City profile: Guwahati

Decumbent development: Urban sprawl in the Guwahati Metropolitan Area, India

“…On the contrary, newly developed peri‐urban areas like Narangi, Khanapara, Jalukbari, Mirza and the plains of North Guwahati registered a lower BUA concentration, yielding a dispersed pattern. In 1972, the shifting of the capital of Assam from Shillong to Dispur provided a fillip to the political and commercial importance of Guwahati (Hemani & Das, ). In 1976, during the initial stages of development, the GMA had only one‐seventh of the total zones with limited concentration of built‐up areas.…”

“…This was probably due to the unwillingness of the residents to move out from the core area of the city, as peripheral areas tended to suffer in terms of access to social infrastructure. In 1974, a substantial area of about 201.85 km 2 neighbouring the old city was incorporated into the city Municipal Corporation—however, the state of poor civic infrastructure and facilities in terms of water supply and sanitation services restricted any appreciable urban development (Hemani & Das, ). Thus, as demonstrated by the population per hectare built‐up land, an intensive use of land prevailed during 1976–2002.…”

“…Guwahati, the premier urban center of Assam, is the only million city in north‐east India (TERI, 2013; Pawe & Saikia, ). Its unique location, and transport connectivity along with its growing population has made Guwahati among the 100 most rapidly developing cities globally (Satterthwaite, ; Hemani & Das, ). With elevation varying from 49 to 55 m amsl, the city sits on an undulating topography, surrounded and interspersed by a number of hills and wetlands.…”

“…With an estimate of over a million persons in 2016 (UN, ), Guwahati, the largest city in northeast India, has witnessed a high rate of population growth since 1972 (Mahadevia et al ., ). The city developed into a major hub for educational, administrative, political, commercial and industrial establishments, attracting migrants from neighbouring areas (Hemani & Das, ). Despite such expansion, the city remained unplanned.…”

“…Gradually, it expanded into the peri‐urban areas leading to urban sprawl (Hemani & Das, ). Various studies examined urban growth and urban land transformation in Guwahati (Mahadevia et al ., ; TERI, ; Yadav & Barua, ; Hemani & Das, ; Bora, ; Pawe & Saikia, ). Research on the relationship between the growth of built‐up tracts and the occurrence of urban sprawl was not, however, forthcoming.…”