The colonial cities of British India had three distinct quarters. These were the Native Quarter, which essentially comprised the old pre-colonial settlement, the Cantonment, which housed military personnel and their dependants, and the Civil Lines, which housed the various civilian and administrative staff. This division led to segregation of administrative, commercial and industrial activities. Most administrative centres grew up in the Civil Lines, together with modern commercial, service and industrial activities. Traditional commercial, service and industrial activities were based in the Native Quarter. Over time, commercial and industrial activities also emerged in the Cantonment areas. With the Indianization of the civil service and the army, the Cantonments and Civil Lines were taken over by Natives who tried to maintain the standards and lifestyles of their former masters. With urbanization, several unplanned Native settlements emerged on the peripheries of these areas to serve their growing commercial and industrial needs, but most infrastructural and urban services investment and coverage ignored Native Quarters. After more than four decades of independence, the same planning and administrative pattern is still in place. The Native settlements and Civil Lines are now governed by municipal councils. Cantonments are governed by cantonment boards.

A similar development pattern can be found in Indonesia where native settlements, or kampungs, were not provided with basic urban infrastructure and services. These settlements still abound around the modern, tree-lined boulevards of Jakarta and Surabaya.

Source: Aliani, Adnan, "The incremental development scheme," Masters thesis, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, 1988.