Abstract
This paper explores some of the complexities of India’s urban growth since its first post-Independence census of 1951. Two levels of analysis are pursued as they affect one another: numerical or demographic changes, on one hand, and changes in living conditions, or sociocultural trends, on the other. The general conclusion of the study is that a process of “erosion” of traditional society is occurring, but it is occurring slowly— as a population more than twice the size of the entire United States continues to live in the countryside (and to increase at about twice the U.S. growth rate). Moreover, the sociocultural change is occurring in a non-linear fashion, as much that is traditional endures along side of the modern—rather than being replaced or obliterated by it. Finally, while the growth is occurring in cities of all sizes, the intermediate, regional capitals like Hyderabad and ahmedabad—rather than the largest cities such as Bombay or Calcutta—are experiencing the most rapid growth.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BERRY, BRIAN J.L. and PHILLIP H. REES 1969 The factorial ecology of Calcutta.The American Sociological Review 74 (March): 445–91.
BLOMKVIST, HANS 1983 Housing the poor in a great city. Department of Government, Uppsala University, Sweden.
BOSE, N.K. 1965 Calcutta: A premature metropolis.Scientific American 13, 3: 90–102.
DANDEKAR, HEMALATA C. 1986Men to Bombay, women at home: Urban influence on Sugao village. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies.
DAS, AMRITANDA 1976Foundations of Gandhian economics. New Delhi and London: St. Martin's Press.
GANS, HERBERT 1962The urban villagers. Glencoe: The Free Press.
KLASS, MORTON 1978From field to factory. Philadelphia: ISHI Publishers.
LALL, A. and RANJIT TIRTHA 1971 Spatial analysis of urbanization in India.Tidjdschrift Voor Economie En Sociale Geografie (July/August): 234–246.
LYMAN, HOWARD B. 1989 Urban primacy: A cross-national study. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, The University of Maryland, College Park.
PRAKASA RAO, V.L.S. and VINOD TEWARI 1987 The ecological structure of Bangalore City. InIndian cities: Ecological perspectives, edited by V.K. Tewari, J. Weinstein, and V.L.S. Prakasa Rao. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
RAMACHANDRAN, P. 1972Pavement dwellers in Bombay city. Bombay: Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
REDFIELD, ROBERT 1955The little community: Viewpoints for the study of a human whole. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
SHRESTHA, NANDA R. 1987 Institutional policies and migration behavior: A selective review.World Development 15, 3: 329–45.
SINGER, MILTON 1958 The great tradition in a metropolitan center.Journal of American Folklore 71: 347–88.
SINGH, A.K. 1967 Hindi culture and economic development in India.Conspectus 1: 9–32.
SPODEK, HOWARD 1986 The urban history of India: An update.Journal of Urban History, 12 (May): 293–308.
TEWARI, VINOD K., J. WEINSTEIN, and V.L.S. PRAKASA RAO, eds. 1987Indian cities: Ecological perspectives. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
WALLERSTEIN, IMMANUEL 1974The modern world-system, Volume I. New York: Academic Press.
WEBER, MAX 1958The religions of India. Glencoe: The Free Press.
WEINSTEIN, JAY 1974Madras: An analysis of urban ecological structure in India. Beverly Hills: Sage.
—— 1976 Comparative urban studies: A crisis in the urban paradigm.Indian Journal of Comparative Sociology. 2, 2: 23–24.
WEINSTEIN, JAY and MICHAEL L. McNULTY 1979 The interpenetration of traditional and modern structures: A spatial perspective.Studies in Comparative International Development 14, 2: 78–95.
WEINSTEIN, JAY and K.V. PILLAI 1978 Ahmedabad: An ecological perspective.Third World Development Review 1, 2 (Winter): 86–99.
WIEBE, PAUL D. 1975Social life in an Indian slum. New Delhi: Vikas Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Jay Weinstein is a professor of sociology and faculty research fellow at Eastern Michigan University. He has also taught at the University of Iowa (1972–77) and Georgia Institute of Technology (1977–86). He has been involved in comparative development studies for over twenty years, beginning with his Ph.D. fieldwork in India in 1971. His current interests include Canadian Studies and Eastern Europe. He visited Bulgaria in February–March, 1991 as a member of a U.S. Information Agency Citizen Exchange Project.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weinstein, J. Urban growth in India: Demographic and sociocultural prospects. St Comp Int Dev 26, 29–44 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02743761
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02743761