Developing an Uban Fringe

Analysing the linkages between urbanisation as a fringe phenomenon and the emergence of urban fringes and placing the problematic of the urban fringes in terms of the social and economic flows between the fringe and the core city, the present study of a micro-micro urban community relates its socio-economic profile to the broader macronational context.
Through intensive field studies, a profile of a semi-urbanised, stagnant and poverty-stricken community is generated and
its predicament as well as the limitations of public intervention in such a context are explained. The insights from the
socio-economic study are used for preparing an action plan to be implemented by a voluntary agency in the context of the
Indian multi-level planning framework. It brings out the potential and limitations of the associative, catalytic and complementary role of voluntary action through community participation by simultaneous mobilisation on many fronts and by many agencies. The significance of the study lies in the correlation it seeks to establish between the socio-economic profile on the one hand, and the priorities, strategy, agencies and programmes for development on the other. The methodological message is clear and
stands out for its wider relevance for micro level planning.