Explaining the Growth Dynamics of Small Towns in Developing Countries

Abstract

Though small towns are important for equitable and sustainable development in developing countries, research on understanding their growth dynamics is limited. Pertinent questions: what is the definition of small towns and factors responsible for their formation; what issues emerge in existing literature; what are the trends and patterns of growth rate of population; and what determines their growth dynamics are some issues analyzed in this paper, focusing on India, considering the latest 2011 Census data. Principal Component Analysis is used to construct an infrastructure index. Analysis shows that the definition of small towns varies with the researcher's intuition. Small towns are growing at a faster rate than large cities. Key elements influencing small-town development are the availability of facilities, infrastructure, a favorable climate, and government support. Longer distance to power and large cities deters their growth. They are experiencing severe infrastructure deficiencies. The population density of the nearest city also matters. Several policies are proposed to position small towns as growth drivers in developing countries.