The book is a revised and enlarged version of the ICSSR Project “A Study of Small and Intermediate Towns in Madhya Pradesh.†It presents the role of small and medium towns in their different manifestations, as growth centres, as service centres, as central places in their respective hierarchies of settlements. The focus of the study is mainly on rural-urban interaction, the economic base of the towns, in terms of their land-use pattern, cropping pattern, agricultural specialization and crop combinations and the extent of commercialization of agriculture in their respective regional economies. The study is also concerned with the analysis of growth or decline of small towns against the background of urbanization and economic development in the regional economy. The study addresses itself to the following vital questions: Why small and medium towns are not playing the role in regional development as expected of them? What are the gaps and deficiencies in infrastructure and functions and facilities in these towns? What are the flaws in our urbanization policies? What should be the appropriate policies for the development of small and medium towns as part of programmes of regional development? The book will be found very useful by regional planners, social scientists, demographers, policy makers and all those interested in problems of urbanization and regional development.
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