Identification of Urban Centre and Rural Growth Centres Around Guwahati and Its Surrounding Rural Region Using Hierarchical Settlements, Nested Hexagons, Remote Sensing and GIS

Guwahati city is the highest order urban center of Assam and is an important gateway to the north eastern region of India. In this study, a 50km buffer from the master plan boundary of Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is selected for identifying potential urban centers and rural growth centers (URGC) of different order for decentralized planning and inter and intra-administrative cooperation around the city using multi-parametric criteria. This includes central place theory, nested hexagon method and thematic information on groundwater potential zones, land use/land cover, flood prone and landslide susceptible zones. Out of the 32 identified potential villages, 15 are proposed for new urban centers and 17 are proposed for development as rural growth centers. 9 towns are also proposed for up-gradation to higher order for proper spatio-functional interaction. However, several suggestions and preventive measures were made before initiating developmental expansion which needs to be considered. The findings of this study would be useful for decentralized planning to minimize the economic imbalances, rural migration and sustainable development of the region.