This document provides background information on the geographical context and historical growth of Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, India. It discusses Shillong's location in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level. It traces Shillong's establishment in 1862 and growth as the administrative headquarters of Assam province in 1874. The document also summarizes Shillong's spatial growth northward and eastward over time, patterns of land use change showing a decline in residential land and rise in commercial and public/semi-public land, and shifting population distributions over decades.

1. THEORY OF SETTLEMENT
BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE
SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE
DEBASKHI MITRA
RIMEKA DORA RANEE
THANGMEIYO RAMROR

2. SHILLONG – GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF MEGHALAYA.
LOCATED AT 25 34 NORTH LATITUDE AND 91 55
EAST LONGITUDE.
LIES AT A N ALTITUDE OF 1500M ABOVE THE MEAN
SEA LEVEL.
LOCATION
LINKAGES
LINKED BY NH-40 TO STATE CAPITAL OF ASSAM,
GUWAHATI.
LINKED TO THE NEIGHBOURING STATE OF MIZORAM
AND NAGALAND BY NH-44.
CLIMATE
WARM AND WET IN SUMMERS.
COLD AND DRY IN WINTERS.
TEMPERATURE/RAINFALL
SUMMER: 18 – 24 C
WINTER: 3 – 16 C
AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 212 CM
PHYSIOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE
LOCATED IN A VALLEY WITH AN AREA OF 45 SQ.KM.
BOUNDED BY SHILLONG RANGE IN THE SOUTH AND
MAWAT RANGE IN THE NORTH-EAST.
THE TOWN IS DRAINED BY UMKHRAH AND
UMKHEN RIVERS.

3. FACTS AND FIGURES
AREA: 10.36 sqkm
ALTITUDE: 1400metres
POPULATION: 1,31,719
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: ENGLISH, HINDI, KHASI, GARO, ASSAMESE
RELIGION: CHRISTIANITY

4. HISTORICAL GROWTH OF SHILLONG
1862: SHILLONG AND YEODEO, TWO DISTINCT SITES WERE
CONSIDERED AS H.Q STATION AND MILLITARY CANTONMENT BY
BRITISH.
1874: ASSAM PROVINCE CONSTITUTED: SHILLONG MADE
HEADQUARTERS.
1886: TOTAL TRANSFER OF LAND BY SYIEM TO
MYLLIEM TO BRITISH. BUILDING ACTIVITY STARTS TO
ACCOMMODATE ARMY AND MIGRANT POPULATION.
1885
1862
1878: SHILLONG CONSTITUTED INTO A STATION.

5. 1909: MUNICIPALITY CONSTITUTED UNDER BENGAL
MUNICIPAL ACT.
1940: RAPID URBAN GROWTH DEUE TO FORMATION OF
MUNICIPALITY AND DUE TO ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE
AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES.
1940
1972
1961: SINCE NONGTHYMMAI AND MAWLAI BECAME
CENSUS TOWNS. THEY WERE INCLUDED IN URBAN
AGGLOMERATION.

6. CONCLUSIONS
HISTORICALLY SHILLONG HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CENTER OF ACTIVITY DUE TO A WEEKLY MARKET-YEODEO.
THE BRITISH FURTHER INCREASED ITS POTENTIAL BY MAKING IT AN ADMINISTRATIVE SEAT IN NORTH-EAST.
SHILLONG CHANGED FROM A PURELY ADMINISTRATIVE TOWN TO A REGIONAL COMMERCIAL CENTRE.
1981: FURTHER EXPANSION OF URBAN AREA TO THE
TOWNS OF PYNTHORUMKHRAH AND MADANRYTING.
1981

7. SPATIAL GROWTH OF SHILLONG
The city spreads northward to
umshing river and extends
eastward from the divide between
umkrah and umshirpi river.
The city has extended towards
the north on the guwahati-shillong
road and south-west on
cherrapunji road and north-east on
the nehu campus at malwai area.
The new shillong area has
developed on the eastern side of
shillong.

8. LAND FORM AND GROWTH DIRECTION

9. SETTLEMENT PATTERN
Inferences:
The settlements are
evenly distributed over
GSPA area but the major
concentration of
population is in SUA (
Shillong Urban
agglomeration) area which
almost 80per cent

10. DRAINAGE BASINS

11. LAND UTILIZATION (2010)

12. CHANGE IN LANDUSE PATTERN

13. CHANGE IN LANDUSE PATTERN

14. INFERENCES FROM CHANGE IN LANDUSE PATTERN
MORE THAN 50% OF THE TOTAL AREA WAS UNDER RESIDENTIAL USE IN 1971 WHICH COME TO 44% IN 1981
AND 37% IN 1991; THIS DECLINE CAN BECAUSE OF MIXED LAND USE AS THEY ARE CATEGORIZED UNDER
COMMERCIAL AND INFILLING AND ACCRETION PROCESS.
IN 1971 COMMERCIAL USE WAS 2.79% WHICH INCREASED TO 5.6% IN 1981 AND 7.63% IN 1991.
LAND UNDER INDUSTRIAL USE IS LOW.
PUBLIC & SEMI PUBLIC USE HAS BEEN STEADILY INCREASING FROM 20.37% TO 37.36%, DUE TO
ESTABLISHMENT OF MANY CENTRAL, STATE AND REGIONAL OFFICES AND ALSO THE EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS.
LAND UNDER TRANSPORTATION HAS INCREASED FROM 2.51% TO 7.05% FROM 1971-1991.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1971
1981
1991
2010

15. 37%
8%
3%
4%7%
37%
4%
Landuse - 1991 (SMB)
Residential
Commercial
Recreational
Industrial
Transpotation
PSP
Forest
38%
9%
2%
4%
9%
36%
2%
Landuse - 2010 (Shillong Municipal
Board)
Residential
Commercial
Recreational
Industrial
Transpotation
PSP
Forest
55%
3%
11%
1%
3%
20%
7%
Landuse - 1971 (SMB)
Residential
Commercial
Recreational
Industrial
Transpotation
PSP
Forest
45%
6%5%
2%
6%
30%
6%
Landuse - 1981 (SMB)
Residential
Commercial
Recreational
Industrial
Transpotation
PSP
Forest

16. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION
Inferences:
In SMB hardly any
population variation is seen
from 1991 to 2001.
Whereas is significant
population increase is seen
in Nongthymmai ,
Pynthorumkhrah and
Mawlai.

17. POPULATION DENSITY
Inferences:
The density of population in
SMB is highest followed by
Nongthymmai and
Pynthorumkhrah.

18. POPULATION GROWTH RATE
Inferences:
It has been observed that
major population growth
rate between 1991 and 2001
is observed in the village and
towns falling along the
national highway.

19. VISUAL ELEMENTS OF THE CITY
STREETSCAPES
LANDFORMS