Post by coleman31 on Nov 11, 2011 14:47:24 GMT 8
The spatial structure of cities in Kerala shows a duality of traditional and modern coexisting side by side. The former is a congested city with religious, ceremonial and wholesale functions, while the latter is a more open European-created administrative center with retail trade and manufacturing function. This model dominates Cochin, the commercial capital of Kerala. Due to the inward migration of people from the outer fringes, the traditional is now paving way for the modern. Thus, the traditional houses have now given way to high-rise Apartments in Kerala .
Cochin can also be called as a double town of India with separate build, layout, ground plan, historical and morphological features and functional zones. In the former, the elites congregate in the central city areas and the poor are relegated to the periphery while in the latter, the elites favor suburban residential areas. Thus, two basic models depict the effect of these forces in an Indian city: the bazaar-based city and the colonial-based city.
The colonial port cities of India – Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai are the classic examples of colonial-based cities and exhibit distinctive common spatial features, which set them apart from other Indian cities. The basic components of this pattern are a nucleus with a European style fort and open esplanade, residential areas for Europeans and Indians, a Central Business District, and periphery military and manufacturing zones. They are characterized by low density of population in the center, surrounded by a crater rim and a steady decline along the margins.
Even after independence, the exit of the Europeans has not led to significant changes. Now the business and industrial magnets control a large chunk of land in the urban areas. The poor and the lower middle class live in the outer fringes or in slums in the cities. Even though the situation is not that severe as is seen in metros like Mumbai, timely action from the part of the authorities is needed to avoid a repeat of the Mumbai type slums in Kerala.
Cochin can also be called as a double town of India with separate build, layout, ground plan, historical and morphological features and functional zones. In the former, the elites congregate in the central city areas and the poor are relegated to the periphery while in the latter, the elites favor suburban residential areas. Thus, two basic models depict the effect of these forces in an Indian city: the bazaar-based city and the colonial-based city.
The colonial port cities of India – Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai are the classic examples of colonial-based cities and exhibit distinctive common spatial features, which set them apart from other Indian cities. The basic components of this pattern are a nucleus with a European style fort and open esplanade, residential areas for Europeans and Indians, a Central Business District, and periphery military and manufacturing zones. They are characterized by low density of population in the center, surrounded by a crater rim and a steady decline along the margins.
Even after independence, the exit of the Europeans has not led to significant changes. Now the business and industrial magnets control a large chunk of land in the urban areas. The poor and the lower middle class live in the outer fringes or in slums in the cities. Even though the situation is not that severe as is seen in metros like Mumbai, timely action from the part of the authorities is needed to avoid a repeat of the Mumbai type slums in Kerala.