Contents Preface vii List of Figures ix 1 Introduction: The Urban Environment 1 2 Urban Geography: Meaning, Scope and Concepts 10 3 Conceptual Explanations of Urban Places 23 4 Origin and Growth of Towns: A Historical Resume 36 5 Location, Site and Situation 55 6 World Urbanization 71 7 Indian Urban Process 98 8 Urban Plan, Structure and Morphology 110 9 Classification of Towns 142 10 Small Towns 156 11 Central Place System 168 12 Rank-Size Rule 183 13 Urban Primacy and Hierarchical System 191 14 Metropolises and Growth Poles 202 15 Urban Problems 221 16 Central Business District: Central Area of a City 249 17 Rural-Urban Fringe 261 18 City Regions in India 272 19 Urban Planning and Democratization 287 Index 296