Urban Social Processes

Urban development and integration processes
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Part of ’Urban Dynamics’ project

Objectives
The aim of this sub-project is to produce a geographical analysis of the Indian Territory with the problematic of integration of Indian cities and towns in the globalization process during the last three decades.

By integration, we mean the phenomena by which a more and more increasing number of localities (urban agglomerations, but also villages) become connected each with many others together with different areas worldwide, within a range of hierarchical systems operating at the regional, national and global level. This integration process is taking place by means of numerous networks, which concern the various sectors of the Indian social systems: cultural, societal and economic. Cities and towns are the nodes of these networks as well as the factors of their dynamics. This concept enables us to take into account different processes, working complementarily or in competition. This leads to a reorganisation of the Indian Territory.

The sub-project aims to map and to analyse the distribution of these urban agglomerations as well as the organisation of these networks.

Materials and Methods
The project gives great importance to automatic mapping and modeling.

Databases will be built at the national level, taking as base for the analysis, the 951 urban agglomerations of more than 50,000 inhabitants, the 593 Districts and the 32 States and Union Territories. The Data will be collected from the Census of India, from different Indian Ministries and from various sources, public and private publications as well as websites. Considering Indian companies, the work will concern the 2000 biggest ones, which account for about 70% of the industrial production at national level.