MPPSC Assistant Town Planner key terms

A continuous built-up area formed when a city and its adjoining outgrowths merge, treated as one unit for census and planning purposes even if administered by several local bodies.

A settlement declared urban by the Census of India using fixed tests: minimum population, population density, at least three-fourths of male workers outside agriculture, and a statutory local body.

A settlement with a municipality, municipal corporation, notified area committee, town area committee or cantonment board constituted under law; it is urban by legal status, not by size.

A large urban region created when several neighbouring towns expand and physically merge while retaining separate identities and administrations, such as the Kolkata or Mumbai metropolitan belt.

A defined territory around a core city, with adjacent areas sharing strong economic and social links to the core, notified for coordinated planning and often for a metropolitan authority.

Unplanned, low-density outward growth of a city into its periphery, typically consuming agricultural land, raising infrastructure costs and increasing car dependence for residents.

The transitional zone between a city's built-up edge and the surrounding countryside, marked by mixed land use, land speculation and weak infrastructure and governance.

Land around a town where urban and rural uses and institutions intermix, often lacking either proper municipal services or agricultural support, and subject to rapid conversion.

A designated band of open or agricultural land around a city where built development is restricted, used to contain growth, protect farmland and provide recreational space.

Division of a planning area into zones where specific uses such as residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural are permitted, regulated through a development plan and building rules.

A long-term statutory map and written statement guiding land use, density and infrastructure in a planning area, prepared by a planning authority and approved by the state government.

A statutory plan under state town planning law allocating land uses and proposing roads and services for a planning area, often used interchangeably with master plan in state statutes.

The ratio of total floor area of all storeys of a building to its plot area; a key development control tool used to regulate building bulk and density.

The percentage of a plot that may be covered by the building footprint at ground level, controlling open space and light around structures.

The minimum open distance required between a building and the plot boundary or street line, fixed by development rules for light, ventilation, safety and road widening.

Rules framed under town planning law that govern subdivision, setbacks, heights, floor area ratio, parking and permitted uses, applied when granting building permission.

A statutory mechanism that pools and reallocates land in a defined area, returning a share to owners after deducting land for roads and services, used in states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra.

An approach where owners contribute land to a common pool, part is used for infrastructure and the remainder is returned in reconstituted plots of higher value.

A charge imposed on landowners whose property value rises because of a public planning or infrastructure scheme, recovering part of the unearned increment for the authority.

A family of tools, including betterment levies, development charges and impact fees, by which the public recovers part of the land value created by public investment or planning permission.

A fee levied when planning permission is granted for development, intended to fund the external infrastructure and services that the new development will require.

The compulsory taking of private land for a public purpose under statute, with compensation, rehabilitation and consent requirements set by the law in force.

A device allowing an owner whose land is reserved for a public purpose to build or sell unused floor area rights at another site, compensating without cash acquisition.

Unregulated building along both sides of a highway or road, which creates traffic conflict and service problems and is usually restricted by access control rules.

Christaller's model explaining the size, number and spacing of settlements as service centres for surrounding populations, based on range and threshold of goods.

An empirical regularity stating that a city's population is inversely proportional to its rank in the urban hierarchy, so the second city is about half the largest.

A city that is disproportionately larger than the second city in its country or region, concentrating population and functions to an unusual degree.

A designated centre of investment in a region, expected to attract linked industries and services and to spread growth to surrounding areas.

A statutory or advisory plan covering a region larger than one city, coordinating settlement patterns, transport, water and economic development across districts.

A demarcated area treated as foreign territory for trade and customs, offering fiscal and procedural incentives to export-oriented units located within it.

A centrally sponsored urban programme providing area-based and pan-city development grants to selected cities, with emphasis on technology-enabled services and municipal capacity.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, a central scheme funding water supply, sewerage, drainage, parks and non-motorised transport in selected towns.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), a housing mission supporting affordable houses for eligible urban households through credit-linked subsidy and in-situ rehabilitation components.

A programme approach that rehouses slum dwellers on the same site, typically by giving developers extra floor area in exchange for free or subsidised tenements.

A municipal institution such as a municipal corporation, municipality or nagar panchayat, constituted under state law and responsible for local urban services and planning functions.

The 1992 amendment that gave constitutional status to urban local bodies, listed their functions in the Twelfth Schedule and provided for ward committees and district planning bodies.

A body constituted under Article 243ZD to consolidate district and municipal plans into a draft district development plan, with representation of both rural and urban elected members.

A committee set up under Article 243ZE for a metropolitan area to prepare a draft metropolitan development plan, with elected members from the area and officials as members.

A statutory body created by state law to prepare plans, acquire and develop land and regulate development in a designated urban region, often headed by a state-appointed chairperson.

A structured study before approval of a project that predicts likely environmental effects and prescribes mitigation, with public consultation for listed categories.

A notified coastal belt classified into zones that restrict construction and activities near the shoreline to protect ecology and public access, with state coastal plans.

A planning approach that concentrates higher-density mixed-use development within walking distance of mass transit stations to raise ridership and reduce car trips.

Walking and cycling as primary means of travel, supported in plans through footpaths, cycle tracks, safe crossings and street design that prioritises them over motor traffic.