Kolkata ― The Colonial City in Transition: Reflections in Geographies of Urban India

Description

This book explores the spatial characteristics of the city of Kolkata in India in terms of the physical, economic, social, political, and environmental aspects of urban geography, and focuses upon the inherent processes that impact its transformation. It discusses different facets of urban geography and highlights the contemporary challenges of a major primate city in South Asia, which represents the conflicts between the traditional and the modern, the rich and the poor, the skyscrapers and the shanties. With its detailed empirical research and mapping exercises based on real-time remote sensing data, the book offers an understanding of a range of contemporary urban issues. It examines the spatial consequences of urban sprawl, land-use changes, ecological crisis, climate change, critical disasters, dynamics of the peri-urban interface, neighborhood restructuring, debates around heritage conservation, housing poverty, gray spaces, governance and the political landscape of the city. This book will be useful to students, teachers, and researchers of geography, especially human geography and urban geography, urban studies, urban development and planning, regional planning, social geography, governance, ecology, economics, and South Asian studies. It will also benefit urban planners, development professionals, and those interested in the study of the city of Kolkata and its transformations. Cover Endorsement Half Title Title Copyright Contents List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface – Introducing Kolkata: A Quaint Window to the Global South Acknowledgements List of Contributors List of Abbreviations Part I Rethinking Histories of Space-Place-People 1 From Colonial City to Globalizing City?: The Far-From-Complete Spatial Transformation of Calcutta: An Update after 25 Years 2 Envisioning a Sustainable Future for Kolkata: Making a Case for Heritage-led Urban Regeneration 3 Urban Displacement in Kolkata: A Historical Appraisal 4 Restructuring Urban Space: How Inclusive are Neighbourhood Transformations? 5 Gray Spacing and Quiet Encroachment of the Street Vendors in Kolkata 6 Housing Poverty in Kolkata: Can Rental Market Reforms Be the Viable Solution? 7 The Chequered Journeys of the Traditional Houses of North Kolkata, the Older City 8 Evolution of a Political Landscape: Revolution to Consolidation and Beyond Part II Ekistics of a Deltaic City 9 The Built-up Horizon: Urban Sprawl and Emerging Core – Periphery Dynamics 10 Differential Transformation of the Eastern and Southern Peri-Urban Interface 11 Surface Temperature Mapping to Assess Local Climate Zones: A Study Using WUDAPT 12 Urban Hydrology of Calcutta: Evolution from the Colonial Period 13 Transformation of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics of East Kolkata Wetlands 14 Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Urban Water Bodies Part III Critical Planning Issues of the City 15 Socio-Demographic Peculiarities of COVID-19 Patients: Experiences of a Level-3 Dedicated COVID Hospital of Kolkata 16 Changing Scenario of Government Primary Schools: Myths and Realities 17 Towards Disaster-Resilient Slums in Kolkata 18 Climate Adaptation Planning for the City: The Case of Cyclone Amphan 19 Municipal Finance: A Study of Structural Changes in Kolkata Municipal Corporation Index