Shahab Fazal Libros

The book explores the significant impact of urbanization on land use dynamics, particularly in the urban fringes of London. It highlights the historical context of land transformation, emphasizing its acceleration since the Industrial Revolution and the globalization of economies. The study examines how cities interact with surrounding rural areas, referencing traditional agricultural land use models like Von Thunen's. It aims to uncover the localized yet globally systemic effects of these transformations on land use patterns.

The book examines the significant impact of urbanization on physical ecosystems, specifically focusing on land, air, and water in a growing urban center in India. It highlights how settlements, despite their relatively small land coverage, drastically alter natural environments and affect energy, water, and material flows. The analysis addresses the demands settlements place on surrounding lands and the resulting waste produced, emphasizing the profound changes brought about by human habitation and infrastructure development.

Today, India still remains a rural agricultural country although the share of urban population has also increased but these figures do not tell the whole story. There are evidences that urban growth is dispersed and urban sprawl promotes the spread of urban land use into the rural-urban fringe. Here the attempt is to investigate the land transformation and the driving forces which were influencing the land transformation. The present study was done on peri urban interface of Aligarh city, a relatively small city, but as other north Indian cities, it is also expanding rapidly. Moreover, it too is surrounded by a populous rural area with productive and rich agricultural hinterland. Such conditions give rise to many conflicts and mutually beneficial complementarities in the rural and urban spheres. The result shows that the demand for land is high which results in informal urban development fulfilling the requirements of many of the city’s residents. Every piece of land is a tradable commodity, and the pursuit of short-term profits is the predominant ethic. The actors in PUI are strong because it is characterized by intermixing of rural and urban activities and interests as well as the number of actors are greater than in any other area. .

This book presents a detailed study on Aligarh’s urban fringe, focusing on the livelihood of the villagers who have lived there for generations, and on that of the migrants residing in the villages. As a Class-I city, located in the most populated state (Uttar Pradesh) of India, Aligarh has gained in importance due to its proximity to the national capital (New Delhi) and Uttar Pradesh’s industrial cities (Kanpur and Ghaziabad). The 2011 census showed that of the total population of the district, 33.1 per cent was urban (872,575 residents). Projections by the Town and Country Planning Department suggest that the city will have some 1.2 million inhabitants and there will be a need for another 64,000 houses. Thus, the city will expand extensively into its urban fringe, which is expected to entail large-scale transformations. The expansion of the city will significantly influence nearby villages in terms of land use and population, both physically and socio-economically.