A TEXTBOOK OF URBAN PLANNING AND GEOGRAPHY

Book excerpt: Generally, textbooks on urban geography and urban planning are based on ideas laid out in the west and are unable to explicitly connect those ideas to the way Indians experience their cities. This gap is addressed in this book by reconceptualising Indian urban studies. The reconceptualisation is done by dissecting western theories, concepts, paradigms, and principles and practices, and placing them alongside how Indians experience their urban landscapes. Such a comparative analysis allows readers to break from their past understandings of the structure and dynamics of Indian cities as well as enable researchers to make exploratory hypotheses. The book will empower students to craft and implement new approaches, unconstrained by orthodox theories and biases. Primarily intended for the students of Geography and Urban Planning, the book covers the evolution of urban structures and dynamics of settlements in India, largely after India's Independence. There are seven chapters in the book. First three chapters describe and explain the evolution of Indian settlements up to the present. The next four chapters focus on regions, urban planning, urban governance and the social landscape of Indian cities. Each chapter ends with a set of short and long answer questions. KEY FEATURES Large coverage of the syllabi prescribed in Indian academic institutions Strategically organised text of each chapter for the ease of learning Abundant case studies in each chapter Chapter-end short-answer, long-answer and fill-in the blank type exercise problems Target Audience B.Arch BA/B.Sc (Geography) MA/M.Sc (Geography)