In the edge of the city: Understanding peri- urban interface through a case study of jagatpur in SAS Nagar District, Punjab

Abstract

The rapid urbanization brought about by unprecedented technical progress and the influx of rural populations from around the urban areas in search of better opportunities and amenities leads to the city exhausting its carrying capacity. This results in emergence of peri-urban areas surrounding the cities. The peri-urban area is basically a zone of convergence of rural and urban processes characterized by strong influences from both. These peri-urban areas have problems of several different kinds and magnitude mainly stemming from policy differences between the overlapping jurisiction of governments involved in governing the peri-urban areas, unplanned land use and insufficient representation of the migrant population in such areas. Deforestation, pollution and poor sewage disposal became a major reason for the deteriorating health of the inhabitants. This study captures the socio- economic status of the residents of village Jagatpur by broadly exploring the issues such as migration, infrastructural facilities, economic status of the population residing in the village, and the informal sector. The cities in Punjab, like Mohali, have expanded under the current regime of neo- liberalism, rapid infrastructure and real estate growth. When such cities grow beyond their carrying capacity, the ecological foot-print of cities spills over into peripheries. While traditional approaches to rural development and urban planning have created a division between both areas, the notion of the peri-urban raises question about sustainability and equity dimensions of urban expansion.