This document is based on Chennai’s spatial development with detailed data on land use, population density, and land values. Chennai has an extremely high population density at the city center that is becoming even more crowded. This paper assesses the land market from data on land values rather than focusing on policy. In addition, it provides four decades of detailed, spatially disaggregated information on land use, population, and land values for the metropolitan area of Chennai. The research presented in this paper uncovers evidence that Chennai exhibits a unique pattern of spatial development for an Indian city of its size; the population in its already dense city center continues to grow, while, simultaneously, the metropolitan area expands in a low density pattern on the periphery.