Publications
Publications
- February 4, 2017
- Economic & Political Weekly
Historical Transformations in Boundary and Land Use in New Delhi's Urban Villages
By: Sudev J Sheth
Abstract
New Delhi’s “urban villages” are the result of government land acquisitions that began in 1912 and continued into the 1960s. Since the 1980s, growing demand for real estate within the city has engendered unprecedented residential and commercial development in these former agrarian areas. The consequences of this include structural changes in the built environment, shifts in the social make-up of the village, and new relationships with the municipal and planning authorities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and archival research between 2010 and 2015, this article examines Hauz Khas, an important archaeological site and urban village in New Delhi. It analyses historical transformations in boundary and land use in the 20th century, and shows how local responses to land acquisitions, city planning, and powerful money networks have created a new politics of urban formation.
Keywords
India; Urban Planning; Eminent Domain; Land Politics; Real Estate; History; City; Planning; Urban Scope; India; Delhi
Citation
Sheth, Sudev J. "Historical Transformations in Boundary and Land Use in New Delhi's Urban Villages." Economic & Political Weekly 52, no. 5 (February 4, 2017): 41–49.