AMBEDKAR UNIVERSITY DELHI

People and the Peri-urban

Studying the incidence of change in socio-spatial relationships in the Goyla dairy region of Delhi
A UDE PROJECT
Prepared by: Kavita Pandey, Pallavi Dhall, Anjali Kataria and Syed Shoaib School of Development Studies Semester III Ambedkar University, Delhi

September 30th, 2011

Project Proposal

Abstract
S o me a b s t r a c t n o t io n s c ha r a c t e r iz in g t he I n d ia n r u r a l are t ho s e of f e u d a l it y, caste, p a t r ia r c hy, b e in g a g r ic u l t u r a l w it h c l o s e kn it in t e r d e p e n d e n t n e t w o r ks a n d s i mp l e l if e s t yl e s . H o w s o ma n y t he n o t io n s o f t he r u r a l ma y be, they of would carry w it h t h e ms e l v e s c e r t a in spaces, p e r c e p t io n s in d iv id u a l s , c o mm u n it y ,

c u l t u r e e t c . A s d iv e r s e t he s e p e r c e p t io n s ma y b e in t he ir p l e n t it u d e , t he u r b a n is r a t h e r o f t e n c ha r a c t e r ize d b y t h e c o n t r a r y n o t io n s o f c a p it a l is m, e q u a l it y, mo d e r n it y a n d in d i v id u a l is t ic e x is t e n c e . A s s t ic k y o r f l u id t h e s e n o t io n s in t he ir g r o u n d r e a l it y ma y b e , p e r i - u r b a n a r e t he s p a c e s w he r e t h e s e d i c ho t o m ie s w o u l d s u b s t a n t i a l l y in t e r a c t a n d in t e r s e c t . T he p a p e r w o u l d a t t e m p t t o e x p l o r e t he s a m e in t he G o yl a d a ir y r e g io n , Ne w De l hi. Re s u l t a n t l y , u n d e r s t a n d in g t he u r b a n p he n o me n o n a n d f u n c t io n a l l iv e s o f p e o p l e ; u n d e r s t a n d in g t he e v o l v in g s o c io - s p a t ia l r e l a t io n s h ip s w o u l d p r o v e t o b e f r u it f u l in g e n e r a t in g a ho l is t ic u n d e r s t a n d in g of u r b a n i z a t io n in our c o n t e mp o r a r y d e v e l o p m e n t p a r a d ig m s .

Project Proposal

BACKGROUND The rural and urban have historically been different in their conceptions of space, incidence of economic activities, social relations and political economies. Capitalism, as profound a social transition (or change) it has been, has not done away this dichotomy, but has rather in many scenarios (especially belonging to the third world) exacerbated it. The peri-urban are thus a very interesting area in that relevance and substantially important to understanding the urban experience (and all allied areas of enquiry, rights, governance, provisions, law etc.).

Project Proposal

The region near Goyla dairy in Dwarka has overtime witnessed substantial migration into it, and thus as more people move in, more identities make it their home and the use of space diversifies from being primarily agricultural to sundry and diverse, it would be interesting to see how social relations change over time.
METHODOLOGY

The substantiality of dichotomy between rural and urban makes it complex to understand and explore peri-urban spaces. Due to a lack of availability of research literature on this area, it would not be possible to have a preliminary idea of the social dynamics that play out here. This limitation and complexity together call for a methodology which is rooted in a preliminary enquiry and which can be facilitated in a short period of time. We, based on our interaction with the inhabitants would attempt to identify the groups and individuals relevant to our query such as the ones who have been residents for a longer duration or the more influential ones. Further we plan to conduct open-ended preliminary interviews with the identified individuals and groups and getting further penetrating ideas of notions of space, economic activity, gender and power structures across communities. Based on these interviews, we shall prepare closeended questionnaires targeting a higher number of respondents as compared with the number of interviewees. The number of visits would probably vary from four to six during the field work.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gottdiener, M.(1985). The Social Production of Urban Space. U.S.A. University of Texas Press. Randhawa, P. et al.(2009). On the Edge of Sustainability: Perspectives on Peri-urban Dynamics, STEPS Working Paper 35, Brighton: STEPS Centre Dupont, V., Emma Tarlo,& Denis Vital (2000). Delhi: Urban Space and Human Destinies. Institut de recherche pour le dveloppement (France) Ali, S.(2006). Managing Urban Poverty. Council for Social Development, Uppal Pub. House, India

Project Proposal