{"id":191898,"date":"2022-06-23T21:09:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T15:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=191898"},"modified":"2022-06-23T21:13:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T15:43:12","slug":"what-makes-an-area-urban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/what-makes-an-area-urban\/","title":{"rendered":"What makes an area urban?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Context<\/strong>: Urban areas in India need to be clearly defined by the policymakers.<\/p>\n

What are the factors to determine whether an area is urban or not?<\/h5>\n

An urban area is a function of various factors, like –
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

a) <\/span><\/strong>population size, b)<\/strong> land surface, c)<\/strong> primary occupation, d)<\/strong> the level of development<\/span><\/p>\n

Why defining urban areas is necessary?<\/h5>\n

It is not only necessary to define \u201curban\u201d in order to understand urbanization<\/strong>, but also to understand the rural-urban divide.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

This is all the more important in the context of in-situ urbanization<\/em><\/strong>, where non-agricultural opportunities are promoted in rural areas, and economic linkages are strengthened. <\/span><\/p>\n

Further, almost 55% of the population live in cities now<\/strong> and nearly 70% is projected to be living in cities by 2050. This merits that definitional aspect of an urban area is clearly defined.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the lines between rural and urban spaces are not as clear<\/strong> as one might think, thereby urging for a definition. <\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> For instance, in the 19th and early 20th century the United States, a rural area, would have been classified as urban if the streets were laid out in a grid. Such clear transitions are hard to find today. <\/span><\/p>\n

An urban area\u2019s distinguishing characteristics are tied to its strategic role in the larger community, its value as a civilising force<\/strong>, and its role in enabling the market. <\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Rural – urban continuum that has emerged lately<\/strong>?<\/span><\/h5>\n

Unlike before, living in rural areas today does not mean exclusion from urban life. The processes of integrative development<\/strong> have meant that rural and urban have become more a part of a continuum than a dichotomy. <\/span><\/p>\n

Among the Scandinavian countries<\/strong>, rural and urban spaces are classified on the basis of each other. <\/span><\/p>\n

– For example<\/strong>, population density and distance from urban centres are seen as the criteria to define rural areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Denmark<\/strong>, which has close to 88% of the population living in cities, there are three classes of rural areas<\/strong> with distinctions between a)<\/strong> urban-adjacent, b)<\/strong> intermediate and c)<\/strong> remote rural areas. There’s also a further classification system that compiles the socio-economic profiles of its municipalities.<\/span><\/p>\n

How the Census defines an urban area?<\/h5>\n

According to the census definition, a habitation is classified as urban (excluding municipalities, corporations, cantonment boards, and notified town area committees) if it has a)<\/strong> a population of at least 5,000 people, b)<\/strong> at least 75% of the male working population employed in non-agricultural pursuits, and c)<\/strong> the population density is at least 400 people per square kilometre. <\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> These are also called Census Towns<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

What are various constitutional provisions related to the issue?<\/h5>\n

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments<\/strong> also enshrine the categorisation of areas into a)<\/strong> district, b)<\/strong> intermediate level, and c)<\/strong> village, as well as the d)<\/strong> creation of municipalities. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 74th Amendment Act (1992) defines three types of municipalities<\/strong>: <\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> Nagar Panchayat for transitional areas (rural to urban)<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> Municipal Council for smaller urban areas<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/strong> Municipal Corporation for larger urban areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

The demographic and other criteria determining which sort of municipality is formed vary greatly from state to state. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, it is up to the state legislatures<\/strong> to select which municipality will be formed for each urban area.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the Urbanization trends in India?<\/h5>\n

The Census of 2011 revealed a decline in India\u2019s rural population<\/strong> for the first time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cities like Bengaluru that have emerged as innovation hubs have grown between 2001 and 2011, subsuming many non-urban areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is only expected to grow with the next Census.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/strong>: This post is based on the article \u201cWhat makes an area urban?<\/strong>\u201d published in The Indian Express<\/strong> on 23rd June 22<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Context: Urban areas in India need to be clearly defined by the policymakers. What are the factors to determine whether an area is urban or not? An urban area is a function of various factors, like – a) population size, b) land surface, c) primary occupation, d) the level of development Why defining urban areas… Continue reading What makes an area urban?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[10500],"class_list":["post-191898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}