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This book offers a comprehensive exploration of urbanization across South India, examining the distinct trajectories and policy frameworks shaping cities in Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. It highlights the dominance of primate cities in Karnataka and Telangana, alongside the rapid growth of secondary urban centres. In contrast, Tamil Nadu and Kerala exhibit more dispersed and deconcentrated urbanization patterns.

The analysis reveals that Tamil Nadu's urban expansion is partially driven by industrialisation, while urban development in Karnataka, Telangana, and Kerala leans heavily toward service-sector growth. Through this comparative lens, the book underscores the historical path dependencies that continue to influence contemporary urbanization in the region.

Beyond mapping urban growth, the book critically engages with current governance structures and their limitations, offering insights that are valuable for academic research, policy formulation, and advocacy. It is an essential resource for scholars, planners, and practitioners seeking to understand and shape the future of urban South India.

Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction: Urbanization in South India
Karnataka: Urban Primacy and Concentration
Telangana: Urban Primacy and Concentration
Tamil Nadu: Distributed Urbanization without Urban Primacy
Kerala: Dispersed Urbanization without Urban Primacy
Conclusion: Diversity and Difference
References
Readership: Researchers; students; Policy makers; urban specialists; NGOs; Multilateral Donors; Historians of South India, interested lay reader; South Indianists; Indianists.