Strengthening urban-rural resource flow through regional circular and ecological sphere (R-ces) approach in Nagpur, India

Urban and rural areas within a regional space are closely linked through a variety of linkages including the flow of people. The increasing pace of development transformations with discrete planning of urban and rural areas has raised serious concerns for achieving coordinated development at the regional level. In that regard, the concept of Regional Circular and Ecological Sphere (R-CES) has recently been introduced by the Government of Japan to localize the flow of resources between urban and rural areas. To understand the applicability of the R-CES approach, this study aims to visualize the flow of people within a defined cluster of Nagpur Metropolitan Area (NMA) in India. A “home interview method” Origin-Destination survey was adopted to analyze the flow patterns of people and their key purposes. Based on the collected information, flows of people were represented using a desire line diagram in ArcGIS 10.4.1. The study results revealed that the maximum flow of the rural and forest population is directed towards nearby or distant urban settlements to avail the higher-order urban services. Based on the key R-CES principles of a low-carbon society, circular economy, and harmony with nature, the authors suggest feasible directions for localizing the urban–rural flow of people in NMA.