UrbanisationClass 9 Geography Chapter 10 Notes – Maharashtra Board

Summary: Urbanisation

When industries, mills or power projects are set up near a village, people come from around to work there. Services such as shops, transport, hotels and hospitals follow, the village spreads, and the Gram Panchayat is replaced by a Municipal Council or Corporation. This change of a rural settlement into an urban one is urbanisation.

Since the 1961 Census, a settlement is counted as urban if more than 75% of its male workers do non-farm work, it has more than 5,000 people and its density is above 400 persons per sq km. India's urban population share has risen steadily from 1961 to 2011.

The main causes of urbanisation are industrialisation (e.g. Mumbai's textile mills), trade (e.g. centrally placed Nagpur), transport and communication (e.g. Konkan Railway, Bhusawal junction), mechanisation of farming and migration from villages to cities like Mumbai and Pune.

Urbanisation brings more secondary, tertiary and quaternary jobs, social harmony through mixing of cultures, modern ideas and technology, and better transport, education and medical facilities.

It also brings problems: slums, traffic jams, air, water and noise pollution, rising crime, costly land and group tensions. Planning, public transport, housing and schemes like Smart City and Swachh Bharat help to tackle them.

Key points to remember

• Urbanisation = change of a rural settlement into a town or city, and the growth of urban population
• New industries attract workers; services follow and the village grows
• Gram Panchayat → Municipal Council / Municipal Corporation
• Census 1961 urban criteria: > 75% male workers in non-farm work, population > 5,000, density > 400 per sq km
• India's urban population share rose steadily from 1961 to 2011
• Causes: industrialisation, trade, transport and communication, mechanisation and technology, migration
• Examples: Mumbai (textile mills), Nagpur (central location, trade), Savarde (Konkan Railway), Bhusawal (rail junction)
• Migration can be short-term, long-term or permanent; rural→rural, rural→urban, urban→urban
• Benefits: more jobs, social harmony, modernisation, amenities (transport, education, health, fire brigade)
• Problems: slums, traffic jams, pollution, crime, high land prices
• Smart City uses ICT for planned city development
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan works for clean towns and villages

Urbanisation – Notes

1. How a village becomes a town

• In the book's dialogue, Suresh wants to work in the new factory near his village for a steady monthly salary, overtime pay and a Diwali bonus. His father Tatya worries about who will look after their farm.
• Suresh foresees roads, hospitals, schools, colleges, offices and tall buildings, with outsiders settling in the village — the village will spread out and change.
• Farming and allied work have been the main occupation of rural India for centuries. Now factories, mills, power plants and multi-purpose projects are coming up in rural areas.
• Workers arrive from surrounding areas, the population rises, and services such as food stalls, messes, hotels, retail shops, transport and medical care grow to meet their needs.
• The Gram Panchayat gives way to a Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, which supplies drinking water, roads, transport, sewerage and street lights, and plans parks, recreation and town layout. The village has become a town or city.

2. What counts as urban, and India's urban growth

• From the 1961 Census, a place is treated as urban if: more than 75% of male workers are in non-agricultural jobs; the population is more than 5,000; and the density is more than 400 persons per sq km.
• The book's table (as the book says): urban share 17.79% in 1961, 19.11% (1971), 23.34% (1981), 25.72% (1991), 28.06% (2001) and 37.07% (2011); urban settlements grew from 2,270 in 1961 to 7,935 in 2011.
• Correction: according to the 2011 Census, about 31.2% (31.16%) of India's people lived in urban areas — not 37.07% as printed. So the rise from 1981 to 2011 was about 7.8 percentage points, not the 13.73 the book gives, though the overall trend of steady growth is right.
• The book points out that the urban share grew slowly between 1961 and 1981 and faster afterwards: urban India is expanding rapidly.
• Suggested activity: draw a line graph of urban share against year (by computer or on graph paper) and write your conclusions.

3. Causes of urbanisation

• Industrialisation: when industries grow and cluster in a region, people from nearby areas come hoping for work. In the 19th century Mumbai grew quickly because of large textile mills; many fishing villages (koliwadas) became part of the Mumbai metropolitan area.
• Trade: a place convenient for transport, loading-unloading and storage attracts trade, and then business complexes, banks, credit societies, godowns, cold storages and houses. Nagpur, at the centre of India, grew as a trade centre.
• Transport and communication: villages near new roads and railways urbanise quickly. Savarde (Ratnagiri) grew after the Konkan Railway; Bhusawal (Jalgaon) grew because important rail routes meet there.
• Mechanisation and technology: machines now do much farm work, so fewer labourers are needed in villages. These workers move to cities for jobs, raising urban population.
• Migration: people move for short periods, long periods or permanently — from village to village, village to city or city to city. The pull of a better lifestyle draws many people to cities like Mumbai and Pune.

4. Advantages of urbanisation

• Land use changes: farmland turns into industrial or residential land.
• Social harmony: secondary, tertiary and quaternary occupations increase and economic activity grows. People from different regions live together, sharing customs and traditions.
• Modernisation: migrants bring skills and knowledge which spread easily. Cities get new knowledge, literature, ideas, technology and new industrial and business projects first, so living standards rise.
• Amenities: transport, communication, schools, colleges, hospitals and fire brigades develop. Good transport eases travel and helps freight, markets and trade.
• Students come to cities such as Pune for higher education, and patients with families come to cities for medical treatment.

5. Problems of urbanisation and solutions

• Slums: population grows faster than housing. Many migrants are poor, do not always find suitable jobs and cannot afford city homes, so they build temporary houses on open land. These are often illegal, crowded, with narrow lanes and few basic services, leading to social and health problems.
• Traffic jams: as cities spread into suburbs, people commute to the centre for work and study. Public transport is not enough, private vehicles increase, and travel time rises.
• Pollution: air, water and noise pollution grow with unplanned growth, lack of facilities and law-breaking. Waste heaps cause bad smells and disease; untreated sewage pollutes rivers and lakes near cities.
• Crime: some people who fail to find work turn to illegal ways of earning; thefts, burglaries, fights and murders increase and put pressure on police and courts. High land prices and tensions between groups also disturb harmony.
• Solutions: affordable housing and slum rehabilitation, better metro and bus services, sewage treatment and waste segregation, strict pollution rules, more policing and jobs, and planned growth. The Smart City mission uses ICT to collect city data, plan development, improve transport and communication and respond to emergencies; Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaigns for cleanliness.

Causes and effects at a glance

Key terms

Urbanisation – Flashcards

Read the question, answer it in your head, then tap the card to check. 20 cards.

Urbanisation – MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option — you will see at once if it is right and why.

How to study Urbanisation

⏱ About 35 minutes

1. Understand (10 min)
   Read the village-to-town story and learn the three Census conditions for 'urban'.
2. Learn causes and effects (15 min)
   Learn the five causes with examples, then the advantages and the four main problems with solutions.
3. Practise (10 min)
   Answer the 'Try it yourself' questions, take the quiz and play 🎮 Play.