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Human settlements can also be classified as: (a) Hamlet; (b) Village; (c) Town; (d) City; (e) Metropolis; and (f) Megalopolis.
Hamlet denotes a cluster of a few single family hutments, with population less than 2000, and without any clear provision of
streets. A village consists of a number of dwelling units with definite street pattern, usually with a population between 2000
and 20000, and with basic amenities like primary school. A town has a population in excess of 20000 but less than 50000, and
has civic facilities like post office, police station, and high schools. A city has a population between 50000 and 100000, and
will have most of the civic amenities such as hospital, educational institutions, post offices, and police stations. A metropolis
is a large city with population in excess of 1 million, and may consist of a number of suburban areas attached to a core city
centre. The metropolitan city is a centre of administration, commerce and higher education. Megalopolis occurs when two or
more metropolitan cities lie adjacent to each other forming a continuous urban agglomeration.
Census of India classifies the urban areas into six classes based on population. Class I cities have population greater than
100000; Class II cities have population between 50000 and 99999; Class III towns are urban areas with population between
20000 and 49999; and Classes IV, V and VI urban areas have population of 10000 to 19999, 5000 to 9999 and less than 5000,
respectively. According to the 2001 census, India has 423 urban centres which have population exceeding 100000. Currently,
there are 35 metropolitan cities with population more than one million. About 30% of the population now lives in urban areas.
A typical pattern of urban growth1 is shown in Fig. 2.1. The settlement is initially pedestrian oriented with streets in primitive
stage, with the urban area being limited by the distance one could walk in a reasonable period of time. With increase in
population, the urban area expands and radial suburban rail corridors are developed, along with a few streets. These rail
corridors may initially be parts of intercity rail tracks. Tram (street railway) lines develop and extend service along certain
corridors, shaping the city into a better organised and developed urban area, with concentration of activities at the city centre.
Commuter rail traffic grows and fosters an outward spread of population. Further concentration of population occurs along
these rail corridors, and new roadway arterials form radially between the radial railway lines. When a city matures into a
metropolis, radial and circumferential grid forms with some of the traffic corridors being rail-based and the rest road-based.
Thus enhancement of connectivity accelerates the expansion and growth of the city.
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Figure 2.1 Typical Pattern of Urban Growth
As a result of increasing industrialisation of the country, the proportion of the population living in urban areas increases. There
is a strong correlation between a country's economic growth and the level of urbanization. Developing countries typically have
urbanization less than 30%, compared with 35% to 70% for moderately developed countries, and over 70% for developed
countries. For example, Japan and USA have urbanization in excess of 77%, whereas urbanization in India is about 28%
(grown to 31.16% in 2011). Though the overall percentage of urbanization in India is low, the increase in urban population is
steep in a few metropolitan cities, while medium sized and smaller cities grow more gradually. This aggravates the problems
of shelter, infrastructure and sanitation in these cities. For example, Kolkata has a population of 13.2 million, with a density of
about 10350 persons per km2. Urbanization in India is likely to increase to 40% by 2021. The number of metropolitan cities in
India has increased from 5 in 1951 to 12 in 1981, and further to 23 in 1991 and 35 in 2001. This number may probably rise to
75 by 2021. Population growth in 20 metropolitan cities in India is shown in Table 2.1.
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Table 2.1 Population Growth in 20 Metropolitan Cities in India
Cities with population in excess of 5 million are known as large cities, while those cities having population more than 10
million are referred as megacities. There were 41 large cities in the world in 2000, of which 19 were megacities. By 2015, the
number of large cities is expected to increase to 59, while there will be 23 megacities. Most of the heavily populated cities of
the world are located in developing countries, as can be seen from Table 2.2, which shows the top 10 urban areas in the world
based on the estimated population in 20152. In terms of population, Tokyo is currently the largest urban agglomeration in the
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world, followed by Mexico and Mumbai. By 2015, Mumbai is expected to become the second largest city followed by Lagos
and Dhaka.
Urbanization is a result of continuous economic development accompanied by emphasis on the development of both human
resources and urban infrastructure. The rapid growth of cities has outpaced the government's resources to meet the
increasing demand for the provision of basic infrastructure. The key areas of public infrastructure development include: land
development; urban transport strategy; environmental quality; and affordable housing. Deficiencies in infrastructure
development exact considerable macro-economic and social costs.
One major cause for increase in urban population is the rural-urban migration of people in search of better employment
opportunities. Further, the larger cities also attract in-migration of population from smaller cities. The migrants settle in
available open land close to their job sites, despite often unsatisfactory living conditions. Concerted efforts should be made by
the government to disperse industries throughout the country and to create employment opportunities in many medium sized
cities. The urban poor constitute a significant proportion of the urban population in developing countries, i.e., their household
income is below the poverty level appropriate to the concerned country. Due to resource constraints, developing countries
find it difficult to provide adequate amenities such as housing, roads, water supply, drainage, and transport. The shortage of
housing in India is of the order of 40 million dwelling units.
A major part of the urban poor lives in slums and squatter or illegal settlements. For example, over 50% of Mumbai's
inhabitants live in slums. A slum is defined as a predominantly residential area of blight, chaotically occupied, and
unsystematically developed, generally neglected, over-populated and ill-repaired. Squatter settlements are habitations of poor
people in land not owned or legally leased to them. While it is increasingly recognised that the slums cannot be cleared by
rehousing the existing population, state governments make efforts to improve the existing slums by providing a few amenities
like water supply, sanitation, and electricity.
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Urbanization causes the following impacts:
b. The urban sprawl increases. For example, the area of Chennai city expanded from 70 sq. km in 1923 to 130 sq. km in 1970
and further to 172 sq. km in 1980. (426 sq. km in 2011).
c. As a consequence of urban sprawl, the average trip length and the total passenger-km of trips increase.
g. The availability of infrastructural facilities such as water supply, drainage, schools, playgrounds, and hospitals fall short of
the requirements.
h. The number of registered vehicles and also the incidence of traffic accidents rise. For example, the vehicular population in
Delhi increased from 0.5 million in 1980 to 4.0 million in 2001, while the number of road accidents rose from 7697 in 1990
to 10217 in 1998.
i. The public transport vehicles become overcrowded during the peak periods.
j. New forms of transport such as rail rapid transit are difficult to accommodate due to high density build up and space
constraints.
In any developing society, the process of urbanization is unending and is accompanied by many adverse impacts. By
enlightened management of urban centres, the urbanization process can be channeled to achieve all-round prosperity and
growth.
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Figure 2.2 Schematic Diagram of Urban Area in Regional Setting
The pressure of population in a metropolitan city can be reduced if a few urban nodes are developed outside the city but within
the metropolitan region as indicated in Fig. 2.3. Such urban nodes are referred as relief poles and the strategy is known as the
relief pole strategy3.
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Moving objects : People, Goods, Vehicles, Services
Urban design is a way of interpreting and improving people's perceptions of the final form of the city5. The following three
aspects of the design are important:
a. City Form—the physical organization of the city reflecting the pattern of developments and the corridors used for
transportation systems.
b. Transportation Architecture—the physical appearance and qualities of open and closed public spaces or buildings, which
include transportation facilities.
c. Human Factors—design for pedestrian and rider comfort, social contact, and stimulation of the senses by light, sound,
visibility and weather.
Secondly, transportation architecture should be given attention in ensuring spatial organization, old/new continuity and
surfaces needing minimum maintenance. The different buildings, roads, bridges, pedestrian ways, open spaces, gardens and
trees should be effectively integrated to form aesthetically pleasing overall composition. The modern pedestrian malls in
shopping areas of new towns contribute to enhanced aesthetics of city centres.
The third aspect to be considered is the quality of the personal environment in transportation, involving image, microclimate,
social distance, human engineering and information/communications. Image is a sense of being in a space, visual impact and
environment. The ideal microclimate has clean air, low noise and vibration, moderate temperature, and good lighting.
Transportation information should be legible and easy to understand. In a country with many languages and low literacy,
directions and orientation could be communicated in graphics to the possible extent. Letters must be of appropriate size to
enable reading from a distance. To be effective, physical planning of the urban area should be accompanied by social
planning. Our challenge is to devise ways to promote the amenities of life in the midst of urban development, so as to make
urban life more fulfilling than frustrating.
Transportation is a major element in the design of the total urban environment. With appropriate design, transportation may
introduce delight rather than blight, as dramatic and visually delightful, non-polluting new modes of travel connect residences
to workplaces, shops and recreation centres, in a planned urban mileau. The new modes, however, need investment of
resources and efforts, over a timeframe suitable to the scale of development envisaged. The investment on urban
transportation should be so planned as to be cost effective, and should establish operationally efficient transport systems
consistent with an appropriate intermodal mix. Urban transportation is increasing in importance for the economy and the
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social welfare. For enhancing the effectiveness of movement in major cities, it is necessary to provide public transport in
preference to private transport.
Transportation corridors influence the formation of the urban form as shown in Fig. 2.4. Transportation decisions are often
irreversible, and the decisions made now will influence the future form of the city. Policy decisions on the use of public
transportation centers and on joint development of urban area and transport should be framed so that the alternatives are
studied carefully by an interdisciplinary team as part of urban design. The team may consist of experts from professions such
as economics, social science, public administration, private sector organizations, technology, and urban design, besides
transportation. Each profession brings its own special field of expertise, and interacts with other fields by discussion of
impacts, so that a synthesis of all factors may yield a single coherent development proposal. Whenever a major transportation
facility is planned, the planner must take into account the various physical, social, economic, political, human, aesthetic, and
technological factors that are encountered. To significantly improve the physical quality of urban environment, the planner
must consider both the visible form and the hidden forces that accompany change4. Public policies for urban transport should
be aimed at freedom of choice of mode for the citizen, social equity and maintenance of environmental quality at an
acceptable level.
The travel patterns and the alignment of travel corridors in an urban area are determined by the distribution and the density of
urban activities. This, in turn, establishes the economic feasibility of the various modes of transportation for specific point-to-
point movements. The alternatives for an urban area involve choices among the various possible arrangements of residential,
commercial, and industrial development together with the appropriate interconnected transportation.
As shown in Fig. 2.4, the pattern of transportation corridors may include: (a) Finger type; (b) Radial and circumferential; (c)
Linear; and (d) Grid pattern. The finger type denotes the formation of major traffic corridors (possibly rail) radially from the
CBD, and intense development along these corridors. The wedge areas between the radial corridors get filled gradually. The
radial and circumferential pattern is more suitable for bus operation as routing can be flexible. The radials form the major
arterials which can be served by rail or bus. The circumferential routes can function as feeder to the main radial arterials.
Chennai is an example for this pattern. A linear city, like Mumbai, can develop main traffic rail corridors along the length with
feeder routes by bus. Orthogonal road system, usually for buses, is developed in planned cities in advanced countries, e.g.,
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New York. Urban form changes with development and with the evolution of new traffic corridors. Planners should ensure easy
access to transport.
A significant proportion of urban land is occupied by transportation facilities. In some metropolitan cities, nearly one-third of
all land is taken up by roads, fuel filling stations, bus, truck and railway terminals, railway yards, and airports, resulting in
serious diminution of green areas and unused land. The desired nature, character and life style of the era are the principal
determinants in regard to urban development, on which would depend the compatible land development and transportation
policies to be implemented. Growing cities might avoid major transportation problems in the future if the relationships among
the urban size, form and compatible transportation systems are considered in the early stages of urban development plans.
All these activities have their place in life. For a smooth life in general, it is necessary for us to set up priorities between them.
The priorities so desired will also vary with the hours of the day and the location. Most of the roads will have more than one
use, though the functions are predominantly to serve for movement and access. The transport plan should take cognisance of
this fact, modify the priorities and control some of them. It should be dynamic to respond to changing priorities and
technologies.
c. promotion of urban area formation—to induce an urban structure and form a framework for urban area; and
d. spatial function—to accommodate public utilities such as electricity, water supply, drainage, underground railways, etc.
The design of an urban road will depend heavily on the relative importance given to its various functions, particularly the
functions of access and mobility. A local street whose function is strictly land service must be designed with frequent access
points, whereas a freeway emphasizes high speed movement. The traffic characteristics to be considered are: average trip
length, average travel speed, access control, spacing between streets of the same category, traffic volume and type of control
used.
Based on the geometric and traffic characteristics, the urban roads may be classified as freeway, expressway, arterial,
collector street, local street, or cul-de-sac. Cul-de-sac is a short discontinuous street giving access to dwelling units (DU).
Local street separates individual DUs and integrates a cluster of DUs. Collector street separates clusters of DUs and
integrates a neighbourhood. Arterial separates neighbourhoods and integrates a community. Expressway/Freeway separates
communities. The classification of the various types of urban roads with reference to movement and access functions is
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shown in Fig. 2.5. The urban roads have to be organized into an efficient road network system consisting of the various types
of roads, incorporating measures to harmonize traffic and the environment in the urban area.
Figure 2.5 Classification of Urban Roads with Reference to Movement and Access Functions
2.8. REFERENCES
1. Transportation Engineering Journal, American Society of Civil Engineers, (1970) 96, 633-649.
2. United Nations Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects, (1999) Revision, 2000.
5. Kidmore, Owings and Merrill (1970), Urban Design Guideline, Washington, D.C.
6. Hitchcock, A.J.M., Planning of Transport Operations, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, UK, LR 671.
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por
Mariana
Schweitzer
Investigadora del
CONICET, Docente
FADU-UBA*
2 6 > www.vocesenelfenix.com
> 27
La relación
entre transporte
y territorio
Las inversiones en infraestructura
para el transporte generan
diversas formas de apropiación del
territorio, con sus efectos directos
e indirectos. El debate se centra
entonces alrededor de las nociones
de crecimiento y desarrollo.
comenzó a poblarse a la vez que comenzaron a nes de manufacturas desde esos mercados.
valorizarse y a explotarse sus recursos naturales. El temprano perfeccionamiento del transporte acuático estuvo estimula-
Otro efecto fue el surgimiento de nuevas ciudades do por la tendencia de las poblaciones a concentrarse en las costas o las vías
sobre la traza ferrovial. fluviales. Durante el siglo XIX se produjeron grandes avances con la intro-
Los ferrocarriles tuvieron un gran desarrollo. ducción de barcos a vapor. En 1819 se desarrolló la primera travesía transa-
En 1876 aparecieron las locomotoras eléctricas, en tlántica en un barco con propulsión a vapor, demorando 29 días. En 1914 fue
1913 las locomotoras diesel y en 1941 se construyó abierto el canal de Panamá, permitiendo unir el Atlántico con el Pacífico a lo
la primera locomotora a gas. En los años ’60 del largo de poco más de 80 kilómetros, en un tiempo de ocho horas. La apertura
siglo XX se comenzaron a electrificar todas las vías, de esta importante vía fluvial implicó una reducción considerable del tiempo
dando a este medio de transporte mayor seguridad de viaje en el tráfico de mercancías por vía marítima a escala mundial.
y rapidez. Pocos años más tarde surgen, primero en En relación con el transporte por carretera, en América latina los incas ya
Japón y luego en Francia, trenes de alta velocidad contaban con un eficiente sistema de caminos por el que transportaban dis-
que alcanzan los 300 km/h. tintos tipos de mercaderías. El caballo, la mula y el transporte sobre ruedas,
En América latina a partir de 1850 comenzó su introducidos por los conquistadores, aprovecharon esas rutas. En el siglo
expansión el transporte ferroviario, en correspon- XVIII las carreteras unían varias ciudades de la región, pero recién durante
dencia con el modelo agroexportador. Se realizaron el modelo de industrialización por sustitución de importaciones se interco-
inversiones en vías férreas en las zonas agrícolas municaron regiones, como la Mesopotamia argentina con el resto del país a
más rentables. Con capitales mayormente ingleses, través de los primeros puentes sobre el Río Paraná.
la red ferroviaria fue diseñada en su gran mayoría El automóvil privado fue el gran protagonista del siglo XX. A partir de
respondiendo a las necesidades comerciales de la década del ’20 se construyeron las primeras autopistas y, en América, la
sus propietarios y sus países de origen, y no a las carretera Panamericana, que a lo largo de 27.000 km permite atravesar todo
necesidades de los países de la región. Los diferen- el continente de sur a norte. En la actualidad hay vías de gran capacidad
tes anchos de trocha de los países demuestran que que permiten el desplazamiento a mayor velocidad de un gran número de
estos trazados no buscaban la integración de los personas y mercancías.
pueblos latinoamericanos. En la Argentina, como Con el surgimiento del ferrocarril y del transporte por carretera crecen los
en otros países de la región, las líneas férreas tenían viajes de corta, media y larga distancia. Las ciudades se fueron extendiendo
sus terminales en las ciudades portuarias desde sobre ferrovías y carreteras. La mayor facilidad de desplazamiento tuvo su
donde salían las mercancías hacia el llamado viejo correlato en la creciente desigualdad social: los nuevos industriales enriqueci-
mundo, pues este era el objetivo central de los dos se instalaron en zonas distantes de las fábricas, en la búsqueda de mejor
trazados: la salida de las materias primas hacia los calidad ambiental. A su vez, se produjo el aumento del valor del suelo urbano
mercados del norte y la entrada de las importacio- y se buscó sacar mayor rendimiento económico a las parcelas de las zonas
Las grandes empresas globalizadas, que operan en ción de la soja transgénica se tradujo en la expan-
la producción y en la exportación de soja y deriva- sión del cultivo hacia zonas marginales más vul-
dos, han desplegado una estrategia de expansión nerables y hacia el monocultivo. Junto con el avance
geográfica hacia las materias primas y de integra- de la frontera agrícola aumentó la deforestación
ción con infraestructura logística y de transporte, de nuestras últimas reservas de bosques nativos y
y han construido terminales portuarias sobre el la utilización masiva de agrotóxicos, con impactos
Río Paraná. Estos puertos incluyen en sus recintos ambientales negativos e irreversibles sobre el suelo
plantas de producción de tamaño mucho mayor y el agua, la pérdida de nutrientes y el deterioro de
que las que existían a comienzos de los noventa. Allí la calidad de vida de las poblaciones próximas a
se procesa la producción, se almacena y se exporta, estas explotaciones.
e inclusive operan como puerta de exportación Las obras en la Hidrovía facilitan la generaliza-
con funciones de control de aduana. Esta misma ción del modelo agroexportador, son un negocio
estrategia hizo que grupos concesionarios de vías para las grandes empresas que monopolizan el
férreas estén constituidos por empresas del sector mercado internacional de granos, para las empresas
aceitero, que se haya mejorado la infraestructura dedicadas al transporte fluvial y marítimo, para las
vial y que se hayan realizado mejoras en los accesos cámaras portuarias y para las empresas concesiona-
a los puertos y en las terminales portuarias, permi- rias de las obras de infraestructura, en detrimento
tiendo una mayor integración. de las poblaciones y de los recursos de la región.
Las obras realizadas sobre la vía fluvial, inversio- Los requerimientos de infraestructura y transpor-
nes millonarias desde el sector privado y desde el te masivo que aumentan la rentabilidad de las
sector público con la participación de organismos actividades extractivas, contribuyen sobremanera
multilaterales de crédito, han permitido un creci- a los efectos ambientales negativos. En definitiva la
miento del transporte de granos y de carga general Hidrovía Paraná-Paraguay es un proyecto para fa-
que pasó de 700 mil a 12 millones de toneladas por vorecer un modelo de extracción de recursos que no
año. El tránsito de barcazas a su vez creció un 2.000 beneficiaría a la población que hoy está en condi-
por ciento entre 1998 y 2007. ciones de pobreza o de marginalidad. Claro ejemplo
Como efectos vinculados, indirectos o asociados de la diferencia entre crecimiento y desarrollo.
a dichas intervenciones, de la producción sojera y En síntesis, el Proyecto Hidrovía Paraguay-
su comercialización con mayor rentabilidad, pode- Paraná no puede reducirse a un mero proyecto de
mos mencionar la presión hacia la expansión de la transporte. Es un proyecto que mejora las condicio-
frontera agraria y la concentración de la propiedad nes para la generalización del modelo de desarrollo
de la tierra. Pequeños productores no han podido actual. Un modelo extractivista que dilapida los
competir con los grandes grupos, y los pobladores recursos naturales al mismo tiempo que perjudica a
con tenencia precaria de la tierra, muchos de ellos grandes franjas de la población. Al afectar el medio
de los pueblos originarios, fueron expulsados y en natural se daña la estructura de las sociedades, y se
cantidades destacadas pasaron a integrar los con- desintegra el sistema social y económico de las co-
tingentes de desempleados urbanos. munidades indígenas y campesinas que habitan en
La soja se adoptó primero en las provincias de dicho ambiente. Y se benefician los grandes empre-
Santa Fe, Córdoba y Buenos Aires y luego se fue sarios, nacionales y extranjeros, que con proyectos
expandiendo hacia otras provincias como Santiago de este tipo abaratan los costos para las exporta-
del Estero, Chaco, La Pampa, Salta y Entre Ríos. Con ciones de nuestros recursos, obteniendo una mayor
esta ampliación de su zona de cultivo, la soja ha rentabilidad y resolviendo necesidades externas
ido reemplazando en muchos casos a los cultivos a la región. Por ello el gran debate pendiente es el
tradicionales como el girasol, el maíz o el sorgo, y a modelo de desarrollo que se pretende para el país, y
las producciones ganaderas, tanto de carne como el pensar al sistema de transporte como uno de los
de leche. La alta rentabilidad asociada a la introduc- componentes que pueden contribuir a ese modelo.