How do we understand the contemporary urban condition, especially in the context of the developing world? Through a mixed methods case study of a ‘census town’ in West Bengal, India, this article seeks to demonstrate that the contemporary urban, in form and content, is the imprint of the rural. Based on narrative analysis of oral history interviews and statistical data from a household survey, the article argues that the urban here is a spatial articulation of the specific historical experiences of people inhabiting the context and brings into relief the continuities between agrarian relations and urban forms.
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