Urbanisation is an uneven gendered process, often subjecting women to violence, and restricted access to public spaces, decent jobs and access to health and education.
Authors
Ekta Chauhan, Assistant Professor at the Jindal School of Art & Architecture, O.P. Jindal Global University
Summary
Current understanding of urban development puts forward a rather simplistic view that equates urban with infrastructure and modernity. Moreover, we tend to view the transformation of rural into urban as a linear process, ignoring the messy social changes that often occur during the process. In the case of villages here (and in most of the country), the villages did not transform into urban settlements, but it was the city that was imposed on them.
The sudden coming of infrastructural and commercial projects not only changed the physical landscape but also people’s livelihoods and lifestyles, paving the way for the social and cultural clash. The local population is suddenly in contact with diverse migrants into the area ranging from daily wage laborers to highly skilled professionals employed by the university and students.
Published in: The Wire
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