Trend and Pattern of Growth of Urban Population by Size Class of Towns and Cities in Belgaum District, Karnataka State, India; A Geographical Analysis

Urbanization is the process which transforms rural areas into urban areas as agricultural pursuits common to villages change into non-agricultural and corresponding change of behavioural patterns also take place. This process is predominantly associated with industrialization and economic growth which is eventually allied with urban development. It creates several job opportunities in the urban area and plays a significant role in declining poverty and unemployment. Belgaum, one of the largely populated districts of northern Karnataka and having a slow growth rate of urban population has been selected as the study area. The present paper attempts to understand the process of urbanization, its volume, trend, pattern, cause and consequences based on census data during 1901-2011. The study shows both spatio-temporal variations in the decadal and spatial pattern of growth and distribution of total and urban population, outline of urbanization in light of growth of urban settlements by size class and its changes in Belgaum district, which are significant. Census data reveals that there is significant rise in percent of urban population since 1901 (7.44 %) to 2011 (24.34 %). Such change may be attributed to rapid industrialization, rural-urban migration and some well-established other factors. Pattern of Urbanization has been represented by categorizing the percent of urban population (2011) into highly, moderately, less and least urbanized talukas by comparing with range of percent of urban population in the talukas of the district. Data for the study has been collected from various sources like Census Publications, Town Directory, District Census Handbooks and other relevant literatures. Data from District Census Handbook of the District has been used to study the spatial pattern of urbanization in the study area.