PREFACE

help out when most needed. We are also grateful to our colleagues who were always there to guide us and help out when most needed. Last but not the least, we would like to thank our classmates for their enthusiasm, mental support and presence at all times required, which gave us the required motivation at all stages of the study.

I Nivedita

With increasing urbanisation, we are experiencing increasing populations, higher densities and declining green spaces. More than 50% of the population now resides in urban areas. Indian cities are rapidly growing outwards and this growth is accommodated in the suburbs and a rural-urban fringe is created.

Urban fringe, also referred to as rural-urban fringe is thus the transition area between the rural and urban areas. These fringe areas possess the characteristics of both: the city and the town, and do not have their own specific definition or limit. Any city does not grow outwards in a planned pattern. It develops haphazardly and thus fringe areas have been traditionally been looked upon as grounds for urban sprawl.

The fringe areas are characterised by presence of vast agricultural land, industrial estates, conversion of agricultural land for piecemeal development, lack of transport linkages, changes in land use, less traffic congestion and pollution, more amount of open space, etc. There is a constant pressure for new development as the land available is cheaper than that in the city centre.

Fringe areas are being looked upon as areas having large scope of expansion. Thus, various fringe areas of Indian cities such as Mumbai, Pune, and Bangalore have started developing various key infrastructure projects in the fringe areas as these fringe areas of today are tomorrow’s city areas. These fringe areas are attracting more real estate investments and expanding rapidly. Yet, they face severe challenges that none of the Indian cities have been able to tackle.

Chandkheda, a fringe area, located in the North West region of Ahmedabad city is a classic example of how fringe areas are emerging. Chandkheda falls in ward 4 of Ahmedabad city. It encompasses a population of 96,266 with an area of 16 km2 and population density of 88 persons per hectare. There are two major spines that connect Chandkheda to Ahmedabad city which are State Highway 41 and 71. Chandkheda essentially developed as a residential area due to the emergence of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The major landmarks in the area include ONGC, VGEC College, Gujarat Housing Board and Chandkheda village (Gamthal). The challenges exhibited in this area include lack of public open spaces, haphazard development, absence of a systematic street grid network and poor NMT facilities. However, Chandkheda possesses potentials such as availability of low cost land, presence of a TOZ zone and good connectivity to Ahmedabad city.