This book discusses population growth and the resultant problems, and highlights the need for immediate action to develop a set of planned satellite towns around Indian megacities to reduce their population densities and activity concentrations. It addresses problems like unplanned spatial expansion, over-concentration of populations, unmanageable situations in industrial growth, and poor traffic management, concluding that only megacities and their satellites, when planned properly, can together mitigate the urgent problem of urban concentration in and around the megacities.

Identifying the general problems, the book develops a quantitative and spatially fitting regional allocation model of population and economic activities. It also offers a policy-based planned program of development for the selected megacities in India along with their satellites and fringe areas to ensure a healthy, balanced and prospective urban scenario for India in the coming decades.

“City Planners have always thought that satellite towns, ring towns, or counter -magnets are solutions to most problems of Metropolitan cities, which constitutes a standard planning practice all over the world. Seldom the effects of these policies have been evaluated as comprehensively as has been done in this book. The book has selected Mumbai –Pune, and Bangalore Mysore Regions of India, which are India’s new epitome of development and prosperity. Based on the analysis of exhaustive empirical data and observed ground realities, the Authors have concluded that the functions of Government are Metrocentric rather than city satellites towns and dependence on Core Metropolitan city has created a multitude of associated problems. In order to reduce this dependence on core metro city, the Authors try to offer policy-based solutions for the development of selected megacities of India along with their Satellites, and the book will generate interest amongst Planners and policy-makers.” (A.R.Patharkar, Former Director of Town Planning, Government of Maharashtra, Former President of Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI))

“It was my pleasure to review this book that is majorly focused on Metropolises, particularly in developing countries, like India, which are growing at a faster rate giving rise to numerous challenges, including haphazard growth and development, scarcity of resources, environmental degradation, etc.  In this book, the authors have clearly established the need for addressing the aforesaid challenges and stated the importance of planned development of satellite towns around megacities by considering both, economic growth and spatial sustainability.  Authors have successfully presented the complete picture right from the literature on the growth of Metropolises to policy implications for balanced development. The study has been sequenced coherently.  The presentation of the study is perspicuous. Especially this book would bring much knowledge to multi-disciplinary professionals like city planners, policymakers, administrators and researchers. It would be very helpful for academicians of various disciplines like urban planning, regional planning, environmental planning, transportation planning, policy planning, and so on.” (Prof. Dr. V. Devadas, Department of Architecture and Planning, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, India)

“Chatterjee and Chattopadhyay’s latest work adds its weight to a growing number of recent publications on regional concerns around urbanisation, presenting rich empirical insights from Mumbai and Bangalore that will help scholars rethink development strategies of metropolitan areas in India today. Using the notion of urban carrying capacity as the primary conceptual framework, their robust quantitative models explain connections between spatial and economic patterns in a regional context. The book also sheds lights on how smaller and larger cities relate with each other within a region, and of how balanced development in metropolitan regions can improve outcomes from urbanisation for India. As such, it is will certainly enrich the understanding of students and researchers with an interest in urban processes and outcomes in India, and more generally in the Global South.” (Mukta Naik, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research New Delhi, India)

“The current book addresses an essential and challenging topic of the urbanisation in India and, more generally, in the countries of the Global South. In the Global North, related issues have received lots of attention since the studies of Patrick Geddes, the Regional Planning Association of America, Patrick Abercrombie, Bolesław Malisz, to name just a few, including the most recent studies and practice by Peter Cathrophe. In addition to this comprehensive theory and practical know-how, the scale and complexity of contemporary migrations and development make them unique and require extensive research. Further problems raise due to the environmental challenges which overlap with climate change risks and as an outcome of informal urbanisation. The study tackles the physical development and strategies for Indian metropolises and does so in a thorough and thoughtful way. It is compulsory reading for all who intend to explore these topics.” (Dr. Malgorzata Hanzl, Lodz University of Technology, Poland)