ABSTRACT
In the Indian context, after the economic reforms of 1991, growth outside city areas has increased due to increased connectivity, availability of services, amenities and employment opportunities. Planned development of the city region is a pertinent issue for planners and policymakers due to their dynamic nature and continuously shifting boundaries. The formation of a city region depends upon local and regional forces exercised by the city on hinterland and vice versa with the dependency of nearby settlements on the parent city. The presence of corridors or railway lines acts as a fuel for this development as they increase the connectivity between the places within a region. The planning approach in India focuses less on integrating the city region within the regional framework due to their dynamic form. The growth of city regions can be elucidated using the concept of movement economy, i.e., a more accessible location leads to the movement of people, thereby attracting functional land uses and services. Also, the theory of natural movement says that movement in a place is characterised by the configuration of the road network. Within this backdrop, this chapter tries to evaluate the integral accessibility of the settlements at a regional scale using network analysis. It would help planners and policymakers to make informed decisions for the planned development of city regions.
