Maarg Manthan · Topic 10.7

Types of Urban Settlements and the Urban Growth Process

Geography › Urbanization, Settlements and Migration · Topic 10.7

Urban settlements are classed by size and form as towns, cities, million cities, metropolises, megacities (over 10 million), conurbations (towns that merge into one built-up area) and megalopolises (chains of cities, such as Boston to Washington). The urban growth process has stages. Urbanisation is the rise in the share of people living in towns; suburbanisation is the spread to outskirts; counter-urbanisation is the move out of big cities to smaller towns and villages; and reurbanisation or gentrification is the return of people and investment to central areas. Growth proceeds along an S-shaped curve.

5 min read · UPSC Prelims · Geography · Urbanization, Settlements and Migration

At a Glance

Conurbation Merged towns (Patrick Geddes, 1915)
Megalopolis Chain of cities (Jean Gottmann, 1961)
Megacity Over 10 million people
Growth curve S-shaped (Kingsley Davis)
Processes Suburbanisation, counter-urbanisation
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Geography: Urbanization, Settlements and Migration

Where Does It Fit?

This topic follows the topics on urban problems, migration and policy and steps back to describe types of urban places and how cities grow. It is the base for the next topics on urban form, planning and the classification of cities. Previous topic: Migration and Reverse Migration: Rehabilitation Policy. Next topic: Morphology of Urban Settlements and Town Planning.

What Are the Types of Urban Settlements?

Type	Meaning	Example
Town	Small urban place with basic urban functions; Census definition in Census Terminology	Many Class II and III towns
City	Larger urban centre, with a population of 100,000 or more in the Census (Class I)	Lucknow, Nagpur, Coimbatore
Million city	Population of one million or more	53 in India in 2011
Metropolis	Very large city with its suburbs, an economic and cultural centre	Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai
Megacity	Urban agglomeration of over 10 million people	Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Mumbai, São Paulo
Conurbation	A large urban area formed when towns or cities grow and merge; the word was coined by Patrick Geddes in 1915	Greater London, Ruhr, Delhi NCR
Megalopolis	A chain of metropolitan areas that merge, a term by Jean Gottmann in 1961	Boston-New York-Washington; Tokyo-Osaka
World (global) city	City with a major role in global finance and trade	New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore

How Does Urban Growth Proceed?

Urbanisation: the rise in the share of people who live in towns. Its causes are natural increase in cities, migration from rural areas and reclassification of villages as towns.
S-curve: according to Kingsley Davis, the share of urban population grows slowly at first (initial stage), then rapidly (acceleration), and slows again (terminal stage) as most people become urban. India is in the acceleration phase while most high-income countries are in the terminal phase with over 80 per cent urban.
Suburbanisation: people and businesses move to the outskirts for space and cheaper land, helped by cars and trains. It leads to urban sprawl, the unplanned spread of low-density development over farmland.
Counter-urbanisation: movement out of the large cities to small towns and rural areas, as in some rich countries, due to high costs and remote work.
Reurbanisation and gentrification: return of better-off residents to old inner areas, which are redeveloped and become costlier, often forcing out poorer residents.
Peri-urban areas: the fringe where rural and urban land uses mix, which is where much of India’s recent growth takes place.

What Are the Features of the Process in Developing Countries?

In developing countries, urbanisation is often ‘over-urbanisation’ or ‘urbanisation without growth’, in which city populations grow faster than industry and jobs, giving a large informal sector and slums, as in Urbanization Challenges: Rural-Urban Migration, Emergence of Slums, Informal Settlements. Cities tend to be ‘primate’, with one city much larger than the rest, such as Bangkok in Thailand, though India has a more balanced hierarchy with several big cities. Mega-urban regions form around the largest cities, as with the National Capital Region of Delhi, and urban growth now takes place mostly in medium and small cities. The plan to manage such growth is the subject of Principles of Urban Planning. Urban growth also differs by size class. Small and medium towns grow mainly by natural increase and the spread of urban activities, and metropolitan areas by migration and by spilling over into neighbouring districts. Cities with industries or services that attract educated workers, such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Gurugram, have grown fastest in recent decades. Governments have tried to steer growth by developing counter-magnets and satellite towns, and by building new capitals and industrial towns, with mixed results. As an analytical point, urbanisation is both a result and a cause of economic growth, and it is best managed when towns of all sizes are developed together.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Terms Conurbation and megalopolis are asked
Process Stages of growth
Link Sprawl and planning

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the morphology of urban settlements and town planning. Next topic: Morphology of Urban Settlements and Town Planning.

Key People and Terms

Conurbation Merged urban areas
Megalopolis Chain of metropolitan areas
Urban sprawl Unplanned outward spread
Gentrification Upgrading of old areas by richer residents
Peri-urban Fringe of a city
Primate city City much larger than others

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

Geddes coined conurbation (1915); Gottmann, megalopolis (1961).
A megacity has over 10 million people.
Urban growth follows an S-shaped curve.
Counter-urbanisation is movement out of big cities.
Delhi NCR is a conurbation.

Do Not Confuse With

Conurbation and megalopolis Merged towns versus chain of metropolitan areas
Suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation Move to outskirts versus move away from the city region
Metropolis and megacity Large city versus over 10 million

Memory Hook

Geddes joins towns, Gottmann chains the cities; sprawl spreads, gentrifiers return.

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the stages and forms of urban growth. These points add depth.

Forms Conurbation to megacity
Stages S-curve
India Peri-urban growth

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Explain the different types of urban settlements and the processes of urban growth, with Indian examples.”

How to Answer

Types Town to megalopolis.
Process Urbanisation to gentrification.
Curve S-shaped.
India Examples.

GS Relevance

Prelims: conurbation, megalopolis, megacity, stages of urban growth. GS Paper 1: urbanisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a conurbation?

A conurbation is a large urban area formed when expanding towns and cities merge into a continuous built-up region. The word was introduced by the Scottish planner Patrick Geddes in 1915. Examples are Greater London, the Ruhr region of Germany, and the National Capital Region around Delhi.

What is a megalopolis?

A megalopolis is a very large urban region formed by the merging of several metropolitan areas into a chain, a term popularised by the geographer Jean Gottmann in 1961 to describe the north-eastern coast of the United States from Boston to Washington. Another example is the Tokyo-Osaka belt in Japan.

What is a megacity?

A megacity is an urban agglomeration with a population of more than 10 million people. Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, São Paulo and Mumbai are examples. The number of megacities has increased with urban growth in Asia, and in India Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata were the largest agglomerations in 2011.

What is the difference between suburbanisation and counter-urbanisation?

Suburbanisation is the outward movement of people and activities from the city centre to its outskirts, leading to sprawl, while still being part of the city region. Counter-urbanisation is the movement of people out of large urban areas altogether to smaller towns and rural areas, as seen in some developed countries.

What is urban sprawl?

Urban sprawl is the unplanned, low-density outward expansion of a city onto surrounding farmland, usually along roads, with scattered housing and shopping areas. It increases travel, energy use and the cost of services, and removes farmland and green space, as around many Indian cities.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 The term conurbation was coined by Patrick Geddes.

True

In 1915.

2 A megacity has a population of over 1 million.

False

It has over 10 million.

3 Gentrification is the upgrading of older neighbourhoods by better-off residents.