It is generally regarded that unless a direct approach is taken to tackle the poverty by showing the probable areas and providing assistance to them in solving the problems, the development efforts will not reach the masses. A balanced and multi-dimensional growth can be achieved through 'Integrated area development'. For it, the growth centre approach should be adopted.

The concept of integrated area development refers mainly to two types of integration, i.e., functional and spatial. Functional integration depends mainly on the location of socio-economic activities in geographical space. Thus integrated area development also refers to the appropriate locational framework over a physical space for the balanced development of a region. This idea of selectivity and appropriate location is most relevant in our present economic condition and therefore, the concept of integrated area development has now been widely accepted by planners, economists, geographers and sociologists as the most effective tool for comprehensive development programmes. What is needed is an objective examination of the realities of a region for appropriate location of 'growth centres' of various orders, which may help in achieving an integrated development of the region.

In this theoretical context, this work has been taken up for an extensive study of the city block, district Mirzapur of South Eastern Uttar Pradesh for planning its integrated development with the specific objectives of (a) assessing the present level of socio-economic development and its limitations, (b) establishing the hierarchy of the existing settlements, (c) identifying and ranking central places of various orders and their service areas, (d) assessing the magnitude of services required in future and planning their locations for better functional and spatial integration, and (e) formulating an integrated plan of development for agricultural and industrial sectors.