THE CITY IN SOUTH ASIA
As in other regions of the Third World, contemporary urban forms in South Asia reveal the imprint of both indigenous and colonial forces. Two basic models depict the effect of these forces on the form of the South Asian city: the colonial-based city and the bazaar-based city.
The colonial-based city model reveals features characteristic of colonial foundations elsewhere but also reflects the particular colonial methods of the British in the Indian subcontinent (Figure 22.7):
1. Colonial cities in the subcontinent generally have a waterfront location accessible to ocean going ships. This facilitated trade and ant necessary military intervention, and provided the initial growth point of the city.
2. A walled fort adjacent to the port afforded protection for the colonists. It also often accommodated factories processing agricultural raw materials for export to the mother country,there by providing a nucleus of the colonial exchange system.
3. An open space (maidan) around the fort for security.
4. Part of the open space between the fort and European town was reserved for military parades and recreational facilities, such as a racecourse or cricket ground.
5. Beyond the open area was a native town developed to service the fort and the colonial administration. This was an unplanned area of overcrowded, insanitary living conditions.
6. A Western-style CBD contained the majorcommercial and administrative functions, institutions and public buildings, and low-density residential areas. A bazaar style of commercial area developed in the native town.
7. The planned European town comprising spacious bungalows along tree-lined avenues, developed away from the native settlement.
8.At an intermediate location between the 'black town' and 'white town' developed colonies of
Anglo-Indians. The fact that they were Christian and the offspring of mixed European- Indian marriages ensured that they were not accepted by either the native or the 'purebred' European communities.
9. As the colonial city expanded, new living space for the elites was provided by peripheral developments, mostly undertaken by private co-operative housing associations and specially designated improvement trusts supported by city revenues.