Gagan Deep
Department of Geography
University of Jammu
Jammu 180006
Rakesh Menia
Research Scholar
Department of Geography
University of Jammu
Jammu 180006
Abstract
Urbanization has been recognized as a symbol of development as well as a burden over resources. The latter dimension is particularly so in developing countries since the process of urbanization is very rapid. Rapid urbanization raises many issues which might have both positive and negative impacts on environment. The fast tempo of urban population growth caused by migration from rural to urban area and small cities to large cities, ones are creating problems, like urban congestion, poor housing, and crowded transportation, lack of basic services, ill health, low educational status and unemployment. The observing urbanization is vital role of planner, management, governmental and non-governmental organizations for implementing policies to optimize the use of natural resources and accommodate development at the same time minimizing the impact on the environment. The measurement of level of urbanization simply involves the assessment of the percentage of urban population in cities and towns of a specified criterion. Urbanization as a process and its spatial manifestation in terms of levels of urbanization has been extremely varied and intensive. Studies on the emerging trends of urbanization especially from environmental perspective are sectoral and widely distributed. In this paper attempt has been made to find out the degree/ index and levels of urbanization in the state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1901 to 2011.
