[At the roots of urbanization: new small cities of Andhra Pradesh]

Small cities with fewer than 20000 inhabitants have been losing importance in Indias urbanization. The number of cities with more than 100000 inhabitants increased from 71 to 300 between 1951 and 1991 and the total population from 26 to 140 million. In the same years the number of small cities declined from 2345 to 2020 and their share of the urban population from 32% to 19%. It has been demonstrated that the disappearance of small cities is due in part to their growth into larger cities. Assumptions explaining the decline of small cities have stressed their lack of attractiveness for rural migrants who prefer metropolitan areas the eclipse of the local functions of small cities by larger cities and their lack of truly urban character. Andhra Pradesh was selected for a study of small cities because it is one of the few Indian states that have attempted administrative decentralization. The reform of the "mandals" after 1984 made small cities or villages the seats of their administrative areas in an attempt to energize rural development. The Krishna delta in Andhra Pradesh has been studied extensively since the 1970s by the University of Rouen and abundant information was available on small cities and their migration patterns. 6 of the 40 mandal headquarters in the district of Krishna were selected for in-depth study on the basis of size administrative status position in the urban hierarchy the system of agriculture in their hinterland and their apparent degree of dynamism. The study demonstrated that small cities were not simply subordinated to the larger cities in an urban hierarchy but that they both attracted workers from the surrounding countryside and from larger cities and sent workers to these places. The extent of interaction depended on distance and transportation facilities and on the frequency of contact. Small cities were found to serve their local areas by providing services in commerce education administration and health.