Socio-Demographic Typologies Of Tamil Nadu'S Urban Agglomerations

Addressing the challenges of urbanization is the key for sustainable development in India. Tamil Nadu holds distinct place urban landscape with substantial share in India’s urban population. The objective of the study is to identify the multidimensional clusters based on socio-demographic and economic characteristics. The study atempts to establish the structural baseline typology of Urban Agglomerations in Tamil Nadu. The study was performed on 15 selected Urban agglomerations using a comprehensive set of ten variables covering population structure, labour force dynamics, and migration patterns derived from the Census of India 2011 and United Nations World Urbanization Prospects 2018. Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering using Ward's method was performed to identify the possible number of clusters and K-Means clustering was performed to optimize the groupings.The three-cluster solution was identified and evaluated with the silhouette analysis for clustering quality.The findings endorse the importance of differentiated urban planning, especially for Chennai. The Highly dynamic economic centres need strategic prioritization with a dedicated focus on other stable regional hubs. The study adds evidence-based insight for the stakeholders involved in urban governance for balanced regional growth. Future studies should revalidate these 2011 structural typologies by integrating the contemporary data upon its availability.