ABSTRACT
A dualism is apparent within virtually all colonial cities in tropical Africa and Asia, with distinct quarters for the immigrant and indigenous populations. British officials who controlled and planned the colonial cities were constrained by the overall framework of colonialism. The dual nature of colonial cities only appeared either after the acquisition of extensive tropical territories with established urban traditions, or through the attraction of substantial numbers of the indigenous populations to cities built in the British settler mould. The Bombay municipality was active in the provision of services and illustrates many of the parallels between British and colonial cities. The centralisation of administration in most colonial structures was such as to concentrate a high proportion of the British officials and their dependent trades within the capital. Possibly some of the most unusual features of the colonial town system were the more than 80 hill stations developed in India.
