Urban morphology deals with the physical layout and internal functional structure (functional morphology) of an urban area. Here ‘physical layout’ means ‘urban structure’ and may be termed as internal geography of the city. Similarly functional morphology may be interchanged with urban land use.
Various theories have been advanced by urban geographers to analyse the morphology of urban centers. Of these mention may be made of the Concentric Zone Theory by E.W. Burgess (1923), the Sector Theory by Homer Hoy t (1939), and the Multiple Nuclei Theory by C.D. Harris and E.L. Ullman (1945). These models have helped us in identifying various functional zones within the territorial limit of the city. These include business area (including C.B.D.), residential area, industrial area, administrative area, educational area, cultural area, other areas, and gardens and open area.
O.H.K. Spate and A.T.A. Lear month (1967), John E. Brush (1962) and A.E. Smiles (1973) are the pioneers to make significant contribution towards the study of morphology of Indian towns. According to Brush Indian towns, on the basis of their morphological characteristics, may be classified under two broad categories. (1) Indigenous : These have fully Indian characteristics, Such towns are mainly distributed in the areas of northern plains, desert borderlands and Deccan Peninsula and exhibit impact of South-West Asian (Islamic) culture in the form of narrow winding streets. (2) European type: These include cantonments, civil lines, railway colonies etc. built during the British rule. Here bungalow type houses are separated by straight and wide roads. These were developed by Europeans as port cities and European colonies.
The general morphology of the Indian cities was initially concentric in nature and was mostly affected by the physical characterises of the site. During the British period with the development of new mohallas, market places and suburbs it became sectored (consisting of two or three sectors). In certain port and capital cities it is mufti-nuclei depicting the third stage of urban morphological development.
The study of the general functional structure and urban land use of the Indian cities shows that here there is absence of clear separation between residential and other areas. Most of the traders, business .men, artisans, service men and factory workers prefer to reside near their place of work. In general, upper stories, rear portions of the houses and neighbourhood are utilised for residential purposes.
The central part of the city, which is the main market place, is called chowk. But its characteristics are not similar to the central business district (CBD) of the Western cities. Here retail trade area is well extended along the main road and streets. Its commercial structure includes separate areas for food grains, clothes, ornaments, utensils, iron goods, vegetables etc. Main commercial area is surrounded by residential area which too denotes separation on the basis of religion, caste, language etc. Here high caste and elite class residences are located nearer to the city-centre while low income group prefers to occupy the peripheral area. But in recent years due to marked improvement in transport facilities, especially in road transport, people belonging to high and middle income groups are moving away to outer parts of the city to avoid congestion and pollution. New residential colonies are also emerging in these suburban areas.
Due to multinucleated development in the Indian cities the CBD is not so developed as in case of Europe and America. It has emerged as a weak centre lacking mono central concentration. Excessive congestion, population density and intensity also obstruct its growth. The old part of the city is characterised by irregular, narrow and winding street whose two sides are dotted with multistoried buildings consisting of old to new modern houses with occasional location of temples and mosques etc. The land use is mixed type which further complicates the urban morphology of the city. That is why it is always difficult to identify clear functional zones in such cities.
On the other hand part of the city (including civil lines, military cantonment, railway colony, etc) developed during the British regime is very much similar to the Western cities. After Independence many new cities have been built or old cities have been replanted on the Western model. Here roads are straight and wide well decorated with trees, open lands, parks and gardens. Along the road lie single storied bungalows without any trace of social segregation. With the growth of population there is increase in the vertical dimension of the houses.
The central part of the Indian cities is very dense and compact. Here intensity of centripetal forces leaves little room for the development of suburban areas as is seen in the Western cities.
That is why there is marked difference in population density between city-centre and the fringe area. Compared to the Western cities the sex ratio is also low in Indian cities. Within the country sex ratio is higher in the urban areas of the southern India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh) than its northern counterpart (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar etc). Even job / employment opportunities are also higher for women in South Indian cities. Indian cities are also dominated by rural and traditional way of life. That is why Kachcha dwellings, huts, cattle sheds, road wandering cattle are the typical features of such cities.
Sample Study: Allahabad City
Located at the confluence of the sacred Ganga and Yamuna river Allahabad (25° 28N and 810 54′ E) is a cultural, administrative and educational urban centre. Its ancient name is Prayag while the sacred confluence is called Triveni. In Hindu scriptures it is famous as Tirtharaj. During the ancient period Prayag was famous as a place of worship, sacrifice and penance for sages and rishis.
In those days Pratisthanpur (present name Jhusi) in the east along the left bank of the Ganga River and Kaushambi (present name Kosam) about 60 km south-west of Allahabad along the left bank of the Yamuna River were the capitals of the Rajputs kings of the dynasty. Up to the Buddhist period Prayageme as an important urban centre which became part Ashok’s empire in 240 B.C. It continued to be part of the Magadh kingdom up to the 2nd cent AD.
The descriptions of Chinese traveler Hi Tsiang also testify Prayag as a flourishing citing the seventh century. Old city probably extend from Daraganj to the Yamuna high bank (Singh, 1956, p. 38). This was later on damaged by floods of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
The nucleus of the present city was laid do by the famous Mughal emperor, Akbar who realiing the strategic importance of the place decided build a fort in the last part of the 16th century, name of the city was changed to Illahabas which occupied the Yamuna bank area south of the Grand Trunk Road and was protected by two newly constructed embankments. Later on Khuldabad and Khusrobagh came into being during the reign of Jehangir, Daraganj during the time of Shahjahai (named after Dara Shikoh) and Katra during the rule of Aurangzeb (by Maharaja Jaipur).
The actual development of Allahabad city began with the 19th century during the British rule. The process was accelerated when the city became capital of United Provinces in 1858 and High Court was established in 1868. Later on north and South cantonments, civil line, Alfred Park, Muir Central College (Allahabad University), railway colony, western cantonment, and police line were also developed during same period.
The development process got further boost up with the laying down of Faizabad and Varanasi rail lines, granting of teaching and residential status to Allahabad University and emergence of new residential colonies of Lukerganj, George Town, Tagore Town, New Katra, South Malaka and Ailenganj. But the shifting of capital to Lucknow was also a great loss to the city.
During the post-independence period four typical characteristics are well marked in the urban development of the city. These include emergence of new residential colonies, urban expansion in a six km wide narrow belt along the G.T. road from Subedarganj to Bamrauli, expasion of city limit beyond the rivers towards Phaphamau, Jhusi and Naini sides, and amalgamation of new rural areas to the municipal limit to grant it the status of Nagar Nigam. Due to this urban expansion the city now covers an area of 85 sq. km with a total population of more than 1 million (8, 41,638 in 1991).