![]() Metropolitan cities of India are overcrowded both in ‘absolute’ and ‘relative’ terms. Image Courtesy : /wp-content/uploads/022.jpgįor example, Mumbai has one-sixth of an acre open space per thousand populations though four acre is suggested standard by the Master Plan of Greater Mumbai. This is well exhibited by almost all the big cities of India. It is naturally expected that cities having a large size of population squeezed in a small space must suffer from overcrowding. Overcrowding is a logical consequence of over-population in urban areas. Overcrowding is a situation in which too many people live in too little space. Urban sprawl is taking place at the cost of valuable agricultural land. In this way towns are continuously growing and in some areas the suburbs of a number of neighbouring towns may be so close together as to form an almost continuous urban belt which is called conurbation. Simultaneously small towns and villages within the commuting distance of major cities are also developed for residential purposes. This type of development is known as ‘infil’. But soon the demand for suburban homes causes the land between ribbon settlements to be built and made accessible by constructing new roads. Such sites are first to be developed because of their location near the road gives them greater accessibility. This type of growth is known as ribbon settlement. Historically suburbs have grown first along the major roads leading into the town. The difficulty of restricting town growth in either case is immense and most towns and cities are surrounded by wide rings of suburbs. ![]() In some cities, the outskirts are also added to by squatters who build makeshift shacks of unused land although they have no legal right to the land. In several big cities wealthy people are constantly moving from the crowded centres of the cities to the more pleasant suburbs where they can build larger houses and enjoy the space and privacy of a garden around the house. are examples of urban sprawl due to large scale migration of people from the surrounding areas. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, etc. ![]() Such hyperurbanisation leads to projected cities sizes of which defy imagination. This is due to the fact that such large cities act as magnets and attract large number of immigrants by dint of their employment opportunities and modern way of life. Massive immigration from rural areas as well as from small towns into big cities has taken place almost consistently thereby adding to the size of cities. In most cities the economic base is incapable of dealing with the problems created by their excessive size. Urban sprawl or real expansion of the cities, both in population and geographical area, of rapidly growing cities is the root cause of urban problems. Following problems need to be highlighted. By 2030, more than 50 per cent of India’s population is expected to live in urban areas. The urban population of India had already crossed the 285 million mark by 2001. Urban sprawl is rapidly encroaching the precious agricultural land. Poverty, unemployment and under employment among the rural immigrants, beggary, thefts, dacoities, burglaries and other social evils are on rampage. The rapid growth of urban population both natural and through migration, has put heavy pressure on public utilities like housing, sanitation, transport, water, electricity, health, education and so on. The sheer magnitude of the urban population, haphazard and unplanned growth of urban areas, and a desperate lack of infrastructure are the main causes of such a situation.
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