Spatial Configuration of Kochi-Kannur Megacity and Emerging Corridors

The development of mega regions in different parts of the world has opened up possibilities of better economic investments, infrastructure facilities and job opportunities. In India, though there are series of mega regions evolving, the most prominent one is the emerging mega region particularly along the coastal belt of the Kerala state. The capturing of this potential among the major urban nodes of the state is of utmost importance in bringing it into the lines of a megacity in the future. The present study thus aims to delineate such a potential region in Kerala and to analyze its existing scenario. The delineation of the mega region in Kerala included six different steps, i.e.: identification of the districts, identification of current and future urban areas as per the census of India data (2011), overlaying the density map, overlaying the settlement population map, overlaying the land use areas, and finally overlaying the panchayat and block boundary maps to derive the study area region. A careful investigation on the existing scenario of the delineated mega region was performed to understand and analyze the urbanization trend, occupation pattern, settlements based on population density, and to carry out density analysis of core urban areas. It was understood that the urbanization has increased from 2001 to 2011 mainly due to the designation of many rural settlements into urban, a shift in the occupational pattern (i.e.: a shift of main male workers in the agricultural field to non-agricultural field). It was inferred from the study that the urban centres and the settlements along the highways are getting densified at a faster rate. A brief demographic and economic analysis of the region was also conducted. The key issues found out from this analysis are that although the state is having high a human development index (HDI) and literacy rate, the rate of educated unemployment is increasing and the economic growth is less. Hence, there is a need for an “alternate model of development” by using “smart” global sustainable techniques and initiatives to address and meet the inevitable growth and development of the region and the state.