Purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of an interdisciplinary research project ... more Purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of an interdisciplinary research project at the Indo-German Center for Sustainability (IGCS) funded by the Indian Government whose broader goal is to develop a clearer understanding of current patterns of growth in peri-urban areas in South Asia and to set up a Global Technology Watch for Sustainable Urban Habitat. Today peri-urban areas are increasingly being recognized as a separate socio-spatial configuration with distinct challenges for sustainability. The literature about India in this field is growing constantly, covering a range of topics from governance, social and political context, spatial-geographic implications, economics, to infrastructure provision and the environment. Currently, the project explores the dynamics in the peri-urban region of Sriperumbudur, on the outskirts of Chennai. The region has witnessed rapid industrial development, spurred by economic policies that aim on attracting foreign investment to the state of Tamil Nadu, resulting in rapidly shifting patterns of production. Poor capacity for governing the areas beyond metropolitan Chennai has resulted in significant pressure on land, resources, infrastructure, social structures and agricultural production. The first phase of the project develops a preliminary set of heuristics for understanding peri-urban dynamics in Sriperumbudur. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary mixed methods approach has been developed. In the beginning, we outline processes and causes of peri-urbanisation in India and Chennai, including a brief literature review, urbanisation trends and data as well as spatial dynamics of the region. This is then related to the functioning of the existing planning framework and institutions. In the third section, two studies zoom into local contexts of socioeconomic transformation and the management of water resources. The conclusion relates the findings to the larger debates on urbanisation in India and sketches a way forward.
Purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of an interdisciplinary research project ... more Purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results of an interdisciplinary research project at the Indo-German Center for Sustainability (IGCS) funded by the Indian Government whose broader goal is to develop a clearer understanding of current patterns of growth in peri-urban areas in South Asia and to set up a Global Technology Watch for Sustainable Urban Habitat. Today peri-urban areas are increasingly being recognized as a separate socio-spatial configuration with distinct challenges for sustainability. The literature about India in this field is growing constantly, covering a range of topics from governance, social and political context, spatial-geographic implications, economics, to infrastructure provision and the environment. Currently, the project explores the dynamics in the peri-urban region of Sriperumbudur, on the outskirts of Chennai. The region has witnessed rapid industrial development, spurred by economic policies that aim on attracting foreign investment to the state of Tamil Nadu, resulting in rapidly shifting patterns of production. Poor capacity for governing the areas beyond metropolitan Chennai has resulted in significant pressure on land, resources, infrastructure, social structures and agricultural production. The first phase of the project develops a preliminary set of heuristics for understanding peri-urban dynamics in Sriperumbudur. For this purpose, a multidisciplinary mixed methods approach has been developed. In the beginning, we outline processes and causes of peri-urbanisation in India and Chennai, including a brief literature review, urbanisation trends and data as well as spatial dynamics of the region. This is then related to the functioning of the existing planning framework and institutions. In the third section, two studies zoom into local contexts of socioeconomic transformation and the management of water resources. The conclusion relates the findings to the larger debates on urbanisation in India and sketches a way forward.
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