Different Types of Bio Fertilisers

Biofertilizers

Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help crop plants’ uptake of nutrients by their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants.

Very often microorganisms are not as efficient in natural surroundings as one would expect them to be and therefore artificially multiplied cultures of efficient selected microorganisms play a vital role in accelerating the microbial processes in soil.

Use of biofertilizers is one of the important components of integrated nutrient management, as they are cost effective and renewable source of plant nutrients to supplement the chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture. Several microorganisms and their association with crop plants are being exploited in the production of biofertilizers. They can be grouped in different ways based on their nature and function.

S. No.	Groups	Examples
N2 fixing Biofertilizers
1.	Free-living	Azotobacter, Beijerinkia, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Anabaena, Nostoc,
2.	Symbiotic	Rhizobium, Frankia, Anabaena azollae
3.	Associative Symbiotic	Azospirillum
P Solubilizing Biofertilizers
1.	Bacteria	Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum, Bacillus subtilis Bacillus circulans, Pseudomonas striata
2.	Fungi	Penicillium sp, Aspergillus awamori
P Mobilizing Biofertilizers
1.	Arbuscular mycorrhiza	Glomus sp.,Gigaspora sp.,Acaulospora sp., Scutellospora sp. & Sclerocystis sp.
2.	Ectomycorrhiza	Laccaria sp., Pisolithus sp., Boletus sp., Amanita sp.
3.	Ericoid mycorrhizae	Pezizella ericae
4.	Orchid mycorrhiza	Rhizoctonia solani
Biofertilizers for Micro nutrients
1.	Silicate and Zinc solubilizers	Bacillus sp.
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria
1.	Pseudomonas	Pseudomonas fluorescens

2. Different types of biofertilizers

Rhizobium

Rhizobium is a soil habitat bacterium, which can able to colonize the legume roots and fixes the atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically. The morphology and physiology of Rhizobium will vary from free-living condition to the bacteroid of nodules. They are the most efficient biofertilizer as per the quantity of nitrogen fixed concerned. They have seven genera and highly specific to form nodule in legumes, referred as cross inoculation group.

Rhizobium inoculant was first made in USA and commercialized by private enterprise in 1930s and the strange situation at that time has been chronicled by Fred (1932).

Initially, due to absence of efficient bradyrhizobial strains in soil, soybean inoculation at that time resulted in bumper crops but incessant inoculation during the last four decades by US farmers has resulted in the build up of a plethora of inefficient strains in soil whose replacement by efficient strains of bradyrhizobia has become an insurmountable problem.

Azotobacter

Of the several species of Azotobacter, A. chroococcum happens to be the dominant inhabitant in arable soils capable of fixing N2 (2-15 mg N2 fixed /g of carbon source) in culture media.

The bacterium produces abundant slime which helps in soil aggregation. The numbers of A. chroococcum in Indian soils rarely exceeds 105/g soil due to lack of organic matter and the presence of antagonistic microorganisms in soil.

Azospirillum
	Azospirillum lipoferum and A. brasilense (Spirillum lipoferum in earlier literature) are primary inhabitants of soil, the rhizosphere and intercellular spaces of root cortex of graminaceous plants. They perform the associative symbiotic relation with the graminaceous plants. The bacteria of Genus Azospirillum are N2 fixing organisms isolated from the root and above ground parts of a variety of crop plants. They are Gram negative, Vibrio or Spirillum having abundant accumulation of polybetahydroxybutyrate (70 %) in cytoplasm. Five species of Azospirillum have been described to date A. brasilense, A.lipoferum, A.amazonense, A.halopraeferens and A.irakense. The organism proliferates under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions but it is preferentially micro-aerophilic in the presence or absence of combined nitrogen in the medium. Apart from nitrogen fixation, growth promoting substance production (IAA), disease resistance and drought tolerance are some of the additional benefits due to Azospirillum inoculation.

Cyanobacteria

Both free-living as well as symbiotic cyanobacteria (blue green algae) have been harnessed in rice cultivation in India. A composite culture of BGA having heterocystous Nostoc, Anabaena, Aulosira etc. is given as primary inoculum in trays, polythene lined pots and later mass multiplied in the field for application as soil based flakes to the rice growing field at the rate of 10 kg/ha. The final product is not free from extraneous contaminants and not very often monitored for checking the presence of desiredalgal flora.

Once so much publicized as a biofertilizer for the rice crop, it has not presently attracted the attention of rice growers all over India except pockets in the Southern States, notably Tamil Nadu. The benefits due to algalization could be to the extent of 20-30 kg N/ha under ideal conditions but the labour oriented methodology for the preparation of BGA biofertilizer is in itself a limitation. Quality control measures are not usually followed except perhaps for random checking for the presence of desired species qualitatively.

Azolla

Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in association with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae. Azolla fronds consist of sporophyte with a floating rhizome and small overlapping bi-lobed leaves and roots. Rice growing areas in South East Asia and other third World countries have recently been evincing increased interest in the use of the symbiotic N2 fixing water fern Azolla either as an alternate nitrogen sources or as a supplement to commercial nitrogen fertilizers. Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to contribute 40-60 kg N/ha per rice crop.

Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms(PSM)

Several soil bacteria and fungi, notably species of Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Penicillium, Aspergillus etc. secrete organic acids and lower the pH in their vicinity to bring about dissolution of bound phosphates in soil. Increased yields of wheat and potato were demonstrated due to inoculation of peat based cultures of Bacillus polymyxa and Pseudomonas striata. Currently, phosphate solubilizers are manufactured by agricultural universities and some private enterprises and sold to farmers through governmental agencies. These appear to be no check on either the quality of the inoculants marketed in India or the establishment of the desired organisms in the rhizosphere.

AM fungi

The transfer of nutrients mainly phosphorus and also zinc and sulphur from the soil milleu to the cells of the root cortex is mediated by intracellular obligate fungal endosymbionts of the genera Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Sclerocysts and Endogone which possess vesicles for storage of nutrients and arbuscles for funneling these nutrients into the root system. By far, the commonest genus appears to be Glomus, which has several species distributed in soil.

Availability for pure cultures of AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) fungi is an impediment in large scale production despite the fact that beneficial effects of AM fungal inoculation to plants have been repeatedly shown under experimental conditions in the laboratory especially in conjunction with other nitrogen fixers.

Silicate solubilizing bacteria (SSB)

Microorganisms are capable of degrading silicates and aluminum silicates. During the metabolism of microbes several organic acids are produced and these have a dual role in silicate weathering. They supply H+ ions to the medium and promote hydrolysis and the organic acids like citric, oxalic acid, Keto acids and hydroxy carbolic acids which from complexes with cations, promote their removal and retention in the medium in a dissolved state.

The studies conducted with a Bacillus sp. isolated from the soil of granite crusher yard showed that the bacterium is capable of dissolving several silicate minerals under in vitrocondition. The examination of anthrpogenic materials like cement, agro inputs like super phosphate and rock phosphate exhibited silicate solubilizing bacteria to a varying degree. The bacterial isolates made from different locations had varying degree of silicate solubilizing potential. Soil inoculation studies with selected isolate with red soil, clay soil, sand and hilly soil showed that the organisms multiplied in all types of soil and released more of silica and the available silica increased in soil and water. Rice responded well to application of organic sliceous residue like rice straw, rice husk and black ash @ 5 t/ha. Combining SSB with these residues further resulted in increased plant growth and grain yield. This enhancement is due to increased dissolution of silica and nutrients from the soil.

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)

The group of bacteria that colonize roots or rhizosphere soil and beneficial to crops are referred to as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).

The PGPR inoculants currently commercialized that seem to promote growth through at least one mechanism; suppression of plant disease (termed Bioprotectants), improved nutrient acquisition (termed Biofertilizers), or phytohormone production (termed Biostimulants). Species of Pseudomonas and Bacillus can produce as yet not well characterized phytohormones or growth regulators that cause crops to have greater amounts of fine roots which have the effect of increasing the absorptive surface of plant roots for uptake of water and nutrients. These PGPR are referred to as Biostimulants and the phytohormones they produce include indole-acetic acid, cytokinins, gibberellins and inhibitors of ethylene production.

Recent advances in molecular techniques also are encouraging in that tools are becoming available to determine the mechanism by which crop performance is improved using PGPR and track survival and activity of PGPR organisms in soil and roots. The science of PGPR is at the stage where genetically modified PGPR can be produced. PGPR with antibiotic, phytohormone and siderophore production can be made.

Despite of promising results, biofertilizers has not got widespread application in agriculture mainly because of the variable response of plant species or genotypes to inoculation depending on the bacterial strain used. Differential rhizosphere effect of crops in harbouring a target strain or even the modulation of the bacterial nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilizing capacity by specific root exudates may account for the observed differences. On the other hand, good competitive ability and high saprophytic competence are the major factors determining the success of a bacterial strain as an inoculant.

Studies to know the synergistic activities and persistence of specific microbial populations in complex environments, such as the rhizosphere, should be addressed in order to obtain efficient inoculants. In this regards, research efforts are made at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai to obtain appropriate formulations of microbial inoculants incorporating nitrogen fixing, phosphate- and silicate- solubilizing bacteria and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria which will help in promoting the use of such beneficial bacteria in sustainable agriculture.

Liquid Biofertilizers

Biofertilizers are such as Rhizobium, Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria provide nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients to crop plants through nitrogen fixation and phosphorous solubilization processes. These Biofertilizers could be effectively utilized for rice, pulses, millets, cotton, sugarcane, vegetable and other horticulture crops.

Biofertilizers is one of the prime input in organic farming not only enhances the crop growth and yield but also improves the soil health and sustain soil fertility.

At present, Biofertilizers are supplied to the farmers as carrier based inoculants. As an alternative, liquid formulation technology has been developed in the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, TNAU, Coimbatore which has more advantages than the carrier inoculants.

Benefits

The advantages of Liquid Bio-fertilizer over conventional carrier based Bio-fertilizers are listed below:

Longer shelf life -12-24 months.
No contamination.
No loss of properties due to storage upto 45º c.
Greater potentials to fight with native population.
High populations can be maintained more than 109 cells/ml upto 12 months to 24 months.
Easy identification by typical fermented smell.
Cost saving on carrier material, pulverization, neutralization, sterilization, packing and transport.
Quality control protocols are easy and quick.
Better survival on seeds and soil.
No need of running Bio-fertilizer production units through out the year.
Very much easy to use by the farmer.
Dosages is 10 time less than carrier based powder Bio-fertilizers.
High commercial revenues.
High export potential.
Very high enzymatic activity since contamination is nil.

Violence Against Women

Thousands of Women and Children in India who are Survivors of Violence at their homes, office, streets are searching the internet to find help and support to deal with the shock and trauma. They are afraid to go to the police because of the associated social taboos and perceptions.

Hundreds of Caregivers – Credible Helplines, NGOs, Lawyers, Social Workers, Counsellors in India who are working towards ending violence against women and child sexual abuse do not have a common platform which can help them become more accessible to Victims in Need of their help, Volunteers, Donations & Support.

Thousands of Supporters looking for ways to support the fight to end violence against women and children in india in their own ways like Volunteering, Donations.

No easy way for Survivors to find Information about Caregivers that are relevant, credible, close.
No Platform for caregivers to become more accessible to survivors, share their work, recruit volunteers, raise donations.
No easy way for Supporters to find caregivers that they can connect with and support by volunteering, donations.

Solution:

A Web Platform which will connect Survivors directly to caregivers and also create a unique and committed ecosystem of Volunteers & Donors who will support the fight to end violence against women and children in India.

Survivors can Effortlessly Find Information about caregivers that is accessible, verified, credible and relevant.
Caregivers can easily create a profile on the platform and get themselves verified and become accessible to Survivors and Supporters.
Supporters will be able to easily find caregivers and connect with them to volunteer and donate.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Benefits to Corporate:

Eligible under CSR Rules, Companies Act 2013.
Eligible for Tax Exemption u/s 80G of Income Tax Act.
Customize projects as per the need of the Donor Company.
No minimum or maximum size of Donation. You may support us by any amount.
All Documentation Support provided like 3 years Balance Sheet, Registration Certificate, etc.
Project Name shall be on your organization name if you require.
Promotions of your company on our Social Media Platforms and website.
All the beneficiary of the projects can be seen and a meeting can be organized with them like in AGM or any other event of company.
Your funds shall be used on the sector you choose – Education or Health Care

What we can do for corporates?

We, at Drishti Foundation Trust have a vast network of experienced, highly qualified and committed professionals, who have successful track record of dealing in various social initiatives from time to time. Over the years we have been associated with number of corporate houses as CSR partner/collaborators. At this juncture we offer our following specialized services to corporate sector;

Core values

Humanitarian:

We believe in the provision of humanitarian assistance to people wherever it is needed to relieve suffering and sickness.

Professional:

Our staff, members and partners are professional people committed to providing high quality training and expertise in disaster relief and rehabilitation.

Impartial:

We work with people regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.

Inclusive:

We believe that partnerships with individuals, other organisations and communities promote creative and fruitful initiatives.

Impact:

We believe that people in communities and aid agencies should be empowered to develop skills for immediate and future disaster response.

Respect:

We believe people affected by any social or medical can and should be empowered to contribute to relief, rehabilitation and development efforts.

PRORITIES OF THE PROGRAMME

The need based action plans to be prepared, implemented and reviewed annually by the village communities in facilitation of the other stakeholders.

All the stakeholders will be involved at various stages to share learn and contribute their inputs, which lead to better results and create opportunities for its wider dissemination by them at their levels.

The project provide platform for the community to set their own priorities and decide possible solution which can initially be the low cost traditional system or technologies already in use.

Furthermore opens opportunities for research on community preferred need based new technologies as basket of choice to select the best fit in their system / region with some modifications on recommendation of community.

Added – value.

Innovation approaches.

Models for good practices.

Promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities.

Fostering co-operation.

Spatial Standards for Industrial Area

Accessibility for labors
Suitable conformability for the loading and unloading of raw materials
Industrial area must be away from residential area
Infrastructure and utility services must be available
Space for treatment of waste material

Industry floor area requirements

Plot area coverage and Floor Area Ratio

Stages of Town Development

1) Classification by Sir Patrick Geddes

Stages	Properties
Primary	Town, which produces human necessities such as agricultural village
Secondary	Town, which functions as entry of exchange such as marketing town
Tertiary	Town, which provides residential, educational and recreational facilities

2) Classification by Lewis Mumford

Stages	Properties
Eopolis	The Eopolis indicates the first stage of town as a village community whose economic base is agriculture.
Polis	The Polis indicates and association of population with some mechanization and specialization.
Metropolis	The metropolis is a city or town which serves as a capital of a state or region.
Megalopolis	The megalopolis indicates the first stage of decline in town or city due to mega problems and issues, or the reign of town or city shows the signs of decline and deterioration.
Tyranopolis	Tyranopolis is the town or city which shows drastic deteriorating situation for example the trade depression or military powers may occur with different war lords.
Necropolis	Necropolis is the worst stage of town or city. For example the citizens are shifting to rural areas or village due to war, disease or economic break down. In that case the town may recover from it after a large internal of time.

3) Classification by Griffith Taylor

Stages	Properties
Infantile	This is the first stage of town in which a city is not yet divided in separate zones or the city in which zoning regulations is not being prepared yet.
Juvenile	The juvenile stage of town or city indicates that, shops are being separated from the houses or residential area and there are some factories or an industry has been established at a minimal level.
Mature	The mature stage of town shows the divisions of residential zone, commercial zone and industrial zone in the city or the land use and zoning regulations in town shows the stage of mature city / town.
Senile	Finally the senile stage of town indicates the physical decay in most of the portions of the city or the physical, social & economic degradation is evident in the built environment of town or city.

4) Classification by Harold MacLean Lewis

Type	Population
Eopolis or Infantile Municipality Town	2500 to 5000
Polis or Juvenile Town	5000 to 10000
Mature Trade/Industrial Town	10000 to 25000
Metropolis or Medium Size City	25000 to 50000
Megalopolis Intermediate City	50000 to 100000
Trade/Industry/Service Sector City	100000 to 250000
Primate City	250000 to 500000
Tyranopolis or a Metropolitan City	500000 to 1000000
Senile City or Mega City	1000000 or more

5) Urban & Rural Classification of Towns & Cities (By Census of India)

Class	Class of Range of Population
Class I	100,000 and above
Class II	50,000 to 99,999
Class II	20,000 to 49,999
Class IV	10,000 to 19,999
Class V	5,000 to 9,999
Class VI	Below 5,000

Land Suitability Analysis

Rapid urbanization and consequent haphazard growth of cities result in deterioration of infrastructure facilities, loss of agricultural land, water bodies, open spaces, and many micro-climatic changes. This unprecedented growth in city population put pressure on urban amenities and led to their uneven distribution. Many cities witnessed alarming population growth rates in the last thirty years, thus resulted in various problems like pollution, traffic jam, leap-frog development, uneven provision of urban amenities etc. The present study attempted to find out the urban land suitability for the provision of urban amenities. Land use suitability assessment is a key determinant in any urban and suburban planning and decision-making process. The suitability assessment is carried out through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model using a set of criteria involving geo-physical and socioeconomic variables. The variables taken for the study are slope, altitude, land use/land cover and existing amenity status.

Suitability analysis is the process and procedures used to establish the suitability of a system according to the needs of a stakeholder. Urban development and migration to urban areas are global phenomena’s especially in third world countries. Thus, many small cities and isolated populations are rapidly changing into large metropolitan cities.This rapid increase of urban population causes high level impact on the urban environment and creates many problems such as unplanned sprawl, inadequate housing facilities, traffic congestion, insufficient drainage, sewerage problem and lack of other amenities. In this context, finding suitable area for further development or evaluation of land suitability for urban land use planning to overcome undesirable urban growth and protect environment around cities becomes all the more important. In most of the third world countries people are constructing residential buildings without considering resources for these new residential areas. Therefore, it becomes the government’s problem to provide required resources for these areas. In order to find suitable site for construction of an amenity, it is required to use sophisticated analysis with consideration of large numbers of critical issues such as technical, environmental, physical, social and many others. Site suitability analysis is the process of determining the fitness of a given tract of land for a defined use. Remote Sensing, GIS, GPS and AHP method is a vital tool for identification, comparison and multi-criterion decision making analysis of urban development site’s proper planning and management.

Since site selection and suitability process are related to geospatial issues, geographical information system (GIS) allows using data related parameters for suitability modelling. One of the advantages of using GIS in site suitability analysis is the capability of GIS in development of alternative scenarios for urban development. Suitability analysis in a GIS context is a geographic or GIS-based process used to determine the appropriateness of a given area for a particular use. The basic premise of GIS suitability analysis is that each aspect of the landscape has intrinsic characteristics that are to some degree either suitable or unsuitable for the activities being planned. Suitability is determined through systematic, multi-factor analysis of the different aspects of the problem. Model inputs include a variety of physical, cultural, and economic factors. The results are often displayed on a map that is used to highlight areas from high to low suitability. A GIS suitability model typically answers the question, ‘where is the best location? Land suitability analysis is used for site selection, impact studies and land use planning. Land use planning plays an important role in site development, urban renewal and achievement of sustainable urban development. Suitability analysis is critical for both marketing and merchandising purposes. The GIS has different applications in urban health studies and can also be used as a decision support tool to allocate health services so that they are geographically accessible for the population that they intend to serve.

The overcrowding of the capital has resulted in many people being confined to small areas,
making planning of the area difficult. Most cities in Mongolia are not planned according to landuse and it is possible to find all kinds of land-uses within a small area. It is therefore necessary to
classify land-use types within the cities, thus identifying the needed spaces for urban
development using land suitability analysis. Additionally, land suitability analysis is valuable not
only for urban planning but in all land management problems.

In addition, GIS (Geographical Information System) is a useful tool for land-use suitability
mapping and analysis for urban, agriculture, mining and all land-use projects. Hopkins and Collins et al. defined land-use
suitability analysis as identifying the most suitable spatial pattern for future land uses according
to specific requirements, preferences, or predictors of some activity.
GIS has been used to analyse land-use suitability in many situations for ecological approaches for
animal habitat and plant species used GIS to
analyse geographical favourability, Cambell et al.1 and Kalogirou also employed GIS
in landscape evaluation and planning. GIS can also be used in private and public property
planning. For example, Eastman et al. (1993) and Church (2002) used GIS to select the best sites
for public and private sector facilities, whilst Janssen and Rietvelt used the same GIS for
regional planning. This makes GIS a very important tool for all planning activities.
Land-use suitability may mean different things to different experts based on the intended purpose
for which the land is desired. For the agriculturist, it would mean the suitability of the land for
cultivation of crops, animal husbandry and pasture, and to the urban planner the suitability of the
land for building houses, landfill sites, etc. No matter what the intended purpose or which expert
is involved, the rule of thumb, according to Cova and Church, is to differentiate between
the site selection problem and site search problem. Site selection analysis will best identify a
specific site for a suitable activity based on its known potentials such as location, size, and other
attributes. Different sites are ranked based on their potentials and the best site is chosen.

The purpose of this study focused on mapping urban and agriculture land suitability so as to use
prior information regarding the present state of different units of the land which will be highly
important when applying site specific management interventions. This is done by linking data on
socio-economic organizational factors and geophysical conditions of the land for decision making
in identifying land management using geospatial techniques. This requires application of
geospatial technologies through the Geographic Information System (GIS) which will provide the
capability to analyse and interpret land suitability modeling on various scales, time and cost
effectively. In land suitability modeling all the factors of environmental conditions will be
weighted based on their level of influence using multicriteria evaluation to produce a land
suitability map. Mapping urban and agricultural land is thus vital to locate and rank which areas
are highly suitable and less suitable, so that coherent managing measures could be suggested and
implemented immediately to plan, protect and use the valuable land planning in a sustainable
manner.

Moreover, land suitability mapping using GIS provides a classification of the urban and
agricultural area into zones each of which has a different likelihood, or risk, of experiencing
specific land using processes. Such maps are fundamental to land-use planning aimed at the
urban and agricultural land. The procedure is based on the processing of directly mapped and
interpreted data, is easy to apply, and allows frequent updating of the land-use planning.

City as a Physical Entity, Social Entity and Political Entity

Physical Entity (Urban Area)

The first generic form of the city is the physical expanse or area of continuously built-up urbanization. The urban area is generally observable on a clear night from a high flying airplane. The urban area is simply the extension of urbanization. The urban area is not defined by jurisdictional boundaries, though where national statistical authorities define it is necessary to rely on building blocks such as census tracts and municipalities.

Like metropolitan areas, urban areas can extend across sub national jurisdictional lines (such as state, provincial or regional boundaries) or in special cases, international boundaries. Various terms are used by national statistical authorities in the United Nations.

An urban area will never be the same as a municipality. Usually it will include many municipalities, though in the case of many geographically large municipalities, such as Shanghai, the urban area will be smaller than the core municipality. The Chicago urban area (population over 8,000,000) includes the city of Chicago and many other cities. Some nations formally designate urban areas, which are called “urbanized areas” in the United States, “unites urbaines” in France, “urban areas” in the United Kingdom and Canada, “urban centers” in Australia and “urban agglomerations” in India. An urban area is also an agglomeration. A conurbation is an urban area that forms when two or more urban areas grow together. Four definitions of the city are considered here.

The first involves the city as a physical entity, or the area devoted to primarily urban uses. This Built City (BC) is perhaps the most familiar perception of the city, largely because it is relatively easy to visualize. The BC forms the core or basis of each of the other three definitions of the city. These are as follows: The Consumption City (an area within which most of the consumption of goods and services occurs in the BC); The Employment City (an area in which the bulk of the employed workforce works in the BC); and The Workforce City (an area upon which the BC draws for a given majority of its labour requirements). These four definitions of the city are brought together and shown to be interrelated.

The Functional City (Metropolitan Area)

The second generic form of the city is the functional expanse, which is also the economic expanse. The metropolitan area includes the built-up urban area and the economically connected territory to the outside. The economic relationship is generally defined by patterns of commuting to work into the urban area. Thus, metropolitan areas constitute labor market areas. Metropolitan areas can extend over subnational boundaries, except in rare cases where there is not free movement of labor (such as between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China). Further, where free movement of labor is permitted by international agreements, metropolitan areas may cross national boundaries (such as in the European Union or between Switzerland and France, in the Basel and Geneva urban areas).

Political Entity

Political entities are basically systems of governing authority organized as governmental power structures. Empires, nation-states, city-states, and kingdoms are just a few examples of political entities. Most political entities are types of states, with the exception of stateless nations and autonomous regions. It is also important to note that when discussing a nation, we’re referring to a group of people with a shared language, religion, ethnicity or other cultural factors.

Social Entity

Social entity is an ideological concept in which a society or social structure is viewed as a “living organism”. From this perspective, typically, the relation of social features, e.g. law, family, crime, etc., are examined as they interact with other features of society to meet social needs. All elements of a society or social organism have a function that maintains the stability and cohesiveness of the organism.

Spatial Standards for Commercial Area

Site must be near or at the centre of the city (CBD)
Accessibility for users (Job holders)
Infrastructure and utility services must be available
Space left for ware houses
Road and transport facilities (Bus stands, taxiways and local rail)

Table : Plot area coverage and Floor Area Ratio

Important Functions of Transportation Network

Cities play a vital role in promoting economic growth and prosperity of a nation. The development of cities largely depends upon their physical, social and institutional infrastructure. Transport demand in most Indian cities has increased substantially, due to increases in population as a result of both natural increase and migration from rural areas and smaller towns. Urban productivity is highly dependent on the efficiency of its transport system to move labour, consumers and freight between multiple origins and destinations. The primary function of transportation is the transfer of messages and information. It is also needed for rapid movement of troops in case of emergency and finally movement of persons and goods. The political decision of construction and maintenance of roads has resulted in the development of transportation system. The entire economic, social and political life of a modern country depends upon an efficient system of transport. The benefits of transport can be studied under the following categories.

I) Economic Benefits/Functions

The economic effects of good transport facilities are as follows.

1) Extensive Market

Transport helps in the assembly of raw materials and distribution of finished goods. It makes it possible to move goods from the place of production to the place where they are to be consumed. In the earlier days, there were only local markets due to the absence of safe means of transport. Now a days, trade is not restricted to the boundaries of a nation, but has spread throughout the world. Development of the efficient means of transport has knit together all the nations of the world into the one big world market. Even the perishable articles like fish, dairy products, meat etc. are being transported to distant places of the world. But for good transport facilities, such a development in trade and commerce would not have been possible.

2) Mobility of Labour and Capital

Transport reduces the rigours of immobility of certain factors of production. Mobility of labour and capital increases with the development of transport. An efficient network of transport services encourages the movement of people from one place to another. Labour can migrate to the place where they can get better job opportunities, which reduces the exploitation of workers. The development of Australia and United States would not have been possible without immigrations from Europe. With the development of transport, the investment of capital is also channelized to new lands and other places of the world.

3) Specialization and Division of Labour

Transport helps each region and country to make optimum and efficient use of its national resources. Each region can concentrate on production of those goods for which its resources are best suited. Thus, movement of goods and people from one place to another leads to specialization and division of labour which results in minimum wastage of resources and reduction in the cost of production.

4) Economies of Large Scale Production

Transport has helped the development of large scale industries. It would not have been possible for these industries to procure raw materials, gather large number of workers and sell the finished goods, without the efficient facilities of transport. Thus, transport has made possible the various economies of large scale production which tend to reduce unit cost of production and help the economy.

5) Stability in Prices

Transport facilities iron out wild fluctuations. Goods can be transported to places where there is scarcity and the prices are high from places where there is surplus and the prices are low. Such movement of goods helps in maintaining uniform prices throughout the country and further tends to equalize the prices of goods throughout the world.

6) Benefits to Consumers

Improved means of transport benefit the consumers in many ways. The consumers can enjoy the benefit of use of many goods, which cannot be produced at their place, by transporting such goods from other distant places. Further, it helps in reducing the cost of goods of consumers and increases their purchasing power.

7) Employment Opportunities and Increase in the National Income

The various means of transport provide employment to millions of people throughout the world. The economic development of a country depends upon the improved means of transport. Thus, transport contributes substantially to the national income of the nations.

8) Discouragement to Monopoly

The scope of total income is extended by the development of the means of transport. As commodities can be quickly transported from one place to another, local producers cannot charge prices at their own will. This discourages monopoly and encourages competition.

9) Development of Agriculture

Transport has helped in the development of agriculture also. The business of agricultural products has grown to such a large extent only do to the efficient means of transport. It would not have been possible to use modern techniques of agriculture, improved quality of seeds and fertilizers, etc., but for good transport facilities.

10) Industrial Development

Transport facilitates the industrial development of a country. It helps the growth of industries by making available various factors of production. It would not have been possible to make such rapid industrial development without efficient means of transport.

11) Increase in National Wealth

Transport helps in increasing the national wealth of a country by facilitating agriculture, industry, trade and commerce.

II) Social Benefits/Functions

Transport has substantially influenced the life of the people. The various social advantages of an efficient transport are as follows.

1) Discovery of New Lands

Transport has helped the discovery of new lands and the growth of cities and urban areas. Due to the availability of long distance cheap transport, land has been utilized to the maximum advantage of the people all over the world. Even the waste lands are now being used. It also increases the value of land.

2) Diffusion of population

It reduces the concentration of population in the area of production. People can reach from distant places if there is an adequate and efficient system of transport.

3) High Standard of Living

Transport helps in the increase of production thereby raising the standard of living of the people. It is possible only through the means of transport that the ‘five M’s – Men, Material, Money, Machinery and Management’ can be assembled at the place of production. So, industries depend upon efficient system of transport and it creates new industries.

4) Mutual Understanding

It removes the problem of distance, helps the people of different regions to come in contact with each other, encourages exchange of ideas and culture and promotes co-operation, understanding the cordial relations, amongst the people of the world.

5) Ability to Face Natural Calamities

Transport enables the society to face natural calamities such as famine, earthquake, drought, floods, etc. In such emergencies, commodities can quickly be transported to the places of mishap.

6) Broadens the Outlook of the People

Transport promotes mutual understanding. It has broadened the outlook of the people of the world and has knitted together all the nations of the world.

7) Destroys Ignorance

It promotes culture, removes prejudices and destroys ignorance. It helps in spreading knowledge and furthering the cause of education.

III) Political Benefits/Functions

In addition to the economic and social advantages, transport enjoys a great political significance.

1) National Unity, Integration and Peace

Transport helps in maintaining internal peace and national unity of a country. It brings about national integration. A vast country like India cannot be held together without efficient means of transport. Transport encourages economic and political interdependence by promoting specialization and division of labour and this strengthens the need for unity and national integration.

2) National Defense

Transport is essential for strengthening the national defense of a country. In the days of war, it is only through improved means of transport that the defense personnel, material and equipment can be moved rapidly to the border areas. Defense of a country, therefore, necessitates the existence of improved transport facilities.

3) Political Awakening

Efficient means of transport help in creating political awakening in the people and the growth of civilization.

4) Source of Revenue

Transport helps in increasing the national wealth and income of a country. It is also a source of revenue to the Government.

Urban Structure and its Characteristics

Urban structure is the arrangement of land use in urban areas. Urban planners, economists and geographers have developed several models that explain where different types of people and businesses tend to exist within the urban setting. Urban structure can also refer to urban spatial structure, which concerns the arrangement of public and private space in cities and the degree of connectivity and accessibility.

The term “urban form” is used to describe a city’s physical characteristics. It refers to the size, shape, and configuration of an urban area or its parts. How it will be understood, structured or analyzed depends on scale. Characteristics of the urban form range from at a very localized scale, features such as building materials, facades and fenestration to at a broader scale, housing type, street type, and their spatial arrangement or layout.

Elements of urban structure includes the following.

Natural environment
Topography
Soil types (Bearing capacity)
Water courses (Rivers, streams and lakes)
Types of vegetation
Climate and micro climate
Environment characteristics
Landscape features

Types of Urban Structures/Patterns

1) Grid Iron/Rectangular Pattern

The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. The infrastructure cost for regular grid patterns is generally higher than for patterns with discontinuous streets. E.g. Plan of Chandigarh city.

Costs for streets depend largely on four variables: street width, street length, block width and pavement width. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan are frequent intersections and orthogonal geometry, facilitate pedestrian movement. The geometry helps with orientation and way finding and its frequent intersections with the choice and directness of route to desired destinations.

In ancient Rome, the grid plan method of land measurement was called centuriation. The grid plan dates from antiquity and originated in multiple cultures; some of the earliest planned cities were built using grid plans.

Advantages

Shorter routes
Easy to extend
Easy to find places

Disadvantages

Associated with traffic congestion
Many intersections/robots
Time consuming
Fuel consuming
Road rage/frustration

Grid system

2) Radial/Concentric system

Radial design offers a method for organizing visual material by arranging it around a central point. Features of radial city pattern include

Inner outer ring roads linked by radiating roads
Core has the business area
Industrial area interspersed within the residential
Periphery has green belts

Advantages

A direct line of travel
Centrally directed flows
Economics of a single point or origin point
Less intersections
Easier flow of traffic
Aesthetic appeal

Disadvantages

Central congestion
Local flow problems
Difficult building sites
Unplanned growth can create traffic problems

Radial/Concentric system

3) Linear System

The linear city was an urban plan for an elongated urban formation. The city would consist of a series of functionally specialized parallel sectors. Generally, the city would run parallel to a river and be built so that the dominant wind would blow from the residential areas to the industrial strip. As the city expanded, additional sectors would be added to the end of each band, so that the city would become ever longer, without growing wider. The sectors of a linear city would be

A purely segregated zone for railway lines
A zone of production and communal enterprises, with related scientific, technical and educational institutions
A residential zone, including a band of social institutions, a band of residential buildings and a “children’s band”
A park zone
An agricultural zone with gardens and state run farms

Advantages

High accessibility
Adaptability to linear growth
Useful along limited edge

Disadvantages

Very sensitive to blockage
Requires control of growth
Lack of focus

Linear system

4) Multi Centered System

City grows from several independent points rather than from one central business district.

Advantages

Optional locations for focal activities and system terminals
Good psychological orientation
Adaptability to existing conditions

Disadvantages

Depends on stability to key locations
Potential accessibility problems
Tendency to dilute focal activities

Multi centered system

5) Irregular System

No set pattern. It develops due to relief. e.g. goes around hilly areas.

Advantages

Creates aesthetic appeal due to different roads
Less traffic congestion
Less intersections

Disadvantages

Can get lost
Travel longer distances

Irregular system

Selection of Site for an Ideal Town

The important features to be considered with respect to the site of a town are as follows.

1. Availability of the natural advantages

2. Availability of electricity

3. Available means of communication

4. Climatic conditions

5. Contours of the area

6. Development of the surrounding area

7. Drainage of the area

8. Facility available for sewage disposal

9. Fertility of soils

10. Frequency of the floods

11. Growth of the trees

12. Nature of soil

13. Position of lakes and streams

14. Water resources, etc.

Requirements of New Towns

The two important facts which are to be carefully examined before deciding the requirements of new towns are as follows.

1) Function of the town

A new town is generally formed or developed for specific purpose. The purposes for which the towns may be designed are commerce, industry, culture, education, defense, health, recreation, government administration, etc. these purposes will help boost the economy, social welfare and political condition. Once the function of a new town known, size of population to be accommodated in the town can be worked out.

2) Welfare of the people

A new town should be designed for the welfare of the people. The welfare of the people is measured by three factors, namely, amenities, convenience and health.

General requirements

Amenities such as sewer lines, water supply, electric power, etc.
Education.
Effective road networks.
Planned growth of the town.
Provision for future expansion.
Proper location of public building.
Parks and playgrounds.
Provision of suitable bye-laws for the town.
Recreation centres.
Zoning of town into suitable zone.

Spatial Standards for Recreational Area

The purpose of the recreation areas is to provide adequate recreational facilities to serve the residents of the development. Open space is any open piece of land that is undeveloped (has no buildings or other built structures) and is accessible to the public. Open space can include: Green space (land that is partly or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation). Green space includes parks, community gardens and cemeteries. Schoolyards, playgrounds, public seating areas, public plazas and vacant lots open space provides recreational areas for residents and helps to enhance the beauty and environmental quality of neighbourhoods.

The opportunity to attain and maintain good physical and mental health is an inherent right of all residents of the planning area. The provision of outdoor recreation sites and related open space areas contributes to the attainment and maintenance of physical and mental health by providing opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities. An integrated park and related open space system, properly related to the natural resource base, can generate the dual benefits of satisfying recreational demands in an appropriate setting while protecting and preserving valuable natural resources. Finally, an integrated system of outdoor recreation sites and related open space areas can contribute to the orderly growth of the planning area by lending form and structure to urban.

Table Parks, playgrounds and open spaces

Accessibility, Mobility and Connectivity

Accessibility

It is defined as an access to activities. Accessibility (or just access) refers to the ability to reach desired goods, services, activities and destinations (collectively called opportunities). Access is the ultimate goal of most transportation, except a small portion of travel in which movement is an end in itself (jogging, horseback riding and pleasure drives), with no destination. It is important term in understanding travel time distances and cost between activity locations.

It is also refers to the ease of movement between places. it is the ability to reach opportunities that is beneficial, not movement itself. Accessibility is the quality of travel and takes place at the community and individual level through access management techniques to provide access to various land uses. It focuses on travel time, travel cost, travel options, comfort and risk while addressing the needs of all within the community. Mobility and accessibility are considered the “ying and yang” of transportation. The goal is to increase the overall capability of the transit system while not compromising efficiency and ease of access.

Mobility

Mobility refers to the movement of people and goods. This recognizes both automobile and transit modes, but still assumes that movement is an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Mobility is defined as access to transportation. It is important in travel demand models to determine choices available to a consumer. Mobility is the ability and level of ease of moving goods and services.

Some examples of mobility include: Interstate highways providing designated truck lanes to increase the overall amount of goods transported, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems with bus only lanes that increases the efficiency of moving people while removing automobiles from the roads. Congestion management systems are the trend in mobility due to the lack of funds and the land constraints to keep expanding the transit system infinitely. These systems manage travel demand through innovative ideas to increase volume and capacity.

Mobility is how far you can go in a given amount of time. Accessibility is how much you can get to in that time.

Connectivity

Connectivity is the relative location of an object to the destination centers. There are many different levels of hierarchy to connectivity. For example, subdivisions with many dead end cul-de-sacs may have poor connectivity with surrounding land uses. It may take a long time for a family living at the end of a cul-de-sac to get out of the neighborhood and to the main road right behind their house. The destination might not be that far away by distance, but by travel time it is. Traditional downtowns on the other hand usually have higher connectivity with surrounding neighborhoods. Residential areas designed with streets in a grid format adjacent to the downtown are often well connected with the business district and decrease the travel time and congestion.

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I) Economic Benefits/Functions

II) Social Benefits/Functions

III) Political Benefits/Functions

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Types of Urban Structures/Patterns

Advantages

Disadvantages

2) Radial/Concentric system

Advantages

Disadvantages

3) Linear System

Advantages

Disadvantages

4) Multi Centered System

Advantages

Disadvantages

5) Irregular System

Advantages

Disadvantages

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Accessibility

Mobility

Connectivity

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