Understanding Urbanisation in Northeast India Issues and Challenges

This volume explores the dynamics of urbanisation in Northeast India. It discusses the impact of the process of urbanisation on the environment, infrastructure and socio-economic conditions of the region.

The chapters in the book:

• Examine various challenges and opportunities of urbanisation, such as frontier urbanism, urban congestion, smart cities, vernacular architecture, urban water and waste management, cross-border migration and ethnicity.

• Draw attention to critical issues that have massively disturbed the urban landscape including deterioration of water quality, seismic activity and air pollution.

• Give alternatives that could present possible solutions to the problems afflicting this region.

Drawing on case studies rooted in extensive fieldwork, this book will be indispensable to researchers and students of urban studies, human geography, development economics, cultural studies and South Asian studies. It will also be of interest to policy-makers, government representatives and town planners.

Part I: Urbanisation, Institution and Economy 1. Frontier Urbanism: Settlement Evolution and Transformation along the Kalimpong–Lhasa Trans-Frontier Trade Route 2. Urban Congestion: An Empirical Story from Northeast India 3. Urbanisation in India’s Northeastern Region: Connecting Theory with Empirical Data 4. Smart Cities in Northeast India: Challenges and Opportunities 5. Urbanisation, Shift in Architectural Idiom and Environmental Impact: A Study of Vernacular Architecture of Assam 6. Supply-Side Factors in Determining Urbanisation in Assam: A District-Level Analysis 7. Dynamics of Urbanisation in Manipur: Trends, Patterns and Policy Consideration 8. Urbanisation and Social Life in an Urban Setting: A Sociological Analysis of Shillong 9. Street Vending in the Urban Informal Sector: A Study in Silchar Town in Northeast India Part II: Urbanisation, Water Resources and Solid Waste Management 10.Efficiency of Water Pricing: A Case Study of Guwahati City, India 11. Local Institutions, Urban Water Governance and Future Challenges: A Case Study of Shillong 12. Some Aspects of Urban Water Management in Darjeeling, Himalaya: A Study of Darjeeling Town 13. Impact of Urbanisation on the Himalayan Surface Water Quality: A Study of Sikkim 14. Urbanisation and Solid Waste Management: A Study of Itanagar Municipality Area

M. Amarjeet Singh is Professor at the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India, where he teaches courses on conflict, migration and politics. He has previously worked at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India, and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

Komol Singha is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Sikkim University, Gangtok, India, where he teaches development economics. His research broadly covers development economics, institutional economics and the social sector. Prior to this, he was with the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, India.