Editing Kolkata (section)

== Cityscape and urban structure ==
[[File:Kolkata Skyline pic.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Kolkata with the [[Hooghly River]]]]
Kolkata, which is under the jurisdiction of the [[Kolkata Municipal Corporation]] (KMC), has an area of {{cvt|206.08|km2|sqmi|0}}.<ref name="Metropolis">{{cite web |publisher=World Association of the Major Metropolises |url=http://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/metropolitan_regions/438_007_kolkata_eng.pdf |title=007 Kolkata (India) |access-date=31 August 2007 |archive-date=8 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308102346/http://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/metropolitan_regions/438_007_kolkata_eng.pdf }}</ref> The east–west dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Hooghly River in the west to roughly the [[Eastern Metropolitan Bypass]] in the east—a span of {{cvt|9|-|10|km|mi|1}}.<ref>{{cite map |publisher=NASA |title=Calcutta, West Bengal, India |url=http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/cdrom/sirced03/cdrom/DATA/LOCATION/ASIAMIDE/CALCUTTA/CALCUTTA.HTM |date=20 June 1996 |series=Mission to planet earth program |access-date=25 February 2012 |archive-date=4 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104150559/http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/cdrom/sirced03/cdrom/DATA/LOCATION/ASIAMIDE/CALCUTTA/CALCUTTA.HTM }}</ref> The north–south distance is greater, and its axis is used to section the city into North, Central, South and East Kolkata. North Kolkata is the oldest part of the city. Characterised by 19th-century architecture and narrow alleyways, it includes areas such as [[Jorasanko]], [[Rajabazar, Kolkata|Rajabazar]], [[Maniktala]], [[Ultadanga]], [[Shyambazar]], [[Shobhabazar]], [[Bagbazar]], [[Cossipore]], [[Sinthee]] etc. The north suburban areas like [[Dum Dum]], [[Baranagar]], [[Belgharia]], [[Sodepur]], [[Khardaha]], [[New Barrackpore]], [[Madhyamgram]], [[Barrackpore]], [[Barasat]] etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).<ref name="urbanprice" />{{rp|65–66}}

Central Kolkata hosts the central business district. It contains [[B. B. D. Bagh]], formerly known as Dalhousie Square, and the [[Esplanade, Kolkata|Esplanade]] on its east; [[Strand Road, Kolkata|Rajiv Gandhi Sarani]] is on its west.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.westbengaltourism.gov.in/web/guest/dalhousie-square |title=Kolkata Heritage |publisher=Government of West Bengal |access-date=27 November 2011 |archive-date=14 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114162511/http://www.westbengaltourism.gov.in/web/guest/dalhousie-square }}</ref> The [[Writers' Building|West Bengal Secretariat]], [[General Post Office, Kolkata|General Post Office]], [[Reserve Bank of India]], [[Calcutta High Court]], [[Lalbazar]] Police Headquarters and several other government and private offices are located there. Another business hub is the area south of [[Park Street, Kolkata|Park Street]], which comprises thoroughfares such as [[Chowringhee Road|Jawahar Lal Nehru Road]], [[Abanindranath Thakur Sarani]], Dr. Martin Luther King Sarani, Dr. Upendra Nath Brahmachari Sarani, [[Shakespeare Sarani]] and [[AJC Bose Road|Acharay Jagadish Chandra Basu Road]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=BSNL may take two weeks to be back online |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/bsnl-may-take-two-weeks-to-be-back-online/articleshow/4755436.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104170721/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-09/kolkata/28184192_1_broadband-connections-calcutta-telephones-broadband-lines |archive-date=4 January 2012 |agency=[[Times News Network]] (TNN) |date=9 July 2009 |access-date=27 November 2011 |quote=With the Camac Street-Park Street-Shakespeare Sarani commercial hub located smack in the middle of the affected zone... |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |url-status=live |location=New Delhi }}</ref>
[[File:Park street area kolkata 2020.jpg|thumb|[[Park Street, Kolkata|Park Street]], one of the posh areas in Kolkata]]

South Kolkata developed after India gained independence in 1947; it includes upscale neighbourhoods such as [[Bhowanipore]], [[Alipore]], [[Ballygunge]], [[Kasba, Kolkata|Kasba]], [[Dhakuria]], [[Santoshpur, Kolkata|Santoshpur]], [[Garia]], [[Golf Green]], [[Tollygunge]], [[New Alipore]], [[Behala]], [[Barisha, Kolkata|Barisha]] etc. The south suburban areas like [[Maheshtala]], [[Budge Budge]], [[Rajpur Sonarpur]], [[Baruipur]] etc. are also within the city of Kolkata (as a metropolitan structure).<ref name=spatialchange /> The [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]] is a large open field in the heart of the city that has been called the "lungs of Kolkata"<ref>{{cite news |title=In city's teeming heart, a place to gaze and graze |first=Jim |last=Yardley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/world/asia/28india.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |date=27 January 2011 |access-date=27 November 2011 |quote=To Kolkata, it is the 'lungs of the city,' a recharge zone for the soul. |archive-date=6 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306012208/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/world/asia/28india.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and accommodates sporting events and public meetings.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Maidan marauders |last=Das |first=Soumitra |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100221/jsp/calcutta/story_12132260.jsp |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=21 February 2010 |location=Kolkata |access-date=27 November 2011 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118134300/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100221/jsp/calcutta/story_12132260.jsp }}</ref> The [[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial]] and [[Kolkata Race Course]] are located at the southern end of the Maidan. Among the other parks are [[Central Park (Kolkata)|Central Park]] in Bidhannagar and [[Millennium Park (Kolkata)|Millennium Park]] on Rajiv Gandhi Sarani, along the Hooghly River.

=== Metropolitan area and satellite cities ===
The [[Kolkata metropolitan area]] is spread over {{cvt|1886.67|km2|sqmi|2}}<ref name="kmdaanreport2011kma">{{cite web |url=http://www.kmdaonline.org/pdf/aar11/introducing_kma.pdf |title=Introducing KMA |year=2011 |work=Annual Report 2011 |publisher=Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority |access-date=9 February 2012 |archive-date=5 June 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605134704/http://www.kmdaonline.org/pdf/aar11/introducing_kma.pdf }}</ref>{{rp|7}} and comprises 4&nbsp;municipal corporations (including Kolkata Municipal Corporation), 37&nbsp;[[Neighbourhoods in Kolkata|local municipalities]] and 24&nbsp;[[panchayat samiti]]s, {{As of|2011|lc=y}}.<ref name="kmdaanreport2011kma" />{{rp|7}} The urban agglomeration encompassed 72&nbsp;cities and 527&nbsp;towns and villages, {{As of|2006|lc=y}}.<ref name="Metropolis" /> Suburban areas in the Kolkata metropolitan area incorporate parts of the following districts: [[North 24 Parganas district|North 24 Parganas]], [[South 24 Parganas district|South 24 Parganas]], [[Howrah district|Howrah]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]] and [[Nadia district|Nadia]].<ref name="urbanprice">{{Cite book |editor1-last=Sahdev |editor1-first=Shashi |editor2-last=Verma |editor2-first=Nilima |url=http://tcpomud.gov.in/Divisions/IEP/Urban%20Land%20Price%20Scenario-%20Kolkata/chapter%20II%20Kol.doc |series=Industry and Economic Planning |year=2008 |title=Kolkata—an outline |publisher=Town and Country Planning Organisation, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India |format=DOC |access-date=6 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426025356/http://tcpomud.gov.in/Divisions/IEP/Urban%20Land%20Price%20Scenario-%20Kolkata/chapter%20II%20Kol.doc |archive-date=26 April 2012 }}</ref>{{rp|15}}

[[File:Kolkata_Gate_(officially_known_as_Biswa_Bangla_Gate).jpg|thumb|[[Biswa Bangla Gate]] in [[New Town, Kolkata]]]]
Two planned townships in the greater Kolkata region are [[Bidhannagar, Kolkata|Bidhannagar]], also known as Salt Lake City and located north-east of the city; and [[Rajarhat]], also called [[New Town, Kolkata|New Town]] and located east of Bidhannagar.<ref name=spatialchange /><ref name="Sectorv">{{cite news |last=Chakraborti |first=Suman |title=Beautification project for Salt Lake, Sec V and New Town |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Beautification-project-for-Salt-Lake-Sec-V-and-New-Town/articleshow/10574484.cms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104185006/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-02/kolkata/30349773_1_traffic-islands-road-dividers-and-boulevards-bidhannagar-municipality |archive-date=4 January 2012 |access-date=6 December 2011 |date=2 November 2011 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |url-status=live |location=New Delhi }}</ref> In the 2000s, Sector&nbsp;5 in Bidhannagar developed into a business hub for information technology and telecommunication companies.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Sector V |url=http://egovernance.ndita.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=58 |publisher=Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority |access-date=6 December 2011 |archive-date=3 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103145620/https://egovernance.ndita.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45&Itemid=58 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kolkata! India's new IT hub |url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/jul/13spec2.htm |access-date=6 December 2011 |newspaper=Rediff.com |date=13 July 2005 |archive-date=25 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125060048/http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/jul/13spec2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Both Bidhannagar and New Town are situated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation limits, in their own municipal corporations or authorities.<ref name="Sectorv" />