Main Article Content
Abstract
From the past few years, urban sprawl has increased significantly due to growth of urban population in developing nations. The continued excessive growth of population in the urban areas is due to rapid development in these areas and availability of employment opportunities in urban areas, which has contributed to urban sprawl and due to this cause, the cities losing their actual territories, their borders and creating a range of regional forms that have not taken into account their environmental footprint. Thus, this century experienced a high growth of urban sprawl as the initial primary urban form. Urban expansion and urban development are the challenges, which are facing by the today's urban areas due to the negative social, environmental and economic impacts in the cities.
The rise of population in Punjab is about 13% from 2,45 crore in 2001 to 2,77 crore in 2011. Decadal census shows that the proportion of urban population rose from 33.9 percent in 2001 to 37.5 percent in 2011. According to census data, there was an increase in the percentage of population in urban areas in all districts in Punjab. About two-thirds of Punjab's population lives in rural areas. Nearly half of the urban population of Punjab live in four districts: Ludhiana (59.16%), Mohali (54.76%), Amritsar (53.58%) and Jalandhar (52.93%). In Jalandhar, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the urban population was 2.3% in 1961-71, 3.4% in 1971-81, 1.9% in 1981-91, 3.5% in 1991-2001 and 2.0% in 2001-11 [20]. This positive rate of growth in Jalandhar City is primarily due to the continuing migration of people from rural areas and other parts of the country and from smaller towns to larger cities in search of better opportunities for employment and better living standards. Availability of better infrastructure, education & health facilities, and employment opportunities in urban areas act as pull factors for rural population. Spatial urban sprawl analysis is therefore a prerequisite for curbing unplanned urban growth and ensuring sustainable living. This continues increase in population and migration towards urban areas resulted in the loss of fertile farming lands, open green spaces and vegetation being lost.