STUDY AREA: BANGALORE, INDIA

Bangalore is the principal administrative, cultural, commercial and industrial centre of the state of Karnataka. The city of Bangalore is situated at an altitude of 920 metres above mean sea level. Geographically it is located on 12.95º N latitude and 77.57º E longitude. The city enjoys a pleasant and equable climate throughout the year. Its tree-lined streets and abundant greenery have led to it being called the 'Garden City' of India. Early 1990’s boom in the software sector with consequent infrastructure initiatives, has contributed to rise in population, mainly due to migration. It is now home to more than 1000 high-tech companies apart from numerous establishments in manufacturing and processing industries. The population of Bangalore as per the 2001 census was 5,686,844 while it was 163,091 in the beginning of the last century (1901). With a booming economic activity, migration in search of livelihood, and availability of land favoured by salubrious climate all round the year, sprawl has been prevalent in and around Bangalore. Recently, the city administrative jurisdiction was expanded to 741 square kilometres agglomerating neighbouring outgrowth. The expansion of Bangalore in recent times with concentrated development of industries and commercial establishments, the growth has posed great challenges to urban governance and planning in terms of provisioning adequate infrastructure, delivery of services, amenities, etc.