Madras city is located in Madras District in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The population of Madras is estimated to be 1.3 million by 2020. The city's population is comprised of both males and females. Those residing in Madras are primarily farmers and workers. The average age of Madras residents is 24.5 years. The city is considered to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the state.
Madras has a unique social structure with a mix of low-income housing and high-end villa quarters. In contrast, the city has slum areas located along railway lines, on the fringes of industrial zones, and in flood-prone lowlands. In addition, the city's slums have been the product of illegal occupation of vacant sites in the 1960s. Today, about 30% of Madras' urban population lives in slums. This means that many residents are economically marginalized.
The modernization of the country has forced anthropologists to adopt two approaches to understanding urban life in a modern society. First, they argue that cities must be understood separately from their rural surroundings, and second, they must be formed out of the latter's components. In this regard, Population & Steets in Madras City illustrates the importance of understanding urban life through rural components.
In contrast to the industrial areas, Madras' functional structure is predominantly residential. This means that the city's residential districts include middle-class permanent housing, as well as slums full of temporary huts. The city's public areas are primarily university sites, indicating the city's role as an educational hub. The city's first Supreme Court was located in the Bentinck's Building, which is one of the oldest commercial buildings in Madras.