Abstract

Advanced information and communication technology has ensured that the effects of economic globalisation are no longer limited to the major urban centres of India. Smaller centres too have aligned their political, social, cultural, and aesthetic sensibilities with cities that are successful at global economic forums. In India, tier II cities, like Bhubaneswar, are rapidly adopting policies and strategies to acquire a competitive edge over other cities. The question is whether the implementation of policies is spread evenly throughout the city, or concentrates in places that are most likely to be globally visible. The two objectives of this article are first, to map the corporate geography of Bhubaneswar, and second, to trace the spatial pattern of urban development projects in the city. Considering corporate offices of top Indian companies as representative of corporate activity, kernel density analysis has been used to establish their agglomeration pattern within the city. The selection of urban development projects has been limited to those that were initiated in the last three years. The spatial patterns reveal conformity of these projects to the agglomeration of corporate activities, suggesting strong ties to the city’s ambition for increased global linkages and its urban transformation strategies. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of global-local linkages in a tier II city of India.