Basic of Urban Expansion

Urbanization is a phenomenon which has in more ways than one affected lives of people to the biggest extent than any other development in recent times. It is not that the urbanization is a new and recent phenomenon but the vehemence with which it has gained currency and touched and transformed lives of people in recent times in noteworthy. Not long ago land was freely and readily available in plenty which provided enough gunpowder to trigger off widespread transformation of rural areas and also germination of new urban areas. The new urban areas acted as magnet in inviting population from far and near to come, settle which in turn sparked off a horizontal expansion which engulfed most of rural hinterland adjacent to an upcoming urban area. The rural hinterland was forced to inculcate traits of its adjacent urban area in terms of concrete constructions and socio-economic infrastructure. As a result of this the margins of the urban area started to widen. They no longer remained constricted to specific area but instead started expanding horizontally as land and resources required for expansion was readily available. The rural hinterland began to act as satellite to the main urban area. Initially the construction which occurred there were in the form of warehouses, factories and working units. With passage of time residential and socio-economically significant structures also started coming up in these areas. But these areas didnt altogether surrender or give their rural character. Their identity still had the rural character which was their own. It is in the hindsight of these transformations that terms like urban sprawl and peri-urban areas came to existence. This paper shall object to identify the object behind the onset of two of these concepts and also put forth the characteristics of these concepts.