ABSTRACT
Shrinking cities is a phenomenon generally associated with the cities in the developed world. In the context of such rapid urbanization, the phenomenon of shrinking cities is paradoxical. This chapter explains this paradox of declining cities despite pressures of urbanization and population growth in India. Indian cities account for about 18 percent of the shrinking cities in the developing world. Urbanization in India is top-heavy, with the small towns having a very small share of the urban population. Asias urban population in particular has been booming, particularly in the two behemoths of China and India. The two countries have been beneficiaries in global economic restructuring, as they have attracted multinational corporations due to their cheap labor. The overall urban growth in India masks the underlying local aspects of the slowing down of the mega-cities, and even shrinkage in the historical cores of the cities. The cities of Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai have faced population decline in the last decade.
