ABSTRACT
Largely overlooked, the seemingly mundane act of subdividing peripheral urban land into building lots affects the size and form of human settlements in important ways. 1 It delineates foundational urban tissue on the ground, establishing the lattice for future communities. 2 It also catalyzes development activity, which works as the animating force filling out the lattice in a sporadic and largely unforeseen fashion. 3 As I illustrate in this chapter, Jaipur’s post-independence quarters bear testimony to the significance of subdivision development work both in creating a host of new settlements and steering the rapid outward movement of the urban periphery. Sponsored by private builders, this kind of spatial planning deserves our interest for several reasons.
