‘Law and Urban Change in an Indian City’

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of the law in the process of urban change in the city of Bangalore. The city is the capital of the south Indian state of Karnataka and a major commercial, military, research and industrial centre. Bangalore is rapidly expanding both in terms of population density and geographic size (Suresh: 1992, 89). In this city, as in many others, the twin goals of economic success and social welfare are as often mutually beneficial as mutually exclusive. As the population in the city increases, exorbitant pressures are being placed upon its natural resources and infrastructure. Of particular concern to the city are the problems of providing housing, controlling land use, the regulation of planning, the protection of the environment, and the maintenance of an adequate level of infrastructure and civic amenities.

Keywords: Access to justice, Bangalore, law and development, urban