THE CITY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Though the social distance between urban and rural elite is substantial, Indian cities today play a major role in changing the social and economic environment of the villages. There is greater interaction between the city and the village than ever before and this interaction continues to increase. The city today serves as focal point for development in education and health and even for rural development. The spread of banking from cities to the rural areas was a remarkable achievement of the 1970s. In the process, rural wealth has been mobilized for development. The role of cities and small towns in bringing about the Green Revolution cannot be denied. The city is seen as a key element in regional development planning in India today. The city region is an area around the city over which the city exercises a dominant influence in relation to other neighbouring cities of equal importance. The structure of a city region is complex. It consists of a series of area of influence and area of dominance, apart from sets of smaller city regions which nest within it. There are three basic notions in relation to the structure of the city region which will help you in understanding it better.