the heightened
growth of urbanization in India which eventually led to study on various

U
urban phenomena. Urban Sociology has been established as a distinct branch
of Sociology after a lot of empirical work has been done in the field.
rry
1.10 Keywords
he

Urbanus: means “belonging to a city”

Community: Often defined as a local grouping within which people carry

ic

on a full round of life activities, but usually used for any locality or category
nd

of people. Examples are rural and urban communities.

Globalization: It involves the creation of new and the multiplication

Po

of existing social networks and activities that increasingly overcomes

traditional political, economic, cultural, and geographical boundaries.

Industrialization: It basically meant the change in the method of

E,

production of manufactured goods from animate (such as horses, cows,

bullocks, etc, or through human energy) to inanimate power (such as
D

steam and electricity).

D

Urbanism: It refers to patterns of social life – typical of urban population.

These include a highly specialized division of labor, growth of individualism
in social relations, growth of voluntary associations, etc.

Urbanization: The process of increase in the size and density of

population in cities and the concentration of population in cities because
of immigration.

19
Notes
Ecology: It studies the relationship between living things and the
environment.

1.11 Self-Assessment Questions

1) How would you define urban sociology?

2) Give an account of the origin and development of urban sociology.

ty
3) Write a note on the emergence of urban sociology in India.

si
4) Write a note on Chicago School.

er
5) Examine the importance of the study of urban sociology in modern
world.

v
ni
6) Fill in the blanks: -

U
a) Urban Sociology as a subfield of Sociology discipline emerged in
………………………….
rry
b) ………………………… was the first Professor of Sociology in the
Bombay University
he

c) 
Urbanization is a process by which people migrate from
………………………… areas to the cities and towns.
ic

1.12 References
nd

Bergel, E.E. (1962). Urban Sociology, New York: Free Press Flanagan,
Po

W. G. (1993). Contemporary Urban Sociology. Cambridge University Press:

Cambridge.
Geddes, P. (2012). Cities in Evolution: An Introduction to the Town Planning
E,

Movement and to the Study of Civics. Hard Press Publishing.

Rao, M.S.A. (1974). Urban Sociology in India, Delhi: Orient Longman,
D

Urbanization and Urban System in India by Ramachandran.

D

Sandhu, R.S. (2003). Urbanisation in India: Sociological Contributions,

Sage, New Delhi.
Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a Way of Life. The American Journal of
Sociology, 44(1):1-24

20
 Notes
UNIT - II

Lesson 2.1 - Basic Concepts

Structure

ty
2.1 Learning Objectives

si
2.2 Assessment of Prior Knowledge
2.3 Concept of City

er
2.4 Urbanization and Urbanism

v
2.5 Urbanity

ni
2.6 Suburb
2.7 Metropolitan

U
2.8 Corporation
2.9 Neighbourhood
rry
2.10 Key Words
2.11 Self-Assessment Questions
he

2.12 References
ic

2.1. Learning objectives

nd

After studying this unit, the students will be able to

➢ 
Understand the basic concept of city.
Po

➢ 
Know the process of urbanization.
➢ 
Have a fair understanding of the process of urbanism.
➢ 
Know the concept of urbanity.
➢ 
Develop certain understanding on suburb.
E,

➢ 
Comprehend the concept of Metropolitan.
➢ 
Know the concept of Corporation.
D

➢ 
Have an understanding on the concept of neighborhood.
D

2.2 Assessment of the Prior Knowledge

When we think or talk about city usually, we come across with

certain physical features like shopping complexes, skyscrapers, modern
infrastructures, closed settlements, well connected areas etc. Cities do have
some distinctive features in the form of availability of health care facilities,

21
Notes
drinking water, sanitation and recreational facilities which attract people
more. It can be definitively said that cities are also physical entities since
cities do have physical boundaries. Cities have two dimensions i.e., physical
dimension as well as functional dimension. Functional dimension of cities
simply refers to the fact that many functions like political, economic, and
administrative functions are carried out within the context of cities. Cities
are well known for their employment and educational opportunities. Cities

ty
are famous for situating government offices, business outlets, institutions
of financial services and most importantly major trade and commerce

si
functions are executed within the cities. The social dimension of cities

er
refers to the fact that people belonging to distinct culture, language,
ethnicity, language, and regions live in close proximity with each other

v
in the cities. This entails the cities heterogeneous characteristics. The

ni
diffusion of information and communication technology is better served
by cities. When it comes to innovation and inventions in science and

U
technology, the cities not only witness them first, but become the epicenters
from where the dissemination of knowledge and diffusion of technology
rry
takes place to other parts.
he

2.3 The City

City can be described as opposite to rural since both can be said

ic

to be situated in totally extreme ends of the continuum. The amenities

experienced by the city dwellers are a distant dream to the villagers. Cities
nd

generally grow due to the influx of immigrant populations who come on to

settle down in the cities in lieu of its better infrastructural advantages and
Po

employment opportunities. Therefore, we can say that cities are not fixed
or having unalterable characteristics, rather cities have their own growth,
density, composition, space, and complexities over time.
E,

One central question comes to mind which needs to be answered

regarding the importance of the cities. In other words, it can be put as
D

why cities are considered as important? In fact, the importance of cities

lies in the fact that it is related to experiencing modern amenities and
D

growing human urge to conquer in every sphere of life and through cities
individuals attempt to bring in about better management to their everyday
life courses.

On of the most corollary of city life is modernization. Since cities

are thought to be associated with development, growth, progress, and

22
 Notes
modernization, but for all the city dwellers the experience is not the same.
While some enjoy the city life and its amenities to the fullest, at the other
extreme are situated some people belonging to the disadvantaged section
who face a lot of hardships and difficulty to sustain themselves in the cities.
There is no unanimity among the Sociologists when it comes to
provide definition to cities. Perhaps Mumford (1968) provides the most
comprehensive definition of city in his famous article on “City: Forms and

ty
Functions” in the International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences” Although
the city as a form of human settlement dates back to the beginnings of

si
civilization, it long escaped scholarly scrutiny; and its very definition is

er
still under debate.
From Sociological point of view though city is an abstraction,

v
but the constituting elements like the structures, means of transport, city

ni
dwellers, amenities etc. are concrete things which are not uniform across

U
all the cities. For Bergel (955), the functional integration of the constituting
elements makes a city. There are multiple functions of a city which vary
from city to city and time to time. Similarly, when it comes to define cities,
rry
there is no single definition of city, but multiple ways to define city like
occupational, statistical, sociological, economical, and legal perspectives
he

to define cities.

Classification of Cities on the Basis of Age:

ic

A. Taylor’s Classification: Griffith Taylor (1949) attempted to identify

nd

stages in the development of the cities. On the basis of these stages, he

classified cities into six categories.
Po

1. Sub-infantile- The initial cluster in a single ill-defined street town.

2. Infantile - Town in a second stage have no clear differentiation

E,

between industrial, commercial and residential area, through there

is a tendency for the bigger houses to be located near the margins.
D

There are no factories.

D

3. 
Juvenile - There is a fairly clear segregation of an extensive
commercial quarter towards the center of the town, through
separation of function is in no way complete. The residential area
also shows no clear differentiation.

4. Adolescence – This stage shows clear differentiation of residential

zone.

23
Notes
5. Early maturity – In this stage also there is a differentiation of
Classification of Cities residential zone, the different between the
two lies only in degree.

6. 
Mature -A mature town is one in which there are separate
commercial area as well as four zone of residential houses, ranging
from mansions to shacks. The classification is interesting from an
academic point of view, but is unpractical as no specific determinants

ty
have been stated. Moreover, it is applicable only to western cities

si
under a particular economic system.

er
B. Mumford’s Classification: Lewis Mumford (1938) an American
historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic

v
suggested six stages of development of cities. Mumford was influenced

ni
by the work of Scottish Theorist Sir Patrick Geddes. His six stages of
development of cities are:

U
E opolis: The beginning of urbanization of course is rooted in the
1. 
rural scene. Men used to be involved in hunting. As they slowly
rry
learned, they became producers and settled in village. They also
indulged in fishing and mining. At this juncture of time depending
he

upon their religion, they set up a temple, cathedral or mosque.

Subsequently, a market also developed.
ic

Polis: As more and more villages developed many found that they
2. 
have certain things common with their neighbours. The settlements
nd

slowly developed into a brotherhood of traders and became richer

because of accumulation of wealth from nearby villages. The religious
Po

establishments extend further and so does the market squares. There

was a social stratification according to which people belonging to
the higher hierarchy occupy central place while the others spread
E,

outwardly such that the people of lower level took peripheral places.

Metropolis: Small towns and villages in a region come together as

3. 
D

a single entity. The entity is the city which has a compact site, good
water and food supply, ample land etc. This becomes metropolis,
D

the mother of city. As the city streamlines its production, a surplus

occurs. The surplus at this stage is characterized by the specialization
of trades.

Megalopolis: The stage is marked by more diversity of cultures.

4. 
There is migration from all around. Indifference between the people

24
 Notes

increases. There is also a class struggle. Further developments are

hence down wards. The city begins to decline.

Tyrannopolis: The economic and social scene slowly metamorphoses

5. 
into more or less parasitic state. This stage of the development of
city is marked by the indifference. People are involved in pomp and
pleasure. This is what happened towards the end of Roman era. The
environment of the city deteriorates and people flee towards the

ty
countryside. The commercial activities are marked by booms and

si
slumps.

er
Necropolis: The city decays further. The civilization follows a
6. 
downward trend. War, famine and diseases erupt and lead the city

v
towards destruction. The cultural institutions also erode greatly.

ni
Pre-Industrial & Post-Industrial Cities:

U
Economists with their emphasis on economic rationality, typically
rry
stress the role of economies of scale in the creation of cities: “most urban
areas arise because of the economic advantages of large-scale activities.”
While true after the advent of the industrial revolution (see below), such
he

a characterization was probably less correct prior to that; historians’

emphasis on military and administrative control may have been closer to
ic

the actuality. Certainly, prior to the Industrial Revolution, big cities were
few and far between. The London of 1800 is thought to be the first modern
nd

Western city to attain a population of one million.

Prior to that, Rome was considered to have been the biggest,

Po

achieving a population fluctuating between a half million and one million

between A.D. 0 and 300. In a very real sense big cities were a creation
of industrialization. Nevertheless, even before the industrial revolution,
E,

some cities developed markets, products and processes that subsequently

were transplanted to the countryside as “cottage industries,” using so-
D

called “putting out” systems. To the extent that cities developed trading
D

activities, which many or almost all did, they also created potential gains
from trade by exploiting comparative advantage. In particular, entrepot
or depot cities, located at transport hubs or transshipment points, quite
naturally developed related trading and marketing activities.

Patterns of urban development changed with the Industrial

Revolution, in degree and absolutely as well. Certainly, economies

25
Notes
of scale came to the fore and the economic calculus for choosing an
urban location became much more complex. Economies of scale alone,
of course, would create or augment some urban sites. Such economies,
however, were insufficient to explain the clustering of related and similar
activities at particular points in space, thus creating truly large cities after
industrialization.

The early stages of industrialization emphasized, not too

ty
surprisingly, new and better ways of satisfying the most basic physical

si
human needs: food, clothing, housing (construction), and transportation.
Mechanical drills, Classification of Cities fertilizers, and consolidation

er
of many small farm units into large scale operations revolutionized the
production of food, in the process releasing the manpower needed for

v
other industrial activities. Factories replaced home production of textiles,

ni
using water and later steam and electric power to propel such inventions
as the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny and the cotton gin. New iron and

U
steel making processes made it economical to use iron or steel rather than
wood in tools or implements for construction.
rry
As a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, urban site location
no longer depended so much on the productivity of the surrounding
he

countryside but rather on how a particular site facilitated the production

and distribution of a specific product using a specific technology. Urban
ic

development at a logistically advantaged site for industry generally

augmented the value of surrounding countryside (by bidding up real estate
nd

values and by providing more trading opportunities and a generally larger

market for nearby farmers and other suppliers).
Po

The pre-industrial urban sites that grew rapidly after

industrialization, however, usually served the particular logistical needs
of at least one new industry. Reducing the costs of shipping final product
E,

(by being near large populations) wasn’t necessarily enough, especially if

processing greatly reduced the weight and mass of the product at various
D

intermediate stages of production. Quite possibly, the most efficient

location might be at the site of a major raw material input, if that input
D

were very heavy, extensively used, difficult to transport, and processing

wasn’t marked by substantial scale economies.

A city exhibiting the characteristics of a post-industrial society

include the following - service industries dominate with a strongly
developed quaternary sector and footloose industries abound, often

26
 Notes
on pleasant open space at the edge of the city. Post-industrial cities are
also characterized by large areas of office blocks and buildings for local
government administration. These cities often exhibit marked inequality
of income distribution because of the contrasts between those who are
appropriately skilled—professionals, managers, administrators, and those
in high technology service industries—and the poorly paid service workers
who look after their needs, together with the unemployed. The former can

ty
afford high house prices, and, in fact, contribute to them; the latter cannot.

si
Cities – Global, Capital, Primate, Dual & Metropolis:

er
Global city, an urban center that enjoys significant competitive

v
advantages and that serves as a hub within a globalized economic system.
The term has its origins in research on cities carried out during the

ni
1980s, which examined the common characteristics of the world’s most

U
important cities. However, with increased attention being paid to processes
of globalization during subsequent years, these world cities came to be
rry
known as global cities. Linked with globalization was the idea of spatial
reorganization and the hypothesis that cities were becoming key loci
within global networks of production, finance, and telecommunications.
he

In some formulations of the global city thesis, then, such cities are seen
as the building blocks of globalization. Simultaneously, these cities were
ic

becoming newly privileged sites of local politics within the context of a

broader project to reconfigure state institutions.
nd

Early research on global cities concentrated on key urban centers

such as London, New York City, and Tokyo. With time, however, research
Po

has been completed on emerging global cities outside of this triad, such
as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Houston, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Paris, São
Paulo, Sydney, and Zürich. Such cities are said to knit together to form
E,

a global city network serving the requirements of transnational capital

across broad swathes of territory.
D

The rise of global cities has been linked with two globalization-
D

related trends: first, the expansion of the role of transnational corporations

(TNCs) in global production patterns and, second, the decline of mass
production along Fordist lines and the concomitant rise of flexible
production centered within urban areas. These two trends explain the
emergence of networks of certain cities serving the financial and service
requirements of TNCs while other cities suffer the consequences of

27
Notes
deindustrialization and fail to become “global.” Global cities are those that
therefore become effective command-and-coordination posts for TNCs
within a globalizing world economy. Such cities have also assumed a
governance role at the local scale and within wider configurations of what
some commentators have termed the “glocalization” of state institutions.
This refers to processes in which certain national state functions of
organization and administration have been devolved to the local scale.

ty
Location is often key. Many countries choose a geographically

si
central capital in order to emphasize the equity of their government; this
way, the capital isn’t as likely to be, or seem to be, biased toward one region

er
or another. Madrid, for instance, is located almost exactly in the middle of
Spain (and, to take it one step further, the middle of the Iberian Peninsula).

v
When Nigeria decided to build a brand-new capital city, it placed Abuja,

ni
which was formally named the capital in 1991, in the center—a place
signifying unity in a country often considered divided by its geography.

U
A capital can also be a sign of political compromise, as in
rry
the United States. Initially, members of Congress proposed that the
national capital be in Pennsylvania—specifically, at either Lancaster or
Germantown, then a Classification of Cities borough outside Philadelphia.
he

They believed that a Philadelphia-adjacent capital would honor the young

country’s revolutionary roots. Sometimes a country’s choice of capital has
ic

been politically motivated without compromise. The name of Myanmar’s

capital, Nay Pyi Taw, means “Abode of Kings” in Burmese, and the city’s
nd

origin mirrors its name. Its construction began in 2004 amid Myanmar’s
chaotic transition from military rule to democracy, but, evidently, Nay Pyi
Po

Taw’s planners had never been especially worried about accessibility: it had
initially been designed to house only government and military personnel.

Finally, not all countries subscribe to the idea that there must be only
E,

one national capital. Bolivia, for instance, has La Paz as its administrative
capital and Sucre as its constitutional capital. South Africa has three
D

capitals: its administrative seat in Pretoria, its legislative seat in Cape

Town, and its judicial seat in Bloemfontein. However, a country decides on
D

its capital, that city becomes an important symbol of nationhood. While

being a home to its inhabitants and a place for tourists to visit, it is also the
city chosen to represent the entire country to the world.

A primate city is the dominant city among a country’s urban

areas. Countries have urban hierarchies comprising large and small cities

28
 Notes
in terms of their population sizes, spatial extent, or territorial size and the
importance of their economies. Primate cities are the largest cities in their
respective countries, as they dominate the economy as well as being the
top ranking in terms of territorial extent and population size. Geographer
Mark Jefferson coined the term in the 1930s and defined a primate city
as one that is twice as large as the next largest city in the urban hierarchy
of a country and twice as significant economically. A primate city also

ty
dominates in terms of the centralization of the country’s transport and
communications, industrial and commercial.

si
The term primate city may sound like something in a zoo but it

er
actually has nothing to do with monkeys. It refers to a city that is greater
than two times the next largest city in a nation (or contains over one-third

v
of a nation’s population). The primate city is usually very expressive of the

ni
national culture and often the capital city. The “law of the primate city”
was first created by geographer Mark Jefferson in 1939.

U
The use of the term Dual City as a synonym for a late capitalist
rry
metropolis is very frequent among city theorists who ideologically come
within the neo-Marxist orbit. These thinkers produce social criticism
that aims to unmask the capitalist superstructure and denounce urban
he

injustices. This position is becoming more and more important after

several decades of globalization, which has generated degrees of social
ic

polarization unknown since the end of the Second World War. Saskia
Sassen thinks that it is a case of a phenomenon that is intrinsic to the
nd

new late capitalist order, where badly paid jobs are the key to economic
growth. This makes social decline a complement to development, and not
Po

as previously an indication of decadence.

The Dual City has led to the crisis of the traditional social division
inherited from the stage of the welfare state and characterized by the
E,

ruling of an immense middle class with slight variations upwards and

downwards. At the moment the upper class has increased spectacularly
D

with the appearance of the “nouveaux riches,” people from all walks of life
who have reached the top as a result of very diverse economic activities.
D

Between the upper and the middle-class yuppies have created a niche; in
cities such as New York or Los Angeles they may represent as much as
30% of the population. They are followed by the middle class, which has
been drastically reduced, and the lower class which is experiencing the
opposite process. The last step of the flattened social pyramid of the Dual

29
Notes
City is made up of the “new poor,” former workmen expelled from the
work market by the process of deindustrialization and shut away in urban
ghettoes where they are trapped owing to their difficulties in achieving
access to education and new technologies.

The metropolis or megapolis and the small town represent two

polar ends of the urban settlement spectrum in India and elsewhere in
the developing world. For a very long time, urban thought in developing

ty
countries focused around the metros due to their predominance and the

si
unprecedented scales of growth that were not experienced by the world so
far. A concomitant of this preoccupation with metros was an overlooking

er
of the small towns that represent a significant chunk of the urbanization.
Small towns, therefore, remain overall neglected in studies of urbanization

v
in developing countries and in India. They also remain neglected in public

ni
discourse, imagination and policy.

U
There has been a recent upsurge of interest in small towns and in
understanding their distinct features in terms of social structure, politics,
rry
economic drivers, built environment and development trajectories. This
quest is linked to moving away from the understanding of urbanization as
a singular mode and understanding its heterodoxies.
he

The metropolis is a term that signifies an agglomeration of

several towns and adjunct areas that are roughly conjoined in a functional
ic

environment. In the geography of settlements, a metropolis is a class by

nd

itself bringing in a high volume of consumption and large flows of people,

goods, services and information (Ramchandran 1995). A megacity, ie, city
with more than 10 million population is a special form of such geographical
Po

conjointness.

Megacities are a form of contemporary urbanization. In 1980,

E,

there were just three megacities in the world. Currently, there are 24 and
estimated to grow to about by 2025(UN 2006). According to the estimations
of the United Nations (UN), a bulk of the megacity growth is expected to
D

be in South Asia and Africa. Of the 24 existing megacities in the world,

D

more than half are in Asia and Africa. Further, if one were to look at the
fastest growing cities in the last 30 years, the top 20 would be in Asia and
Africa. More than 10 are located in China and three in India (UN2006).

30
 Notes

ty
si
v er
ni
U
Source-The World Economic Forum “The Cities and Urbanization”
April,26 2022
rry
Current Theories of City Growth
he

The current theories of city growth deal with the perception of

American Sociologists amongst whom three theorists are important viz.
Concentric Zone theory of Burgess, Sector theory of Hyot and Multiple
ic

Nuclei theory of Harris and Ullman. These theories of urban growth

nd

explain the internal demographic, spatial and economic growth of cities.

These theories are also known as models of city structure or theories
explaining urban morphology.
Po

It is true to a large extent that each city possesses a unique

combination of various use of land, but to some degree a common pattern
E,

is visible. The commonly referred patterns are concentric, sectoral and the
multiple nuclei. They are known as models of city structure or theories
explaining urban morphology.
D
D

1. The Concentric Theory:

The concentric model was devised in 1923 by E.W. Burgess. He

was a sociologist. The idea behind the concentric model is that the
development of a city takes place outwards from its central area in a series
of concentric circles to form zones. The model therefore is also known as
concentric zonal model.

31
Notes
According to Burgess, the American city should take the form of
five zones. These zones begin with Zone I as Central Business District
(CBD), the focus of the city’s social, commercial and civic life. CBD is also
the focus of transportation.

Burgess identifies its two parts:

(i) The downtown retail district, and

ty
(ii) The wholesale business district encircling the downtown.

si
Concentric Zone Theory of Urban Structure

v er
ni
U
rry
he

III
ZONE OF WORKING - MENS
HOME
ic

IV
RESIDENTIAL
nd

SONE

V
COMMUTERS SONE
Po

Zone II is the ‘zone in transition’ surrounding the CBD. It is a zone of

residential deterioration of older private houses consisting of largely
subdivided dwelling units. The transition area is occupied by immigrants
E,

and infested by ‘vices’. In this zone rotten business and light manufacturing
from Zone I have encroached upon residential areas. Some of the parts of
D

this zone are likely to be found in the city’s slums or areas of poverty and
D

crime.

Zone III is the third ring made up of the houses of ‘working-men’s homes’.
This is the zone of old residential buildings occupied by stable social
groups of working-class families. These are families of people who have
moved out of Zone II to live near their place of work.

32
 Notes
Zone IV concentric space still farther from the centre is occupied by spacious
dwellings. Here, middle-class groups of native-born Americans live. These
people are likely to be proprietors of small businesses, professional people,
clerks and salesmen.

Final and beyond the city limits is Zone V of small cities, towns,
dormitory areas to make up the commuters’ zone. From the city centre it
is almost at the distance of one hour’s travelling time. This zone may still

ty
be an open country. Most of the people of this zone seem to commute daily

si
for their livelihood in the CBD.

er
Criticism of the Concentric Theory:

v
Burgess’ theory is popular and widely used by current authors with
a few modifications. But the concentric zonal theory is severely criticized

ni
on the grounds of local topographical features which affect the location

U
of residential areas. This type of criticism seems invalid because Burgess
himself pointed out those zonal distortions may result from variations in
rry
relief features.

Davie was the most active critic of the theory who exhibited against
he

the theory in several ways:

(i) CBD’s size irregular and often rectangular than circular,

ic

(ii) Areas of commerce and business extending radially along streets

nd

from the CBD,

(iii) Industrial units lying along lines of transportation and near

Po

water or rail,

(iv) Low-grade housing near industrial and transportational areas in

every zone, and
E,

(v) Finally, concentric zoning lacking universal pattern.

D

The theory of Burgess was not appropriate in case of treatment of

D

wholesaling. Besides the edge of CBD, the wholesaling may be most often
found adjacent to the side with maximum railroad availability. Similarly,
heavy industry in the modern city does not take the form of concentric
belt just outside the CBD, instead, it tends to form wedge like areas along
transportation lines which follow river valleys, lake or ocean fronts.

33
Notes
In the historical context too, the theory of Burgess seems untenable.
The cultural areas along with buildings, streets and railroads developed
during historical phases cannot be easily moved from their old location.
The theory was particular in time and place, and by the late 20th century
it was outdated and limited only to large Western industrial cities.

Sjoberg negated the concentric scheme for the ‘pre-industrial

ty
city’ in which privileged classes – the elite, gather at the center because of
governmental and religious buildings’ nearness. In feudal cities, religion

si
and politics had far more status than the economic – the main market of

er
the centre being subsidiary to religious and political structures.

v
Merits of the Concentric Theory:

ni
Quinn, the chief supporter of the Burgess theory, says: common-

U
sense observations tend to confirm the theory. Urban-gradients’ researchers
indicate the probability of the concentric structure around the dominant
retail area in various cities.
rry
Local irregularities may violate the symmetry of concentric ones,
yet Quinn opined that most cities conformed at least roughly to the Burgess
he

pattern. Haggett and Chorley too had appreciation about the contribution
of Burgess’s model which according to them was a normative model, ‘a
ic

simplified structuring of reality presenting supposedly significant features

of relationships in a generalized form.’
nd

To conclude, Burgess’ model was plainly introduced to illustrate

the expansion of the city in its comprehensible manner by a series of
Po

concentric circles designating both the successive zones of urban extension

and the types of areas differentiated in the process of expansion.
E,

2. The Sector Theory:

D

The Concentric theory of Burgess was based on the conditions of

American cities in 1920. Since then, as Homer Hoyt observed, picture of
D

cities had changed and therefore, he advanced in 1939, the sector theory.
His idea was that because of rise of automobile, access to the downtown
had been improved and lot of shifting of uses in the CBD had arisen. On
major routes of transportation sectors of specific land use were likely to
grow with the expansion of city. Residential land uses tend to be arranged
in wedges radiating from the center.

34
 Notes
The Sector Theory

Figure A

ty
si
v er
ni
1: CBD

U
2: Wholesale and light manufacturing
3: Low-class residential
4: Middle-class residential
rry
5: High-class residential

Hoyt’s theory, of course, deals only with residential land use.

he

Rent areas in cities tend to conform to a pattern of sectors rather than of

concentric circles. (Figure A) The highest rent areas tend to be located
ic

in one or more sectors of the city. But various rent areas are not static.
High quality residential areas tend to migrate outward in the sector, older
nd

houses remaining behind to become medium-quality areas (Figure B).

The movement of the high rent area is important because it has

Po

tended to pull the growth of the entire city in the same direction. The net
result of urban growth is that a zone of High-class housing tends to be
located on one side of a city rather than in the continuous ring. At the same
E,

time, the age of buildings is more likely to show a concentric arrangement.

D

Peter Mann’s Views:

D

Peter Mann (1965) expressed that the sector and concentric

theories show the possibility of the coexistence, and Hoyt’s sectors are
just a refinement rather than a radical alteration of the concentric mode.
Mann suggests that urban structure of the typical medium-sized British
city shows internal differentiation but not complexities as seen in a
conurbation (Figure C).

35
Notes
His model assumes a prevailing wind from the west attracts location
of best residential area on the western fringe of the city, on the opposite side
from the industrial and lowest working-class sector. In other words, the
diagram showing shifts in the location of high-rent residential areas, illustrates
elements of both a concentric and a sector structure (see Figure D).

Hoyt’s theory is based on a vast amount of empirical work. The

data for the theory were collected for 64 cities in America by the Works

ty
Progress Administration. The data of these small- and medium-sized

si
cities were supplemented with surveys of New York, Chicago, Detroit,
Washington and Philadelphia. Thus, it amounts in large part, to empirical

er
generalizations. Nevertheless, the theory has not gone unchallenged.

v
Walter Firey’s Criticism of Hoyt’s Theory:

ni
Walter Firey carried out a land use study of central Boston. In his
study he explored the role of social factors in shaping urban land use. On

U
this basis, he contradicted various aspects of sector theory. According to
Firey, there is little validity of comparing the result of work in a number of
rry
cities when relief, location on a waterfront and other factors affected the
sector pattern of some cities.
he

He also criticized cartographic approach on the ground that maps

can only give clues to theories. This needs to be worked out in terms
ic

of abstract concepts. Hoyt has not sufficiently considered the roles of

cultural and social systems in conditioning land use. Wealthy residents
nd

can choose to live anywhere and may not follow the ‘normal’, either sector
or concentric pattern.
Po

3. The Multiple Nuclei Theory:

Urban development and growth of a city in different parts of the

E,

developed and developing areas is not a simple phenomenon which can

be explained by geometric designs – either concentric circles or sectors
D

radiating from the center. Its land use too, is not simple and singular. It
represents intermingling of various functions like commercial, industrial,
D

cultural, administrative and social.

As a result, morphology of a city cannot be uncentred. Its evolution

cannot be the product of a zone or sector. Various types of land uses and their
patterns develop often around several separate nuclei. Chauncy D. Harris
and Edward L. Ullman suggest multiple nuclei for accommodating growth
of residential, business, industrial or other elements taking place in cities

36
 Notes
Shifts in Location of Fashionable Residential Area

Figure B

ty
si
v er
ni
U
rry
he
ic

during the course of time from their inception to the present day (Figure E).
nd

The rise of separate nuclei has been due to factors which influence
the distribution of human activities within a city.
Po

The various factors may be of four categories:

E,

(a) Certain activities require specialized facilities, for example, CBD

can function at the point where maximum accessibility is available.
D

(b) There are also group of activities which prefer cohesion. Clothing
industry is clustered in the densely packed inner districts of large
D

cities. They profit from cohesion.

(c) Certain activities are detrimental to one another, and generally

seek separate sites. For example, heavy industry and high-class
residential areas do not prefer to be near-neighbours.

37
Notes
Figure C

ty
si
v er
ni
U
Sector analysis

Figure D
rry
he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

Business Residences-
Low Volue

Residences-
Industry Medium Volue

Residences-
High Volue

38
 Notes
(d) Certain activities are unable to pay the rents of most desirable sites:
residential areas of low-income residents or bulk storage facilities
have to seek nuclei in remote corners.

The above factors, and also factors of social, cultural and economic
significance give a peculiar urban landscape with separate nodes. Nuclei
may be of two categories – those which take their shape at the time of city’s
origin, and some nuclei develop with the growth of a city. Nuclei existing

ty
at the time of origin of the city have a long history behind them.

si
The areas around them have been covered by land uses during the

er
course of growth of a city. London at the time of origin had ‘The City’, and
Westminster as separate nuclei, the former being a commercial-financial

v
node, while the other a political center. Harris and Ullman cite an example

ni
of Chicago as the second category.

It developed simultaneously with the growth of heavy industry

U
in the heart of the city, and further migrated to the Calument district
where it formed a new nucleus. In India many cities like Delhi, Mathura,
rry
Varanasi, Patna and Mumbai have numerous nuclei of antiquity, and
their intermittent gaps were filled in by land uses during their historical
he

development. Thus, the history is an important factor shaping the form of

urban development. But this fact should not be overlooked that economic
and social factors are also operating.
ic

The multiple nuclei theory reveals two significant observations

nd

based on historical and site elements of morphology. One is that the theory
produces a model involving complexities of urban structure which may not
Po

be easily and immediately discernible because of historical stratification of

land uses during the process of urban growth. Although most cities have
only one CBD they have a series of sub-centers around nuclei. These are
E,

less specialized but enough to provide needs of smaller sections of the city.

Second observation which is more significant is about the

D

probability of elements of the concentric and sector models present in its

depth. Nothing new is involved conceptually in the multiple nuclei, and, it
D

should not be given the status of a theory.

Actually, land uses around nuclei and in between areas filled in,
they display land uses intermixing of concentric and wedge areas. The
multiple nuclei approach should be looked upon “as a guide to thought
about the structure of the city, rather than as a rigid generalization about

39
Notes
Multiple Nuclei Theory

Figure E

ty
si
v er
ni
U
Central Business Districs 1 Heavy Maufacturing 6
Wholesale Light Manufacturing 2 Outlying Business District 7
Low-class Residential 3 Residential Suburb 8
Medkum-class Residential 4 Industrial Suburb 9
rry
High-class Residential 5

urban form”.
he

Concept of Town, City: Indian Context

ic

Statutory Towns and Census Towns

nd

The Directorate of Census Operation classifies towns in India

Po

into two types. Statutory Towns are notified under the law. Census Towns
can be villages which have urban characteristics. The statutory towns are
represented or recognized by the Municipal Corporations (Mahanagar
Palika or Nagar Nigam), Municipal Committee (Nagar Parishad) and
E,

Municipality or Nagar Panchayat. They also include other urban areas

such as cantonment boards, notified areas and tourist and pilgrim centers
D

recognized by the respective state governments. On the other hand, Census

D

Towns are defined by the following criteria

i) A minimum population of 5,000

ii) 
At least 75 per cent of the male main working population
engaged in nonagricultural pursuits; and

iii) 
A density of population of at least 400 persons per sq. km.

40
 Notes
There is also a third category, known as Urban Outgrowths,
defined by the Census of India as, “a viable unit such as a village or part
of a village contiguous to a statutory town and possess the urban features
in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity,
tap water, drainage system, education institutions, post offices, medical
facilities, banks, etc.” A few implications of this distinction can be noted.

First, census towns display an urban character and also add to the

ty
overall levels of urbanization, but are governed by the rural administration.

si
This results in a lack of civic amenities and related infrastructure in these
towns. On the other hand, statutory towns are recognized by the concerned

er
state government without application of a consistent criterion. This
leaves wide regional variations in the levels of urbanization which do not

v
conform to actual urbanization patterns. Why do state governments not

ni
declare areas which meet the criteria for census towns as statutory towns?
To understand this, it is useful to pay attention to financial implications

U
for the state government of declaring a statutory town. First, if the state
government declares a settlement urban on the basis of the census criteria,
rry
it may lose the rural development grants provided to the settlement by
both central and the concerned state governments. There ae others cost
he

as well. Urban settlements have to be financially supported by state-level

urban development departments as their revenue base is very low due to
their relatively smaller size and weak devolution of power for revenue
ic

generation. What are the benefits of declaring a settlement as urban? On

nd

the one hand, if the state concerned declares large numbers of settlements
as urban on the basis of both the census and state municipal criteria, its
relative levels of urbanization will increase. This may help attract more
Po

investments - domestic as well as foreign direct investments (Kennedy and

Zerah 2008). For example, the state of Tamil Nadu declared large number
of settlements as urban in the decade 1991-2001and registered a sevenfold
E,

increase in the level of urbanization even though the total number of the
towns in the state had hardly doubled (Bhagat, 2005) According to the
D

2011 Census of India, there were 7,935 towns (4,041 Statutory Towns and
3,894 Census Towns) in comparison to 5,161 towns in Census 2001 (3,799
D

Statutory Towns and 1,362 Census Towns). Table 2 shows the number of
towns and urban outgrowth during 2001 and 2011 Censuses. One of the
remarkable changes during last census decade is the phenomenal increase
in census towns in India.

41
Notes
Numbers of UAs/Towns and Outgrowths in India 2001-2011

Sl. No. Types of Towns 2001 2011 Change (%)

1 Statutory Towns 3799 4041 6.37
2 Census Towns 1362 3894 185.9
3 Urban Agglomerations 384 475 23.7
4 Urban Outgrowths 962 981 1.95

ty
Source: Tripathy,2013.

si
Size classification of towns in India

er
The Census of India distinguishes between different classes
of urban settlements on the basis of population. Class I comprise cities

v
with a population above 100,000 people and therefore include very large

ni
metropolitan cities; the lowest category (class VI) comprises settlements
below 5,000 people. This distribution of urban settlements in different

U
class sizes is mainly used to make comparisons of the evolution of India’s
demographic structure overtime. However, it does not have administrative
rry
or governance implications.

Number of Towns and their share of population 2001-2011

he

Size Population No. of Towns Share of Population

Class
ic

2001 2011 2001 2011

nd

I 1 lakh and above 393 505 68.67 60.4

II 50,000 to 99,999 401 605 9.67 11
III 20,000 to 49,999 1151 1905 12.23 15.4
Po

IV 10,000 to 19,999 1344 2233 6.48 8.5

V 5,000 to 9,999 888 2187 2.36 4.2
VI Less than 5,000 191 498 0.23 0.5
Total 4368 7933 99.64 100
E,

Source- Census ,2001, Provisional Population Table

D
D

42
 Notes
Definitional Criteria for the Urban in India

Sl. No. Census Definition Criteria for Urban

Year
1 B e f ore ➢ 
Every municipality of whatever size
1951 ➢ 
All civil lines (not included within municipal
limits); and

ty
➢ 
Permanent habitation with continuous collection
of houses of not less than 5,000 persons

si
➢ 
Any other settlement declared by the respective
State Census Superintendent

er
2 1961 ➢ 
All those places having urban local bodies e.g.
Municipal Corporation, Municipality, Notified

v
Area Committee and so on

ni
➢ 
All those places having

U
1. Not less than 5,000 population
2. A population density of 400 persons per square
rry
kilometer and
3. 75 per cent of workforce employed in the non-
he

agricultural sector
In addition to these, the Director of Census
Operations, in consultation of the state government
ic

and the Census Commissioner of India, has the

nd

power to declare a settlement urban.

3 1971 As above
4 1981 All the above criteria of 1961 with two additional
Po

changes

➢ 
Instead of 75% overall workforce, 75% male
workforce engaged in non-agricultural activities
E,

➢  Excluded the workers engaged in livestock,

D

forestry, fishing, hunting and plantation, orchards

and allied activities.
D

5 1991 As above
6 2001 As above
7 2011 As above
Source: Roy, Anil Kumar. Defining Urban in India: e-PG Pathshaala.

43
Notes
Meaning of City

Bergel described a city as a place where the bulk of the residents

are engaged in occupations other than agriculture. He has stated that the
market as a mechanism of trade is a fundamental aspect of non-agricultural
activities, without which city residents would go hungry.

According to Sorokin and Zimmerman, and others, a suitable

ty
description of the city contains a number of attributes or characteristics
that are united. We will refer to a community as urban if its activities revolve

si
around a market; a market is necessary for non-agricultural activities since

er
the urban resident cannot subsist without the exchange of products.

Two features of city are crucial, according to Prof R. N. Morris.

v
Specifically, size and density. Let try to understand it further –

ni
Size: The size of the city is an important factor to consider. The
➢  

U
size of a city influences its growth and development. When a
city is tiny, its works, structure, and social relationships differ
rry
from those of a bigger city. Relationships in larger cities, such as
Mumbai, are impersonal and shallow. People do not know one
other since they perform different roles their behavior is also
he

calculative. The city inhabitants regard social ties as tools to be

used to further his/her goals. This is described as “a reasonable
ic

intelligent approach” by Louis Wirth. The city dweller grows as

more calculated, less outgoing, spontaneous, less participatory
nd

and more frustrated. The division of work in most modern cities

is very much visible. Urbanization is defined by occupations.
Po

With numerous vocations where individuals are alienated

and working for their own purposes, urbanization becomes
increasingly selfish and artificial. People develop a goal-oriented
E,

mindset. As a result, Wirth claims that the company “has no soul.”

In comparison to rural and tribal communities, urbanization
exhibits a distinct sort of social control. The police, the court, the
D

government, and a variety of other institutions regulate people’s

D

behaviour and demeanor. Festivals and the amount of donation

from people help to regulate people’s religion and worship.

The specialization of marketing and its goods is

demonstrated by urbanization. Cities offer and meet a wide range
of needs, including consumer items, clothing, medications, and
educational institutions, as well as national and international

44
 Notes
requirements. Due to great specialization and reliance, the city is
unbalanced and lacks stability and equilibrium. Because houses,
markets, slums, roads, and transportation increase unnaturally,
modern cities do not govern systematic urbanization. Governments
have failed to regulate urban lifestyles.

➢  Population density: A city is a specialty zone. There are large

concentration of people in one lo cation. There are several factors

ty
for the city’s expansion. It might be anything from industrial growth

si
to marketing to governmental administration. The quality of life
and behaviour of people is diverse and continually changing, which

er
is tied to population density.
A city is called as City not just because it has more diversified

v
residents, but also because it has various types of jobs opportunities

ni
available. A city is formed not just by the density of its inhabitants,

U
but also by the organization of its population, into a meaningful
structure.
rry
Sombart described city as “a location that has grown so enormous
that people no longer know each other”.
he

Nature of City
ic

Let us look into some of the nature, qualities of the residents of

the city. This nature is often found in the metropolitan cities like Mumbai.
nd

Work in City-
➢ 
In a city there are several kinds of work carried out. People are
Po

engaged into a variety of occupation. People are engaged into

industrial work where heavy machines are used. Large number
of people are also work in informal sector like construction sites,
E,

hawkers, auto drivers etc. There is a large set of marginal population

who live on wages which they earn on day-to-day basis.
D

Transience Mobility-
➢ 
D

People are constantly moving towards and away from the metropolis,
and even from one city to another. People are migrating in pursuit of
greater possibilities in cities, which are hubs of money, power, and
innovation. People’s mobility or movement rises as cities become
more industrial, and industry typically grows as a result of mobility.
Another type of mobility is evident in cities when individuals

45
Notes
shift employment. This is referred to as occupational mobility.
Occupational mobility may also occur when a person moves from a
lower to a higher-level position.
Transactional Social Interaction-
➢ 
In a metropolis, most people’s social interactions are impersonal.
City living has an aspect of anonymity to it. There is, however, major
group contact among family members, friends, and neighbors.

ty
The ‘community’ as a pattern of association is not eliminated, but

si
new forms of association known as ‘networks’ replace previous
neighborhood types. Large family networks may die out, but

er
friendship networks carry on.

v
FEATURES OF URBAN COMMUNITY Pitirim Sorokin and Zimmerman
have suggested the following features which give us more meaning of

ni
urban community.

U
1. Heterogeneity: Urban community is a heterogeneous group, where
people belong to different race, religion, language, caste and creed.
rry
For example, in a city like Mumbai, people from different states,
of different cultural groups live and they are totally dissimilar.
he

In London,Indians, Pakistanis and Bangla Deshis have their own

colonies.
2. Secondary relations: The urban community is characterized by
ic

secondary relations People are indifferent towards one another.

nd

Face-to-face, friendly or intimate relations may not be observed

among people.
Po

3. Voluntary Associations: All people in city are doing nonagricultural

jobs. They are necessarily members of many voluntary associations.
According to standard of living, they form their own residential
groups and needful institutions and associations.
E,

4. Social Mobility: In urban society, social status is not traditional but

based on the economic status, educational standard and talent. In
D

other words, individual intelligence and talent brings progress and

D

hereditary is not important.

5. Individual Freedom: In urban community, men and women
have more independence. People are more individualistic in their
attitudes. The city dweller is more selective in his choice and more
individualistic in his preferences. He is guided by his own whims
and fancies.

46
 Notes
6. Occupations: All people are engaged in non-agricultural jobs, such
as business, marketing, office, police, court, industry and factory,
transport communication, hospitals and educational institutions,
theatre, share market etc. So they are always far away from nature
and simple life. Urban, Urbanism, Urbanization, Rural-Urban
Continuum
7. Secondary Control: In urban community individual behavior is

ty
not controlled by family, religion and neighborhood. It is controlled
by secondary organizations, such as, government, police, court etc.

si
8. Lack of Community Feeling: There is a lack of community feeling,

er
feeling of oneness, unity and integrity of the family, neighborhood
in the city. In urban community, people are busy in their individual

v
achievements, so naturally they neglect feeling of oneness and unity

ni
with the city.
9. Social Disorganization: Urban community has number of

U
institutions and associations. They are working independently.
So there is always struggle, conflict and competition. Thus social
rry
disorganization is seen and felt.
10. Unstable Family: Family is no longer the economic, educational,
he

protective, recreational and effective unit. Family has lost much

of its control over its individual members. Many of the traditional
functions of the family are transferred to the external agencies. It is
ic

said that the urban family is not firmly organized.

nd

Global Cities Scenario

Po

According to studies, there will be greater and larger cities in the

future. In 1900, cities were home to 10% of the world’s population. Today,
the figure is above 50%, and by 2050, it will be at least 75%. (The Urban Age
E,

Project, London School of Economics). Scholars point out that over 200
million individuals resided outside their natal country in 2010, and cities
D

are growing increasingly diverse as groups of all nationalities, faiths, and

ethnicities flock to them. Young people are driving the urbanization trend,
D

since they see less opportunity to achieve their goals in rural regions.

Cities are becoming a larger part of national economies and are

also concentrating wealth. Instead of 200 countries, 600 cities are now
considered the world’s economic backbone (McKinsey & Co). Cities, like
countries, will fight for investment, funding, talent (skilled labourers

47
Notes
and influence in the future. Cities must provide residents with a safe and
secure environment in which people want to live and companies want to
invest. As cities’ prominence in national life grows, the repercussions of
failing to adopt successful solutions will become more significant. In the
past, states were primarily responsible for ensuring security, and this will
continue to be the case in the future. Cities and municipal governments,
on the other hand, are increasingly considering what role they may play as

ty
security suppliers rather than just recipients. Cities will play an important
role in a variety of ways:

si
Urban resilience—mitigating the effects of an inevitable shock and
➢ 

er
responding efficiently so that disturbance to the city and its residents
is minimal and brief. • Inclusion in the city—ensure that religious,

v
sectarian, tribal, ideological, gender, and ethnic identities coexist

ni
without being fractured. Gain public confidence that resources and
services are distributed fairly and equally.
➢ 
victims of any sort of violence.
U
Urban violence—reduce residents’ and tourists’ fear of being
rry
Difference Between City and Town
he

The population and topography of a place are the primary factors

that distinguish cities and towns. Cities, in simple words, are bigger
ic

residential areas than towns. Cities are larger than towns, and as they grow,
they may integrate or merge with the surrounding communities. Towns,
nd

on the other hand, do not often expand in the same manner that cities do.

Cities have a higher population density than villages. As previously

Po

said, towns are smaller than cities but larger than villages. Unlike towns,
most cities house the majority of a region’s administrative duties, i.e., the
majority of the region’s main administrative offices.
E,

Cities are governed by corporate authorities, whereas towns

D

are governed by municipal bodies. In most cases, a mayor leads a city

corporation, whereas a chairman leads a municipality. Cities, rather than
D

towns, are where authority is concentrated.

Cities, unlike towns, are often well-planned, with enough

sanitation, drinking water, roads, and other contemporary conveniences.
The earliest settlements were ones where people were no longer farming
and instead engaged in various trades and activities. The emergence of
cities resulted from the expansion of towns.

48
 Notes
Though the population of a region determines whether it is
classified as a town or city, different nations use different techniques to
do so. In the United States, a ‘city’ is simply a legal word that refers to
a self-governing metropolitan region. In other countries, the term may
not have the same legal meaning as in the United States, and it is more
commonly used to refer to a huge settlement. Between 2001 and 2011,
the number of census towns increased from 1362 to 3894, resulting in an

ty
unforeseen growth in urbanisation. In the recent decade, the new census
towns accounted for over 34% of urban expansion and roughly 69 percent

si
of total Census Towns. Census Towns have gained attention as a result of

er
an unexpected increase in the number of them in the 2011 census.

v
2.4 Urbanism and Urbanization

ni
This is the peculiar mental approach or mode of living in urban
areas.

U
Urbanization is at times synonymously used with urbanism. Louis
rry
Wirth used this term to denote distinct ways of living, typically associated
with city residence. Urbanism is the consequence of living in urban
areas. It is a peculiar mode of living, a condition or set of circumstances.
he

Following Louis Wirth, urbanism is now regarded as “a way of life.”

Wirth outlines a limited number of identifying characteristics of city. He
ic

pointed high heterogeneity, size and density as causative factors which

bring change in the behaviour and kind of relationships among the city
nd

dwellers. For him, as the population increases, people become strangers

to each other and develop secondary relationships. They also compete
Po

with one another for space and money. Number becomes most important
for leadership and recognition in the city. ‘urbanism’ primarily as mode
of living is characterized by the specific attitude of people, crowd and
E,

social considerations of urban society. People develop rationality and high

sophistication in their day-to-day relationships with others.
D

Louis Wirth also pointed ‘urbanism’ as peculiar approach of urban

people. While adjusting to the urban crowd and environment, people
D

become quick in response.

Dr Radhakamal Mukherjee an eminent Indian sociologist describes

various facets of urbanism. They are as follows.

1. Ecologically speaking, urbanism has a demographic, occupational

and mechanical – technological base. People concentrate thickly on

49
Notes
a particular place of specialization with various occupations, which
are nurtured by non-agricultural organizations like industries,
factories, banks, markets, where people have chances to earn money,
daily or monthly.
2. Biologically speaking, men-women ratio is disturbed and
imbalanced. Since men migrate from villages leaving behind their
wife and children and ancestral house and land, women are less in

ty
cities. So there are social and biological problems like prostitution,
rape, sexual harassment etc.

si
3. Sociologically speaking, relations are impersonal, superficial

er
and artificial. Most of the relations are contractual, formal and
deliberate. People are more mobile and change their status very fast.

v
4. Psychologically speaking, money and external status symbols

ni
dominate attitudes and behavior of urban people. They are
concerned with external status symbols and do not worry about

U
internal aspects or qualities of persons. For example, a doctor, a
lawyer, a judge, a professor, a manager, an officer etc. poster their
rry
status and economic well-being through educational qualification
and earning. They are internally disturbed, facing problems like
he

frustration, desertion, loneliness.

In conclusion, modern cities like London, Tokyo, Kolkata, Mumbai,
exhibit different way of life and they are the best places to study urbanism.
ic

Apart from these mega cities, small cities and towns are growing and
nd

influenced by fast changes in transport and communication, educational

facilities, banking system and marketing federation. However, they are
growing and urbanism is constantly changing.
Po

Urbanization :-
E,

Urbanization refers to the level of population concentration in an urban

area. Urbanization is the process of movement of population from non-
D

urban to urban areas.

D

Urbanization is a dynamic process which transform rural into urban areas.

W.S. Thompson calls urbanization as “movement of people from

communities concerned chiefly with agriculture to other communities,
generally larger whose activities are primarily centered in government,
trade, manufacture or allied interests.”

50
 Notes
Geruson and Mc Grath have defined the term “urbanizations as the
concentration of population through movement and redistribution.”
Urbanization also refers to a way of life peculiar to agglomerations of
heterogeneous population. It also means a well-developed agglomeration
with other occupations besides industry and it exhibits a well-planned
pattern of habitat.
Urbanization is a culture bound phenomenon. It leads to change in

ty
all aspects of life. Politically, it means change over to democratic or

si
bureaucratic set up from rural panchayat system. Sometimes a city is a
capital, a centre of planning and development, an industrial centre or a

er
place where most of the facilities are available. Urbanization affects the
status of people. It leads to change in occupation from land bound work to

v
technical industrial jobs. Urbanization also leads to movement from rural

ni
traditional ways of living to modern ways of behaviour. Economically,

U
urbanization provides new economic opportunities for doing all modern
jobs. This also leads to development of infrastructure facilities and people
enjoy electricity, transport, higher education, communication, better
rry
health and food facilities.
Urbanization can also be described as a process of change from prominence
he

of primary relations in close compact dwellings to those of secondary

relations in dispersed distant neighbourhood. Social norms and values
ic

also change simultaneously. People are exposed to modern ideas and

ideals, they become more rational and feel free. Living in cities make them
nd

traffic conscious and time bound.

Urbanization as a process shows the changing pattern of life of people.

Po

It is a movement of people and resources for the satisfaction of different

needs of city dwellers. Noting is grown in the city, so all food grain,
vegetables and fruits come from different rural communities. Urban place
E,

is a manufacturing place. So large number of people come from outside.

A town grows into a city, a city into a metro and mega city, The following
D

diagram help to know about urbanization 20000 and above Up to one lakh
and above Psychologically, urbanization denotes a change in behaviour.
D

People while adjusting to the urban environment change their habits and
customs. They also lose faith in rituals and ceremonies
Urbanization also indicates economic growth. As more people move to
cities, more people are involved in industrial processes. Thus, if a country
is more urbanized, it signifies better opportunities for people in cities in
all respects.

51
Notes
Urbanization is directly related to economic development. Industries,
technological advance, mechanization take place in cities. Production or
manufacturing develop in urban areas which give employment to many
people. As cities grow, industrial development also takes place. Thus,
urbanization and industrialization occur together often hand in hand. But
if a country is to progress in the economic sense – to raise the standard of
living of its people and to have a surplus available for capital investment

ty
it must increase its agricultural and industrial production faster than it
increases its population.

si
Urbanization, in demographic sense, is an increase in the population of

er
urban areas (U) compared to the total population (T) over a period of
time as Ashish Bose has mentioned. As long as U/T increases, there is

v
urbanization.

ni
Since its inception the urban sociologists have been trying to

U
find out the effects of urbanization on community. Emile Durkheim and
Ferdinand Tonnies were particularly interested in understanding the fact
rry
that in the late nineteenth century the rapid urbanization was a corollary
to the process of industrialization in the capitalist societies. The obvious
outcome of this process was manifested in terms of decline in small group
he

solidarity, restricted primary group face to face interaction and increasing

aloofness among the fellow members of society. As a Positivistic science
ic

Sociology always tried to investigate and compare the gradual progress

of societies from rural to urban and simultaneously in the process of
nd

biological evolution of societies from infancy to maturation as witnessed

among biological organisms.
Po

The Classical urban sociologists have tried to link the phenomenon

of specialization in the division of labor to the phenomenon of social
differentiation in urban society. Understanding the character of urbanism
E,

as a way of life is another seminal subject of urban sociology.

Ferdinand Tönnies described the rural–urban shift through the

D

conceptual categories of Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft

D

(urban society). These concepts are good illustrations of ideal types in

sociological analysis. The ideal type functions as an analytical paradigm or
model that can be analyzed and tested for its validity through comparison.
Tönnies did not consider these societal types as mutually exclusive polar
opposites, but as two categories in a continuum of societies undergoing
social change. The shift from Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft may be

52
 Notes
compared with Emile Durkheim’s conception of society undergoing a
transition from mechanical to organic solidarity. What Tönnies described
as kurville, or collective will, is similar to what Durkheim described as
collective consciousness, a collective soul or conscience that guides group
behavior. The state was seen to act fairly and judiciously as the will of the
people.

Both Tönnies and Durkheim recognized the fading of primary

ty
bonds of kinship, sentiment, and community life, with the ascendance

si
of secondary bonds of occupational, legal, and political association.
Tönnies somewhat romanticized the loss of Gemeinschaft but in fact he

er
saw Gesellschaft as a rational and necessary vehicle for guiding a more
specialized and diverse society. The governmental state guaranteed that

v
urbanism as way of life would guarantee rights, civility, and security to

ni
urban residents. Tönnies’ outlook on a rational and specialized urban
society led by a legitimate state is a contrast from the Marxian view on class

U
struggle and inequality in the division of labor. Tönnies was concerned
that Gesellschaft be kept honest and not be sabotaged by corruption or
rry
kidnapped by totalitarian political interests. Durkheim,

in contrast, was more concerned with the moral consequences of

he

the rise of anomie caused by Gesellschaft society.

Georg Simmel had a less sentimental view of the decline of

ic

Gemeinschaft. He recognized factors of intensification that assaulted the

nd

psychological life of urbanites, fostering anonymity and impersonality in

urban life. The importance of money in a capitalist society, he furthermore
believed, contributed to a calculating and discriminating nature to the
Po

urban personality. Simmel viewed metropolitan man as blasé, jaded,

and materialistic. Yet urbanism also promoted cosmopolitanism, which
fostered greater social tolerance for unconventional behaviors and freedom
E,

from provinciality and prejudice. The oversaturation of our social life with
materialism, superficiality, and objective values, however, has suppressed
D

our subjectivity, spirituality, and social life. The urban personality is both
bombarded and liberated by the sensory commercial marketplaces of
D

modern capitalism. For Simmel, the experience of modern urban life is

suffused with the experience of a money economy where quality has been
reduced to quantity and consumers are materially rewarded but spiritually
deprived. There is a loneliness that is brought about by an affluent society
that has freed people to explore their individualism but left their souls in
a state of restlessness and flux.

53
Notes
Louis Wirth updated the Durkheimian view on the decline of
group solidarity to analysis of the

modern American city. Wirth perceived that factor of size, density,

and heterogeneity fostered role segmentation through the emancipation of
the individual from traditional rules and mores. He clearly articulated the
resulting normlessness, or anomie, the social void, which contributed to
a spectrum of urban social problems, such as crime, delinquency, mental

ty
breakdown, and other forms of psychological and social disorganization.

si
He updated Robert Park’s famous quote regarding the city (see “The
City: Suggestions for the Investigation of Human Behavior in the City

er
Environment,” American Journal of Sociology 20, 5 [March 1915]: 577–612)
as “a mosaic of social worlds which touch but do not interpenetrate” to the

v
concept of the city as a “mosaic of social worlds in which the transition

ni
from one to the other is abrupt.” Geographic mobility, the growing decline
of traditional norms and mores, and social heterogeneity were breeding

U
social and personality disorders in the city. Wirth felt that sociologists had
a mission to analyze and ameliorate urban social problems.
rry
Claude Fischer reformulated Wirthian urbanism, applying the
urban factors of size, density, and heterogeneity to the idea of creating
he

rather than destroying communities. He argued that size and density of

population in cities created “critical mass” sufficient to formulate new
ic

subcultural communities. The increasingly heterogeneous “mosaic of

social worlds” further intensified subcultures through his concept that
nd

they touch, but then “recoil, with sparks flying.” His concept of subculture
includes an eclectic assortment of special hobbyists, interest groups, artists,
Po

innovative thinkers, ethnic groups, religious subcultures, homosexuals, and

others commonly classified as “deviant.” That they congregate socially and
spatially as communities reverses the traditional thinking that urbanism
E,

leads to the decline of community and the growth of social disorganization.

Fischer sees cities as diverse mosaics of heterogeneous neighbourhoods
D

that are crucibles for the exploration of subcultural diversity and social
difference.
D

Fischer contributes to a growing view voiced by other writers such

as Jacobs, and Wellman and

Leighton, that there has been a popular renaissance and

transformation of what we understand as “community” in the
contemporary city. There is a kaleidoscopic array of new community forms

54
 Notes
in the city of the new millennium. Some revive the traditional enclaves
of the old Gemeinschaft, like the “urban villages” that are nodes for the
incorporation of international immigrants to the global city. Subcultural
communities are more emergent phenomena that are formed out of new
social networks of friendship and association, sometimes with an outsider
status against the cultural mainstream. New technology, including the
Internet, further widens the opportunities for social networking. The

ty
growth of new communities is also strongly connected with the rise of
neighbourhood-based mobilizations and other “urban social movements”

si
that since the 1960s have risen to contest urban power brokers and the

er
political establishment.

The community resurgence has achieved growing public support,

v
and promoted neighborhood planning as an antidote to the callousness of

ni
large, centralized planning bureaucracies.

U
The growth and development of cities generally need to be
understood from the perspective of urbanism and urbanization. For
rry
Chandavarkar, the interest behind the study of cities have garnered interest
due to two concerns. Firstly, urbanization has been considered as an
indicator for economic development and social change. Here, the author
he

is categorical that the meaning of economic development and change does

not mean free from feudalism as the European countries developed from
ic

feudalism to capitalism, rather urbanization can be considered to be an

indicator of modernization and to be precise, modernization of the third
nd

world countries. The second reason behind the growing interest behind
the study of urbanism and urbanization is that of culture. Not only the
Po

culture of the inhabitants, but the mentality of the urban inhabitants is

also important. (Chandavarkar 2009: 210-211).

Urbanism can simply be understood as the relationship, patterns of

E,

behaviour, modes of thinking that is characteristics of the urban dwellers.

On the other hand, urbanization refers to a process of movement of people
D

from rural to urban areas and due to which there is population growth as
well as growth of spatial boundary of a city.
D

One of the primary reasons behind this growth can be cited because
of the increased economic activities of the urban areas which attracts or
pulls people from rural towards urban areas. It was very normal to consider
that urban-urban migration was one of the important causes behind
urbanization. But in twenty first century urbanization is not limited to

55
Notes
rural- urban migration. Now, urban-urban migration has got triggering
effects behind urban population growth. In the past the urban population
growth in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata have occurred due to rural
urban migration. The main reason could be the labourers from rural areas
have migrated to these cities for the purpose of working in manufacturing
sectors. But, in contemporary times the growth of urban population in cities
like Hyderabad and Bangalore can be traced to movement from people from

ty
city to city. In these cases, the skilled workers move from one city to other
in search of better employment conditions and better services. The growth

si
of service sector can be said to be the reason behind this urban-urban

er
migration which also contributes for growth of urban population.

The urban population growth has various associated problems

v
like traffic and road congestion, increase of official and residential rents,

ni
shortage of residential space, slum growth, unplanned growth of cities
(outward and upward growth of cities), environmental problems and many

U
more. The urban population growth also puts pressure on the available
resources and amenities and consequently water supply, power supply and
rry
sewage facility are impacted. Thus, it can be said that the overall quality
of life gets impacted due to urban population growth. It can be summed
he

up that urbanization has multiple consequences like social, economic,

political, cultural, demographic, environmental and the list goes on.
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

It needs to be noted here that Jaipur, is a municipal town/ city while the
rest of the urban centres are categorized as Urban Agglomerations (UA)
by the Census of India (2011). Further, it needs to be noted that out of the
total 468 Class I Cities/ Towns, there are 53 Towns/ Cities which have a total
population of 1 million or above . Any urban renewal mission or scheme
should therefore first focus on these 53 urban centres, most of which are
presently facing the challenges of urban growth and development.

56
 Notes

List of Cities/ UA in India with population greater than 1 million.

(Source: Census of India, 2011)

1. G
 reater
16. Coimbatore 31. Madurai 46. Ranchi
Mumbai
2. Delhi 17. Kochi 32. Varanasi 47. Raipur
3. Kolkata 18. Patna 33. Meerut 48. Kollam

ty
4. Chennai 19. Kozhikode 34. Faridabad 49. Gwalior

si
50. Durg-
5. Bengaluru 20. Bhopal 35. Rajkot
Bhilainagar

er
6. H
 yderabad 21. Thrissur 36. Jamshedpur 51. Chandigarh

v
7. Ahmadabad 22. Vadodara 37. Srinagar 52. Tiruchirappalli

ni
8. Pune 23. Agra 38. Jabalpur 53. Kota
24. Greater
9. Surat 39. Asansol

U
Vishakapatnam
40. Vasai Virar
10. Jaipur 25. Malappuram
rry
City
11. Kanpur 26. Thiruvananthapuram 41. Allahabad
12. Lucknow 27. Kannur 42. Dhanbad
he

13. Nagpur 28. Ludhiana 43. Aurangabad

14. Ghaziabad 29. Nashik 44. Amritsar
ic

15. Indore 30. Vijayawada 45. Jodhpur

nd

The top three most populated urban agglomerations (UA) in India, viz.
Greater Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, far exceed in population than the
Po

rest of the UAs in India. These three urban centres have therefore been
given the title of Mega Cities. The three mega cities of Mumbai, Delhi
and Kolkata are facing considerable urban sustainability challenges
which are unique to the respective mega city. It can be said with some
E,

certainty that ensuring urban renewal in the above mentioned 53 UAa

will help check the ongoing large-scale migration of people to the three
D

mega cities.
D

57
Notes

68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050,

says UN

16 May 2018

Today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion

that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Projections show that
urbanization, the gradual shift in residence of the human population

ty
from rural to urban areas, combined with the overall growth of the

si
world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban areas
by 2050, with close to 90% of this increase taking place in Asia and

er
Africa, according to a new United Nations data set launched today.

v
The 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects produced by the

ni
Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN DESA) notes that future increases in the size of the world’s

U
urban population are expected to be highly concentrated in just a few
countries. Together, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35% of
rry
the projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and
2050. By 2050, it is projected that India will have added 416 million
urban dwellers, China 255 million and Nigeria 189 million.
he

The urban population of the world has grown rapidly from 751 million
in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018. Asia, despite its relatively lower level of
ic

urbanization, is home to 54% of the world’s urban population, followed

nd

by Europe and Africa with 13% each.

Today, the most urbanized regions include Northern America (with

Po

82% of its population living in urban areas in 2018), Latin America

and the Caribbean (81%), Europe (74%) and Oceania (68%). The level
of urbanization in Asia is now approximating 50%. In contrast, Africa
remains mostly rural, with 43% of its population living in urban areas.
E,

Population declines in some cities and in rural areas

D

Some cities have experienced population decline in recent years. Most

D

of these are located in the low-fertility countries of Asia and Europe

where overall population sizes are stagnant or declining. Economic
contraction and natural disasters have also contributed to population
losses in some cities.

58
 Notes

A few cities in Japan and the Republic of Korea (for example, Nagasaki
and Busan) have experienced population decline between 2000 and 2018.
Several cities in countries of Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Romania,
the Russian Federation and Ukraine, have lost population since 2000
as well. In addition to low fertility, emigration has contributed to the
lower population size in some of these cities. Globally, fewer cities
are projected to see their populations decline from today until 2030,

ty
compared to what has occurred during the last two decades.

si
The rural population of the world has grown slowly since 1950 and is

er
expected to reach its peak in a few years. The global rural population is
now close to 3.4 billion and is expected to rise slightly and then decline

v
to 3.1 billion by 2050. Africa and Asia are home to nearly 90% of the

ni
world’s rural population in 2018. India has the largest rural population
(893 million), followed by China (578 million).

U
Cities ranking and mega cities
rry
Tokyo is the world’s largest city with an agglomeration of 37 million
inhabitants, followed by New Delhi with 29 million, Shanghai with 26
million, and Mexico City and São Paulo, each with around 22 million
he

inhabitants. Today, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing and Dhaka all have close
to 20 million inhabitants. By 2020, Tokyo’s population is projected to
ic

begin to decline, while Delhi is projected to continue growing and to

become the most populous city in the world around 2028.
nd

By 2030, the world is projected to have 43 megacities with more than

10 million inhabitants, most of them in developing regions. However,
Po

some of the fastest-growing urban agglomerations are cities with fewer

than 1 million inhabitants, many of them located in Asia and Africa.
While one in eight people live in 33 megacities worldwide, close to half
E,

of the world’s urban dwellers reside in much smaller settlements with

fewer than 500,000 inhabitants.
D

Sustainable urbanization is key to successful development.

D

Understanding the key trends in urbanization likely to unfold over the

coming years is crucial to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, including efforts to forge a new framework
of urban development.

59
Notes

As the world continues to urbanize, sustainable development depends

increasingly on the successful management of urban growth, especially
in low-income and lower-middle-income countries where the pace of
urbanization is projected to be the fastest. Many countries will face
challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations,
including for housing, transportation, energy systems and other
infrastructure, as well as for employment and basic services such as

ty
education and health care. Integrated policies to improve the lives of

si
both urban and rural dwellers are needed, while strengthening the
linkages between urban and rural areas, building on their existing

er
economic, social and environmental ties.

v
To ensure that the benefits of urbanization are fully shared and

ni
inclusive, policies to manage urban growth need to ensure access to
infrastructure and social services for all, focusing on the needs of the

U
urban poor and other vulnerable groups for housing, education, health
care, decent work and a safe environment.
rry
About the data set

The 2018 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects is published by

he

the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic

and Social Affairs (UN DESA). It
ic

has been issued regularly since 1988 with revised estimates and
nd

projections of the urban and rural populations for all countries of the
world, and of their major urban agglomerations.
Po

Photo: Gerardo Pesantez/World Bank

E,
D
D

60
 Notes

Around 2.5 billion more people will be living in cities by 2050,

projects new UN Report

By 2050, two out of every three people are likely to be living in cities or other
urban centres, according to a new United Nations report, highlighting the
need for more sustainable urban planning and public services.

Owing to both demographic shifts and overall population growth, that

ty
means that around 2.5 billion people could be added to urban areas by
the middle of the century, predicts the UN Department of Economic

si
and Social Affairs (DESA).

er
Most of the increase is expected to be highly concentrated in just a
handful of countries.

v
ni
“Together, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35 per cent of the
projected growth of the world’s urban population between 2018 and

U
2050…It is projected that India will have added 416 million urban
dwellers, China 255 million and Nigeria 189 million,” said DESA,
rry
announcing the findings on Wednesday.

Megacities
he

The report also estimates that by 2030, the world could have 43 so-called
megacities (up from 31 today, according to reports) – those with more
ic

than 10 million inhabitants – most of them in developing countries.

nd

By 2028, the Indian capital, New Delhi, is projected to become the most
populous city on the planet.
Po

Currently, Tokyo is the world’s largest, with an agglomeration of 37

million inhabitants, followed by New Delhi (29 million), and Shanghai
(26 million). Mexico City and São Paulo, come next; each with around
E,

22 million inhabitants.

These swelling populations will place extra demands on both resources

D

and services in urban areas, notes the report.

D

“Many countries will face challenges in meeting the needs of their

growing urban populations, including for housing, transportation,
energy systems and other infrastructure; as well as for employment and
basic services such as education and health care,” said DESA, urging
governments adopt better integrated policies to improve the lives of
both urban and rural dwellers.

61
Notes

At the same time, linkages between urban and rural areas will need
to be strengthened, building on their existing economic, social and
environmental ties, the report concludes.

Source: UN News

Related information

ty
2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects

si
What is Urbanization?

er
Urbanization is a complex socio-economic process that transforms the

v
built environment, converting formerly rural into urban settlements,

ni
while also shifting the spatial distribution of a population from
rural to urban areas. It includes changes in dominant occupations,

U
lifestyle, culture and behaviour, and thus alters the demographic and
social structure of both urban and rural areas. A major consequence
rry
of urbanization is a rise in the number, land area and population size
of urban settlements and in the number and share of urban residents
he

compared to rural dwellers. Urbanization is shaped by spatial and urban

planning as well as by public and private investments in buildings and
infrastructure. An increasing share of economic activity and innovation
ic

becomes concentrated in cities, and cities develop as hubs for the flow
nd

of transport, trade and information. Cities also become places where

public and private services of the highest quality are available and
where basic services are often more accessible than in rural areas. The
Po

degree or level of urbanization is typically expressed as the percentage

of population residing in urban areas, defined according to criteria used
by national governments for distinguishing between urban and rural
E,

areas (see box 3 for the definitions used in this report). In practice,
urbanization refers both to the increase in the percentage of population
D

residing in urban areas and to the associated growth in the number of

urban dwellers, in the size of cities and in the total area occupied by
D

urban settlements.

(United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population

Division (2018a). World Urbanization Prospects 2018.)

62
 Notes
Emergence of modern cities in Europe:

As per the claim of the archaeologists with the abandonment of

sedentary or nomadic life and the onset of settled life with the beginning
of pastoral, agricultural or horticultural practices, cities have been come
into existence. They have traced this through evidence from street lay out,
density of population as found in some central places. The excavation cites
of many great civilizations like Mesopotamia, Indus valley civilization

ty
have been cited for these claims. The main interest behind locating the

si
modern cities and their antecedents point towards various processes
which were there behind the emergence of such cities. Processes like

er
industrial revolution, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, advancement
in science and technology paved the way for the emergence of modern

v
cities. It is important to know how various social scientists have oriented

ni
their attention towards the rise and growth of modern cities.

U
For Kingsley Davis (1955) with the growth of modernity distinctive
types of cities grew up. The modern cities have some characteristics like
rry
new economic structures, new types of trade and commerce, new kinds of
factories and industries, new types of employment, new social structure,
social group and new culture.
he

The close relation between urbanization and the growth of

modern cities can further be understood from the growth and evolution
ic

of industrialization, modernization and capitalism which was witnessed in

nd

Europe since around mid-eighteenth century.

There are number of pre-conditions which must be met for

Po

urbanization to set in like the production in agriculture should be surplus

oriented which is assisted by growth of new markets and new economic
system. Science and technology have a greater role in this respect because
E,

this boosted up the coming up of new types of machines and new

techniques mass production and technology intensive production system
came to be regarded as important to cater to the needs of ever-growing
D

urban population. This was a major departure from the past because
D

earlier labour-intensive industries were there and with the allurement of

working in the industry in the hope of getting greater dividends along
with the luxury and amenities of city life and diverse employment sectors
and opportunities worked as pull and push factors behind the migration
of people to the cities. With the large influx of population towards the
cities, consequently, demand rose for housing facilities, drinking water,

63
Notes
sanitation and various other amenities.

There were lot of problems encountered in the then European cities

because the growing rate of population growth could not be managed well.
Several problems creeped in like increased crime rates, lack of sanitation
facilities, widespread diseases and high mortality rate, very poor and
inhumane living conditions.

ty
Davis (1955) cites the growth of urban population in Europe in
different phases viz. in 1801 in Europe 17 per cent of urban population

si
was there, which rose to 35 per cent in 1851 and by 1891 it was 54 per cent.

er
This can be referred to as the rate of urbanization.

Industrialization is not the sole determinant which will explain

v
in true sense the nature and intensity of urbanization. Whole lot of

ni
other determinants also need to be explained for the rise and growth of
urbanization. Factors like growth of capitalism and alongside the growth

U
of trade and commerce, inclination towards profit motives, emergence of
financial institutions in the form of banking institutions and money lending
rry
institutions, cities and their increased role of handling international trade
and commerce had immense contribution behind the rise and growth of
he

urbanization.

Further, the physical and functional growth of the urban areas were
ic

because of the development of transport system. Since the workers could

not get accommodation facilities in the surrounding areas of the factories
nd

or industries, they used to settle down at far away places. Public transport
assisted the workers to commute from their place of residence usually the
Po

far away places situated in the outskirts of cities which eventually helped
in the expansion of the city boundaries. This may be understood as the
earliest understanding of growth of early modern cities.
E,

Very often the social scientists have attributed the change in modes
of production behind the changes in the basic characteristics of cities.
D

Sjoberg distinguishes between pre- industrial and industrial cities. The

characteristics feature of preindustrial cities lies in practise of agriculture
D

and low degree of social mobility. On the contrary, there are diverse
economic opportunities, high degree of specialized division of labour
and high degree of social differentiation in industrial cities. Similarly,
Robert Redfield classifies cities as Orthogenetic (a city of moral order
and unitary folk culture) and Heterogenetic (a city of technical order
that gives priority to economic growth). Hoselitz differentiates cities as

64
 Notes
Parasite (has a dampening effect on economic growth) and, Generative
(the city acts as a centre of change and stimulates economic growth).
The processes of industrialization and capitalism led to the
development of urbanization in European countries. Number of
Sociologists like Emile Durkheim, Marx and Engels, Max Weber, George
Simmel, Ferdinand Tonnies, W. E. B. DuBois have tried to focus attention
on urban social relations, urban social world, and urban personalities as

ty
they were eager to study the modern cities. Modern cities and the associated
anomalies like alienating tendency, anomie and loss of communitarian

si
feeling intrigued the early thinkers to study the urban life with depth and

er
rigour.
The process of industrialization and capitalism and its offshoots

v
like working condition of the labour, the nature of urban labour, the

ni
relationship of the working class with the bourgeoisie were extensively

U
analysed by Marx and Engels. According to both the scholars the march
from preindustrial to industrial society has resulted in transforming
civilization from barbarism to the era of productive specialization. The
rry
problem of capitalism is that this generates inequality which further leads
to alienation and conflict. The solution lies in ushering in of Socialist
he

or Communist regime, the full growth of human labour can be realized

where human beings will be independent human beings.
ic

For Ferdinand Tonnies, a famous German Sociologist, the common

feature of rural life consists of community feeling which usually builds
nd

around families, neighbourhood, kin groups which are characterised

by gemeinschaft. Tonnies contrasts gemeinschaft with gesellschaft.
Po

Gesellschaft essentially is nothing but characteristics of city life where

individualism, selfishness and absence of community feeling is there.
Everything is mechanical in Gesellschaft.
E,

To bring about a comprehensive understanding of urban and rural

areas, French Sociologist Emile Durkheim takes the example of social
D

solidarity. For Durkheim, societies characterised by mechanical solidarity

are based on likeness and have everything in common. Mostly, primitive
D

societies are based on mechanical solidarity. On the other hand, societies

characterised with organic solidarity have complex division of labour
and the social order is based on differences. Mostly, the modern societies
reflect organic solidarity. The inhabitants of cities have impersonality, and
they have greater freedom. The city dwellers also experience alienation
and anomie.

65
Notes
In his famous essay “The Metropolis and the Mental Life”, German
Sociologist George Simmel, talks about the ambivalent nature of the city. For
Simmel, the unique trait of modern city is nervous stimuli and while saying
so Simmel tries to analyse this from social psychology perspective. For
Simmel, the city dwellers have to cope up with the constant bombardment
of sound, sight and smell. Simmel focusses more on urbanism than
urbanization. The city residents tend to develop a blasé attitude and

ty
they are more calculating and rational. The urban residents mostly show
detached attitude and take decision from mind and not from heart. The

si
urban residents enjoy freedom more and are free from the clutches of

er
traditional social bond. In his book “The City” German Sociologist Max
Weber tries to understand city as an economic system. Weber presents

v
an ecological-demographic model of city. For him, city needs political

ni
autonomy, legal system, trade and commerce, self-sufficiency. Some of
the characteristics of city according to Weber, are large locality, non-

U
agricultural life, closed settlement and lack of personal relationship. A city
also needs social associations to protect itself and the members must be
rry
engaged in social relationship. Weber’s understanding of city is of an ideal
type. Lewis Mumford was not interested in the physical dimensions of city,
rather he was interested in exploring the organic relationship between
he

human beings and their environment. In his book “The City in History”
Mumford categorically sees cities as social entities.
ic

All these views and approaches though had seriously attempted to

nd

understand various dimensions of urban life, urban settlement patterns,

urban social structure, the processes of urbanism and urbanization, but
with the coming up of Chicago school or Human Ecology, a comprehensive
Po

understanding of city life in its multifarious dimension could be possible.

E,

The Chicago School

The Chicago school simply refers to a group of sociologists at

D

the University of Chicago. The sociologists of Chicago school tried to

D

interpret the city as a social laboratory where true human nature could
be explored. The Chicago school developed various concepts for a clearer
understanding of city. Some of the influential scholars of the Chicago
school are Robert Ezra Park, Ernest Burgess, Louis Wirth who have
tried to understand different dimensions of city. When the book “The
City: Suggestions for Investigation of Human Behaviour in the Urban

66
 Notes
Environment” was published, the Chicago school announced its arrival.
(Dear 2005: 54). The Chicago school primarily tried to investigate the
processes of modern urban growth and at that time the city of Chicago
was witnessing unprecedented growth. The Chicago school of sociologists
tried to analyse the urban processes and conditions through the subjective
experiences of urbanites. According to Michael Dear (2002) the works
of urbanists of Chicago School “is typically grounded in the individual

ty
subjectivities of urbanites, their personal choices ultimately explaining the
overall urban condition, including spatial structure, crime, poverty, and

si
racism” (2002:56).

er
The Chicago school came up with many important ideas which led
to the foundation of various key concepts for understanding the evolution

v
of differentiated urban social areas and urban way of life.

ni
2.6 Suburbs

U
More and more people started to move away from cities as they
rry
became more congested, frequently more expensive, and often more
destitute. But because of their employment, these people needed quick
access to the metropolis rather than going back to the rural villages where
he

they had previously lived before relocating to the city. Suburbs emerged
in the 1850s as a result of a significant increase in urban population and
ic

better transportation choices. Suburbs are the areas of a city that are close
enough to travel to on a daily basis yet far enough away to offer more space
nd

than city living permits.

Po
E,
D
D

Source:https://www.google.com/url

67
Notes

Nearly 25 years have elapsed since the Annual Review of Sociology

published a literature review on the suburbs. Back then, Baldassare (1992)
observed that although the majority of Americans live and work in the
suburbs, suburban communities have received little scholarly attention.
There is no better time than the present to begin to develop a robust
research agenda rooted in the sociology of suburbs. In the last three
decades, the populations of poor people, immigrants, and blacks living

ty
in the suburbs have all increased dramatically, raising new questions
about the experiences of recent suburbanites. The Great Recession and

si
the foreclosure crisis pushed many poor residents out of the central city,

er
whereas others, already settled in the suburbs, have become poor in place.

Dramatic shifts in the racial composition of the US population

v
and ill-conceived immigration policies are important drivers in the

ni
diversification of suburbs. For many post-1965 immigrants, the suburb,

U
not the central city, is the first destination (Hardwick 2008). Indeed, the
majority of the country’s immigrant population now lives in suburbs.
Moreover, the reverse migration of blacks from the North back to
rry
the South has contributed to the rise in black suburbanization in the
new South. This is all to say that we cannot properly understand core
he

social problems such as poverty, the assimilation of immigrant groups,

class-based inequality, or residential segregation without seriously
ic

investigating these social dynamics in the suburbs.

TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY SUBURBIA The term “suburb” has been
nd

defined in a myriad of ways. There is not widespread agreement as to

a single definition. With regard to geographical boundaries, “suburb”
Po

refers to the physical space beyond a city’s boundaries, yet still within the
metropolitan area (Kneebone & Berube 2013, Massey & Denton 1988). In
terms of popular culture, “suburb” conjures up images of a middle-class
lifestyle with all the requisite accoutrements—cul-de-sacs peppered with
E,

imposing homes nestled on manicured lawns, an expansive driveway, a

car or two, and a portable basketball hoop. Most often, residents of these
D

idyllic communities are imagined as white and middle class, prompting

D

criticism from scholars who note that blacks have been present in the
suburban rings of American cities (albeit in small numbers before 1970)
for over a century (Haynes 2008, Wiese 1993) and that suburbs vary
more by social class than we tend to assume (Gans 1967).

Source: Lacy,Karyn.2016. The New Sociology of Suburbs: A Research Agenda for

Analysis of Emerging Trends. Annual Review of Sociology .PP. 369-384.

68
 Notes
2.7 Concept of Metropolis

Polis and metre, two Greek words that together make up the term
“metropolis,” (city). Therefore, the English word “metropolis” means
“mother city.” Lewis Mumford divided European cities according to
their technical advancement, using terms like Eopolis, Polis, Metropolis,
Megalopolis, Tyrannopolis, and Necropolis.

ty
Eopolis-The Eopolis depicts the early stages of the town as a village
community with an agricultural economy.

si
Polis -The Polis denotes a connection between the people and certain

er
specialisation and mechanisation.

v
The term “metropolis” was once only used to describe a certain
kind of city: the capital of an empire, state, or kingdom, as well as other

ni
locations from which “the rest of the world” (or at least a sizable portion

U
of the globe) was dominated. Therefore, a metropolis would be rated much
higher than a small town. Even if a large city does not serve as the capital
rry
of a country, it nonetheless prefers to be referred to as a metropolis in
modern times. Because a typical US State Capital is not a large metropolis,
this is particularly true of American cities. In addition, most US States
he

have at least one large city that is not the state capital.

Megalopolis-The megalopolis, or the reign of town or city, denotes the

ic

initial stage of decline in town or city owing to enormous difficulties and

nd

concerns, or the indicators of decline and degradation are present in town

or city.
Po

Tyranopolis-Tyranopolis is a town or city that exhibits a sharp decline in

circumstances, such as a downturn in the economy or a rise in war lords’
forces.
E,

Necropolis-The worst part of a town or city is the necropolis. For instance,

because of conflict, disease, or economic collapse, people are moving to
D

villages or rural regions. If such is the case, the town could eventually
recover from it.
D

Metropolitan and cosmopolitan

A metropolitan area is a geographical area that has both a heavily

populated urban core and the less inhabited areas that surround it.
Typically, a metro region consists of many jurisdictions and municipalities.

69
Notes
Metropolitan areas have evolved into important economic and political
zones as social, economic, and political institutions have altered. Like
the Paris metropolitan region and the New York metropolitan area, most
metropolitan areas are cantered in a single large city. (New York City).A
metropolitan city in India is one with a population of more than 10 lakhs
or one million, according to the Census Commission, while a megacity
is one with a population of more than 10 million and above. The term

ty
“cosmopolitan” describes a person who has visited and lived in a variety
of nations, especially one who does not harbour any national biases.

si
Additionally, it might be “urbane” or “sophisticated. “The Ancient Greek

er
term Kosmospolites is where the word “cosmopolitan” comes from. Kosmos,
which is Greek for “world” or “universe,” also refers to a city resident. The

v
term “citizen of the world” has recently come to mean something specific.

ni
People from diverse areas of the world, each with their own languages,
cultures, and customs, coexist in cosmopolitan cities.A cosmopolitan

U
city is one that welcomes residents of many racial backgrounds, religious
convictions, and cultural backgrounds. This indicates that it is embraced
rry
by every global metropolis that was founded on the idea that new cultures
will arrive and transform the city into something magnificent. A city may
be both metropolitan and cosmopolitan, as is the case with New York or
he

Mumbai in the United States, but a metropolis may not be cosmopolitan,

as is the case with Surat in Gujarat, India. Cities with global reach or
ic

application are referred to be cosmopolitan cities. A city with a large urban

population is called Metropolitan City.
nd

Metropolitan region (commonly simply a metro) is a big, vast

metropolis and its neighbouring municipalities, districts, or townships. A
Po

metropolitan area’s major city is often the most populous and developed
area, whereas the surrounding areas are typically less inhabited and broken
up into smaller sub-regions. A metropolis is known by the name of its
E,

main city, like in the case of the New York metropolitan region, which
includes New York City and the neighbouring towns. huge, urbanised
D

cities serve as the centre of metropolitan areas because they offer vital
sources of commerce, economic growth, and cultural representations that
D

draw a huge population.

70
 Notes

ty
si
v er
Source:https://www.google.com/url

ni
A metro area has the following characteristics:

U
➢ 
The central city that serves as the region’s principal transportation
centre.
rry
➢ 
The region’s economic development will be fuelled by the presence of
sophisticated commercial industries. infrastructural development
for the benefit of the population (such as education, transportation,
he

and housing utilities).

➢ 
A combination of different districts, municipalities, or authorities
ic

that divides the territory into smaller, simpler parts to administer.

nd

A metro area has the following characteristics:

➢ 
The central city that serves as the region’s principal transportation
centre.
Po

➢ 
The region’s economic development will be fueled by the presence of
sophisticated commercial industries. infrastructural development
for the benefit of the population (such as education, transportation,
E,

and housing utilities)

➢ 
A combination of different districts, municipalities, or authorities
D

that divides the territory into smaller, simpler parts to administer

D

2.9 Neighbourhood and Corporation

In a similar way, cohesiveness and urban planning are akin to

neighbourhood.

The local vicinity of one’s home is not the only part of the

71
Notes
neighbourhood. In the discourse of urban sociology, it is extremely relevant.
By studying the claims made by urban academia, we will attempt to acquire
insight into the social and physical characteristics of “neighbourhood” in
this unit. We will also talk about how our neighbourhoods influence our
social relationships and how they support group behaviours.

Although the neighbourhood is a social unit with a defined

geographic boundary, it is also a web of social networks, but the

ty
neighbourhood fulfils certain social needs. Our location of living serves

si
as a trigger for details about ourselves, just like our line of work, physical
characteristics, and personality. According to this perception, individuals

er
give their area a lot of thought. A nice neighbourhood is subjective and
dependent on a number of variables. Some people search for a tranquil area,

v
while others search for a location near the city center. Some people choose

ni
to live nearby their place of employment, while others desire to move out
to the suburbs. It is fruitless to try and define these parameters. However,

U
the scholar Brower offered three dimensions that impact people’s level of
pleasure in their choice of neighbourhoods, ambiance, involvement, and
rry
choice fulness (Brower 1996).

Our neighbourhood ought to be a place where we may live

he

comfortably. Additionally, it provides prestige and self-esteem. According

to Brower, residents should consider their community to be both visually
ic

pleasing and useful. Engagement is the possibility of having meaningful

connections. A hostile or hazardous neighbourhood is regarded as
nd

unattractive. It explains the stigmatisation of communities with high crime

rates. In urban locations, some communities and ghettos bear the stigma
Po

for their poor living standards.

The members consider the uniqueness of their localities to be

constricting. According to Brower, residing in such areas might lead to
E,

negative perceptions of one’s community. Thirdly, there must be options

for residents in their community. Instead of just happening to live in a
D

certain neighbourhood, people must take responsibility for their decision

to do so and acknowledge they still have the option to stay or go (Kearns
D

and Parkinson, 2001). Knowing that their neighbours have made the
decision to reside in their neighbourhood makes them happy. For urban
planners, this last factor is crucial. It explains why individuals are hesitant
to change when forced to relocate due to bureaucratic or market allocation
systems (Hastings and Dean 2003).

72
 Notes
Social cohesiveness is a result of neighbourhoods. It offers
identification, security, and comfort. Additionally, they provide the
members a feeling of inclusion.

We establish our initial relationships with people outside of our

families in the communities. Didn’t most of us meet our first friends in
our neighbourhoods? Neighbourhoods offer chances for face-to-face
contacts, fostering a sense of community. (Casey 2013). These encounters

ty
can be helpful in increasing one’s social capital, according to studies. For

si
instance, economic studies indicate that the calibre of one’s neighbourhood
connections might influence the viability of home-based companies and

er
microbusinesses. By demonstrating that one’s business may succeed due
to local resources, the survey improves the usefulness of communities.

v
(Reuschke and Houston 2016).

ni
But the research on social cohesiveness in neighbourhoods reflects

U
a variety of viewpoints. Participation in and sense of community varies
across social groups and demography. For instance, according to Bannister
rry
and Fyfe (2001), young people were less engaged with their areas than older
people were. Additionally, it’s possible that as time goes on and you remain
in a neighbourhood, you acquire more friends. (Sampson and Groves
he

1989). The more you reside in an area, the more individuals you meet. On
the other hand, neighbourhood links along class lines show that those with
ic

white-collar employment have fewer close ties to the community than do

blue-collar employees and seniors. The explanation might be that people in
nd

blue-collar occupations spend more time outside and in their communities.

The same applies for retired members. The white-collar members, on the
Po

other hand, spend the majority of their time in social settings outside of
the neighbourhoods (Henning and Lieberg 1996). As a result, the level
and kind of engagement within the neighbourhood might differ greatly
E,

amongst groups. One of the major qualities of neighbourhoods is their

potential to facilitate collective activity. Neighbourhoods have evolved
D

into venues for discussions, discourses, agreements, and political acts as

a result of the close proximity of the members. This trait can vary across
D

classes, as was mentioned above. The underprivileged classes have been

found to have a strong sense of neighbourhood camaraderie. In defending
their rights, those neighbourhoods exhibited outstanding solidarity.
Urban studies, however, demonstrate that this cohesion results from their
struggle for survival. (Burns and Taylor 1998; Friedrichs 1998). It is a spirit
that was created out of need, not will.

73
Notes
Corporation

Corporations have been central institutions in industrialized

economies since the turn of the twentieth century. While corporations
have existed for centuries as a legal device, and stock exchanges for trading
corporate shares emerged during the early seventeenth century, the public
corporation as we know it today co-evolved with mass production and
distribution around the time of the second industrial revolution. By the

ty
start of World War I, public corporations had become a standard way of

si
organizing economic activity in the most advanced industrial economies.
Corporations are largely associated with Urban Sociology because with

er
the gradual expansion and diversification of urban economy, there has
been more and more penetration of Multinational Corporations.

v
ni
Yet the common term ‘corporation’ masks enormous diversity in
corporations around the world. The number of public corporations was not

U
tightly linked to the size or vibrancy of the economy. Germany, with a vast
export-oriented economy, had 665 listed companies; Serbia, with a GDP
rry
1/100th that of Germany, had 1086; while the Netherlands – birthplace of
the public corporation – had only 105. Corporations also varied in size
and structure. Corporations differ in basic aspects of structure required by
he

law, from the protection of minority shareholder rights in different legal

systems to whether women or labour must be represented on the board of
ic

directors. In short, the term ‘corporation’ is applied to entities that often

have little in common.
nd

The sociology of corporations emphasizes that corporations are

products of national systems of institutions that vary across cultures
Po

and over time. Corporations are often central elements of the economic
landscape, with enormous influence on societal outcomes from economic
mobility and inequality to public policy. Yet their diversity around the
E,

world is under-appreciated in most research traditions, and much work

remains to be done.
D

Certain key features of Corporation are:

D

➢ 
Despite being unlike natural persons, corporations are recognized
by the law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons.
For example, corporations can exercise or be responsible for human
rights. They can even be convicted of criminal offenses, such as
fraud and manslaughter.

74
 Notes
➢ 
Multinational corporations are important factors in the processes
of globalization. A Transnational Corporation (TNC) differs from a
traditional MNC in that it does not identify itself with one national
home.
➢ 
The rapid rise of multinational corporations has been a topic of
concern among intellectuals, activists, and the public who perceive
them as threatening basic civil rights like privacy.

ty
➢ 
Methods for attracting foreign investment have be criticized as
a race to the bottom. They have also been described as a push, by

si
corporations, for greater autonomy.

er
➢ 
Because of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact
on government policy, primarily through the threat of market

v
withdrawal.

ni
The word corporation is widely used to describe incorporated

U
entities, especially those that have a large number of shareholders.
Despite not being natural persons, the law recognizes corporations as
having rights and responsibilities like natural persons. Corporations can
rry
exercise human rights against real individuals and the state, they can be
responsible for human rights violations, and they can even be convicted
he

of criminal offenses, such as fraud and manslaughter. Once incorporated,

a corporation has artificial personhood everywhere it operates, until the
corporation is dissolved. Often, a corporation is legally a citizen of the
ic

state (or other jurisdiction) in which it is incorporated.

nd

Multinational and Transnational Corporations

Po

A multinational corporation (MNC) is a corporation that either

manages production or delivers services in more than one country. Some
multinational corporations are very large, with revenues that exceed some
E,

nation’s national revenues. Multinational corporations can have a powerful

influence on both local economies and the world economy
D

They play an important role in international relations and

D

globalization. A transnational corporation (TNC) differs from a traditional

MNC in that it does not identify itself with a single national home. While
traditional MNCs are national companies with foreign subsidiaries, TNCs
spread out their operations in many countries. This allows them to sustain
high levels of local responsiveness.

75
Notes
The rapid rise of multinational corporations has been a topic of
concern among intellectuals, activists and laymen, who perceive it as a
threat to basic civil rights like privacy. Scholars have pointed out that
multinationals have had a long history of interference in the policies of
sovereign nation states. Anti-corporate advocates express the commonly
held view that corporations answer only to shareholders, and give little
consideration to human rights, environmental concerns, or other cultural

ty
issues.

si
Corporations and Governments

er
Multinational corporations are important factors in the processes
of globalization. National and local governments often compete against

v
one another to attract MNC facilities, with the expectation of increased

ni
tax revenue, employment, and economic activity. To compete, political
entities may offer MNCs incentives such as tax breaks, governmental

U
assistance, subsidies, or lax environmental and labor regulations. Because
of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact on government
rry
policy, primarily through the threat of market withdrawal. Confrontations
between corporations and governments have occurred when governments
he

have tried to force MNCs to make their intellectual property public. This
is a state effort to transfer technology to local entrepreneurs.
ic

2.10 Key Words

nd

CITY- A city is distinguished from towns and villages by it greater

size, by the range of institutions its houses, and by the wealth of activities
Po

possible within its boundaries. The first cities naturally appeared in fertile
areas where the surrounding countryside was sufficiently productive to
liberate part of the population from agricultural work and to support a range
E,

of specialist trades. In England, the importance of the national Christian

church was such that a city was marked by the presence of a cathedral. The
D

defining characteristic of a cathedral was not its size (though they were
very large) but its role as the administrative headquarters of a bishop and
D

hence as a centre for public administration

Concentric Zone Theory- E. Burgess, a member of the Chicago School ,

argued that cities in industrialized societies take the form of five concentric
rings. The innermost ring is the central business district, containing most
of the better shops, offices, banks, amusement and service facilities. The

76
 Notes
second, the zone of transition, is essentially an area in development as the
central business district expands outwards. As a result, it is a run-down
area of relatively cheap housing. The third zone contains the homes of
manual workers, while the fourth comprises middle-class suburbs. On the
fringes of the city is the commuters’ zone. Burgess proposed his theory as
an ideal type. Real cities would not conform exactly to the five zones,

which would be deformed by the existence of communication

ty
routes, for example. The theory followed the principles of urban ecology.

si
The zones comprise natural areas created by impersonal forces independent
of the intentions of the population. Competition for land determines the

er
arrangement, with those activities able to afford high rents taking the best
central sites. Successive waves of migration follow one another with a racial

v
or ethnic group starting in the zone of transition and moving outwards as

ni
it prospers.

U
Urbanization- Urbanization refers properly to a growth in the proportion
of a country’s population living in urban centers of a particular size.
rry
Although cities have always been socially, politically and economically
important, the urbanization of industrialized Western societies in the
nineteenth century was very rapid: for example, in the United Kingdom in
he

1800 some 24 per cent of the population was urban, while by 1900 it was
77 per cent.
ic

For almost all these societies urbanization has followed an S-shaped

nd

curve, building up very slowly, expanding very quickly, and then slowing
down, or even reversing slightly, with greater suburban development. The
proportional increase in urban populations in the nineteenth century was
Po

largely by migration from the countryside. However, in contemporary

underdeveloped societies,
E,

which are urbanizing even more rapidly, the increase comes rather
more from simple growth in the urban population, as public health and
medical facilities have improved and tends to be concentrated in a single
D

city. In general, periods of urbanization appear to be associated with

D

industrialization.

There is, however, some controversy about the nature of the

association and about the role that capitalism plays in the process.
Urbanization has contradictory consequences for economic growth, since
it cheapens the cost of providing services such as health and education
while increasing the cost of labour that can no longer supplement its wages

77
Notes
by small-scale agricultural production. See: Demographic Transition;
Industrial Society; Modernization; Rural-Urban Continuum.

Urban Way of Life- In an article said to be the most widely cited in

sociology, L. Wirth (1938) attempted to describe and explain a way of life
peculiar to cities. For Wirth, cities have a whole range of features including
the loss of primary relationships, weaker social control, a great division
of labour, greater importance of the mass media and the tendency for

ty
urbanites to treat each other instrumentally.

si
These features are caused by three basic factors the numbers, density

er
and heterogeneity of the population. In this theory Wirth was faithful to
the principles of urban ecology in holding that fundamental features of the

v
urban environment produce the entire range of urban social behaviour. He

ni
has been criticized, firstly because empirical research showed that there
was not one urban way of life but several, and, secondly, because it does

U
not seem possible to derive all aspects of urban life from the three basic
factors. Other sociologists, G. Simmel, for example, regard anonymity as
rry
the principal characteristic of urban life. See: Chicago School;

Urbanism- In ‘Urbanism as a way of life’ (1938), the Chicago School

he

sociologist Louis B. Wirth argued that the social effects of living in cities
had made a greater contribution to the character of modernity than
industrialization or capitalism. The city differs from the country village in
ic

size, in density of population and in the diversity of its population. From

nd

this follows the social differences.

The division of labour is considerably more extensive. Most social

Po

interaction is with strangers and acquaintances rather than with kin and
friends. Relationships tend to be transitory, superficial and instrumental.
Above all, as Georg Simmel noted, in the city it is possible to be anonymous.
E,

Like the community–society contrast which it closely mirrors, the urban–

rural divide can be criticised for exaggerating differences.
D
D

78
 Notes
2.11 Self-Assessment Questions

1.What is the contribution of the Chicago school for understanding the

process of urbanism and Urbanization?
2. What do you mean by City? Examine various sociologists viewpoints
on cities.
3. W
 hat do you mean by Metropolis? Discuss various characteristics of

ty
Metropolis.

si
4.Write briefly about your understanding of neighbourhood.
5.Describe Taylor’s classification of cities.

er
6. E
 xplain the characteristics features in Industrial cities.

v
7. W
 rite briefly on Multiple Nuclei Theory of City Growth.

ni
8. W
 hat do you mean by Urbanization?

U
9. W
 rite different classification of cities and towns in India.
10 W
 hat do you mean by Suburb?
rry
2.12 References
he

Ali, Ershad. (2020). Urbanisation in India: Causes, Growth, Trends, Patterns,

Consequences & Remedial Measures. 10.13140/RG.2.2.19007.05284.
ic

Brenner, Neil. 2013. ‘Theses on Urbanization’. Public Culture. Vol 25,

No. 1. pp 85-114.
nd

Burgess, Ernest. 1925 [1967]. ‘The growth of the city: an introduction to a

research project’. In
Po

Robert Ezra Park, Ernest Burgess and Roderick McKenzie (eds.). 1925
[1967]. The city.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Chandavarkar, Rajnarayan. (2009). History, culture and the Indian city:
E,

essays by Rajnarayan Chandavarkar. New York: Cambridge University

Press.
D

Davis, Kingsley. 1955. ‘The origin and growth of urbanization in the world’.
D

American Journal of Sociology. Vol 60. No. 5, pp 429-437.

Dear, Michael. 2002. ‘Los Angeles and the Chicago School: an invitation to
a debate’. City and Community. Vol 1, No.1, pp 5-32.
Dear, Michael. 2002. Chicago to L.A.: making sense of urban theory.
London:Sage Publications.
Gupta, Narayani. 2004. ‘The Indian city’. In Veena Das (ed.) Handbook of

79
Notes
Indian Sociology. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp 142-155.
Kleniewski, Nancy and Alex Thomas. 2011. Cities, change and conflict: a
political economy of urban life. Belmont: Wadsworth Engage Learning.
Kleniewski, Nancy (ed.). 2005. Cities and society: Blackwell reader in
sociology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Lin, Jay and Christopher Mele (eds.). 2013. The urban sociology reader.
Oxon: Routledge.

ty
Molotch, Harvey. 1976. ‘The city as a growth machine: toward a political

si
economy of place’. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 82, No. 2. pp 309-
332.

er
Mumford, Lewis. 1966. The city in history. Harmondsworth: Penguin
Books.

v
ni
Pacione, Michael (ed.). 2002. The city: the city in the global context. Vol. 1.
London: Routledge.

U
Park, Robert Ezra, Ernest Burgess and Roderick McKenzie (eds.). 1925
[1967]. The city. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
rry
Park, Robert Ezra. 1936. ‘Human ecology’. American Journal of Sociology.
Vol 42. No.1. pp 1-15.
he

Pocock, David. 1960 [1974]. ‘Sociologies: urban and rural’. In M. S. A. Rao

(ed.) Urban sociology in India. Hyderabad: Orient Longman.
Prakash, Gyan. 2002. ‘The Urban Turn’. In Sarai Reader 02: The cities
ic

of everyday life. New Delhi (http://archive.sarai.net/files/original/

nd

b3baf1faf1a4e1098705f8383ae298cd.pdf)
Ramachandran. R. 1991. Urbanization and urban systems in India. New
Po

Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Rao, M.S.A. 1974. Urban Sociology in India. Hyderabad:Orient Longman.
Roy, Anil Kumar. Defining Urban in India: e-PG Pathshaala.
E,

Sahu, Manoj & Das, Kailash & Bhuyan, Bibhishana. (2019). Role of Census
Towns in Rising Urbanization of India.
D

Sen, Jai. 1996. ‘The left front and the ‘unintended city’: Is a civilised
transition possible?’. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol 31, No 45-46, pp
D

2977-2979+2981-2982.
Shaw, Annapurna. 2012. Indian cities. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Simmel, George. 2000. ‘The metropolis and the mental life’. In Malcolm
Miles, Tim Hall and Iain Borden (eds.). The City Culture Reader. London:
Routledge. pp 12-19.

80
 Notes
UNIT - III

Lesson 3.1 - Process of Urbanization in India

Structure

3.1 Learning Objectives

ty
3.2 Assessment of Prior Knowledge

si
3.3 Process of Urbanization in India
3.4 Growth of Urban population in India

er
3.5 Emergence of cities

v
3.6 Causes and consequences of urbanization

ni
3.7 Summary
3.8 Keywords
3.9
3.10
Self-Assessment Questions
References
U
rry
3.1 Learning Objectives
he

After studying this unit, the students will be able to

➢ 
Know the process of urbanization in India.
ic

➢ 
Understand the growth of urban population in India.
nd

➢ 
Get some knowledge about the emergence of cities.
➢ 
Understand the causes and consequences of urbanization.
Po

3.2 Assessment of the prior knowledge

Amongst all the developing countries the urbanization process in

India has been remarkable. Urbanization in India has been a faster process
E,

in comparison to other developing countries. The 2011 census supports this

fact. The urbanization trend in India has witnessed a paradigmatic shift as
D

observed in the 2011 census because it has altered the trend of declining
D

urbanization as witnessed in the 1980s and 1990s. Since independence,

there has been an absolute increase in the urban population in comparison
to the rural population. The number of urban agglomeration /towns has
grown from 1827 in 1901 to 7935 in 2011; while the total population in
urban areas has increased from 2.58 crores in 1901 to 37.71 crores in 2011.
These data speak volumes on the rising trend of urbanization in India.

81
Notes
Before proceeding to understand this, it is essential to understand the
evolution and process of urbanization in India.

3.3 Evolution and Process of Urbanisation In India

Urbanization, as the name implies, is the process of becoming

urban, of relocating to cities, of transitioning from agricultural to other

ty
city-specific activities including trade, manufacture, industry, and
management, as well as related behavioural changes.

si
Urbanization is the progressive rise in the percentage of people

er
living in urban regions, or the population’s transition from rural to urban
habitation. Indian towns are expanding more on the back of the tertiary

v
sector than the secondary sector. The development of Indian cities as a result

ni
of the expansion of the tertiary sector is extremely paradoxical. The major
drivers of Indian city growth were the expansion of the transportation,

U
services, and construction industries. Yet in industrialized countries, the
rise of cities was driven by the manufacturing sector.
rry
Compared to northern and eastern India, the southern region is
more urbanized. This is due to the abundance of historical, sociocultural,
he

and educational resources. Due to heavy FDI and the construction of

diverse enterprises in these states, South India had highly rapid growth with
ic

the advent of globalization in India. Industrialization and urbanization are

often associated; however, industrialization is not necessarily the cause of
nd

urbanization as a structural process of change.

Urbanization is an outcome of a combination of factors, including

Po

the development of large- and small-scale commercial, financial, and

administrative infrastructure in urban areas, technological developments
in transportation and communication, as well as cultural and recreational
E,

pursuits. Urbanization is a crucial component of economic growth. As the

economy grows, so does the per capita income and the demand for non-
D

agricultural commodities.
D

The process of urbanization is viewed as a socio-cultural,

economic, and geographic development in the setting of India. India’s
history of urbanization dates back to the ancient Indian era. India’s initial
stage of urbanization is said to have started with the Harappan urbanism
of the Indus valley civilization. Harappan towns experienced extensive
urbanization during a period of around 600 years (between 2350 BC and

82
 Notes
1750 BC). The two most significant towns in the Indus Valley civilization
are Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

The following are some of the major contributions made by the British
to Indian urban development:

The British East India Company’s establishment significantly

changed the dynamics of the urbanization process. The first municipal

ty
corporation in India was established in Madras between 1687 and 1688.

si
Municipal Corporations were established in Bombay and Calcutta in
1726.A resolution that established municipalities, district boards, taluka

er
boards, and the creation of panchayats at the village level was passed
in 1882. In India, local self-government was first implemented by Lord

v
Ripon, who was viceroy of India at the time.

ni
Local self-government principles needed to be implemented in the

U
towns, according to Lord Ripon’s 1882 resolution. In India, the decision
is referred to as the Magna Carta of local self-government. In India, Lord
rry
Ripon is regarded as the founder of local self-government.

The British administration was behind the creation of the three

he

metropolitan port cities of Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai (Madras).

Additionally, it is during the British rule, the development of a network
of hill resorts in South India and the Himalayas, including Darjeeling,
ic

Shimla, Mussoorie, and Lansdowne took place. The British government

nd

facilitated the addition of civil lines and cantonments, which altered the
urban environment of the existing cities. Due to the active interest of
the colonial administration, the establishment of several colleges and
Po

universities in significant metropolitan areas has started the beginning of

modern education. Because the nation adopted a mixed economy after
gaining its independence, which fueled the expansion of the private sector,
E,

urbanization surged after that.

D

Origin of Cities In India

D

Ever since they first appeared, cities have challenged the limits of
human imagination. Cities have historically been the largest concentrations
of people and their social connections, from the smallest to the largest,
from the oldest to the most recent. a study of the historical development of
urban centers using summaries of ancient, mediaeval, and contemporary
Indian towns. In 2500 BC, urban centers started forming in ancient India.

83
Notes
A silent witness to this astonishing evolution is the spectacular remains of
towns like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. However, since we are difficult to
understand the language they used, our comprehension of the organization
of urbanism is limited, and we are unaware of whether the rulers of
Harappa were traders, priests, or warriors. Because of this, the study of a
city is based on the second urbanization period, or the sixth century BC.

ty
I. Ancient City

si
Every ancient city has its own distinct characteristics. The factors
that led to the city’s growth had a significant impact on its character. These

er
are the characteristics of ancient cities, according to Anderson. First off,

v
most of the cities served as capitals. These cities were so focused on the
military. If any trade was practiced, it was to support the state’s or the

ni
ruler’s sizable standing armies. The demands of the state and the army

U
were the key priorities for the authorities. The social authority’s primary
duties included erecting the walls and other structures and setting up the
rry
army. The main factor in the development of these cities was the favourable
climate. Because of this, many of the cities in India are found along the
coast or on the banks of important rivers. In the past, cities developed,
he

grew, and were established mostly because of favourable agricultural

conditions. Ancient towns were primarily used as political centers, and
ic

the kings and those they governed mostly resided there. They served as
the primary educational institutions and learning locations. In India,
nd

there are more than 45 towns and cities with a long history and a status of
being ancient cities. The religious and cultural heritage of these historic
Po

communities are one thing that sets them apart.

Ii. Medieval City

E,

Cities in the Middle Ages were primarily commercial hubs that

catered to the needs of wealthy merchants and other members of the
D

trading class. Its well-defined population was made up of traders and their
D

dependents and ancillaries. Several of these settlements sprung up along

the coast. For their many requirements and purposes, the mediaeval towns
and cities relied heavily on the rural areas. These cities and towns had
authoritarian governmental systems in place. In these cities, social life was
mostly traditional. The local king at the time, who was also a significant
landowner, favoured inviting traders, artisans, managers, and professionals

84
 Notes
to dwell in his fortified capital cities. These skilled workers lacked land
and were reliant on the king for security.

They had a great deal of freedom since they were not tied to a
specific piece of land, which they could use against the monarch in the
event of oppression or exorbitant taxation. Towns and cities at this time
acted as hinges joining the upper and lower tiers of the vertical settlement
hierarchy. The bulk of the nearby towns were on the same hierarchical

ty
level as them, therefore their main purpose was to act as the military’s

si
command hub in the ongoing conflict.

er
Iii. Modern City

v
During the colonial era, modern cities arose in India. They have a

ni
sizable population and a diverse social makeup. Cities in the contemporary
era are hubs of commerce. They have elected governments with intricate

U
organizational structures and specialized roles. Modern cities have a
cosmopolitan feel to them. These cities have a sizable population that works
rry
in the service industry and other similar fields that were not present in the
older cities. They are the centers of fashion. Many non-profit organizations
he

that cater to the needs of a big population are present in modern cities. One
of the most crucial aspects of contemporary cities is social mobility. These
cities are home to a wide variety of groups, each of which symbolizes a
ic

distinct culture. The modern city symbolizes a contemporary way of life

nd

and attitude. People here have quite different lives from their counterparts
in rural areas. The greatest transportation and communication systems are
found in modern cities. In addition, these cities are home to cutting-edge
Po

medical facilities.

Growth of City
E,

Cities expanded and ushered in radical transformations. In those

D

days, a number of towns and cities arose, serving as the principal residences
of the rulers and merchants. There are numerous distinct types of towns
D

and cities, such as garrison towns, seaports, administrative or political

capitals, tourist destinations, industrial cities, and commercial hubs etc.
The corporate towns were a special form of the neighbourhood that is
now all but extinct. Most of the big cities have diverse populations and
run many activities at once. Most modern Indian cities have gone through
a distinct socio-historical development process. Although there is a lot of

85
Notes
room for assumption regarding the origins of cities, by connecting it to the
colonial era or modernity, it moves beyond the realm of conjecture. It must
be understood within a specific framework as the outcome of both specific
social trends and a dynamic social process. The 18th century saw the
emergence of scientific technology and the accumulation of money, which
set off these distinct societal movements. Urban areas served as providers
of a variety of raw materials and consumers of imported goods throughout

ty
the colonial era. The old urban centers underwent changes; some were
only military strongholds, while others became hubs for commerce and

si
industry. Even though Indian urban areas grew alongside the development

er
of large-scale industry and contemporary capitalism, they miss many of
the features of western cities.

v
According to Adna Weber, concentration of people into cities was

ni
a product of the economic forces which were becoming significant with
the industrial revolution, which introduced changes such as steam power,

U
mechanization, and trade and commerce etc. The political causes of the
emergence of cities were as follows:
rry
a. Legislation on promoting freedom of trade.
b. Legislation promoting freedom of migration.
he

c. Centralized administration with its location of persons in civic

centers.
d. Free forms of land tenure politically defended in the city.
ic

The social causes were as follows:

nd

a. Education.
b. Amusements.
Po

c. Higher standards of living.

d. Attraction of intellectual association.
e. Habituation of an urban environment.
f. Diffusion of knowledge of the values of city life.
E,

The distinction between a village and a town was not very

significant in ancient India. In India, towns and cities were created as a
D

result of certain situations and demands. The availability of water is the

D

most important aspect among them. Second, the location must provide
strong defense options. The availability of food was the third prerequisite.
Ultimately, the city’s fortune was also influenced by its communications
networks. The earliest likely urban civilization appeared in India’s
Indus valley during the third millennium BC, with Mohenjo-Daro and
Harappa being the most sophisticated urban forms. Gordon claims that

86
 Notes
Mohanjodaro’s city walls were first built circa 2600 BC. Then, around the
year 600 B.C., the Aryan version of urbanization emerged.

3.4 Growth of Urban population in India

With an average growth rate of 7% from 2017–18 to 2018–19 and a

steadily rising percentage in global GDP, India has been the fastest growing

ty
major economy in the world. Its nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
ranks it as the seventh-largest economy in the world, while its purchasing

si
power parity (PPP) ranking places it third in the world [Data source:
Status of the Economy in 2018-19: A Macro Perspective, Economic Survey

er
2018-19]. India wants to have a $5 trillion GDP by 2024 and a $10 trillion

v
economy by 2030, according to the Ministry of Finance.

ni
India has about 4,400 statutory towns and cities, with over 40
crore people living there as of now. By 2030, India’s urban population is

U
projected to expand to a startling 60 crore people at the present rate of
growth (WUP, 2018). Census 2011 indicates that 53 Indian cities have a
rry
population of one million or more. By 2050, it is anticipated that more
than 50% of the population would live in cities (WUP, 2018). According
he

to some estimates, India needs to construct a Chicago every year, and over
the next ten years, its cities are predicted to experience an influx of people
the size of the whole USA.
ic

According to the 1901 census, 11.4% of Indians lived in urban

nd

areas. This number rose to 28.53% by the 2001 census, and according to
The World Bank, 34% of Indians today live in urban areas. In 2030, A UN
Po

assessment predicts that 40.76% of the country’s population will reside in

urban areas. According to the World Bank, India will take the lead in the
growth of the urban population worldwide by 2050, followed by China,
Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States. Throughout the 20th century,
E,

there was a significant rural-urban migration to Mumbai. Mumbai is

India’s second-largest metropolitan by population, with 22.1 million
D

residents as of 2018. According to the 2011 census, Delhi, which has 28

D

million residents, has the highest rate of urbanization in the whole world.

Let us have an over view through some figures how the process
of urbanization has been making inroads in Indian context in different
census years.

87
Notes

Process of Urbanization in India

Census No. of Urban Urban Annual exponential

Year Agglomerations/ Population in Growth rate of
Towns Per cent Urban Population
1901 1827 10.84

ty
1911 1825 10.29 0.03
1921 1949 11.18 0.79

si
1931 2072 11.99 1.75
1941 2250 13.86 2.77

er
1951 2843 17.29 3.47
1961 2363 17.97 2.34

v
1971 2590 19.91 3.21

ni
1981 3378 23.33 3.83
1991 3768 25.72 3.09

U
2001 5161 27.78 2.74
2011 7935 31.16 2.76
rry
Source: Various Census Reports

Process of Urbanization in India

he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

88
 Notes

ty
si
ver
ni
Level of Urbanization (%)
U
rry
he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

89
Notes
Level of Urbanization AEGR (1991-2011)

ty
si
v er
ni
U
Now Let us have an over view of the process of urbanization across the
world through some secondary data .
rry
he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

In the map shown here, we see the share of the population that is urbanized
across the world.

Across most high-income countries – across Western Europe,

the Americas, Australia, Japan and the Middle East – more than 80% of
the population live in urban areas. Across most upper-middle-income
countries – in Eastern Europe, East Asia, North and Southern Africa, and

90
 Notes
South America – between 50% to 80% of people do. In many low to lower-
middle-income countries, the majority still live in rural areas.

ty
si
v er
ni
U
rry
In the visualization, we see estimates from the UN World
he

Urbanization Prospects on the number of people globally who live in urban

and rural areas. More than 4.3 billion people now live in urban areas.
ic

This means over half of the world (55% in 2017) live in urban
settings. The UN estimates this milestone event – when the number of
nd

people in urban areas overtook the number in rural settings – occurred in

2007.
Po
E,
D
D

91
Notes

ty
si
v er
ni
U
rry
In the map here we see how the share of populations living in
urban areas has changed in recent centuries. Data on urbanization dating
back to 1500 is available only for select countries, with an estimated share
he

at the global level. Using the timeline on the map (or by clicking on a
country) you can see how this share has changed over time.
ic

Here we see clearly again that urbanization has largely been

nd

confined to the past 200 years. By 1800, still, over 90% of the global (and
country-level) population lived in rural areas. Urbanization in the United
States began to increase rapidly through the 19th century, reaching 40%
Po

by 1900.9

By 1950 this reached 64% and nearly 80% by 2000.

E,

This rate of urbanization was, however, outpaced by Japan.

Urban shares in Japan were low until the 20th century.10 By 1900, it had
D

just surpassed 1-in-10. This increased rapidly, reaching over half of the
D

population by 1950; nearly 80% by 2000, and surpassing the USA to over
90% today.

China and India had similar rates of urbanization until the late
1980s. By then, both had around 1-in-4 living in urban areas. However,
11

China’s rate of urbanization increased rapidly over the 1990s and 2000s.
Over this 30-year period, its urban share more than doubled to 58%. India’s

92
 Notes
rise has continued to steadily rise to 1-in-3 (33%) today.

ty
si
v er
ni
U
rry
The UN World Urbanization Prospects provide estimates of urban
shares across the world through to 2050. These projections are shown in
he

the chart — using the timeline you can watch this change over time.

Across all countries, urban shares are projected to increase in the

ic

coming decades, although at varied rates. By 2050, it’s projected that 68%
of the world’s population will live in urban areas (an increase from 54%
nd

in 2016). In fact, by 2050 there are very few countries where rural shares
are expected to be higher than urban. These include several across Sub-
Po

Saharan Africa, Asia, Pacific Island States, and Guyana in Latin America.

Why, when most countries are expected to be mostly urban, is the

global total just over two-thirds? This seems low but results from the fact
E,

that many of the world’s most populated countries have comparably low
urban shares (either just over half or less). For example, India (expected to
D

be the world’s most populous country), is projected to have an urban share

of only 53% in 2050.
D

The other map shown here provides a snapshot overview of how

the world is expected to continue to become more urbanized. It shows, for
any given country, whether more people (the majority) live in urban or
rural areas.

Using the timeline feature and “play” button in the bottom-left

93
Notes
of the chart, you can explore how this has changed over time. In 1950, it
was predominantly high-income countries across Europe, the Americas,
Australasia and Japan who were largely urban. A century later — in
2050 — it’s projected that most countries will have more people living in
urban areas than not.

Trends in Urbanization

ty
Globally, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas today.
In 2018, 55 per cent of the world’s population resided in urban areas.

si
Overall, 4.2 billion people resided in urban settlements compared to

er
3.4 billion in rural areas.

The world’s population has gone through a process of rapid urbanization

v
since 1950. In 1950, more than two thirds (70 per cent) of people worldwide

ni
lived in rural settlements. In 2007, for the first time in history, the global

U
urban population exceeded the global rural population, and since then
the number of the world’s city dwellers has continued to grow faster than
the rural population ( See the figure). Towards the end of the Agenda for
rry
Sustainable Development in 2030, the share of the world’s population
living in urban areas is expected to reach 60 per cent. It is projected that by
he

2050, the world will be more than two thirds urban (68 per cent), roughly
the reverse of the global rural-urban population distribution of the mid-
twentieth century. (See the table given).
ic

Over the coming decades, the level of urbanization is expected to

nd

increase in all regions, but with considerable variation. Latin America

and the Caribbean, and Northern America have been highly urbanized,
Po

with over 80 per cent of their population estimated to be urban in 2018

and a projected percentage of nearly 90 per cent in 2050. Europe, with
nearly three quarters of its population living in urban areas in 2018,
E,

is expected to reach 80 per cent urban in 2040 and nearly 85 per cent
by 2050 . Meanwhile, Oceania is expected to have an almost stable
D

percentage urban, rising from nearly 70 per cent today to slightly over
70 per cent in 2050.
D

(Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division

World Urbanization Prospects 2018)

Urban and rural populations of the world, 1950-2050

94
 Notes

ty
si
v er
Urban and rural population as proportion of total population, by

ni
geographic region, 1950-2050

U
rry
he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D
D

95
Notes
Causes of Urbanization

Rapid movement of people to cities and towns because of their

perception of rural areas as having hardship, backwardness, or a primitive
way of life is the main driver of urbanization. Therefore, the phenomenon
of urbanization is the outcome of a huge number of people moving to
urban areas that are more developed, such as towns and cities.

ty
The reasons of urbanization can be categorized as follows:

si
3.6 Causes and consequences of urbanization

er
Industrialization: A movement towards non-agricultural occupations

v
and away from traditional agriculture practices is resulting in a
modernized society. Due to the industrial revolution, more and more

ni
individuals have increasingly been drawn to relocate from rural to urban

U
regions in search of greater economic prospects. Individuals could work in
a variety of industrial sectors to promote economic growth.
rry
Commercialization: The development of cities is greatly aided by all forms
of trade. Towns and cities have grown quickly due to the development of
he

several contemporary marketing organizations and exchange techniques

in the modern era’s distribution of products, services, and commercial
transactions. There is a widespread belief among individuals that
ic

commerce and trade in urban regions provide better chances and returns
nd

than in rural areas.

Social Benefits: Living in a city or town has a lot of social advantages.

Po

People have better access to housing, health care, recreation, and

educational options in urban locations, which enables them to lead more
fulfilling social lives overall. Due to the lack of many social advantages and
services in rural areas, these reasons are driving an increasing number of
E,

people to move to cities and towns.

D

Opportunities for employment: There are many jobs available in urban

areas, which attracts individuals from rural areas looking for a better way of
D

life. People commonly move to urban areas for this reason in quest of well-
paying work in emerging industries including public health, education,
transportation, sports, recreation, and business operations. Such services
and businesses produce more value-added jobs, increasing the number of
employment options in metropolitan regions.

96
 Notes
Modernization and drastically altered lifestyles: The trend of
urbanisation is greatly aided by modernization and the dramatic changes in
people’s lifestyles nowadays. Urban regions now have extremely advanced
communication systems, infrastructure, healthcare services, dress codes,
enlightenment, liberalism, and social amenities available. Most individuals
believe that living in cities will enable them to live happier and more
fulfilling lives. People are moving into the cities and therefore, the cities

ty
are expanding quickly as a result of daily population growth.

si
Rural-urban transformation: As a result of the discovery of minerals,
the exploitation of natural resources, or specific agricultural operations,

er
many locations have grown more prolific and richer, and cities have begun
to appear. It is common knowledge that rising productivity promotes

v
economic expansion and more employment possibilities with high added

ni
value. This tendency often aids in the development of land for use in
commercial buildings, institutions supporting the socioeconomic system,

U
transportation, and residential structures.
rry
Consequesnces of Urbanisation
he

Let us discuss about how urbanization can have both positive and
negative impacts.
ic

Positive Results
nd

Higher living standards: Urbanization results in more employment

possibilities, better infrastructure and technology, better communication
Po

and transportation, higher-quality healthcare and educational facilities,

and higher living standards.

Greater market potential: People who live in cities have access to a

E,

considerably wider range of purchasing options than people who live in

rural locations. The majority of cities have shopping malls and a variety of
D

businesses that are open late and offer entertainment, dining, recreational,
and cultural offerings to draw customers. The ownership of many
D

establishments by large national and international chains, however, makes

it challenging for small, independent enterprises to be successful.

Improved services: In comparison to small rural communities, large

urban centres can provide a greater choice of services. One or more of these
can include a public transportation system, sewage and water services, a

97
Notes
variety of educational and recreational activities, as well as bigger and
better healthcare facilities.

Negative Consequences

Housing issues: A growing interest in urbanization has contributed to the

population’s rapid growth during the past few years. Due to the strain of
people residing in metropolitan centers, there is an ongoing shortage of

ty
housing. This is mostly a result of a shortage of room for housing and

si
public services to expand, poverty, development of slums, unemployment,
and the high cost of construction materials that are only affordable to a

er
select few wealthy individuals.

v
Overcrowding: In large cities, many people dwell in a limited area, which
results in ongoing congestion in urban areas. As a vast number of people

ni
and immigrants come into cities and towns in quest of a better life, the

U
problem of overpopulation is getting worse by the day. Individuals from
rural or underdeveloped areas always feel the impulse to migrate to cities,
rry
which typically results in crowding of people in a narrow space.

Unemployment: Urban areas see a higher rate of unemployment,

he

particularly among educated individuals. One estimate state that more

than half of the young unemployed people in the world live in urban
areas. Urban unemployment is primarily a result of people moving more
ic

frequently from rural or developing areas into cities. Urban locations have
nd

surprisingly low incomes despite having greater salaries because of the

increased cost of living.
Po

Slum growth: There is no doubt that urban areas have very high living
costs. Large suburban slum regions and shanty towns are a result of big
cities’ inability to handle the unforeseen development and flood of new
people. These locations mostly consist of a dispersion of unauthorized
E,

residential settlements with a range of related issues.

D

Problems with sanitation: Most urban areas have had a significant

expansion in population, making it typical to discover insufficient sewage
D

infrastructure. Municipalities and local governments are dealing with a

serious resource issue in the administration of sewage infrastructure. As
a result, the area’s cleanliness deteriorates, and sewage flows poorly when
it is discharged into nearby streams, rivers, lakes, or oceans. As a result,
contagious illnesses like typhoid, dysentery, plague, and diarrhoea spread
quickly, causing misery and occasionally fatalities. Water shortage is also a

98
 Notes
result of overcrowding since supply frequently falls short of demand.

Poor health: The health of urban low-income individuals is noticeably

worse than that of urban middle- and high-income individuals, and it might
even be worse than that of the rural populace. Congested metropolitan
areas influence how well people use public health care services because of
their social, economic, and living situations. The people of slum areas are
more prone to infectious diseases due to poor hygienic conditions and a

ty
lack of water. Numerous health issues, such as allergies, asthma, infertility,

si
food poisoning, cancer, and even early deaths, are greatly influenced by
poor environmental conditions, such as air pollution in urban areas.

er
Traffic Congestion: As more people relocate to towns and cities, the

v
transportation system confronts significant difficulties. Increased reliance

ni
on vehicles for travelling to work because of suburban expansion causes
traffic congestion and air pollution, which is mostly brought on by the

U
combustion of fossil fuels. More automobiles are used by more people,
which causes traffic jams and vehicle pollution. People often go to work
rry
by car in metropolitan areas, which is quite problematic, especially during
rush hour. People migrate to the market to access their requirements as
cities expand in size, which ultimately leads to traffic congestion.
he

Garbage disposal: As Indian cities expand rapidly in both population

and size; the issue of waste removal is reaching alarming heights. Massive
ic

amounts of rubbish created by large cities are seriously affecting the health
nd

of the average person. Several cities lack adequate waste disposal systems,
and the current landfills are already overflowing. Leachate, a toxic liquid
that oozes out from underneath waste and contaminates ground water,
Po

attracts rats and insects that spread disease. Trash that is left to putrefy in
the open also attracts rats. Individuals who live close to such trash heaps
and untreated sewage are more susceptible to several illnesses, including
E,

typhoid, jaundice, diarrhoea, dysentery, malaria, and plague.

Increasing crime: Due to resource constraints, population density, poverty,

D

unemployment, and a lack of social services and educational facilities,

D

many major city neighbourhoods suffer specific issues. Vandalism, crime,

violence, and drug usage are just a few of the societal issues that are
frequently brought on by this. Metropolitan areas have a higher prevalence
of social crimes such murder, rape, abduction, rioting, assault, theft,
robbery, and hijacking. Fast-growing metropolitan regions also have the
greatest rates of crimes associated to poverty. The calm and tranquilly of

99
Notes
cities and towns are often disturbed by all such urban crime-related crimes.
The issue of urban crime is getting more difficult nowadays since corrupt
officials, politicians, and elite groups in urban culture frequently defend
criminals. Some offenders even ascend to prominent political positions by
using money power.

3.7 Summary

ty
Urbanization is a widespread process that is happening extremely

si
quickly. Significant changes in human behaviour brought about by
rapid urbanization have disrupted the adoption of urban lifestyles by

er
those moving from rural to urban settings. Humans benefit much from

v
urbanization, but this development is frequently unsustainable and leads
to a variety of issues, including slums, pollution, rubbish, crime, etc.

ni
Urbanization is a vital component of human progress and the future rests

U
in urbanization. Thus, planning for sustainable urbanization is essential.
rry
3.8 Keywords

Industrialization- This is the general process in which agriculture

he

and handicrafts are displaced in economic importance by large-scale

manufacturing and extraction. The Industrial Revolution occurred first in
ic

the UK and was soon repeated across western Europe and North America.
Industrialization is central to sociology because it necessarily brought with
nd

it (that is, the connections are not accidental) a wide variety of changes
that created modern societies, the distinctiveness of which was the central
Po

focus of the founders of sociology as an academic discipline.

3.9 Self-Assessment Questions

E,

1. Discuss briefly the process of urbanization in India.

2. What are the causes of urbanization in India?
D

3. What are the consequences of urbanization in India?

D

4. What is the trend of urban growth in India? Explain in detail by taking

clues from various census reports.

100
 Notes
3.10 References

Bardhan et. al (2009): Urbanisation in India: An Analysis of Trends and

Patterns of Key Aspects for Some Policy Implications, Ind. Jn. of Agri.
Econ. Vol.64, No.3, July-Sept. 2009, pp 464-480.
Bhagat, R.B (2011): Emerging Pattern of Urbanisation in India, Economic
& Political Weekly, August 20, 2011 vol. xlvI, no 34, pp 10-12.

ty
Bhagat, R.B (2018): Urbanisation in India: Trends, Pattern and Policy
Issues, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION SCIENCES,

si
Deonar, Mumbai, 26P.

er
Bhattacharjee, S (2016): Patterns and Trends of Urban Growth in India, Asian
Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 4(5) April, 2016, pp 155-163.

v
Census of India (2011): Census of India, Provisional Populations Totals, Urban

ni
Agglomerations and Cities, Government of India, New Delhi, 5P.
Chandna, R.C (2014): Geography of Populations - Concepts Determinants

U
and Patterns, Kalyani Publishers, Kolkata, pp 472-518.
Hudosn, F.S (1981): A Geography of Settlement, Macdonald & Evans Ltd,
rry
Norwich, pp 79-101
Husain, M (2018): Human Geography, Rawat Publications, Kolkata, pp
he

382-440.
Jaysawal, N & Saha, S (2014): Urbanisation in India: an impact assessment,
International Journal of Applied Sociology, Vo. 4, No. 2, pp 60-65.
ic

Khullar, D.R (2014): India – A Comprehensive Geography, Kalyani

nd

Publishers, Kolkata, pp 436-499.

Kumar, A & Rai, A.K (2014): URBANIZATION PROCESS, TREND,
Po

PATTERN AND ITSCONSEQUENCES IN INDIA, Neo Geographia

(ISSN-2319 – 5118) Vol. III, Issue. IV, pp 54-77.
Kundu, A. (2011): Trends and Process of Urbanisation India, Human
E,

Settlements Group, IIED Population and Development Branch, UNFPA,

Urbanization and Emerging Population Issues - 6, New York, 64P.
D

Northam, R.M (1979): Urban Geography, John Wiley & Sons, New York,
pp 63-86.
D

Pacione, M (2009): Urban Geography – A Global Perspective, Routledge

Taylor & Francis Group, USA, pp 68-94.
Ramachandran, R (2015): Urbanization and Urban Systems in India,
Oxford University Press, pp 75-95.
Sadhashivam, T & Shahla, T (2016): TRENDS OF URBANIZATION

101
Notes
IN INDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY,
International Journal of Information Research and Review Vol. 03, Issue,
05, pp. 2375-2384.
Siddhartha, K & Mukherjee, S (2019): Cities, Urbanisation & Urban
Systems (Settlement Geography), Kitab Mahal Publishers, New Delhi, pp
327-340.
Uttara et.al (2012): IMPACTS OF URBANIZATION ON ENVIRONMENT,

ty
International Journal of Research in Engineering & Applied Sciences, Volume

si
2, Issue 2 (February 2012), pp 1637-1645 Mr. Ershad Ali | Department of
Geography, Ananda Chandra College, Jalpaiguri-735101, India

er
Verma, L.N (2017): Urban Geography, Rawat Publications, Kolkata, pp
98-110. Causes, Effects and Solutions of Urbanisation, viewed at https://

v
www.conserveenergy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-urbanization.

ni
php, (accessed on 22 March 2020)

U
Colmer, J (2015): Urbanisation, Growth, and Development: Evidence from
India, viewed athttps://urbanisation.econ.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/24/
urbanisationindia.pd f (accessed on 21 March 2020)
rry
Growth of Urbanisation in India, viewed at https://shodhganga.inflibnet.
ac.in/bitstream/10603/161997/13/13_chapter%2 05.pdf (accessed on 18
he

March 2020)
Important characteristics of urban community, viewed at http://www.
ic

yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/20-important-characteristics-ofurban-
community-sociology/4873 (accessed on 22 March 2020)
nd

Kundu, A (2006): India Infrastructure Report 2006, pp 27-41, viewed

athttp://municipaladmn.gov.in/sites/municipaladmn.gov.in/files/pdf/
Po

ActsandRule s/Tren sPatt.pdf (accessed on 22 March 2020)

The consequences of Urbanisation on Indian Society, viewed at http://www.
yourarticlelibrary.com/society/the-consequences-of-urbanizationon-
E,

indian-society-essay/4674 (accessed on 19 March 2020)

Urbanisation in India- Trends and Patterns, viewed at https://shodhganga.
D

inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/213101/8/08_chapter3.pdf (accessed on
18 March 2020)
D

Urbanisation in India: Trends, Problems and Development

Programmes, viewed at https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/
10603/98888/10/10_chapter%20 3.pdf (accessed on 22 March 2020)

102
 Notes

UNIT - IV

Lesson 4.1 - Urban Social Structure

Structure

ty
4.1: Learning Objectives
4.2: Assessment of Prior Knowledge

si
4.3: Understanding Urban Social Structure

er
4.4: Characteristics of Urban Life
4.4.1: Size and Density

v
4..4.2: Heterogeneity

ni
4.4.3: Impersonal Social Interaction

U
4.4.4: Anonymity
4.4.5: Rationality
rry
4.4.6: Individualism
4.4.7: Secularization of Outlook
he

4.4.8: Division of Labor

4.5: Urban Family
ic

4.5.1: Indian Family Structure

nd

4.5.2: Change in the Urban Family System

4.5.3: Agencies performing the functions of Urban Family
4.5.4: Disorganization of Urban Family
Po

4.6: Urban Social Stratification

4.6.1: Caste in Contemporary Urban Indian Society
E,

4.6.2: Urban Disparities and Caste

4.6.3: Class Differences and Spatial Location
D

4.6.4: Social Classes in Urban India

D

4.7: Occupational Structures in India

4.8: Classification of Urban Occupations
4.9: Summary
4.10: Keywords
4.11: Self-Assessment Questions
4.12: References

103
Notes
4.1. Learning Objectives

After studying this unit, the students will be able to

➢ 
Understand the meaning and characteristics of urban social
structure
➢ 
Examine urban family and its emerging trends
➢ 
Discuss how caste and class creates disparity in urban lives

ty
4.2. Assessment of Prior Knowledge

si
In the previous unit we have learnt about Process of Urbanization

er
in India growth of Urban population in India, emergence of cities, Causes
and consequences of urbanization. In addition to urbanization process of

v
India, we also learnt about urbanization process worldwide. The trend of

ni
urbanization that is witnessed worldwide has also been analyzed. Now, let
us focus on learning urban social structure.

U
4.3. Understanding Urban Social Strcuture
rry
Very often, the terms ‘city’ and ‘urban’ are used interchangeably
because both the words are thought to be of the same thing. The city is a
he

fulcrum of civilization. The city is not merely a collection of architectural

forms, but it also essentially denotes the amalgamation of corporate
ic

enterprises, various associations and institutions which have come to

establish themselves in a range of time. There is definite correlation
nd

between the size and complexity of city and the culture it develops and
transmits.
Po

Since cities have developed in many ways, it is difficult to find

the history of a city. However, terminology like “civitas” and “urbs” were
employed in ancient Greek and Mesopotamian civilizations to refer to
E,

the religious and political associations of families and tribes, respectively.

Urban life is now recognized as a style of living that is commonly seen in
D

cities, dating back to the 17th century. A village differs from a city in terms
of size, complexity, heterogeneity, and impersonality.
D

The social theorists Gordon Childe and Max Weber contend that
the existence of marketplaces and the type of traders who frequent them
are essential elements of a city. Cities are made up of markets in addition
to other religious, political, economic, technological, and administrative
hubs. In a city people from different socio-economic backgrounds co-

104
 Notes
exist as migration is one of the key aspects of urbanization. All the people
live together in a city and fulfill their diverse needs and interests as they
organize themselves in relatively complex organizational arrangements.
These organizations are based on rationality and indirect relationships as in
the hospital organization, a supermarket, the court, the bank, the shopping
mall, etc. These institutional arrangements are not found in rural areas,
and this clearly differentiates it from the urban social structure. Other

ty
major features are size, complexity, heterogeneity, anonymity, impersonal
relations, etc. which will be clearly discussed in section 4.3.

si
The primary criteria in defining an urban area are in terms of

er
demographic criteria such as size and density of population. The cities
have been classified according to Census of India on the basis of the size

v
of the population. Class I cities are of 1 lakh and more population, Class

ni
II towns range between 50,000 and 100,000, Class III have population
between 20,000 to 50,000, Class IV between 10,000 and 20,000, Class V

U
between 5,000 to 10,000 and the towns having less than 5,000 population
will be at the bottom of the various groups.
rry
Another criterion for defining urban social structure is the
ecological approach which has its origins in biology. It is important to
he

study human ecology to help understand how man survives in a changing

environment through competition over space and struggling to survive.
ic

This can be related with the natural world where there is a competition
over space and struggling to survive. As a result, the strongest city dwellers
nd

would occupy the best spots, while other residents would change to meet
their needs. Urban activities like residential patterns, marketplaces,
Po

political institutions, business centers, etc. are distributed spatially based

on an ecological theory of urban growth.

The socio-cultural approach, which emphasizes the cultural,

E,

psychological, and other social aspects of urban life, is the ultimate and
most crucial criterion for defining urban social structure. Based on the
D

specific social interactions, attitudes, and values of people living in urban

environments, this strategy.
D

Louis Wirth in his paper “Urbanism as a Way of Life”, defined

urbanization as the process of change and closely associated with it is was
migration. He believed that people come to the city from outside making
city a cultural mosaic. This according to him creates a particular culture of
the city called urbanism. Urban area is characterized by heterogeneity of

105
Notes
population which means presence of large number of people belonging to
different socio-cultural backgrounds with diverse language, food habits,
dress patterns etc. For example, in the metropolitan cities of Delhi and
Mumbai we can find people from all over India speaking in different
languages, eating different variety of food, wearing different dress
patterns, etc. But this type of diversity cannot be found in a rural area. The
larger population size and density and heterogeneity are distinctly urban

ty
characteristics.

si
4.4. Characteristics of Urban Life

er
Urban and rural residents can be distinguished by the traits of

v
urban living. Urban sociologists have studied urbanization in western
nations, but the urban ideals and manner of life they have defined are not

ni
entirely present in the Indian environment. But now as postmodernism

U
has set in these features are appearing in Indian cities. In the following
description of the features of urban life is a general one taking the whole
rry
world into picture and not India in particular. The purpose is to familiarize
the students with the general features of urban life and find out to what
extent these features are seen in the Indian context.
he

4.4.1. Size and Density

ic

The size of population of the urban areas is much higher than

nd

the rural areas. The process of industrialization increases the urban

population. People generally move to cities in search of higher standard
of living. The rising population contributes for high population density in
Po

urban regions.

4.4.2. Heterogeneity
E,

Heterogeneity is an important characteristic of urban life. In a city

people from different socio-economic background reside. The people in
D

cities have a great variety in matters of food habits, dress habits, religious
D

beliefs, customs, living conditions, norms and values etc. This is in quite
contrast to the village which is characterized by homogeneity.

4.4.3. Impersonal Social Interaction

There is lack of intimate face to face interaction among the urban

dwellers since the population of urban areas is so large. In the traditional

106
 Notes
grocery store (kirana store) in a rural community besides economic
relations we also have social and personal relations with the shopkeeper,
but this can be rarely found in urban centres. The pattern of interaction
among the urban population is for limited and specialized reasons and
the interaction is not limited with in the four walls of residence, but
interaction can happen in shopping malls, hospitals, universities, banks
etc. Therefore, the relations between the members of a urban community

ty
is impersonal in nature which is superficial and transitory. This is quite
contrast to the intimate, personal, face to face relationships of the people

si
in rural areas.

er
4.4.4. Anonymity

v
The large number of populations in urban areas makes room for

ni
anonymity. In a city everyone is a stranger and we do not have a sense of
belongingness towards others. The heterogenous population of a city with

U
people from varied races, castes, classes, occupations and ethnic groups
accelerates the feeling of anonymity. In metropolitan cities like Delhi and
rry
Mumbai, people also do not know their next-door neighbours and do not
care for their miseries or pleasures.
he

4.4.5. Rationality
ic

In urban areas relationships are based on rationality. In cities

people are very calculative and before entering relationships and spending
nd

time, they will calculate their potential profit or gain from that association.
Here relationships are contractual, we enter relationships with others for
Po

short duration and once our work is done, our relationship is also over. For
example, hiring a nurse to take care of a sick person, or entering contract
with advertising agencies for marketing your product, etc. Thus, in general
urban relationships are contractual in nature and based on rationality.
E,

4.4.6. Individualism
D

In urban areas people are free from the traditional restrains of

D

caste, class, community, religion etc and are free. So, individualism creeps
in the mindset of the urbanites as they consider themselves free from
shackles of the constrains of the community. Individuals are now free to
do whatever they want and lead their lives the way they like to live.

107
Notes
4.4.7. Secularization of Outlook

In urban areas the traditional religious rituals and beliefs slowly

loses their significance. With heterogenous population in urban areas,
people get accustomed to the diversity of values and lifestyles. This makes
the people in cities tolerant towards each other’s religion and culture. This
results in secularization of outlook of the urban people, although even
today we find instances of communal riots taking place in Indian cities.

ty
But in a general sense we can say that the urban areas are more secular

si
than the rural areas.

er
4.4.8. Division of Labour

v
The two types of density mentioned by Emile Durkheim are the
material density and the dynamic or moral density. Population growth

ni
results in a larger ratio of people to land, or “material density.” The level of

U
interaction or communication within a population is known as dynamic
density. The population grows together with the transition from traditional
rry
to industrialised or contemporary society, which increases the material
and dynamic density. Greater communication between hitherto isolated
social units emerges from this. Greater specialisation and the division of
he

labour are found in urban regions, which were not as common in rural
areas. Trade and trade were significant forces behind the division of labour.
ic

The above were the general features of urban social structure

nd

which are in quite contrast to the features of rural social structure. Many
studies conducted by the western scholars on urbanization were of little
help to understand the Indian scenario. Moreover, many studies on urban
Po

studies of the 50’s and 60’s also questioned the general assumptions that
urbanization is leading to decline in family size, breakdown of the joint
family unit, and weakening of caste and religious values as majority of the
E,

people of India are deeply rooted in Indian culture. In the next section we
are going to discuss about the family, caste and class in the urban context
D

and their emerging trends and urban disparities.

D

4.5 Urban Family

Indian society is changing and urbanization can be one of the

important factors of social change. Urbanization has brought change in
all the aspects of society, be it economic growth, political change, social
change in terms of new values and attitudes, cultural change etc. Even

108
 Notes
our social institutions like the family, marriage, caste, class are undergoing
changes. In the Indian context there has always been a continuity, we have
not completely forgotten our traditions as the basic values continue to
dominate our social institutions but at the same time new ideas are coming
to dominate in the urban society.

4.5.1. Indian Family Structure

ty
It is generally believed that urbanisation is causing joint families

si
to fragment into nuclear families and that family size is declining. We
typically refer to the family unit as a rural Indian institution connected to

er
the agrarian economy. However, we cannot dismiss the reality of blended
families in Indian cities. Joint families and rural India are not comparable,

v
nor are nuclear families and urban India. Sociologists have studied the

ni
family structure in rural and urban India, and they have discovered that
joint families are very common in both, and that families in both of these

U
settings cycle between nuclear and joint over time before returning to
nuclear. According to family studies by KM Kapadia (1956), IP Desai
rry
(1964), AM Shah (1973), and R Mukherjee (1965), there is no connection
between urbanisation and nuclear families in metropolitan India. It is
he

unjustified to assume that everyone lives in nuclear families in cities and

that joint families are breaking apart as a result of urbanisation. According
to certain studies, there is structural coherence between joint families and
ic

the demands of urban living, in addition to kinship. In case studies of 19

nd

business class families in Chennai, Milton Singer made the point that the
traditional joint family of India is adjusting to the urban and industrial
environment.
Po

4.5.2. Change in the Urban Family System

Although the size of the families in the urban areas is small but
E,

the wider joint family relations also play important role in urban families.
IP Desai has talked about the role of this wider family relationships. For
D

example, when there is serious illness in the family then the close kins
D

residing in the villages are called for help. Thus, people residing in urban
areas are also dependent on close kins who are part of their wider joint
family and might reside in the rural areas. Similarly, person residing in
rural areas also seek the help of their kins in urban areas for educational
or economic help. Although there is a close dependence between the joint
families but still that does not suggest that there have been no changes in

109
Notes
the family structure. Some of the visible and gradual modifications in the
urban family structure are as follows.

1. The urban family is generally small in size limited to only two

children due to use the use of contraceptives and family planning
measures.
2. Many of the functions of the urban families have now been taken
over by other agencies. The work of looking after and bringing up

ty
children are being performed in creches, kindergarten schools and

si
babysitters. Hospitals undertake the work of delivering children
and restaurants provide food to many families.

er
3. In urban areas most of the women are employed and being
economically independent raises their status in society.

v
ni
4. There is a laxity in marital and sexual relationships in urban families.
The rigidity associated with marital and sexual relationships no

U
longer characterizes the modern urban family.
5. Inter caste, inter regional, inter religious, inter communal marriages,
rry
and even homosexual relationships or same sex marriages are
increasing in urban areas that points to the fact of changing attitudes
of urban people.
he

6. There is also a change in the selection of partners. Nowadays the

urban youths are in search of urban educated and working girls.
ic

7. In urban families the conjugal relationships that is the husband-

nd

and-wife relationships are given more preference rather that the

blood relations. Thus, conjugal relationships are associated with
urban living.
Po

8. In urban areas the girls and boys are more focussed on their careers
and as a result the age at marriage in urban areas are increasing.
9. In urban areas there is lesser emphasis is placed on the ritual aspects
E,

of marriage and rise in the incidence of court marriages has pointed

to the fact of the separation of marriage with the sacred religious
D

aspect.
D

10. Although incidence of love marriages is increasing in urban areas

but still there is a strong preference of arranged marriages in urban
areas.
11. There are growing instances of divorce. The strong hold of family
over individuals is loosening. The modern family clearly presents
the picture of family disorganization.

110
 Notes
12. Dowry is very much part of the marriage ceremonies in both rural
and urban areas. Even today we can see incidences of dowry deaths
and bride burning among modern educated urban families.

4.5.3. Agencies Performing the Functions of Urban Family

The functions of the family are changing in metropolitan areas

nowadays as other agencies take up these roles. The primary organisations

ty
of this kind are maternity hospitals, women’s hospitals, baby clinics,
creches, kid parks, kindergartens, babysitters or nannies, public aids,

si
hotels and restaurants, clubs, theatres, and other forms of entertainment.

er
1. Hospitals: Previously children were born at home and midwife
was called in at the time of delivery. Now in the urban families this

v
is done in the maternity hospitals. During pregnancy the women

ni
constantly consults the doctor and delivery is done in the hospital.
This system is beneficial as the mother and the child are constantly

U
in the care of expert physicians and can get any kind of assistance
whenever required.
rry
2. Women Hospitals: In the modern age of specialization there are
specialists for every kind of disease. Now a days one can secure
he

specialists in the particularly feminine diseases in all big towns

and cities. Thus, it is they who treat the women for their diseases.
ic

Previously this was done in the family being performed most

incompetently and dangerously.
nd

3. Baby clinics: Now a days in addition to the treatment of women,

there are doctors who specialize in the treatment of children.
Po

Previously the more common infantile diseases were treated at

home but now this is done in baby clinics.
4. Creches and children parks: Creches and children parks are
E,

developed in the urban areas of the modern developed countries.

Working women can leave their bottle-feeding children at the
D

creches where they are looked after by other women who feed them
at proper time, and keep them occupied with toys, etc. Even in
D

India we can see the emergence of creche in the urban areas of the
metropolitan cities of our country. Similarly, Montessori schools,
nurseries and children parks have been developed for children
between three and six years of age. In these, every care is taken of
the children.
5. Babysitters or Nannies: In the western countries much of the

111
Notes
chores of caring for and upbringing of children has been taken
up by babysitter, in addition to the creches and nurseries. These
babysitters are generally female. Their duty is to keep the children
busy and for this they receive payment by the hour. In India also
in the urban areas this concept of babysitters and domestic help
are increasing as there is no one else to look after the children if a
woman is working. So, the working women generally employs baby

ty
sitters or domestic help to look after their children and take care of
the house in their absence.

si
6. Public Assistance: In the past, one of the primary responsibilities of

er
the family was to look after and provide for the elderly, the disabled,
and the unemployed. Today, the government commits to helping the

v
elderly, defenceless, jobless, and orphaned children in many affluent

ni
nations, including India. The government provides assistance to the
elderly and orphaned everywhere through pension and insurance

U
programmes. Numerous institutions support the family in carrying
out its responsibilities in this way. In addition to offering food
rry
and accommodations, hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs often
offer entertainment. These organisations thus split up most of the
family’s work. However, they can never fully substitute for a family;
he

they can only support its efforts.

ic

4.5.4. Disorganization of Urban Family

nd

The urban family is gradually becoming increasingly disorganized.

According to Elliot and Merill, “In the broadest sense family disorganization
may be thought to include any sort of non-harmonious functioning within
Po

any of several types of family.” Family disorganization is the disruption of

the harmony among family members. Some signs of this phenomenon can
be seen in the following changes in the family.
E,

1. A lack of cohesiveness within the family: Urban nuclear families

are highly individualistic. Every family member has their own aims,
D

ambitions and goals and they want no interference. There has been
D

hardly any concern for each other’s though they live under one
roof. In contemporary times due to the ever-growing presence of
Information and Communication Technology, though members of
a family dine together or live together, but they are detached from
each other in terms of emotion and fellow feeling. Thus, the purpose

112
 Notes
of home has been withering away leading to hotel like condition
where people come to eat and take rest for few hours.
2. Loss of family control: In contemporary society, families have less
and less power over their members. The younger generation does
not want to follow their elders’ recommendations. They do not
want to be in charge and want to leave the family as soon as they get
married or start making money. So, in this sense, it is clear that the

ty
family is disorganised.
3. Conflict: There is less family control and a lack of a sense of

si
togetherness among family members, which leads to more conflict

er
in families today.
4. Laxity in marital bonds: The marital ties are weakening as there

v
are increasing evidence of divorce in urban families. Marriage has

ni
lost its original religious sacrosanct status and has merely become
a social contract which can be easily cancelled at any time. One

U
main reason can be cited behind the weakening of marital bond
is perhaps due to the situation created by the prevailing education
rry
system and employment of women which is not effectively adopted
and adapted by men.
he

5. Conflict between parents and children: Nowadays an important

element indicative of family disorganization is the conflict between
parents and children. The control of the old people over young
ic

men and women is constantly decreasing. They do not want to be

nd

ordered by their parents in their behaviour, marriage, society, etc.

6. 1. Lack of security: The disagreement between a husband and
Po

wife, as well as between parents and children, steadily reduces

psychological security. As a result, there is a decline in mutual trust,
and the family structure is being destroyed.
E,

7. The causes listed above make it clear that families in the current day
are becoming increasingly disorganised. Families are shrinking, and
D

divorce rates are rising. Mutual affection and faith are dwindling,
and selfishness has taken its place.
D

4.6. Urban Social Stratification

The countries of the world exhibit a variety of forms of social

stratification. In India we have rigid forms of social stratification and
caste is a very good example of this. In India caste hierarchy is expressed
in occupation, food, dress, marriage and others. Castes are hierarchically

113
Notes
arranged hereditary groups which are endogamous in nature. The ideas
of purity and pollution are inherent in caste system and they define the
structural distance between different caste groups. Although the rigidity
of the caste system is lessened nowadays and especially in the urban areas
with modernization and industrialization. But still aspects of caste are
very much prevalent even today but in different forms. Similarly, class is
defined in terms of wealth, income and status in society. On the basis of

ty
class also there is social stratification in India. In the urban areas different
neighbourhoods or mohallas are formed on the basis of the class. For

si
example in Delhi, the South Delhi is considered to be a posh area where

er
people of high class and status reside. Similarly, the daily wage labourers or
the unskilled workers who belong to the lower class reside in the suburbs

v
or in the slums. In the following paragraphs we will discuss caste and class

ni
as forms of social stratification in India.

U
4.6.1 Caste in Contemporary Urban Indian Society

Caste is a rigid system of stratification mainly associated with

rry
the agrarian rural economy. Scholars have argued that with modernity,
urbanization and capitalism the effectiveness of caste system has
he

deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate. Therefore, we can say that

the institution of caste has adapted or modified its nature in the urban
areas. Many sociologists like Ghurye (1962), Gore (1970), D’Souza (1974),
ic

Rao (1974), have conducted studies in urban areas. As per these studies,
nd

the importance of caste system has not faded away in urban areas. There
are divided opinions regarding the rigidity and flexibility in the caste
system. Let us now try to understand how caste system influences various
Po

sectors of urban life.

The sociological studies of urban India will help us to understand

E,

the importance of caste.

Caste plays significant role in everyday reality of our lives. The

D

study of Harold Gould (1974) on the ricksha Wallas of Lucknow shows

that they are secular when it comes to their professional status but as far
D

their personal life comes such as marriage, the caste identities become
important. Thus, they maintain a dichotomy between personal and
professional life. The study of MSA Rao (1974) also reveals that caste
system exists in cities. But the caste system undergoes many organizational
changes when it exists in cities. He says that with the growth of modern
industries, emergence of new professions and occupational categories, a

114
 Notes
new class structure along with new status groups has emerged. After India
adopted democracy and electoral system the distribution of power and
elite formation has changed from the traditional system. During the pre-
British times in India, the upper caste people also belonged to the upper
class. But nowadays and especially in urban areas because of education and
new types of occupations this correlation of caste and class does not exist.
A. Beteille (1971) in his studies on caste and class has found that higher

ty
caste may not always be higher class and this can be found especially in
Indian cities where ample job opportunities have developed. Therefore,

si
a barber’s son can also work in a MNC company in city and improve his

er
class status although be belongs to a lower caste.

But despite changes caste has not completely disappeared and it

v
appears to reassert social identities in all parts of India. Therefore, many

ni
sociologists argue that the process of urbanization will not necessarily
convert caste to class system of stratification in urban areas. The importance

U
of caste system can be asserted by the establishment of caste associations
which help their caste members to gain educational and occupational
rry
opportunities, political power, etc. Caste plays a very important role in
the contemporary power and political scenario of our country. Caste plays
he

important role in mobilizing vote bank politics which helps the leaders
to gain power. Trade union like associations are also formed on the basis
of caste lines. These trade unions protect the rights and interests of its
ic

caste members such as Jatava Mahasabha of Agra, Kshatriya Mahasabha of

nd

Gujrat, Gujrat Bania Samaj etc. These organizations work like a trade union
for the welfare of their caste members. On the one hand it is beneficial for
the caste members but once it functions like a trade union then it becomes
Po

competitive and becomes a class group.

Not all the rules related to caste are followed in urban areas. The
E,

rules of commensality which provides strict rules by which the person

belonging to a higher caste dies not eat food prepared by the members
D

of lower caste and not eat together with them has not been followed in
urban areas with much rigour. The reason behind the disappearance of
D

this in the urban areas has been primarily because people eat in hotels
and restaurants, employ cooks or domestic help in their houses ignoring
the caste identity. Caste endogamy that is marriage within one’s own caste
is still prevalent today. Even the modern educated families are concerned
about caste identity at the time of their children’s marriage. But nowadays
besides caste, education and occupation of the prospective bride or groom

115
Notes
also matters. In urban areas as young people choose their own partners and
love marriages are on the rise so inter caste, inter region marriages have
increased. Thus though the importance of caste is present in urban areas,
but its functions have altered to greater extent and it can be concluded that
caste system has lost its rigigity and has become more flexible nowadays.

There are very few sociological studies relating to the

neighbourhood relations in urban settlements. Caste, class, language,

ty
ethnicity are the basis for the formation of urban settlements. Immigration

si
is the key process underlying the growth of urbanization. The immigrants
maintain their distinct identity in the midst of the social and cultural

er
heterogeneity of city life. MS Gore’s (1970) study of South Indian migrants
in Mumbai examined the degree of their adjustment and integration in the

v
urban setting. His findings indicate that the host Marathi group showed

ni
a minimum degree of adjustment with the migrants whereas the Tamil
migrants showed the maximum. How various ethnic groups are formed

U
on the basis of linguistic and regional identities in Bangalore has been well
documented by the works of Vijaya Punekar (1969). He has also analysed
rry
intergroup interaction and boundary maintenance among the various
ethnic groups. She found manifest neighbourliness only among the
he

members of one’s own linguistic or regional group. Mythilli’s (1974) work

on Tamil immigrants in Mumbai analyses the ethnic formation of Little
Madras in the metropolis of Mumbai in the process of their adaptation to
ic

the new environment.

nd

According to Sylvia Vatuk’s Kinship and Urbanization: White

Collar Migrants in North India (1972), the conventional family and
Po

kinship system has not changed significantly in urban settings. Indian

urban residents maintain certain ties to their village ancestry and
customs. She discovered that the kinship structure in place in Meerut’s
E,

historic wards (mohallas) and the kinship system among the city’s poorer
neighbourhoods still today adhere to the same principles as in rural areas.
D

There is therefore no cultural divide between the people of pre-industrial

towns and the peasants of the village, as evidenced by the existence of a
D

similar pattern of kinship organisations to those seen in rural areas.

4.6.2. Urban Disparities and Caste

Jodhka (2015) in his work, “Caste in Contemporary India” examines

how caste is an institutionalized system of domination and exclusion that
structures opportunities and outcomes in urban India. Caste also interacts

116
 Notes
with gender, class, regional identities and religion to shape individual life
opportunities in the cities. Many ethnographic studies on migration has
shown that the lower caste people migrate to the cities to escape from the
rigidities of caste restrictions in villages. But when they come to the cities
they experience new kinds of caste discrimination which are unique to the
urban areas. Some rigidities of the caste system may be relaxed but still caste
takes new forms in the urban areas. Thorat and Newman’s book “Blocked

ty
by Caste: Economic Discrimination in Modern India” (2010), conducted
an audit study in the market driven and technologically advanced sectors

si
of corporate India and finds that caste and religion play very important

er
role in decisions of hiring Muslims and Scheduled Castes. The Dalits or
the lower castes people also find very difficulty in finding places of rent

v
in Indian cities even the metropolitan cities of Delhi and Mumbai. Some

ni
studies also shows that the SCs change their surnames to get assess for
better accommodation, employment and educational opportunities.

U
The cities are designed and segregated on caste and class lines
and this is a reflection of the prejudice and exclusion of those who create
rry
them. While the elite upper castes and class people stay protected behind
their gates, while the lower caste people find places behind the bridges,
he

alongside the waste waters, between passageways and slums. The identity
of the urban dweller especially based on caste and class decides where he
will reside in the city. Thus, the planning of the city becomes the blueprint
ic

of how power and privilege is used to perpetuate segregation which creates

nd

bias and stereotypes against people based on their identities. This process
of segregation is not a recent phenomenon. It is historical process in
which the cities are now becoming homogenized places and the rights and
Po

prerogatives that come with rights are only assessed by a certain section of
people based on their class and caste.
E,

If we take the example of Delhi’s 1947 resettlement patterns then

we can find that the Dalit people who migrated post partition were never
D

included in the resettlement plans. The new colonies of Rajinder Nagar,

Kingsway Camp, Nizamuddin, CR Park, South Extension, Lajpat Nagar
D

were more spacious and better planned and were created officially for the
upper elite class people. In the northern part of the city a colony called
Regar Pura was established for the resettlement of the Harijan community.
The houses build in the colony were tiny mud huts with minimal facilities
for the Harijans. These neighbourhoods remained invisible as they were
not even listed in Delhi guidebooks. Thus, neighbourhoods come up with

117
Notes
people sharing religion and caste identity that have poor services. This is
the reason why property remains in the hands of few people and results
in slum formation. The lower class or caste people living in informal
settlements and slums do not have access to safe drinking water and
healthcare, sanitation etc. All these factors where caste or class determines
the affordability in cities are missing from city planning. Thus, urban
spatial residential segregation is very much part of urban areas and city

ty
planning should address these issues so that equitable housing is assessed
by all irrespective of caste or class.

si
er
4.6.3. Class Differences and Spatial Location

Class is another important factor of social stratification in India.

v
Both Karl Marx and Max Weber has talked about class in their studies.

ni
Marx defined class in terms of economic criterion while Weber emphasised
the importance of class as it helps to determine the life chances of an

U
individual. Besides class in the economic sense, status and political power
are also important in undermining one’s overall position in society. While
rry
for Marx it is clearly the material wealth that determines the position of a
person in society. Indian society is a stratified society and so the individuals
he

and households are located within social hierarchy that determines their
access to resources. The upper-class people are at the top and they control
most of the resources and enjoy prestige and political influence in society.
ic

The lower-class people are the bottom of the hierarchy and they have least
nd

power. The class differences in our society are also expressed by different
consumption patterns. The high-class people indulge in high consumption
with the support of credit cards, housing loans, car loans, educational loans,
Po

etc and spend more than they earn. In the different local spaces of the
metropolitan city, we will encounter diversity of lifestyles of people. These
differences are the result of one’s social class and status expressed through
E,

consumption patterns. In India the class differences and the system of

social stratification are visible in the different lifestyles of individuals and
D

the differences in neighbourhood living or local space in a city.

D

4.6.4. Social Classes in Urban India

In urban India social classes comprise principally i) Capitalists

(commercial and industrial), ii) Professional classes, iii) Petty traders,
shopkeepers and unorganized workers, iv) The working class.

118
 Notes
1. Commercial and Industrial Class: The Britishers came to India
with trade and commerce in their mind. So, during the British rule
the production of goods and services increased. Now production
was done for the market. So, during this period there was a growth
of a class of merchants who were engaged in export and import
business. This led to the creation of commercial middle class in the
country. Then slowly and gradually these rich commercial middle

ty
class started to invest their savings in the modern industries. Thus,
there emerged new class of Indians who were mill owners, mine

si
owners, etc. After our nation gained its independence, private

er
persons controlled the main areas of agriculture, industry, and
trade, while the government took control of the heavy industries

v
and other sectors. The rise of capitalist-owned and -controlled

ni
industries caused by this sort of economy eventually gave rise to
the commercial classes in India. Most of the assets and resources

U
in India are currently in the hands of the Tata, Birla, Ambani, and
Adani families.
rry
2. Professional Classes: The Britishers introduced modern education
in India and the educated Indians comprised the professional class.
They were linked with commerce, agriculture, modern industry
he

and finance and the professional class people were lawyers,

doctors, teachers, engineers, scientists, etc. The employment
ic

opportunities increased in industries, trade and commerce in post

independent India due to rapid industrialization and urbanization.
nd

India established complex bureaucratic structure and bureaucrats,

lawyers, doctors, journalists, teachers etc. has grown ever since
Po

independence. But this professional class is not a homogenous

category as there is a deep hierarchy between the top high paid
professionals and low paid workers at the bottom.
E,

3. Petty traders, shopkeepers, and unorganised workers all have a

presence in towns and cities due to population expansion. They serve
D

as a conduit between the suppliers of goods and services and the

general public of buyers. This class has grown in size in India since
D

gaining its independence to meet the wants and provide the services
of the expanding urban population. The employment opportunities
in the unorganized or informal sector are also increasing. The rural
migrants who are uneducated and unskilled are accommodated in
the unorganized sectors of the economy as the organized sector is
closed for them. They work in the informal sectors like construction,

119
Notes
domestic servants, small scale production units, manual service etc
and get low wages are deprived of the benefits like regular wage
or other social security benefits. The unorganized sector is also
not a homogenous category as it comprises of self-employed shop
keepers, street vendors, traders, vendors, unskilled or semi-skilled
workers in the informal sector.
4. The Working Class: Working class emerged during the British

ty
period and was the result of modern industries. The working class
were working in the modern industries like the railways, plantations,

si
textile, etc. These working classes were the poor rural peasants

er
and artisans who migrated to the cities in search of employment.
The working are a heterogenous category of workers working in

v
different sectors of the industry and they grew in post independent

ni
India.

U
4.7. Occupational Structures in India

The distribution of workers among various jobs is known

rry
as the occupational structure. Cultivators, agricultural laborers,
livestock, forestry, fishing and related activities, mining and quarrying,
he

manufacturing and processing in household industry, construction, trade

and commerce, transport, storage and communication, and other services
ic

in both government-owned and privately owned formal and informal

sectors are among the at least ten occupational categories listed in the
nd

2011 Census of India. The above ten categories of occupations can be

broadly divided into primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. In primary
Po

occupational structures the labourers work directly with the natural

resources extracted from earth to make a living. Such natural resources are
land, water, minerals etc and the economic sectors that use these resources
are agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, etc. The secondary occupational
E,

structures involve manufacturing of goods by using raw materials and

construction. The goods are produced at manufacturing units of factories
D

and industries. There are two types of industries depending on the size
D

of the factories which are large scale and small-scale industries. Textile
industries, shoe factory, printing press, furniture units, etc are small scale
industrial units and on the other hand, steel factories, aluminium or copper
factories, automobile industries are large scale industrial units. Skilled
workers are required to work in these large- and small-scale industries. The
third occupational structure is the tertiary occupational structure which

120
 Notes
has potential of generating high employment opportunities. The tertiary
sector is also called the service sector in which a number of services are
provided by the workers to the people. These services include the services
provided by workers in the hotels and restaurants, banking and insurance
services, transport and communication services, public administration
etc. Most of the working people from the developed countries are working
in the tertiary sectors.

ty
si
4.8. Classification of Urban Occupations

In urban areas occupations are available in abundance and people

er
engage in various occupations to make their living. We can broadly divide

v
the occupations in urban areas into four categories, which are street
vendors, self-employed businessmen, factory workers, and those who

ni
work in the organized sectors.

U
Street Workers: Street workers or vendors are vital organ of the economy
of our country. The street vendors sell their products or provide their
rry
services in the streets and fall under the informal economy of our country.
They workday and night and are self-employed, for example, ice cream
he

sellers, rikshaw pullers, vegetable vendors, tea stall sellers, cobblers,

etc. As they fall under informal sector so they are not entitled to any
government support like loans from banks or credit loans. So, they work
ic

outside the labour laws in poor working conditions with the fear of being
nd

evicted from their place anytime by the municipalities or police. Thus, the
street vendors do not have a permanent place in terms of a shop to sell
their products and some street vendors keep moving from one place to
Po

another in bicycles. These street vendors are the rural migrants. According
to Bhowmik (2005), the proportion of street vendors is around 2% of the
entire population of a city. The increase in migration of rural low skilled
E,

workers leads to the urban areas has contributed to the increase in the
proportion of street vendors as they are not eligible to get employment in
D

the formal sector.

D

Self Employed Businessmen: Self-employment is starting your own

work to earn a livelihood. It can be anything small or big like opening
a grocery store of your own, starting your own beauty parlour, or any
kind of start-up business is self-employment. Business can be both in the
organized and unorganized sectors. In organized business the accounts
and paperwork of the business should be approved by the government

121
Notes
so that the businessmen get the benefits of loan or other facilities from
the government. On the other hand, there are businessmen who run a
small enterprise like a shop and they are self-employed and therefore fall
under the unorganized category. Business are subject to profit and loss and
therefore lots of risk are involved in it. In urban areas other types of self-
employments are freelancing, writing, performing arts etc.

Factory Workers: Another category of urban occupation is workers

ty
working in factories of towns and cities of India. These factories may

si
include textile industry, garment industry, lace making industry, bidi
making factory, bidi making factory and most of the workers employed

er
in these factories are informal workers. The factory production in India
dates back to the British times in 1850 when factories were established in

v
then Calcutta and Bombay. The reason for the establishment of factories

ni
in India by the Britishers was the availability of cheap labour and raw
materials in India. The country’s economy was destroyed by the Britishers

U
and there was no regulatory mechanism for wages and work. However,
after independence a lot of regulations has been done in the industrial
rry
sector and acts has been passed for the welfare of the workers. But the
workers in the informal sector cannot avail any of the benefits and they
he

are exploited even today. The mere minimum wages that they make is very
difficult for them to sustain themselves and their families.
ic

Organized sector Workers: The organised sector workers work under

the companies or organizations that are registered with the government.
nd

In formal sectors the workers terms of employment are permanent or

regular and they are liable to pay taxes to the government. Majority of the
Po

urban occupations are in the organized sector and the workers perform
their duties according to the rules of the company. Doctors, engineers,
managers, teachers, professors are all employees working in the organized
E,

sector. These employees have high monthly salaries unlike the daily
wage workers. These workers also enjoy lot of social security benefits
D

like medical benefits, retirement plan, provident fund, paid leaves, and
other benefits. Thus, there are different types of occupational divisions
D

are found in the urban areas ranging from street vendors to employees in
large corporations.

122
 Notes
4.9. Summary

The concept of urban social structure has been examined in

this section. urban social structure’s characteristics like heterogeneity,
impersonality, rationality, secularization, individualism etc were also
discussed. Then we looked at the urban social stratification which are
manifested in caste and class. Caste and class determine the urban spatial
segregation and differences in lifestyles of the urban people and shows how

ty
urban disparities take place. Then at last we learned about the different

si
urban occupations and how they are structured in India.

er
4.10 Key Words

v
Caste – Caste is a social institution that is deeply rooted in Indian society.

ni
It is a hierarchical system of social stratification that divides people into
distinct social groups based on birth, occupation, and perceived social

U
status. Caste is inherited and typically remains fixed throughout an indi-
vidual's life.
rry
Division of Labour - A concept referring to different people performing
different functions according to the criteria of age, sex, knowledge, skill,
he

etc.

Family – Family is a social institution and a fundamental unit of society

ic

that consists of a group of individuals who are connected through blood,

nd

marriage, or legal ties and who share emotional bonds, responsibilities,

and resources.
Po

Labour - refers to the physical and mental effort exerted by individuals in

the production of goods and services. It encompasses the human work and
productive activities that contribute to economic output and the creation
E,

of value. Labour is a fundamental factor of production alongside land and

capital.
D

Organised Sector –The organized sector refers to that part of an economy

D

in which economic activities are formally regulated, structured, and gov-

erned by specific laws, rules, and regulations.

Rationality - It is the practice of treating reason as the Urban Social Struc-

ture basis of belief and knowledge.

Secularisation - The process by which religions or sacred values are re-

123
Notes
placed by scientific and rational values.

Social Class – Social class refers to a system of categorizing individuals or

groups within a society based on their social and economic characteristics,
such as occupation, income, wealth, education, and social status. It is a way
of classifying people into different strata or groups, with each class having
distinct characteristics and experiences.

ty
Urban Social Structure – Urban social structure refers to the organiza-
tion, patterns, and relationships that exist within urban areas. It encom-

si
passes the social dynamics, hierarchies, and interactions among individu-

er
als and groups in urban settings.

v
4.11 Self Assessment

ni
1. What are the four different classes in Urban India? Answer in four lines.

U
2. Discuss briefly the urban occupation classification. Answer in four lines.
rry
3. What are the different agencies of Urban India which have been replacing
the traditional role of family ? Answer in three lines.
he

4. How class relation affect the consumption pattern? Give suitable examples
from Urban classes in India.
ic

5. Describe the declining functions of family in urban India. Answer in four

lines.
nd

4.12 References-
Po

Beteille. A. 1971, Caste. Class and Power, University of California. Press:

Berkeley.
E,

Beteille. A. 2000. The Chronicles of Our Time. Penguin Books India: New
Delhi.
D

Bose, Ashish 1973. Studies in India’s Urbanisation 1901-1917. Tata McGraw

Hill: New Delhi.
D

Bose, N.K. 1968. Calcutta - A Social Survey. Lalvani Publishing House:

Bombay.

Brass, P. 1967. Regions, Regionalism and Research in Modern Indian Society

and Politics. In R.I. Crane (ed.) Regions and Regionalism in South Asian
Studies: An Exploratory Study. Duke University Programme in Comparative

124
 Notes
Studies on South Asia, Monograph, 5: 258-70 Chauhan. B.R. 1960. An In-
dian Village: Some Questions. Man in India, 40: 116-127.

Cohn, B.S. 1962. Review of M. Marriott, Caste Ranking and Community

Structure in Five Regions of India and Pakistan. Journal of the American
Oriental Society, 82 425-30.

Desai. I.P. 1964. Some Aspects of Family in Mathura: A Sociological Study of

ty
the Jointness in a Small Town. Asia Publishing House: Bombay.

D.Souza, V.S. 1974. Caste, Occupation and Social Class in Chandigarh. In

si
M.S.A. Rao (ed.) Urban Sociology in India. Orient Longman: New Delhi, pp.

er
276-288.

Ghurye, G.S. 1962. Cities and Civilization. Popular Prakashan: Bombay.

v
ni
Gore, M.S. 1970. Immigrants and Neighbourhoods: Two Aspects of Life in
Metropolitan City. Bombay. Tata Institute of Social Sciences: Bombay.

U
Gould, H.A. 1974. Lucknow Rickshawallas: The Social Organisation of an
Occupational Category. In M.S.A. Rao (ed.) Urban Sociology in India. Orient
rry
Longman: New Delhi, pp. 289-308.

Jaiswal, Suvira 1998. Caste: Origin, Function and Dimensions of Change.

he

Manohar: New Delhi.

Jayapalan, N. 2002. Urban Sociology. Atlantic: New Delhi

ic

Kapadia, K.M. 1956. Rural Family Patterns. Sociological Bulletin, 5:111-26

nd

Kapoor, S. 1974. Family and Kinship Groups Among the Khatris of Delhi. In
M.S.A. Rao (ed,) Urban Sociology in India. Orient Longman: New Delhi,
Po

pp.355-368

Karve, 1. 1965. Kinship Organisation in India. Asia Publishing House: Bom-

bay
E,

Kolenda, P.M. 1967. Regional Differences in India Family Structure. In R.I.

D

Crane (ed.) Regions and Regionalisms in South Asian Studies: An Explana-

tory Study. Duke University Programme in Comparative Studies in Southern
D

Asia. Monograph No. 5, pp. 147-226.

Mukherjee. R. 1974. Urbanisation and Social Transformation. In M.S.A. Rao

(ed) Urban Sociology in India. Orient Longman: New Delhi, pp. 40-92.

Rao, M.S.A. (ed.) 1974. Urban Sociology in India. Orient Longman: New Ur-
ban Social Structure Delhi, pp. 276-88.

125
 D
D
E,
Po
nd
ic
he

126
rry
U
ni
ver
si
ty
 Notes
UNIT - V

Lesson 5.1 - Slums

Structure

5.1. Learning Objective

ty
5.2. Assessment of Prior Knowledge

si
5.3. Urban Poverty and Slums

er
5.4. Nature of Slums
5.5. Historical Perspectives on Slums

v
5.6. Problems and Challenges of Slums

ni
5.7. Socio-economic Profile of Indian Slums
5.8. How to Solve Slum Problems
5.9. Dharavi Slum: A Case Study
U
rry
5.10. Urban Planning and Development in India
5.11. Urban Development Programmes Initiated Since Independence
5.12. Key Urban Development Programmes in India
he

5.13. Summary
5.14. References
ic
nd

5.1. Learning Objectives

After studying this unit, the students will be able to

Po

➢ 
Understand the nature and brief history of slums.
➢ 
Examine the problems and challenges of slum dwellers.
➢ 
Describe the Indian context of slums and their socio-economic
E,

profile.
➢ 
Importance of Urban planning and development in India.
D

➢ 
Examined the key urban development programmes in India.
D

5.2. Assessment Of Prior Knowledge

In the previous Unit 4 on urban social structure, we discussed the

meaning, definition and characteristics of urban social structure. Caste
and class as forms of urban social stratification were also discussed. Caste
and class segregation can be seen in patterns of spatial segregation in urban

127
Notes
areas and also in differences in lifestyles of different people based on their
caste and class. In this unit we are going to study about the connection
between urban poverty and slums in India. The characteristics, problems
and challenges of slum dwellers are also discussed. Then the different key
urban developmental programmes launched in India especially for the
urban poor to eradicate poverty and provide gainful employment and
shelter to the urban poor are discussed.

ty
5.3 Urban Poverty And Slums

si
The urban areas of the Third World countries find it extremely

er
difficult to accommodate the increasing flow of migrants. The rural people
are shifting their occupation from agricultural sector to industrial sector.

v
But as these people are unskilled, they are absorbed in the informal sectors

ni
of the urban economy which provide minimum wages. As a result of which

U
rural poverty is shifting to urban poverty through the process of migration.
Data on the rates of unemployment and underemployment allow a rough
rry
estimate of the extent of poverty. Unemployment, underemployment,
low earnings of the currently employed and a high dependency ratio are
the major causes of poverty in India. Most of the urban poor in India
he

are employed in the informal sector and they earn low income with poor
working conditions. A noticeable feature of urban areas is the extreme
ic

polarization of urban incomes. There are also inequalities in distribution

of resources, opportunities and services. The urban poor ultimately end
nd

up in urban slums in search of accommodation. Since the urban slums

or squatter settlements are increasing at a far greater rate than any other
Po

aspect of urban physical environment they are emerging as the dominant

form of urban settlements. Most of the Sociologists are of the view that
urban poverty is nothing but an extension of rural poverty. It is interesting
to note that the proportion of urban poor is greater than the rural poor.
E,

This indicates the gravity of attention urban social problems requires by

different scholars and social scientists. Sociologists have been from the
D

very beginning have been intrigued by the urban social problems like
D

slums, housing problems and urban poverty.

The world bank says that there is a close relationship between

poverty and slums. Most of the time we assume that it is the poor who
lives in the slums, that they occupy the lowest social positions and that
they perform the most unskilled tasks. Actually, the slums can be plural in

128
 Notes
character, and they can be very middle class. A lot of scholars argue that
poor people live in slums not because they want to but because they don’t
have a choice. The reason for this that many of those who live in slums
are migrants who occupy a marginal social and economic position. This a
feature typical of over urbanization.
The most important problem of urban life which continuously
baffle the Sociologists, Geographers, Town Planner, Administrators is

ty
the slums. The slums manifest multifarious pathological phenomena like
illness, disease, poverty, crime, prostitution, sewage problems, juvenile

si
delinquency and the count goes on. There are different types and forms of

er
slums in India and abroad. The slums in Mumbai are in the form of packed
multistorey chawls, in Delhi they are squatter settlements in the suburbs

v
or any part of the city, in Kolkata they are bamboo hubs and straw hovels

ni
in the small lanes, etc. The slums or squatter settlements are also found in
Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Lima. Apart from these cities, slums are also

U
a common problem in some of the South American, Asian, and African
and cities. It is a myth that the developed nations do not have slums. It is a
rry
truth that the rich and developed countries of the world do have slums. In
the context of the US, it is surprising that one fifth of its urban population
he

are slum dwellers.

Even in socialist countries where the land is owned and controlled
by the state have slums. In the metropolitan cities of Delhi and Mumbai
ic

where we can see skyscrapers, malls, and all modern facilities, at the
nd

other end of the city we will see slums which distort the beauty of the
cities. Therefore, slums are the inevitable and expanding feature of cities.
The daily wage labourers, construction workers, rickshaw pullers, street
Po

vendors who earn a mere income cannot afford to rent a house in the
city and therefore they grab a piece of empty public land and make their
makeshift shelters which eventually leads to slums. Lakhs of people in
E,

cities can be seen to sleep in the footpaths, makeshift shelters behind the
bridge, pavements etc.
D
D

5.4. Nature of Slums

According to a report of the United Nations Urban Land

Policies, “a slum is a building, group of buildings or area characterised by
overcrowding, deterioration, unsanitary conditions, or absence of facilities
or amenities which because of these conditions or any of them, endanger
the health, safety or moral of its inhabitants or the community”.

129
Notes
It is generally perceived that slums are areas of substandard
housing located in a city. The character istics of slums give the impression
that this is not a desirable place of living. The houses in a slum are usually
in a dilapidated condition which are not safe for living. Usually, slums are
found around factories or in zone in transition or in congested cities. The
slum dwellers are basically poor people.

Multifamily dwellings are a typical feature of slums and sometimes

ty
two or more families live in a single room. The inhabitants of slums struggle

si
very hard for their survival. Slum people are highly deprived of some of
the basic facilities like safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, lighting,

er
proper ventilation. Slums are also areas of unhealthy and unhygienic
surroundings for which it is a ground for disease and ill health. Crime,

v
delinquency, and gambling are commonly cited problems of slums. Family

ni
disorganization, frequent conflicts and alcoholism are some of the never-
ending problems of slums. The slums are deprived of the recreational and

U
educational facilities.
rry
The socio-economic environment of the slums is the root cause
behind the problem of Juvenile delinquency. Thus, a slum is a highly
destructed area of worn out buildings which provides housing facilities
he

to the city’s poor and needy. Congestion and lack of privacy are the
concomitants of a slum culture.
ic

Kinds of slums
nd

There are three main types of slums in our cities. These are:
Po

a. Original slum: This is an area which from the very beginning

consisted of unsuitable buildings. These are usually areas around
an old factory or mining site which is now given up or in the zone
in transition. These sections are beyond recovery as they consist of
E,

age-old structures, and they need to razed in order to be eradicated

e.g. The Mexican Slum in USA.
D

b. Transitional zone slum: The second type consists of slums created

D

by the departure of middle- and upper-class families to other

sections. Or it may be due to starting of a new industry or due to
congestion and subsequent deterioration of the living area. These
types of slums are to be found in the transition zone of developing
cities such as Southeast Slum in Boston (USA). These are the areas
where all sorts of crime and vice happens and where all shades

130
 Notes
of people live. In rehabilitation on this type of slum there is no
need for wholesome demolition. Only dilapidated structure must
be replaced by housing projects. The remaining rehabilitation is
mainly a matter of administration and community organizations.
But vested interests act as hindrances in the clearance of these
slums.
c. Blighted Slum: The third and the most unpleasant type of slum

ty
is mainly a phenomenon of transition once the area around a
main business district has become blighted. Physical and social

si
deterioration speeds rapidly. This type of slum looms with flop

er
houses, one-night accommodations for the destitute, houses of
prostitution etc. It is populated by transients, tramps, vagrants,

v
chronic alcoholics, beggars, homeless men and habitual criminals.

ni
Its economic activities are carried out by proprietors of salons
and pool rooms, fences, pawnbrokers, dope pedlars etc. This type

U
of slum clearly defines habitation. The proper remedy is better
administration and stricter zoning laws.
rry
5.5. Historical Perspectives on Slums
he

Slums has existed since ancient times which can be indicated from
the study of ancient Roman ruins. During the medieval period the poor
ic

and destitute people were kept out of the city. The Jewish ghetto can be an
example of medieval urban slum. Due to complex set of social, economic,
nd

religious, and political factors the Jews were isolated and made to live
in slum like conditions. The increasing urbanization of Europe and U.S
Po

added to the deterioration of the existing slum like situations. According

to Lewis Mumford (1990) the British slums originated in the 19th century
due to the industrialization and factory system. Manchester was the first
manufacturing city of the world and Engels (1990) in his study of slums in
E,

Manchester in 1844 stated that the origin of the recent slums can be traced
to the industrial epoch.
D

The industrial revolution brought rural migrants to the cities to

D

work in urban factories and this led to the growth of modern slums. The
workers were paid bare minimum wages and with that wages they were
not able to live in descent quarters. As the industries increased so also
the rural migrants from the city also increased. The workers had to be
accommodated in the urban areas and so the employers built substandard
housing with poor material, the rooms were made small, bathrooms were

131
Notes
not built. Most striking problem is the lack of toilet. The water facilities
like taps, tube wells etc. have to be shared by a large number of people.
Since the spread of industrialization and urbanization was quicker in US
than in Europe and due to this large number of rural workers migrated to
the cities for employment purpose.

Thus, slums became a necessity in large cities. The two World

wars also added to the woes of the already existing urban slums as the

ty
building activities were curtailed during the war times.

si
5.6. Problems and Challenges of Slums

er
Slums are a major factor in urban pathology. It affects the physical

v
and mental health of the urban community. It is a constant eye sore and area

ni
of social disorganization. Economic differentiation is the chief factor of its
development. It is a congested area of poor housing. It prevents both public

U
and private decency. It results in personal and family disorganization. It
is an area which houses the criminal and the lack of a stable value system.
rry
Health hazard remains a typical slum problem. Further, the slum affects
the physical and mental health of neighbourhood. It is the reservoir
he

and hiding ground for all urban vices such as gambling, dope peddling,
prostitution and so on. It promotes lawlessness and social disorganization
of the city. It is a disorganized residential area. Some of the problems and
ic

challenges of slums are:

nd

1. Housing Conditions: The housing conditions of slum areas are very

poor. The houses in the slums are constructed by using low quality
Po

material and they are generally built in empty public lands generally
far away from the cities. The slums lack all the public facilities like
electricity, water, sanitation, drainage facilities etc. The houses in
the slums have poor structures, inadequate lighting and circulation,
E,

lack of toilet and bathroom facilities, overcrowding and inadequate

maintenance.
D

2. Overcrowding and congestion: A slum is overcrowded where there

D

are many people accommodated in a small area with some houses.

This leads to congestion as there is high density of population per
square metre. William F Whyte’s study “Street Corner Society” in
1943 examined the slums of Boston and he stressed the importance
of overcrowding as a criterion for studying slum conditions. Some
slums of Delhi and Mumbai have 40,00,000 people per square mile.

132
 Notes
3. Lack of public facilities: A slum lacks all the public facilities and
community services. Government schools, public toilets and
sanitation facilities, electricity, water etc are all out of reach for
the slum people. Even if they might get some facilities but they are
often in dilapidated conditions and of poor quality.
4. Poor sanitation and Health: Slums are dirty, unclean and unhygienic
places as there is lack of proper sanitation facilities and also no

ty
drainage system. Slums are the breeding places of germs due to
overflowing drains and lack of sanitation facilities. These leads to

si
high rates of death and diseases among the people of the slums and

er
especially the children of the slums are highly affected by diseases.
The rates of infant mortality, malnutrition, chronic illness like

v
dysentery, typhoid and cholera are very high in slums.

ni
5. Deviant Behaviour: Slums are the breeding places of crimes, deviant
behaviour, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drunkenness, drug

U
abuse, family disorganization etc. Poverty, family upbringing and
the environment compels the slum dwellers to commit crimes. This
rry
is a vicious cycle, and the slum dwellers are trapped in this.
6. Apathy and social isolation: The residential places in the city are
he

socially isolated from the others due to their location. The slums
are generally located in the outskirts of the city and is inhabited by
people belonging to the lower strata and this leads to their isolation
ic

and segregation. The slum is linked with the rest of the community
nd

through their identification with the labour market as most of the

people living in the slums are daily wage labourers, rikshaw pullers,
domestic servants, informal workers etc. The larger community has
Po

a peculiar image of the slum dwellers, and they are often associated
with physical appearance and difficult living conditions and
considers them inferior to the rest of the community. This image
E,

leads to social isolation of the slum dwellers which excludes them

from power and participation in urban society. The voices and
D

agony of the slum dwellers are not heard by the outside world as
they lack communication because of their powerlessness.
D

7. The Culture of the Slum – a way of life: Slums are inhibited by

migrants from different places and have their own cultures. But in
the slum, they share a common culture which is a way of life for
them. This way of life is passed from one generation to next which
is the culture of poverty which helps the younger generations to

133
Notes
cope with difficulties and deprivation. It was Oscar Lewis who gave
the concept of “culture of poverty”. According to Lewis poverty
is the way of life that enabled survival in the urban context. The
culture of poverty had its own modalities and distinctive social and
psychological consequences for its members. The culture of poverty
was not about backwardness or primitiveness. In the urban slums
this culture of poverty is most clearly visible.

ty
Learning Activity 1

si
Visit to a slum in your area. Try to figure out the problems

er
and challenges of the slum dwellers. Ask them if they are getting any
government assistance and find out if any NGO is working in that area.

v
Prepare a report based on your findings.

ni
U
5.7. Socio-Economic Profile of Indian Slums

India is predominantly a rural and agricultural nation where about

rry
one fifth of India’s population resides in villages. But a significant population
of the rural areas migrate to the big metropolitan cities of India in search of
he

employment. The cities of India are equipped with modern technology and
industrialism. Cities in India have played important role in the transition
or breaking down of traditions and it is the cities where modernization
ic

concentrates. The political and social reforms, social movements etc originate
nd

in the cities and then spread out in the entire country.

With urbanization in India there is also a growth of the slums as

Po

internal migrants generally resides in the slums. The living condition is

worst in the slums, be it the social, economic, or physical conditions, in all
sphere slums have difficult conditions. It is an irony that despite India being
E,

a heterogenous country still we can make some generalizations of the slums

of India. The narrow lanes, open drains are typical characteristics of the
D

slums of India. Due to unhygienic sanitary conditions and lack of drainage

facilities slums are the breeding grounds of diseases, chronic illness,
D

malnutrition, high incidence of infant and maternal mortality. The slum

dwellers are mostly illiterate, and they lack regular employment, and this
leads to high crime rates, drug abuse, gambling and alcoholism among them.
They are not united and does have community consciousness and therefore
they are antagonistic towards the local authorities and municipalities.

While investigating into the development postulates of India

134
 Notes
A. R. Desai and S. Devadas Pillai (1990), in their seminal work “Slums
and Urbanization” have come out with the major finding that slum has
essentially affected the pattern of urbanization and type of urban living in
our country. Though the constitution has recognised the right to property
is a fundamental right, but it is yet to be realised that right to education,
right to adequate housing, right to work and right to employment are
yet to be realised in its full spirit. The rights of citizens like right to life

ty
and security and right to move throughout the country are upheld by the
constitution but the constitutional provisions regarding right to secure

si
livelihood, source of earning, the right to have resource for securing

er
livelihood and adequate facilities for stay to the citizens for ensuring a
better life. These contradictory prescriptions of the Constitution have

v
generated economic development in the country. There is class polarization

ni
in our country with the top small high class of property owners at one
end and the low-level large property less citizens on the other. This class

U
stratification and polarization and pauperization of the vast section of the
urban population has forced them to begging, rag picking, and various
rry
types of legally unpermitted petty trades. This class polarization resulting
from government policies has led to urban residential segregation where
on the one hand we find posh urban localities with multiplexes, shopping
he

malls, recreation centres, etc for only the small minority wealthy residents.
On the other hand, there are majority of urban poor living in slums
ic

working in informal sector lacking even the basic facilities and amenities
for a decent living.
nd

Now let us see some census data related to slums.

Po

Table 1.7: Growth Indicators for Slum Households

Indicator Absolute Absolute Decimal

change Growth
E,

2001 2011 2001-11 2001-11

Slum
D

Households 10,150,719 13,920,191 3,769,472 37.1

D

Household size 5.2 4.7 –0.5

Urban (slum reported towns)
Households 43,556,155 62,792,741 19,236,586 44.2
Household size 0.6 0.5 –0.1
Urban (all towns)
Households 55,832,570 80,888,766 25,056,196 44.9

135
Notes

Household size 5.1 4.7 –0.4

Source: Census of India-2001 & 2011

Table 1.8: Slum and Urban population (Slum reported towns)

Indicator Absolute Absolute Decimal Slum

change Growth Percentage
2001 2011 2001-11 2001-11 2001 2011

ty
Slum

si
Persons 52,371,589 65,494,604 13,123,015 25.1 23.5 22.4
Males 27,759,224 33,968,203 6,208,979 22.4 23.6 22.4

er
Females 24,612,365 31,526,401 6,914,036 28.1 23.3 22.5
Sex ratio 887 928 41

v
Urban (slum reported towns)

ni
Persons 223,111,858 291,838,124 68,726,266 30.8 100 100

U
Males 117,610,448 151,666,671 34,056,223 29 100 100
Females 105,501,410 140,171,453 34,670,043 32.9 100 100
rry
Sex ratio 897 924 27
Source: Census of India-2001 & 2011
he

Table 1.9: Slum and Urban Population (all towns)

Slum and Urban population (all towns)

ic

Indicator Absolute Absolute Decimal Slum

nd

change Growth Percentage

2001 2011 2001-11 2001-11 2001 2011
Slum
Po

Persons 52,371,589 65,494,604 13,123,015 25.1 18.3 17.4

Males 27,759,224 33,968,203 6,208,979 22.4 18.4 17.4
Females 24,612,365 31,526,401 6,914,036 28.1 18.2 17.4
E,

Sex ratio 887 928 41

Urban (all towns)
D

Persons 286,119,689 377,106,125 90,986,436 31.8 100 100

D

Males 150,554,098 195,489,200 44,935,102 29.8 100 100

Females 135,565,591 181,616,925 46,051,334 34 100 100
Sex ratio 900 929 29
Source: Census of India-2001 & 2011

Table 1.10: State Share of Slum Population to Total Slum Population

136
 Notes
of India

State/UTs 2001 2011

Andhra Pradesh 12 15.6
Bihar 1.6 1.9
Chhattisgarh 2.1 2.9
Gujarat 3.8 2.6
Haryana 3.2 2.5

ty
Karnataka 4.5 5.0
Madhya Pradesh 7.2 8.7

si
Maharashtra 22.9 18.1
NCT of Delhi 3.9 2.7

er
Odisha 2.1 2.4
Other State/UTs 3.1 3.8

v
Punjab 2.8 2.2

ni
Rajasthan 3 3.2
Tamil Nadu 8.1 8.9

U
Uttar Pradesh 11 9.5
West Bengal 8.9 9.8
rry
Note: In 2001- Other States/UTs includes:
he

1. Reported slum less than 1%-Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand,

Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Meghalaya, Assam, Puducherry, Tripura
and Kerala
ic

2. State/UTs not reported slum-Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal

nd

Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Daman & Diu, Dadra

& Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nagar Islands In
Po

2011-Other States/UTs includes:

1. Reported slum less than 1%-Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand,
Jharkhand, Assam, Kerala, Tripura, Tripura, Puducherry, Himachal
E,

Pradesh, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Nagaland, Mizoram,

Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Andaman &
D

Nicobar Islands
2. State/UTs not reported slum-Manipur, Daman & Diu, Dadra &
D

Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep

Source: Census of India-2001 & 2011

Sate share of Slum population to total Slum population of India (2001)

137
Notes

ty
si
v er
ni
U
Percentage of Slum Population (2001-2011)
rry
he
ic
nd
Po
E,
D

State share of Slum population to total Slum population of India ( 2011)

D

138
 Notes

ty
si
v er
ni
5.8. How to Solve Slum Problems

U
Slums are a constant menace to healthy urban social life. Slums
are usually dirty areas of congested housing with over population and lack
rry
of basic amenities like light and water. Slums develop due to poverty. Life
under slum conditions results in several physical and mental disease like
contagious diseases, depression, etc. and social evils like broken families,
he

lack of a healthy social life, development of all sorts of vices like juvenile
delinquency, prostitution, etc. Further slums affect the morals and peace
ic

of the surrounding urban community. Therefore, there is a need for slum

improvement or slum clearance. Slum improvement programmes form one
nd

of the vital factors of urban housing and reconstruction. The basic aim of
slum improvement programme is to provide to the slum dwellers decent
Po

housing with provisions of minimal necessities of life. Slum improvement

programmes while removing many physical and social evils of city life add to
city beautification. The other view of solving slum problems is slum clearance
of destroying slums and redevelopment with subsidized housing. But this
E,

traditional welfarist approach of slum redevelopment with subsidized housing

has been criticized to be applied in developing countries. If the developing
D

countries will provide subsidized housing, then the rate of migration will
D

increase, and more poor people will flock to the urban slums. This will be a
problem and the growing rural migrants will be difficult to handle. Instead of
developing urban slums, it is better to raise the standard of living in the rural
areas so that migration can be checked. Moreover, along with slum clearance
and providing standardized housing to the slum dwellers, it is important to
make the residents of the slums educated and motivated to maintain personal

139
Notes
hygiene, home management and environment sanitation. The economic
activities of the slum dwellers should also be improved by providing them
adequate wages, regular employment, vocational training to the youths and
children, access to credit facilities and provide social security measures.

Community development programmes are necessary for solving

problems of urban areas and slums. Formation of self -help and citizens
participation groups not only help in building community feeling, but also

ty
it helps in urban community integration and change.

si
If the slum dwellers come together and develop community
consciousness, then a lot of their problems can be solved. When the slum

er
dwellers are united then their combined efforts for slum development

v
will bring fruitful results. Ford Foundation granted the Delhi Municipal
Corporation a grant of $170,539 for launching a pilot project in

ni
urban community in 1958. (M.B. Clinard, 1966). This project with its

U
implementation brought change in the urban areas of Delhi. The project
organized committees, established self-help groups, trained the local
rry
leaders, and worked on techniques of change.

The problem of slums can be solved if we use the Marxist and

he

Socialist approach of nationalization of land and removing land from the

orbit of market operation. This step will break away the bourgeois norms
of ownership of private property in few hands and this will help half the
ic

problem of urban areas. Land will no longer be considered as a marketable

nd

commodity. Hence the agencies concerned with constructional activities

and their continuity is a questionable thing. Only public ownership and
providing work to every worker can give the purchasing power necessary
Po

for survival to most non-propertied classes. Probably, this can be possible

only when the market operated capitalist economy will not interfere in
the sphere of employment in production, distribution and service sector.
E,

When the means of production will be owned by public, it won’t result in

commodification of human beings.
D

5.9. Dharavi Slum: a Case Study

D

Dharavi is the Asia’s largest slum in the world. Kalpana Sharma

(2000) in her study of “Rediscovering Dharavi – A Mumbai Slum”
challenges the conventional notion of a slum. The slum dwellers in
Dharavi are extraordinary people who have defied fate and prospered here
although in difficult circumstances.

140
 Notes
For the redevelopment of slums, the people’s participation is
necessary. The best example can be given in this regard that without
government help many people in Dharavi have successfully replaced their
thatch and bamboo houses with brick and mortar. The concern of the slum
dwellers is security of tenure. Once government launches programmes
funds will flow and they show willingness to redevelop their areas and
bring out improvements in their structures. The people’s participation is

ty
necessary for the redevelopment of slums. Many NGO organizations are
working with the slum dwellers have helped them to plan and design their

si
slums. Thus, a consultation process is required in which the participation

er
of the slum dwellers is necessary as they know what is needed and what can
be maintained. In Dharavi when the Rajiv Gandhi cooperative in Kalyan

v
Wadi was implemented in consultation with the community on all aspects

ni
of slum development. It is mostly found that the mainstream financial
institutions have hardly shown any concern for addressing the need of the

U
poor. In this particular scenario, the efforts of Maharashtra government is
commendable because it has come up with a plan to provide free housing
rry
to the slum dwellers as per the demands and requirements of the people.

Dharavi slum is flourishing as the people find jobs there and have
he

a regular source of livelihood. Since the urban planners, engineers and

builders only concentrate on building concrete structures, they end up in
building big loyal townships which do not empathizes with living condition,
ic

lifestyle and spatial requirements of people. It can thus be understood that

nd

shelter and livelihood are not mutually exclusive, but mutually inclusive
entities. Though slums are undesirable, but they provide shelter to low-
income families. Certain changes should come up as time progresses, like
Po

when economy prospects are good i.e., when there is less volatility in the
market, economy growth is there, then employment opportunity can be
extended to the slum dwellers. This is not sufficient. The discriminatory
E,

attitude towards the slum dwellers must be discouraged. The housing

conditions required to be improved among the slum dwellers.
D

Despite all the negative things associated with slums like, poor
D

living condition, miserable housing facilities, dirt and diseases it is a way

of life. It gives shelter to many people.

It has a distinct culture or the culture of poverty which is passed on

from one generation to the next. The slum development programmes in our
cities are falling short of achieving their results due to shortage of funds,

141
Notes
over population, non-cooperation of slum dwellers, absence of ambitious
administrators, political influence of the bosses of vice and apathy and
attitude of aversion towards slum dwellers of our general society.

Many sociologists have also studied extensively on slums in India.

We can take the example of MSA Rao’s study of a slum called Bhaskar
Rao Petta in the city of Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. Rao studied the
slum in the 1960’s. It is constituted of migrants who have come in search

ty
of work to the city. The slum was very well organized like a village with

si
its own socio-economic and political set up and at the same time closely
interlinked with the wider social organization and culture of the city. The

er
area is roughly divided into different caste settlements and each caste
group works as a social unit by itself. Individuals and households are thus

v
connected through their primordial relations and no one exhibits the

ni
feeling of leading a life of isolation.

U
Owen Lynch also carried out a study of slums in Mumbai called
Shantinagar. He argues that the rise of slums in Mumbai are because of
rry
industrialization. The migrants from all over India have steadily streamed
into Mumbai but have remained segmented along caste, linguistic, regional
and religious lines. Shantinagar slum is unclean and unsanitary as it was
he

built on a swamp. Shantinagar has been a garbage dump for the city of
Mumbai. The slum is segregated into chawls and separated streets. Three
ic

distinct communities live in the slums – potters from Gujarat, untouchables

who did leader work from Tamil Nadu and Muslims from South India.
nd

Lynch found that the three communities living in Shantinagar are deeply
conscious of their identity and culture as this influence their interaction
Po

with each other. Those who live in Shantinagar do not see themselves as
segregated from the larger community in fact there are both individuals
and organizations that mediate on their behalf with the larger community.
E,

Self-Assessment Questions 1
D

i) List out three problems of slum dwellers. Use two lines for your answer.
D

ii) Describe how urban poverty can be seen in slums of India. Use two
lines for your answer.

142
 Notes
5.10. Urban Planning and Development in India
Before discussing urban planning let us understand the meaning
of planning. Planning is an important aspect of development. A plan in
general is a design, scheme, or framework for carrying out action. According
to Sapru, “Planning is a process in which all organs/ departments should
be engaged, a process where competing demands are ironed out, adjusted
and reconciled in as rational a way as feasible”. The view of the United

ty
Nations (1975) was that “A plan is a programme of action for achieving
definite objectives or goals. In this sense, a plan is a policy statement and

si
planning means policy making”.

er
For Rai and Kumar, to handle the complex problems of resource
allocation and decision making, planning is the most widely accepted

v
method. The essential requirements of planning process includes-

ni
1. Perception – The first and foremost important element of the

U
planning process. Without perceiving the goal planning cannot be
achieved.
rry
2. Revelation –This involves exploring the opportunities offered by
nature, which can be achieved through extensive planning.
3. Preparation – It is a process whereby the ideas of human mind are
he

given a physical shape

4. Execution – This involves the execution of the plans.
ic

Urban planning is important for the development of the urban

nd

areas. Urban planning is the study of the built environment of the city or
town and is concerned with land use planning and conservation. Urban
planning is the process through which transportations, networks are orderly
Po

guided for the development of communities. Urban planning ensures that

public benefits reach all sections of the society to ensure social justice and
public security. Urban planning is necessary for the economic and social
E,

development of a city and by resolving the competing and conflicting

demands of the residents by developing alternative policies. Urbanization
D

is a continuous process and therefore planning is necessary for adding

D

new urban areas by meeting the needs of the residents. The correct and
optimum utilization of land is done by urban planning where places
for residence, recreation, industry, trade, service are properly planned.
Urban planning also ensures proper water supply, education, recreation,
health, sewage disposal, transportation facilities etc. The purpose of urban
planning is towards optimum utilization of land and creation of a smart
and compact city.

143
Notes
It ensures that the various institutions are situated at proper places
in urban areas and this avoids overcrowding and lessens congestion.
Through urban planning the scarce financial resources can be used for
urban development such as generation of employment, eradication of
poverty, pollution control, water conservation etc. Participatory planning
is another important aspect of urban planning by which urban planner can
establish linkages with the beneficiaries and stakeholders in a systematic

ty
manner. This facilitates the sustainable improvement of the living
conditions of the residents of urban areas.

si
er
5.11. Urban Development Programmes Initiated Since
Independence

v
The alleviation of poverty has been one of the central focal points

ni
of urban development programmes since the beginning of five-year plan

U
in India. However, this was executed only during the Fifth Five Year Plan
period. The research carried out to study the dimensions of poverty reveals
rry
rural urban disparity where the public sector investments are improving
the level of services only in urban areas. The economic advantage of the
urban areas lies in the fact that the large cities attract private investments to
he

a greater extent. There is also availability of subsidized funds. This resulted

in higher employment generation in the urban areas than in the rural areas
ic

which widened the gap between their income levels. During this period
a number of boards and Corporations were established at the state level
nd

for the development of cities. Funds were released for the improvement
of services for the urban population. The Fifth Five Plan focussed on the
Po

removal of poverty. Since the earlier plans dis not focus on the issue of
poverty, it is only in the Fifth Plan which revealed that the bottom 30 per
cent of country’s population remained below the minimum of Rs. 40.6 per
E,

capita per month at 1972-73 prices. Inspite of this no attempt was made to
distinguish between rural and urban poverty.
D

Various national level programmes were launched for promoting

economic growth and removal of poverty. During 1979-80, 51 percent of
D

the rural population and 41 percent of the urban population were living
below poverty line. Specific programmes like Minimum Needs Programme,
Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns, National Rural
Development Programme etc. were implemented in rural and urban areas.

144
 Notes
Some of the programmes that were launched after independence are briefly
discussed below:

1. Integrated Development of Small and Medium Towns (IDSMT):

This programme was launched in 1979-1980 for the development
of small and medium towns by providing basic services to the
poor and improving the economic conditions. Initially this
programme was implemented in towns with population below one

ty
hundred thousand as per the 1971 census. But in the Eight Plan it

si
was decided to include cities having population of five hundred
thousand as per the 1991 census.

er
2. Low-Cost Sanitation Programme (LCS): The UN Decadal
Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation fixed in the early

v
1980’s of providing sanitation facilities to eighty percent of urban

ni
population. Accordingly, this LCS scheme was launched in 1980-

U
81 for eliminating manual scavenging through conversion of dry
latrines. It covered all the households including those in slums and
squatter settlements where there are no latrines.
rry
3. Shelter and Sanitation for Pavement Dwellers (SSPD): This
programme was launched in large metropolitan cities of India
he

where a sizeable number of shelter less people live. The Tenth Five
Year Plan provided subsidy to the NGO’s for the construction of
ic

shelter homes for homeless men, women and children.

4. Accelerated Urban Water Supply Programme (AUWSP): This
nd

centrally sponsored scheme was launched during the Eight Five

Year Plan for providing water to the towns having less than 20,000
Po

population according to the 1991 census.

5. National Slum Development Programme (NSDP): This programme
was launched in 1996 for slum improvement. It has been working
E,

closely with the state governments to provide water supply and

sanitation facilities to the slums.
D

6. Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojoga (VAMBAY): This scheme was

launched in 2001-02 to provide shelter and housing to people
D

living below poverty line in slums. This scheme will work with
state government and arrange for land where required for housing
the poor and the needy.
7. Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY): Launched in October 1989 , Nehru
Rozgar Yojana is a centrally sponsored programme which aims

145
Notes
at providing employment to the urban unemployed poor people.
The state government has been entrusted to identify, earmarking
and coordinating the sectoral inputs to the state governments.
The NRY consisted of three schemes namely, 1. The Scheme of
Urban Micro Enterprises (SUME), 2. The Scheme of Urban Wage
Employment (SUWE), and 3. The Scheme of Housing and Shelter
Upgradation (SHASU).

ty
8. Urban Basic Services for the Poor (UBSP): This programme was
a centrally sponsored scheme implemented during the Eight

si
Five Year Plan with the objective of achieving social sector goals,

er
community organization, mobilization, and empowerment.
9. Prime Minister Integrated Urban Poverty Eradication Programme

v
(PM IUPEP): The PM IUPEP was launched in November, 1995

ni
for eradicating the complexity of urban poverty problems. This
scheme was applicable to all Class II urban agglomerations with

U
population ranging from 50,000 to 1 lakh people with the condition
that elections to local bodies have been held.
rry
10. The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY): The main
aim of SJSRY is to provide gainful employment to urban poor
he

by helping them set up self-employment ventures or provisions of

wage employment. It is a centrally sponsored scheme applicable
to all urban areas with the expenditure in the ratio of 75:25 to be
ic

shared between centre and state governments. The three schemes

nd

discussed above UBSP, NRY AMD PMIUPEP have been merged

into a single employment generation scheme called the Swarna
Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojona (SJSRY). This programme has two
Po

sub schemes namely: Urban Self Employment Programme and

Urban Wage Employment Programme.
E,

Self-Assessment Questions 2
D

Write your answer in about 50 words

D

i) Discuss briefly the programme launched for urban sanitation.

ii) Write a short note on Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana.

146
 Notes
5.12: Key Urban Development Missions in India

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM): This

Programme of urban development was launched on 3rd December 2005
with 50,000 crores investment for seven years starting from 2005. The
Mission aims for fast-track development schemes with efficient urban
infrastructure and service delivery mechanism. JNNURM aims to build
economically productive efficient cities. The following are the main

ty
objectives of the Mission:

si
1. Attention has been given to the integrated development of

er
infrastructural services in the cities covered under the Mission.
2. Effective and secured linkages are created between asset creation

v
and asset management with an aim that the infrastructural services

ni
created in the cities are not just maintained efficiently, but also
it has also been ensured that these become self-sustaining over a

U
period of time.
3. The priority has been to ensure that there is adequate investment
rry
of funds to fulfil deficiencies in the urban infrastructural services.
4. Even in the urban corridors, urban out growths and in all the
he

out skirts of all the identified cities, there has been provision of
planned development. This is done with a specific intention so that
urbanization takes place in a dispersed manner.
ic

5. Importance has been given to gear up delivery of civic amenities

nd

and utility provisions with a thrust on universal access to urban

poor.
Po

6. To take up urban renewal programme, i.e., re-development of inner

(old) cities area to reduce congestion.
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
E,

(JNNURM) was the longest running urban development mission of India

and after it was closed in 2014, the government of India launched six new
missions.
D

The six new missions launched by the government of India are:

D

1. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation

(AMRUT): This scheme was launched in June 2015 and ended in
2020 with the main objective of ensuring adequate sewage networks
and water supply for urban transformations. The main purpose of

147
Notes
the Mission was to ensure basic services to households like tap
water supply and sewerage services. The Mission also proposed to
develop greeneries and well-maintained open spaces in cities and
parks and increase use of public transport for reducing pollution.
The number of cities covered under this scheme is 500 and the
target is to supply 139 lakhs water tap connections. The mission
was sanctioned Rs 77,640 crore out of which Rs 39,011 crore has

ty
been allotted for water supply and Rs 32,456 crore has been allotted
for sewerage and septage management.

si
2. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Housing for all (Urban): This

er
programme was launched in 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Poverty Alleviation (MOHUPA), which envisions provision

v
of Housing for All by 2022. ‘Housing for All’ mission for urban area

ni
is being implemented during 2015-2022 and it will provide central
assistance to states and union territories for providing housing to

U
all eligible beneficiaries by 2022. The target group of this scheme
are women, economically weaker section people, SC, ST etc. The
rry
mission will be implemented by four methods, by rehabilitation of
slum dwellers, credit linked subsidy, affordable housing through
he

public and private partnership and subsidy for beneficiary led

individual house construction or enhancement.
ic

3. Smart Cities Mission (SCM): The Smart Cities Mission is an urban

renewal program launched by the government of India in 2015 to
nd

develop smart cities across the country which are citizen friendly
and sustainable. The Union Ministry of Urban Development is
Po

responsible for implementing the mission along the respective state

governments of smart cities. On September, 2019, Aurangabad
Industrial City (AURIC), in Aurangabad, Maharashtra was
E,

inaugurated as the first greenfield industrial smart city of India.

The mission initially had a target of making 100 smart cities
D

between 2019 and 2023. The main objective of the mission is to

provide smart solutions to improve city infrastructure and services.
D

The focus areas of the mission are mobility and energy efficiency,
electricity, information and communication technology, water
supply, sanitation and solid waste management.

4. Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): This mission was launched on

October 2, 2014 with the objective of creating a clean India by 2019.

148
 Notes
The mission will cover both rural and urban areas. The Ministry
of Urban Development is implementing the urban component of
the project and the rural component is being implemented by the
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The main purpose
of the mission is to eliminate open defecation, creating flush
toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste
management and bring behavioural changes in people regarding

ty
healthy sanitation practices. The mission aims to build community
toilets in residential areas where it is difficult to construct individual

si
household toilets. Public toilets are also built in tourist places,

er
markets, bus stations, railway stations etc.

5. Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY):

v
This programme was launched on 21st January, 2015 for urban

ni
planning and heritage conservation of the Heritage cities of
India. The programme identified 13 cities for urban planning and

U
conservation to be completed within 4 years with 500 crore fund
that was sanctioned by the government. It will preserve the heritage
rry
assets such as monuments, ghats, temples and will also provide
necessary public facilities in and around the heritage sites for the
he

tourists. This will include development of sanitation facilities like

building public toilets, proper roads and public transportation,
parking facilities, citizens services, information desks, proper
ic

drinking water supply, hotels, security, etc. The 13 cities in which

nd

the scheme is to be implemented are Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar,

Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi,
Velankanni, Vellore and Warangal.
Po

6. Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission

(DAY-NULM): This mission was launched by the Ministry of Housing
E,

and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India on September

24th, 2013. The urban poor mostly living in the slums are engaged in
D

informal employment as most of them are illiterate and lack skills.

So this mission tries to enhance the livelihood opportunities of the
D

urban poor by giving them training in skill development. It also

tries to help the urban poor to set up self-employment ventures by
providing them easy access to credit facilities. This Mission will be
implemented in all towns and cities with a population of 1,00,000
or more as per 2011 census. The beneficiaries of this scheme will be
the urban poor including street vendors, slum dwellers, homeless,

149
Notes
rag pickers, unemployed and differently abled. The main objective
of the mission is to provide sustainable livelihoods to the urban
poor by building their capacities through skill training and easy
access to credit.

Learning Activity 2

If possible visit a nearby smart city in your area and see how far the Smart

ty
City Mission has been successful in that city.

si
Or if you visit any heritage city then see whether the public facilities are

er
properly implemented or not under the Heritage City Development and
Augmentation Yojana.

v
ni
5.13. Summary

U
Urban development programmes are very important as they work
towards easing the negative physical and social effects on people that arose
rry
due to industrial revolution particularly in urban areas. In India the urban
development programmes main focus is on reduction and alleviation of
poverty since the starting of the planned era in India, especially after the
he

Fifth Five Year period. The urban local bodies and urban governments with
their constructive efforts make the urban dwelling places a good, healthy
ic

place to live and move around. Many schemes of urban development focus
on slum redevelopment, providing skill training to the urban poor for
nd

gainful employment opportunities in cities, providing housing and shelter

to the poor and the needy, providing credit facilities for the poor etc.
Po

JNNURM was the longest running urban development scheme in India

and it has fastened the process of urban development. After the completion
of JNNURM a lot of new schemes and missions were implemented for the
E,

urban development of cities. Urbanization is a continuous process and so

to control the growing urban population and especially the urban poor,
D

urban development programmes are necessary in India.

D

150
 Notes
5.14: Refernces

Deaton, Augus and Jean Dreze 2002. Poverty and Inequality in India: A
Reexamination. Princeton, Research Programme in Development Studies:
Delhi School of Economics.
Dutt. R. and Sundharam, K.P.M. 1988. Indian Economy. S. Chand and
Company: New Delhi.

ty
Fonesca. A.J. (ed.) 1971. The Challenge of Poverty in India. Vikas
Publishing Company: New Delhi.

si
Punit, A.E. 1982. Profiles of Poverty in India. Deep and Deep Company:

er
New Delhi.
Visaria, Pravin 2000. Poverty in India During 1994-98: Alternative

v
Estimates. Institute for Economic Growth: New Delhi.

ni
Bansal, Alok, et al, (2002), “Urban Transport”, Training Programme on
Urban Environmental Management, Volume I, December 2-6, 2002; Indira

U
Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. Botkin, Daniel and
Edward Keller (1995), “Environmental Science, Earth as a Living Planet”,
rry
John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York.
Buch, M.N. (1993), “Environmental Consciousness and Urban Planning”,
he

Orient Longman, New Delhi.

Kundu, Amitabh (2006) “Trends and Patterns of Urbanization and Their
Economic Implications”, in India Infrastructure Report 2006, Urban
ic

Infrastructure, Oxford University Press.

nd

Miller, G. Tyler Jr. (1994), “Sustaining the Earth: An Integrated Approach”,

Wadswarth Publishing Company, California.
Po

Pandey, Suneel, Shaheen Singhal, Pragya Jaswal and Manraj Guliani,

(2006) “Urban Environment”, in India Infrastructure Report 2006, Urban
Infrastructure, Oxford University Press.
E,

Parikh and Vibhooti Shukla, (1995), “Urbanisation, Energy Use and

Greenhouse Effects in Economic Development”, Global Environmental
D

Change, Vol 5, No. 2. pp 87-103.

Rastogi, Anupam, (2006) “The Infrastructure Sector in India”, in India
D

Infrastructure Report 2006, Urban Infrastructure, Oxford University Press.

Reddy, Sudhakara B., (1998), “Urban Energy Systems”, Concept Publishing
House, New Delhi.
Reddy, Sudhakara B., (2002), “The Urban Challenge”, Training Programme
on Urban Environmental Management, Volume I, December 2-6, 2002;
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. Shukla

151
Notes
Vibhooti and Kirit S. Parikh (1992), “The Environmental Consequences
of Urban Growth”, Urban Geography, Vol. 5.
Singh, K.P. (ed), (1998), “Infrastructure in India”, National Institute of
Management Technology, Ghaziabad.
Toutain, Oliver and S. Gopiprasad, (2006) “Planning for Urban
Infrastructure” in India Infrastructure Report 2006, Urban Infrastructure,
Oxford University Press.

ty
Wilderer, Martin Z. (2003),”Economic Growth, Environment and

si
Development: The Significance of the Eco-Industrial Park Concept in
India and Indonesia”, Manak Publications Ltd, New Delhi.

er
World Resource Institute, (1997), “World Resources, A Guide to Urban
Environment”, Oxford University Press, New York.

v
Bose, A. “India’s Urbanisation: 1901-2001”, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing

ni
Co. Ltd, New Delhi 1978

U
Sivaramakrishnan, K.C, Amitabh Kumdu and B. N. Singh, 2005,“Handbook
50 of Urbanisation in India: An Analysis of Trends and Processes”, Oxford
rry
University Press, New Delhi, 2005.
Maitra, A. K., 1993, “Managing Urban Environment in India” – Workshop
on Role of Cities, Vol II – Times Research Foundation, Kolkata, 1993.
he

Maitra, A. K., 2000, “Urban Environment in Crisis”, New Age International

Publishers, Delhi, 2000.
ic

Mohan, R., 1996,“Urbanisation in India: Patterns and Emerging Policy

nd

Issues” in The Urban Transformation of the Developing World; Josef

Guglar (ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford 1996.
Mohan, R., 2001,“State of the Environment: India (Report Number 1999
Po

EE45), submitted to the United Nations Environment Programme, 2001.

National Institute of Urban Affairs 1998: “Report of the National
Commission on Urbanisation, Vol 2”, 1998.
E,

Ministry of Environment and Forests 1992: “Policy Statement for

Abatement of Pollution”, GOI, New Delhi, 1992.
D

Ministry of Environment and Forests 1992: “National Conservation

D

Strategy and Policy Document on Environment and Development”, GOI,

New Delhi, 1992.
Ministry of Environment and Forests 1995: “Annual Report”, GOI, New
Delhi, 19941995.

152
 Notes
UNIT - VI

Lesson 6.1 - Urban Governance

Structure

6.1. Learning Objectives

ty
6.2. Assessment of Prior Knowledge

si
6.3. Urban Governance: Concept and Need

er
6.4. Principles of Urban Governance
6.5. Urban Local Bodies and Municipal Governance in India

v
6.6. Urban Governance Index (UGI)

ni
6.7. Urban Governance in India

U
6.8. Urban Violence
6.9. Challenges to Improved Urban Governance
rry
6.10. Steps to Strengthen Urban Governance
6.11. Summary
he

6.12. References
ic

6.1. Learning Objectives

nd

After reading this unit, the students will be able to

➢ 
Understand urban governance
➢ 
Explain the Urban Local Bodies and Municipal Governance in India
Po

➢ 
Importance of Urban Development Index
➢ 
Understand urban governance in India
➢ 
Explain the factors of Urban Violence
E,

6.2. Assessment of Prior Knowledge

D

In the previous Unit 5 on Slums we discussed the nature and

D

characteristics of slums, their origin and history. The problems and

challenges faced by the slum dwellers were also discussed. The socio-
economic profile of the Indian slums in general was discussed. Then some
specific case studies of slums were given. Then the importance of urban
planning and development in India was discussed. Some of the key urban
development programmes in India were discussed.

153
Notes
6.3. Urban Governance: Concept and Need

In modern times for achieving the societal developmental

objectives governance is very important. Although in developed and
developing countries the notion of governance are perceived differently
but still governance is very important for transforming respective societies.
Governance can have different meanings in different contexts. Urban
governance is used to refer to governance in urban areas to bring about

ty
decency and order into the urban social life and increase the welfare of

si
the citizens. Urban governance ensures the executive administration of
the city. It lays down and enforces the norms of city culture and traffic

er
regulation. The concept of city governance and city planning are novel
to India. The city governance in contemporary India are modelled on

v
the federal governmental structure and consist of a mayor and elected

ni
councillors representing different areas of a city. A bureaucratic structure
with technical experts looks after the day to day administration. The

U
city government has the task of city planning as well as provision of
essential services. City planning in relation to many of our cities refers
rry
to the amelioration of existing anomalies of urban growth. Today city
governments are playing a prominent role in slum clearance and urban
he

renewal. Thus a multitude of actors are involved in city governance process.

Rapid urbanization has become more acute in relatively less

ic

planned and unorganized country like India. It becomes a problem when

the city becomes incapable of providing for the minimal products and
nd

services essential for a healthy and happy life of the urban dweller. Thus
the problem of rapid urban growth is in reality a problem of improper
Po

planning and unbalanced development of the city. The problems created

by rapid urban growth are immediate and are in the nature of affecting
the day to day life of the urban community. Hence they require immediate
E,

attention and handy solutions. Some of them which are increasingly

experienced by many of our cities especially the metropolis like Mumbai,
D

Chennai, Bangalore, etc., include congestion, shortfall in the provision

of essential services like water supply, housing, educational and medical
D

facilities, public transportation, etc, noise pollution and to some extent

air and water pollution, growth of slums and consequent vices, etc. Thus
to solve the above problems and to ensure welfare of the citizens urban
governance is essential for the cities.

154
 Notes
Urban governance can function only when public, private and
social organizations will interact in the planning and development of the
city. If this perspective is followed then the city planners, businesses and
real estate players will involve in networked decision-making process that
will shape and change the future of their city. If these partnerships are
maintained and developed then the city governance will improve. However,
the city governance also needs the dynamic interaction between the major

ty
stakeholders and the external agencies operating outside the city. However,
in the developing countries good urban governance is essential because of

si
paucity of technical experts and experienced city planners who will assess

er
and plan the future development of a city. There are multiple government
agencies but there is poor interconnection, widespread evasion of regulation

v
and considerable scope for corruption in developing countries.

ni
6.4. Principles of Urban Governance

U
The main principles of urban governance are responding to
rry
the public’s needs and demands and the accountability of the decision
makers. Participation, transference and consensus are essential to ensure
responsiveness of citizens and accountability is related to the rule of law,
he

efficiency and equity.

ic

Participation and Representation

nd

The central governments in the Asia-Pacific region have

dominated the local agendas historically. With increasing urbanization
and globalization, the grassroot local bodies, special interest groups as
Po

well NGO’s have demanded greater participation in the local affairs. In the
1970’s and 80’s some countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, the Republic
of Korea and Pakistan restricted the participation of the citizens. But these
E,

regimes did not survive although strong leaders like Suharto in Indonesia
and Marcos in the Philippines were rulers. The direct form of participation
D

of citizens is through elections, referendums, petitions and participation

in public meetings. In India the non-governmental organizations are
D

working for remedial or developmental rights of the citizens. In Republic

of China the direct participation of citizens has taken place through
consultation and dialogue with local government officials. In Korea also
the urban citizens are demanding for frequent audits and investigations
of the government programmes. The government of Thailand has set up
a “court of governance” in which the citizens can resolve their conflicts

155
Notes
with public administration. In India according to the 1992 Constitutional
Amendment Act, the state governments are directed to reserve one third
of all seats for women to make it more representative. Recently in Pakistan,
the government has set up a three tier metropolitan governance structure
in Karachi and encouraging a more participatory governance.

Participatory Budgeting

ty
In participatory budgeting the residents of a city decide the local

si
recourse allocation among them. It has been quite late in coming to the
Asia Pacific region but it is gaining popularity. This process of participatory

er
budgeting originated in 1989 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The main purpose
of this was to involve people from low-income groups and civil society

v
organizations in the governance process. The process allowed people from

ni
all neighbourhoods, district and city groups and associations to appoint
budget delegates who in turn identified spending priorities. In India

U
a number of civil society groups and non-governmental organizations
in various cities has tried to analyse the state budgets, prepared budget
rry
summaries and has also influenced local bodies to allocate more funds
and recourses in the programmes so that the poor and the unreserved
he

communities are benefitted. In Pune the municipal authorities has given

the citizens and city officials to submit their feedbacks regarding the
projects. In 2006 and 2007 members of self-help groups in low-income
ic

groups received special training for taking up economic activities. In

nd

2008 and 2009, the participatory budgeting process was extended to the
residents at the ward level.
Po

Self-Assessment Questions 1

Note: Write your answer in 50 words

E,

1. Discuss the principles of urban governance?

2. Examine the importance of urban governance.
D
D

6.5. Urban Local Bodies and Municipal Governance in IndiA

In 1882 Lord Ripon’s Resolution of Local Self Governance

created the structure of municipal governance in India. It introduced
decentralization of function by introducing two-tier system of governance
to increase the efficiency of governance. The Government of India Act
of 1919 based on the 1918 Montague -Chelmsford Report introduced the

156
 Notes
system of ‘Dyarchy’ where power sharing arrangements between the state
and the local bodies were different. The District Municipalities Act of 1920
made the Municipal Councils into elected bodies and gave them powers to
have their own budgets. The Government of India Act, 1935 granted the
local government with powers and brought them within the purview of
the state government.

The following are the main urban local bodies found in India:

ty
1. Municipal Corporation: The state government of big cities and the

si
Act of Parliament for the big cities of Union Territories establish

er
the Municipal Corporation. A corporation is composed by three
authorities. Firstly, the corporation is headed by a Mayor and he

v
is assisted by the Deputy Mayor. The citizens directly elect the

ni
councillors and Mayor and the Council is the legislative organ of the
corporation. The second organ of the corporation is the standing

U
committee that deals with various activities like education, health,
public works and they have the power to take their own decisions.
rry
The third and the final authority of the Municipal Commissioner is
the government officer and is responsible for implementation of all
the decisions taken by the council and standing committees.
he

2. Municipalities: For the administration of small cities and towns

the Municipalities are set up by the Acts of state legislature. It is
ic

also composed of three authorities. Firstly, the Chairman heads the

municipal council which is the legislative branch of the municipality
nd

and he is assisted by a Deputy Chairman. The second is the standing

committees and they execute the work of the municipality in various
Po

fields like health, education etc. The third authority is the Chief
Municipal Officer appointed by the state government.
3. Notified Area Committee: This is created in areas which is a
E,

town and fast growing and developing but still does not fulfil
the criteria for creation of a municipality. It is named as Notified
D

Area Committee as it is established through a notification issued

by the state government. The functions of it are similar to that of
D

municipality.
4. Town Area Committee: It is created for the administration of small
towns by an Act of the state government. It works for the repair
and maintenance of public assets like street lighting, drainage, etc.
The Town Area Committee may be partly or wholly nominated or
elected.

157
Notes
5. Cantonment Boards: These are established in cantonment or
military areas to perform the municipal functions for the civilian
population residing there. The Cantonment Boards are created
under the Central Act of 1924 and the Ministry of Defence controls
it. There are three types of Cantonment Boards depending on the
number of the civilian population residing in the Cantonment
Area and it consists of partly elected and nominated members.

ty
The members of the Cantonment Boards are elected for a period of
three years.

si
6. Townships: Townships are established to provide civil amenities to

er
its employees living in a township. The public sector undertaking
establish the township and it has no elected members. The affairs of

v
the Township are managed by a Town Administrator appointed by

ni
the public sector undertaking.
7. Port Trusts: Port Trusts protect and manage the ports and provide

U
civic amenities to the port area. Port Trusts are headed by an officer
appointed by the central government and consists of both elected
rry
and nominated members.
8. Special Purpose Agencies: Special purpose agencies are established
he

by the state governments to perform some special functions of the

municipalities. They are created by an Act of Parliament or by an
order of the executive. Some examples of special purpose agencies
ic

are Housing Board, Water Supply Undertaking, Electricity Supply

nd

Undertaking, Urban Development Authorities, etc.

The 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 and Urban

Po

Local Bodies
Before the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, the Indian
E,

local government did not had a constitutional status but only a statutory
status under the law of the state. Therefore the unban governance was
directly under the state government control. But the 74th Constitutional
D

Amendment Act changed this and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) were
D

granted constitutional position as the third tier of the government. These

urban local bodies were given the power for conducting regular elections,
exercise their powers independently and also manage and control finances.
The Amendment gave the responsibility of providing basic services to the
local bodies. On the basis of the population, the Urban Local Bodies are
classified as:

158
 Notes
➢ 
Nagar Panchayats: for ‘rurban’ areas
➢ 
Municipal Councils: for smaller urban areas
➢ 
Municipal Corporations: for metropolitan areas
The members of the Municipalities are elected through the process
of elections to enhance elected representatives for a period of five years.
The Amendment also instituted the Directive Principles of State Policy for
decentralization of powers in the urban areas. The Urban Local Bodies were

ty
given the power and responsibility to prepare plans, implement and develop
schemes and also administer taxes. A state level Finance Commission was

si
also set up to review the finances of the Urban Local Bodies.

er
The other two important organizational structures of the local
bodies created under the Constitution are the District Planning Committee

v
and the Metropolitan Planning Committee. The 12th Schedule was also

ni
added to the Constitution after the 74th Amendment Act. The functional
responsibilities of the municipalities are enumerated in Article 243W of
the Constitution.

U
rry
Table 6.1: Main Characteristics of Urban Local Governments

Type of Rationale for Constitution and Brief Characteristics

he

Municipality Before 1992 After 1992

Municipal ➢  Established in metropolitan areas Constituted in
Corporation or big cities “large urban
ic

Wider functions and larger powers areas”

➢ 
nd

than councils, enjoy more autonomy

and have larger revenue resources
Po

➢ 
Separation of deliberative from
executive functions and vesting
of all executive powers in an
appointed authority who is
E,

independent of the elected body.

Municipal ➢ 
Most popular form of local Constituted in
D

Committee/ government in urban areas “small urban

D

Council ➢ 
Set up in cities and large towns areas”
➢ 
Extent of State control is relatively
larger than corporations

159
Notes

Type of Rationale for Constitution and Brief Characteristics

Municipality Before 1992 After 1992
Nagar ➢  Constituted after 1992 Constituted
Panchayat in “areas in
transition from
rural to urban”
Notified Area ➢  Set up by State government in Abolished

ty
Committee medium and small towns
➢ 
Created for areas which do not

si
fulfil conditions for constitution

er
of councils but are otherwise
important.

v
➢ 
Also created for newly developing

ni
towns or areas where industries are
being established.
➢ 

U
All members including chairman
are nominated by State government
rry
and not elected.
Town Area ➢ 
Semi-municipal authority Abolished
he

Committee constituted for small towns.

➢ 
Members are either wholly
nominated or wholly elected, or
ic

partly nominated and partly elected.

nd

Source: Report of the Committee of Ministers Constituted by the Central

Council of Local Self Government (1963); Government of India (1966);
Po

Sachdeva, Pardeep (1993); Constitutional Provisions Relating to Village

Panchayats and Municipalities in India (1999).

The number of municipalities in an area differs from state to

E,

state. The states with large number of urban areas have more number
of municipalities. And there are also some states where there are no
D

municipal corporations and Nagar panchayats as these areas do not fulfil

D

the specific criteria of forming a particular type of local self-government.

In accordance to the municipal act the municipalities are constituted by
the state governments.

160
 Notes
Table 6.2: Criteria for Constitution of Municipalities in some states

Name of Type of Municipality and Criteria

State Municipal Municipal Nagar Panchayat
Corporation Council
Haryana Population Population of Population of not more
of 300,000 or
more than 50,000 than 50,000
more and not exceeding

ty
500,000
Rajasthan Population Population of more Class II: Located at

si
of 500,000 or than 100,000 and District Headquarter;

er
more not exceeding population of 50,000
500,000 or more and not

v
exceeding 100,000; per

ni
capita income of Rs.
200 or more

U
Class III: Population of
25,000 or more and not
rry
exceeding 50,000;
population of less than
he

25,000 and per capita

income of Rs. 150
ic

Class IV: Population of

less than 25,000
nd

Source: Municipal Law in Rajasthan, Vol. II (2005: 549-50); The Haryana

Po

Municipal Act, 1973 (2005: 47); United Provinces Municipalities Act,

1916 (2004).
E,

Municipal Legislation

The state municipal acts governs the urban local governments. The
D

central government has given power to the state legislatures to decide the
D

structure, function and powers of the local governments. The functions of

the various state municipal acts are more or less uniform but there might
be differences in the distribution of powers, functions and finances. The
municipalities also has the power to draft local byelaws for municipal
administration which are then sent to the state legislature for approval.
The municipal act is therefore a document to guide the local officials

161
Notes
and elected representatives for administrative procedures. Two different
types of Acts are there generally in every state, one for the Municipal
Corporations and Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats.

Composition of Municipalities

Since the constitution of municipalities there has been significant

ty
changes in it. In earlier times the administration of the municipality was
in the hands of the ruling class or government and their subordinates.

si
But the urban citizens were not satisfied with the centralized approach of
administration of the municipalities as it was characterised by excessive

er
bureaucracy. So participation of the citizens in the administrative processes

v
was felt necessary. Some urban citizens are chosen by selecting them through
elections to municipalities. The municipal area is divided into several wards

ni
based on the population of the area. At the ward level there is a contest

U
for the post of councillors in municipalities. From every ward one person
is elected as a councillor. Elections are also held for mayor in municipal
rry
corporations and chairperson in municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The municipal elections are organized by the state governments. The staff
and persons elected and nominated by the state governments become part
he

of the local government. The government establishes a democratic form

of local government and tries to maintain a balance between the officials
ic

and non-officials. To ensure wider participation and social inclusiveness

some seats in the local governments are reserved for some sections of the
nd

society like women, lower caste people etc. An example of an urban local
self-government is shown below:
Po

Table 6.3: Composition of Urban Local Governments

Category Type of Municipality

Municipal Corporation Municipal Council/ Nagar
E,

Panchayat
Elected ➢ 
Mayor; ➢  Chairperson/President;
D

Members DeputyMayor Vice-President

D

➢ 
Councillors/Elected ➢  Councillors/Elected
Ward Representatives Ward Representatives
Ward ➢ 
MPs ➢ 
MPs
Representatives ➢ 
MLAs ➢ 
MLAs • MLCs
➢ 
MLCs

162
 Notes

Category Type of Municipality

Municipal Corporation Municipal Council/ Nagar
Panchayat
Ex-officio
Members
Appointed Staff ➢ 
Municipal ➢ 
Executive Officer
Commissioner ➢ 
Subordinate Staff

ty
➢ 
Subordinate Staff
Nominated ➢ 
Selected Citizens ➢ 
Selected Citizens

si
Members

er
Source: State Municipal Acts

v
Duties of Municipalities

ni
The main objective of the urban local government was the

U
maintenance of law and order in the early years. In recent times the focus
of urban local bodies has been on the promotion of welfare of the citizens.
rry
The functions of the municipality is basically classified into obligatory
and optional or discretionary functions. The obligatory functions are to
be performed by the local governments for which sufficient funds has
he

been allocated. The discretionary functions are not that important and
they are performed depending on the availability of funds. The main
ic

municipal functions which are listed in the State municipal acts fall under
the following broad categories: a. public health and sanitation, b. medical
nd

relief, c. public works, d. education, e. development, and f. administration.

Table 6.4: Functions of Urban Local Governments

Po

S.No. Category Description

Water supply, public vaccination, control of
Public Health
1 diseases, prevention of pollution, collection &
E,

and Sanitation
disposal of rubbish, maintenance of sewers, etc.
Establishment & maintenance of health
D

2 Medical Relief
institutions, etc.
D

Construction & maintenance of streets,

3 Public Works bridges, etc., control & regulation of building
activity, street lighting, tree plantations, etc.
Establishment & maintenance of educational
4 Education
institutions, etc.

163
Notes

S.No. Category Description

Construction & maintenance of markets,
shopping centres, drinking water standposts,
5 Development wells, parks, gardens, etc.; preparation of
comprehensive plans for development &
growth of town, etc.
Preparation of annual reports, maintenance &

ty
6 Administrative development of municipal property, regulation
of traffic, registration of births & deaths, etc.

si
Source: Government of India (1966: 20-23); Municipal Acts of various

er
States.

v
Moreover the 74th Amendment Act, 1992 has endowed the state

ni
legislatures with 18 functions. Many of the functions were already listed
in the Municipal Acts of most states but certain new features such as

U
protection of the environment, safeguarding the interests of the weaker
sections of society, planning for economic and social development etc
rry
were included after the 74th Amendment. In almost every state in their
municipal acts they have included the 18 functions. The 12th Schedule of
the Article 243-W includes the 18 functions which are as follows:
he

1. Urban Planning, including town planning;

ic

2. Regulation of land-use and construction of buildings;

3. Planning for economic and social development;
nd

4. Roads and bridges;

5. Water supply for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes;
Po

6. Public health, sanitation, conservancy and solid waste management;

7. Fire services;
8. Urban forestry, protection of the environment and promotion of
E,

ecological aspects;
9. Safeguarding the interests of the weaker sections of society,
D

including the handicapped and mentally retarded;

D

10. Slum improvement and upgradation;

11. Urban poverty alleviation;
12. Provision of urban amenities and facilities, such as parks, gardens,
playgrounds;
13. Promotion of cultural, educational and aesthetic aspects;

164
 Notes
14. Burials and burial grounds; cremation and cremation grounds and
electric crematoriums;
15. Cattle pounds; prevention of cruelty to animals;
16. Vital statistics, including registration of births and deaths;
17. Public amenities, including street lighting, parking lots, bus stops
and public conveniences; and
18. Regulation of slaughterhouses and tanneries.

ty
si
Division of Powers -Elected, Nominated and Administrative

er
The elected and nominated councillors of the municipalities are
provided in the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act and their number

v
varies from state to state according to the population of an area. The elected

ni
councillors nominate some names and select the nominated councillors.
However the Amendment does not provide any specific organizational

U
structure for the administration of municipalities in India. This is decided
by the state legislatures and the structure of administration differs from
rry
state to state. A Model Municipal Law, 2003 was drafted by the Ministry
of Urban Development and circulated to the state governments. Central
administration is not preferred in municipal administration as the local
he

bodies should be flexible according to the local requirements. Two broad

models are generally followed in the administration of the municipalities:
ic

1. Commissioner system
nd

The Mayor

In the Municipal Corporation, the Mayor is chosen indirectly through

Po

elections by the councillors among themselves for one year which is

renewable but the Mayor does not have any authority. Councillors,
Committee Councillors and Standing Committees perform different
E,

functions in the administration of the municipality. Of these the

powerful committee is the standing committee performs all the
D

executive, financial and personnel powers. The standing committee

D

is composed of around 7 to 16 elected members through proportional

representation of councillors.

The Executive

The Chief Executive Officer of the Municipal Corporation is the

Municipal Commissioner and he heads the executive arm. The state

165
Notes
provides the power to the Commissioner and assigned to the Standing
Committee.

2. Mayor in council model

The council model of city governance follows the framework of state

or national governments in administration. In this model the Mayor
is headed by a cabinet of elected councillors who have individual

ty
portfolios. The Municipal Commissioner acts as the Chief Executive
Officer and he works under the supervision of the Mayor.

si
Thus the above model of urban governance might be seen to be

er
simple but in reality it is a combination of multiple agencies. Some are new
while others are continuity of older legacies which are accountable to the

v
local, state or national governments.

ni
Self-Assessment Questions 2

Note: Write the answers in two lines

U
rry
1. Discuss the changes brought about by the 74th Constitutional
Amendment Act of 1992?
he

2. Discuss the functions of the main urban local bodies found in

India?
ic

Urban Governance Index (UGI)

nd

The UN-HABITAT has developed an index to measure and test

the quality of urban governance. This is the Urban Governance Index
Po

developed within the framework of the Global Campaign on Urban

Governance. The UGI has a twofold purpose, which are:

➢ 
Global Level: The UDI will measure the quality of good urban
E,

governance in achieving the broader developmental goals in

terms of Millennium Development Goals and those in the Habitat
D

Agenda at the global level. There are evidences at the national level
that only good governance will bring about positive developmental
D

outcomes. The UGI will also help us to make comparisons between

regional and global cities and learn from them. This will help us to
take specific steps to improve the quality of local governance.
➢ 
At the local level: The UDI will accelerate the local actions and
improve urban governance at the local level. In the cities local
indicators will be developed which will respond to the unique local

166
 Notes
contexts and needs. The UGI will develop their own monitoring
systems by developing tools and training guides at the local level.

The Urban Development Index was developed in cooperation

with both Global Urban Observatory and the Global Campaign on Urban
Governance which was supported by selected cities of the Campaign’s
Global Steering Group. In 2002 the initial framework and indicators were
established by an internal UN-HABITAT Flex Team. The initial indicators

ty
were developed based on research and Urban Indicators Programme. In

si
November 2002 an Expert Group Meting made some recommendations
regarding the structure of the index. Pilot field testing was done in two

er
stages, with a group comprising first 12 and later 24 large and medium
cities from different regions and also on the basis of population. Based on

v
the Global Urban Observatory’s monitoring programme it was intended

ni
to expand this to more cities. Large number of indicators were selected for
initial field tests and based on the results the indicators that had strong

U
correlation with the quality of governance were selected to be included in
the index. The indicators are essential for the implementation policies of
rry
urban development.
he

6.7. Urban Governance in India

India has gone through several changes in the political and

ic

economic spheres which has implications for urban governance. India

nd

followed a mixed economic model in which the public sector lead the
economy and the public sector determining the welfare of its citizens. The
economic reform policy of 1991 brought significant changes so that India
Po

can be at par with the developed nations. Further the growing pressure of
urbanization in the 1980’s made markets emerge as strong institutions for
allocation of resources for the growing consumer class in the cities.
E,

Legal Provision relating to Municipal Governance

D

The 74th Amendment Act of 1992 identified the municipalities as

D

the third tier of urban governance after centre and states. The Amendment
identified more functions assigned to municipal bodies and they urged the
state governments to give them more financial powers relating to taxation
and also other additional responsibilities were assigned to them. The
functions of the municipalities are as follows:

167
Notes
1. Municipal Elections and functioning of ward committees:
The National Institute of Urban Affairs conducted a study on
municipalities and found that municipal elections are held in
almost all states. Ward committees were constituted in nine states
to ensure the proper representation from each ward in the decision
making process. Kerela is the only state where ward committees
are successfully functioning in every ward and populations having

ty
population above 1 lakh.
2. Transferring of functional responsibilities: The states have made

si
provisions in the Municipal Acts for the transfer of powers to the

er
municipalities. But this differs from state to state. Some states for
example Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have been given more

v
additional functions besides the functions mentioned in the 12th

ni
Schedule.
3. State finance commission and financial reforms: The finance

U
commissions of the various states are assigned to review the financial
position of the municipal bodies. Many states has established two
rry
State Finance Commissions so far.
4. Constitution and functioning of DPCs and MPCs: The DCPs (District
he

Planning Committees) are formed for achieving integrated regional

planning. The DCPs would prepare spatial plans for the district,
developmental plans and try to integrate the common interest of the
ic

rural and urban areas. The DCPs would also act as advisory to the
nd

local bodies for preparation and effective implementation of plans.

The DCPs would also monitor and implement district development
plans and allocate resources to local bodies for planning and
Po

implementing the local level projects.

The MPCs (Metropolitan Planning Committees) are established in every
metropolitan area. The MPCs accord recognition to metro regional
E,

planning and by giving spatial planning inputs. The MPCs prepare the
draft development plan for metropolitan areas, coordinate the spatial plans
D

prepared by the municipalities and panchayats in the metro area and also
D

suggests recommendations. The MPCs also monitors the developmental

plans of the local bodies for their effective implementation.

The Municipal governance Act of the various states include many

functions but does not allocate the required finances to implement the Act.
Thus the urban governance need to addressed seriously so that increasing
urbanization in the cities can be managed properly.

168
 Notes
6.8. Urban Violence

Violence in urban areas is a common phenomenon in the cities

of Asia, Africa, Latin America which has become a threat to the urban
dwellers. Urban violence is a result of the growing inequalities in urban
areas and increasing unstable political conditions in the developing
countries. Increasing terrorism, insecurities, international migration,
failing nation states, social exclusion, regionalism, communalism, etc are

ty
the dimensions of urban violence in recent years.

si
Violence generally means the use of force to cause harm to others

er
and the use of power for specific gains. Violence whether in rural or urban
areas can be categorised into four categories – political, institutional,

v
economic and social violence. Most of the social violence that takes place

ni
is gender based and linked to unequal power relations between male
and female. It may include intimate partner violence, child abuse, sexual

U
harassment, etc. Social violence can also be against ethnicity, religion,
caste, creed and identity based violence which can take place in public area
rry
in the streets. Economic violence is related to material gain and associated
with robbery, loot, arson, kidnapping, etc.
he

Institutional violence can be associated with the violence carried

out by the state institutions especially the police and the judiciary and
also ministers in the health and education department. Political violence
ic

is carried out for the hold of political power which might include guerrilla
nd

conflict, political assassination, paramilitary conflict etc.

Violence is not always physical but can also be structural which

Po

is manifested in the social structures like in the form of exploitation,

exclusion, inequality etc. Violence in urban areas is problematic in urban
areas as violence in the slums has become routinized in the daily lives of
E,

the slum dwellers. Violence invokes fear and insecurity among people’s
lives as street crime, growing gang culture in the cities are increasing the
level of violence in urban areas. In the cities also there is a variation in the
D

violence levels based on neighbourhood income levels, gender and age.

D

Factors causing urban violence

Fast growing urbanization due to rapid migration is one of the

main factors of urban violence. In the developing countries there is a fast
growing slum population. Today around a billion people in the world are
living in sub-standard living conditions in slums or squatter settlements,

169
Notes
without assess to even the basic services like drinking water, sanitation,
education and health facilities. These areas are the breeding grounds
of criminal activities due to a combination of factors such as poverty,
unemployment, inequality, marginalization, poor governance, weak rule
of law etc.

The youths of these areas are recruited into gangs and rebel
groups and they cause political and social unrest. It is also a coincidence

ty
that different violent groups like insurgents, terrorists, narco traffickers,

si
human traffickers, criminal gangs are targeting the big cities. Cities
are the epicentre of government power and have significant political,

er
economic, psychological and cultural life. Today cities of the world are
interconnected and networked more than before through transportation,

v
trade, commerce, migration, and modern information technologies.

ni
Despite all these the cities offer the violent groups with soft targets like
the airports, railway stations, religious places, shopping malls, etc. The

U
emerging technologies are also contributing to urban violence as there are
advances in surveillance techniques and aerial detention capabilities.
rry
There are many high quality technologies and radar systems that
can see through darkness, rain or even dust storms and satellite technologies
he

that can identity locations even in remote mountain areas. However

surveillance in cities becomes difficult because of high multi storey
ic

buildings, underground tunnels, and other structures and obstructions.

Thus it is the role and responsibility of the Urban local governments to
nd

curb and control urban violence. Urban violence has indirect impact on
the citizens and the welfare of the citizens will be at stake. Urban violence
Po

can disturb the law and order situation of cities which will have impact on
every citizen.
E,

Self-Assessment Questions 3

Write the answers in about 50 words

D

1. Examine the relation between urban poverty and urban violence?

D

2. Give the example of two instances of urban violence in Indian cities?

6.9. Challenges to Improved Urban Governance

The state governments are responsible for the urban government

and management of their cities. The state legislative enactment has delegated

170
 Notes
the municipal bodies with authority and power for urban governance. But
these local governments has become weak over the years due to various
reasons like encroachment on municipal functions by making them state
owned. The urban development authorities has become weak in executing
their functions, financial crisis, and lack of sufficient staff in municipal
boards.

1. Issues in decentralization: The 74th Amendment Act has

ty
incorporated the states provision for inclusion of additional

si
functions to the municipal body, but the functions differed from
state to state. Even in the same state the performance of municipal

er
bodies varies from city to city. The major reason for the difference
in performance of municipal bodies is recourse constraints. The

v
larger municipal corporations have access to funds but the smaller

ni
municipal councils have financial constraints. Moreover the transfer
of functions to the municipalities is affected in some cities as it

U
leads to overlap and often conflicts of the roles and responsibilities
of the different agencies involved in municipal governance. In this
rry
situation it becomes difficult for the citizens to blame the municipal
corporation for inadequate service delivery.
he

2. Financial impediments: The urban Local Bodies are financially

weak and although there are provisions of collecting user charges
from the residents but most of the people do not pay and so these
ic

provisions are not fully utilized. Many of the municipalities are

nd

in heavy debts and they are dependent on government grants and

aides. The state budgets which allocate certain amount for the
municipalities are ending in most states and the funding system
Po

based on planning and budget allocations will only reduce with

time.
3. Capacity Issues: Many of the Urban Local Bodies lack capacity due
E,

to improper and inadequate staffing and lack of standardization.

The urban bodies lack the educational, legal, institutional
D

and operational capability to develop and implement urban

D

developmental projects. The staff in the municipalities are not

technologically trained and this acts as a barrier for introducing
new technologies and management styles. All staffs should be given
certain level of training on IT systems, accounting norms etc.
4. Insufficient public participation: People’s involvement in the
decision making process of the urban governance is very less. The

171
Notes
municipal bodies are not putting efforts to include people in the
process and the citizens are also not aware about their role in the
governance process.
5. Transparency and accountability: We have already discussed
the lack of transparency and accountability of the urban local
bodies in the Municipal Disclosure Law. The main constraints for
achieving transference and accountability is the lack of the means

ty
to achieve it. In most of the urban local bodies there is inadequate
or substandard manpower and insufficient funds. In such context,

si
it becomes difficult to enhance accountability and transference.

er
6.10. Steps to Strenthen Urban Governance

v
A Working Group on Urban Governance was constituted by the

ni
Planning Commission for the formulation of the 12th Five Year Plan.

U
The Working Group committee gave some recommendations for the
strengthening of urban governance which are as follows:
rry
1. Classification of Urban Local Bodies: Standardized norms and
procedures should be adopted for the classification of Urban Local
Bodies. All the existing municipalities should be reclassified based
he

on the population into three categories: Municipal Corporation

for large urban areas of 5 lakh or more population; Municipal
ic

Council for urban areas of population ranging from 1 lakh to

5 lakh population and Nagar Panchayat for towns below 1 lakh
nd

population.
2. Strengthening Ward Committees: Ward committees are
Po

established in almost all the states but their functions varies from
state to state. The functioning of the ward committees should
be encouraged and area sabhas should be established. The ward
E,

committees should work in coordination with the area sabhas as

this will ensure the participatory process.
D

3. Strengthening Metropolitan Planning Committees: The 74th

D

Constitutional Amendment Act directs the state governments for

the establishment of Metropolitan Planning Committee for the
development of the metropolitan areas. However only a few states
has created MPC and the state governments need the support of
the central government in this regard.
4. Empowerment of political office bearers: The Mayors and

172
 Notes
Chairpersons of the Urban Local Bodies should be responsible for
the welfare of their citizens and for this they should have powers
and fixed tenure. The local regional conditions of the cities should
determine whether a “Mayor in Council” or “Executive Mayor”
system should be adopted.
5. Convergence of functions of State Bodies with Local Bodies: A
number of state bodies were created for providing services listed

ty
in the 12th Schedule for urban governance as the local bodies lack
skilled and technical manpower. Therefore a number of state

si
bodies like Water Supply and Sewerage Boards, Slum Housing

er
and Development Boards, PWD, Development Authorities, etc
have been performing various functions which should had been

v
performed by the Local Bodies as per mandate issued by the 74th

ni
Amendment. The multiple agencies performing various functions
in the urban areas has led to overlapping of functions, and wastage

U
of recourses. Moreover these state bodies are not elected bodies
and therefor they are answerable to the people.
rry
6. Framework for Governance of Mega Cities: The problems in
the mega cities are more complex due to scarcity of resources to
he

the growing population. People from rural areas migrate to mega

cities in search of employment and end up in slums and squatter
settlements without proper drinking water and sanitation.
ic

Therefore to administer and govern the mega cities is a big

nd

challenge on the part of municipal bodies. Thus there is a need for

creating framework for governing mega cities.
7. Strengthening the Organizational Capacities: Proper training
Po

should be given to the staff and members of the municipal bodies

in technical and managerial skills to meet the growing urban
challenges. Funds allocated to the municipalities should be
E,

increased and proper audits should be conducted.

8. Regulatory mechanism for Delivery of Basic Urban Services: A
D

proper urban service regulator is needed for deciding the services

D

and taxes of the urban local bodies as the earlier system is quite
outdated. The regulator would monitor the service and the tariff
and this will lead to efficiency and transference.
9. Public Private Partnership: PPPs can contribute to better
management of services in the urban areas if they are structured
around a robust revenue model. The state governments should

173
Notes
carry out legislative amendments for the implementation of the
PPP projects for the proper urban governance.
10. Accountability and Citizen Participation: The municipal bodies
and local governments should be more interactive so that more
citizens are participating in the affairs of urban governance.
11. Use of E-Governance and Technology for Improvement of
Delivery of Services and Need for Database: In the postmodern

ty
age, information and communication technology play important
role in the our day to day lives and it can also play important role

si
in urban governance. As the administration of the municipalities

er
are becoming more complex so the adoption of IT tools will ease
the administration of municipalities. E-Governance and IT skills

v
should be upgraded and adopted in all Urban Local Bodies for the

ni
proper administration of urban areas.

U
Self-Assessment Questions 4

Answer the following in 2 lines

rry
1. Examine the challenges to urban governance?
2. Suggest some recommendations for improved urban governance?
he

Effective urban governance is necessary in this postmodern world

where the processes of urbanization, globalization and liberalization
ic

are increasing the pressure on the service delivery in the cities of the
nd

developing countries. Most of the cities are not able to handle the pressure
of growing urbanization in which population is increasing but not the
Po

resources. The urban local bodies are ill equipped to plan and allocate the
resources because of lack of manpower and lack of technical knowledge.
Therefore adequate funds, technical training and effective monitoring of
the projects will steer urban governance in the right direction. Moreover
E,

policy reforms must also be done for proper urban governance.

D

6.12. Refernces
D

Ahluwalia, I. J. (2014a). Improving our cities through better governance.

London, England: LSE Cities.
Ahluwalia, I. J. (2014b). Transforming our cities. Noida, UP, India:
HarperCollins India.
Ahluwalia, I. J. (2016). Challenges of urbanisation in India. In T. Besley
(Ed.), Contemporary issues in development economics (pp. 163–177).

174
 Notes
London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ahluwalia, I. J., Chaudhuri, S., & Sidhu, S. (2008). Punjab industrial review.
Punjab, India: United Nations, Industrial Development Organization.
Ahluwalia, I. J., Kanbur, R., & Mohanty, P. K. (2014). Urbanisation in
India: Challenges, opportunities and the way forward. New Delhi, India:
Sage India.
Ahluwalia, I. J., & Mohanty, P. K. (2014). Planning and markets for urban

ty
development in India. In I. J. Ahluwalia, R. Kanbur, & P. K. Mohanty (Eds.),

si
Urbanisation in India: Challenges, opportunities and the way forward (pp.
1–28). New Delhi, India: Sage India.

er
Mathur M P. (2007), Impact of the Constitution (74th) Amendment Act
on the urban local bodies: a reviewNIUAWP 07-02 (National Institute of

v
Urban Affairs). 2007, Documentation of Best Practices, Delhi, NIUA.

ni
Tewari, V. (2004), Municipal reforms for sustainable urban infrastructure

U
development in India,Paper presented at the United Nations Asia Pacific
Leadership Forum:Sustainable Development for Cities, Hong Kong, 25-27
February 2004.
rry
Aijaz R. (2007), Challenges for Urban Local Governments in India Asia
Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science.
he

Chaubey P K. (2006), Urban Local Bodies in India: quest for making them
selfreliant New Delhi, Indian Institute of Public Administration.
ic

Frug, G. E. (1999). City making: Building communities without building

walls. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
nd

Jha G. (1993), Seventy-Fourth Constitution Amendment and the

empowerment of municipal government: a critique, Urban India Xl1l
Po

Gune-December)
Jha G. (2003), Municipal Financial Resource Mobilisation Status, Concerns
and Issues New Delhi, Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise (P) Ltd
E,
D
D

175