HS 538_Lecture 9_Urban Governance and Development_Kipgen

The Rural-Urban Fringe (RUF) Background: Inside the walled city lived an urban class of people engaged in non-agricultural occupations, and in the villages outside the city, there lived rural people who were primarily engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The city and the countryside were clearly divided by a discernible and conspicuous boundary between the traditional Indian city and the rural villages as abrupt and clearly defined. Around these major urban centers, the physical expansion of built-up areas beyond their municipal boundaries has been very conspicuous. Much of this development has occurred in a spontaneous, haphazard and unplanned manner. What were essentially rural villages beyond the municipal limits have now been unmistakably transformed by the location of urban residential, commercial and industrial complexes. The occurrence of the rural-urban fringe is a rather recent phenomenon around Indian cities. During British period, a number of villages around existing towns and cities were totally relocated or in some cases dislocated in order to obtain space for the construction of new cantonments and civil lines (And cities growth were confined to this). The native towns within the city area were often overcrowded, but were not allowed to expand beyond the city limits. The physical expansion of the city inevitably brings in concomitant changes in the social aspects of life in the fringe villages. 1. What is the rural-urban fringe? - It is the area where the city meets the countryside According to Wehrwein, an American land economist, this is the area of transition between well recognised urban landuses and the area devoted to agriculture. Blizzard and Anderson define it as the rural-urban fringe is that area of mixed urban and rural landuses between the point where full city services cease to be available and the point where agricultural landuses predominate. The rural-urban fringe is an area of mixed rural and urban populations and land-uses, which begins at the point where agricultural land-uses appear near the city and extends up to the point where villages have distinct urban land-uses or where some persons, at least, from the village community commute to the city daily for work or other purposes.

Structure of the RUF Two types of administrative units: a) the municipal towns or Nagar panchayats, and b) revenue villages or Gram panchayats [The municipal towns differ in terms of their distance from the main city] Some conceptual notions of RUF: 1) Urban corridors near the city the corridor is a part of the RUF, while some distance away it becomes very discontiguous with long stretches of rural land-use separating areas of urban landuse. E.g. Delhi-Gahziabad; Delhi-Najafgarh; Delhi-Gurgaon etc. Two types urban industrial corridors and urban residential corridors 2) Green belts aims to control the physical expansion of large cities The fundamental arguments in favour of green belt are: a) a green belt, where the existing rural land-uses are frozen permanently, act as barrier, preventing further physical expansion of the city, b) a green belt preserves and enhances the quality of the environment around the city, c) a green belt will have picnic spots, parks and recreational areas, and d) the original agricultural uses of land will be permitted to continue, thus ensuring the supply of fresh vegetables, milk, flowers and other primary products to the city.

2. Recently there has been increasing demand for land here (RUF) because - Land is cheaper - There is less traffic congestion and pollution - There is easier access and a better road infrastructure - There is a more pleasant environment with more open space (sprawling) 3. What do developers want the land for? - Science and business parks - Office developments (BPOs) 4. Shopping centers: - Room to expand - space for parking - Cheap land - close to motorways - Hyper-markets and superstores (malls) - Hotel and conference centers

- Local suburban work force

- Leisure facilities can also be provided (cinemas, play station for kids) 5. Housing: why is housing built at the RUF? - Land is cheap - Less crime - more housing is needed as more people are living alone and living longer - good access to countryside

6. What are the problems caused by developing RUF? - Large areas of countryside may be lost Buildings may be out of character with existing rural buildings - Villages become suburbanized - Traffic is likely to increased (both cars and lorries) - There may be some noise or pollution 7. How can change at the RUF be managed? - Creating green belts a zone of countryside around a city where development is controlled. They aim to Prevent urban sprawl; prevent towns merging; Preserve the special character of towns [Not all cities have green belts: e.g. include London, Oxford and Bournemouth] However, green belts are often leap-frogged and developments happen just outside it. 8. How can development at the RUF be managed? New towns [At the end of the Second World War towns were created just outside London spreading and give people a better way of life] 9. Other policies In recent years the government has tried to reduce pressure on the RUF by encouraging development of Brownfield sites over Greenfield sites, and stopping any move out of town shopping centers from being built.