Page 77 - IJPS-11-6

International Journal of
Population Studies The paradox of urban decline in India

and highlights the spatial pattern of urban decline and clusters of decline are located in the eastern and southern
shrinking cities in India. regions (Figure 4). However, in the next decade, many
The macro clustering was evaluated across states, urban centers converted into stabilizing and declining
underlining the level of urbanization and growth pattern ones. The clusters of declining urban centers expanded in
of urban centers during 2001–2011. Figure 3 highlights a several parts of the northern states, such as Jammu and
Kashmir, Punjab, and Delhi in eastern states including
significant disparity in terms of urbanization levels as well Jharkhand and West Bengal and southern states such
as the growth pattern of urban centers across the states of as Kerala and Tamil Nadu. While all states witnessed an
India. States such as NCT of Delhi, Meghalaya, Haryana, increased number of stabilizing urban centers, the country
and Mizoram had a higher percentage of growing urban experienced a dwindling number of growing urban centers
centers, while Kerala, Manipur, Assam, Odisha, and (Figure 5).
Karnataka had the least. Similarly, the percentage of
declining urban centers was the highest in Kerala, Assam, In further analysis, we identified 113 urban centers
Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh and the that have been shrinking (Figure 6). The majority of these
lowest in Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, and Bihar. shrinking cities are mainly concentrated in the eastern,
central, and southern regions of the country. The prime
The spatial distribution of the growth status of urban feature of the shrinking cities is that a majority have a
centers is presented through an inventory map. During small- to medium-sized population below 20,000. To
1991–2001, most urban centers experienced growth or name a few, the following are the rapidly shrinking cities in
stabilization, but a scattered distribution of declining India: Ukai, Balkudra, Barbari, Virbhadra IDPL, Bhalaria,
urban centers across the country was found. The major Dayalbagh, Ambika nagara Rajahmundry, and Eluru.
Furthermore, the study found that some urban centers,
namely Valparai and Thalassery, have been downgraded
from class I cities to class II towns due to rapid population
decline.

3.3. Urbanization and urban decline
Urbanization has been found to be a significant factor in
population decline in urban centers. The result indicates
the association between urbanization and urban decline
(Figure 3). A mixed distribution was observed in terms of
clustering of decline in high- and low-urbanized districts.
Figure 2. Share distribution of declining, stabilizing, and growing urban Clusters of high urbanization and a high share of declining
centers by categories during 2001–2011 urban centers are primarily observed in districts of Kerala,

Figure 3. Share of declining, stabilizing, and growing urban centers during 2001–2011 and the level of urbanization in the different states of India, 2011

Volume 11 Issue 6 (2025) 71 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.3107