The District of North 24 Parganas has high urbanized history in comparison to other parts of West Bengal, India. However, the district experienced a remarkable rate of urban growth both in terms of urban population and urban centres immediately after its independence in 1951. This paper analyses the urban growth in North 24 Parganas to have an in-depth understanding about them. Firstly, the growth trends of the level of urbanization. Secondly, P.S. / C.D. Blocks were examined from two different standpoints. In the first place all the P.S. / C.D. Blocks were tested to determine ‘how urban the urban centres are’ on the basis of total urban population, total urban area, urban population density and urban spacing. In the second place a consistency test was carried out on P.S. / C.D. Blocks during 1951-2001 to measure ‘how consistent the P.S. / C.D. Blocks are’. Hence a comparison was made between the level of urbanization and several aspects of urbanization namely total urban population, total urban area, urban population density and urban spacing.
