Orientation[edit]
Kolkata can be roughly divided into two sections along Park Street. North of Park Street is the more congested part of the city. South of Park Street is the slightly better-planned section of the city. South Kolkata is better planned with wider roads and a better-equipped police force for keeping law and order. The better planning in South Kolkata is because it was built much later. The North is the real, old Kolkata and most of the oldest families and buildings are there.
Over the past several years the city has expanded to the south and the east, with the Greater Kolkata region spanning over 1,880 km2 (730 sq mi), from Kalyani to Jaynagar Majilpur. The region also includes the planned townships of Bidhannagar and New Town.
Kolkata consists of neighbourhoods (Bengali: পাড়া, para) that possess a strong sense of community. They have their own community clubs and sometimes, playgrounds.
Between the river Hooghly and Chowringhee Road, the Maidan (open field) is said to be the lungs of Kolkata. The lush green meadow also houses Victoria Memorial, Eden Gardens, and several sporting clubs. Kolkatans love to stroll in the Maidan.
Heavy construction activity along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass has been changing the face of the city. Luxury hotels, convention centres, speciality hospitals, condominium complexes, malls and multiplexes are coming up at a rapid pace. The city's expansion on the eastern side is spearheaded by the construction of a new satellite township called New Town adjacent to the well-planned Bidhannagar. It is one of the largest planned urban developments in India.
The residential buildings are mainly low-rise and comprise older colonial buildings and numerous new four-storied apartment blocks. 10- to 12-storey apartment blocks have come up in large numbers in South Kolkata. The city has relaxed its rules on high-rise construction and 20-storey buildings are becoming more common.
However, slums and dilapidated structures exist in many pockets of the city and house over 25% of the city's population (2001 census). Slum redevelopment schemes have helped improve living conditions to a small extent, but efforts to shift slum dwellers to newer developments have often met with resistance and failure because many of the slums are in prime areas of the city and the slum dwellers who are integrated into the social structure of the neighbourhood do not want to shift.
