Download THE NATURE, CHARACTER AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF

THE NATURE, CHARACTER AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
OF MEGA CITIES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
A mega-city is an extremely large, dynamic and complex urban agglomeration with a population
over 10 million that dominates the trade and financial flows of its hinterland (locality).
A megalopolis (or mega region) is a chain of roughly adjacent mega-cities. The UN has made a
new classification of cities – metacity (or hypercity) – conurbations with more than 20 million
people e.g. Tokyo. By 2020, Mumbai, Mexico City and Lagos will all have achieved metacity status.
The development of mega-cities poses challenges in housing, education and the provision of
transport infrastructure. The urban poor are forced to live in squatter settlements and city
authorities are unable to deal with the disposal of waste and supply of clean water.
Development of a place involves economic, social, political
and environmental improvement for people living in that
place. It is measured by quantitative indicators (e.g. GNP,
GDP, human development index etc.) and qualitative
indicators (traffic, pollution etc.) and operates
simultaneously at a variety of scales (local, regional, national,
global) e.g. Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro have highly
developed and impoverished areas (inequality)
 The developing world includes those countries
where development is still occurring e.g. in Africa,
Asia and Central and South America.
 The developed world includes countries that are
largely developed, with high living standards and an
improved society e.g. Australia and US.
Developed countries are often referred to as The North and developing countries as The South, a
reference to the Brandt line. This terminology was created to avoid derogatory terms.
Nature of Mega-Cities:
During the 2nd half of the 20th century, the world’s population grew rapidly. Between 1950 and
2000, the world’s population increased by 2.5 billion to over 6 billion. In developed countries, the
urban population increased from 54% to 76% of the total population. In developing countries,
the urban population soared from 17% to 40%. Concurrent with population growth has been the
establishment of large mega-cities, which have extended their urban area and influence beyond
the boundaries of the original centre to form a metropolitan area. The development of megacities is a phenomenon mainly affecting developing countries. The rate of increase of
urbanisation in the developed world has slowed down relative to the rapid rate of increase of
urbanisation in the developing world. According to the World Bank, by 2025, 88% of world
population growth will be in urban areas and 90% of that growth will be in the developing world.
According to the National Geographic, “by 2030, 2 out of 3 people will live in an urban world,
with most of the explosive growth occurring in developing countries”. The UN forecasts
indicate that another 2.5 billion people will be added to urban areas by 2050, while rural areas
will be reduced in population by 300 million.
The UN increased the size of cities from 8 million to 10 million in the 1990s. Mega-cities have
rapidly increased in numbers over the past 60 years. In 1950, New York and London were the
only mega-cities. There are currently 26 mega-cities, 19 of which are in developing countries.
Some geographers believe that population density must also be considered (at least 2000 people
per km2). Size is a bad measure of a city’s economic, cultural and political importance. For
example, London, a dominant world city in the developed world, is ranked 25th in terms of
population but is ranked second in terms of political, economic and cultural importance (one of
two alpha++ world cities). It is a command centre of the global economy, and has a GDP of $565
billion (5th largest in the world; largest in Europe). Many larger mega-cities e.g. Jakarta and
Mexico City are much less important in global terms. A new trend has emerged: the largest
cities are no longer the most important in the global economy.
The developing world is an area of rapid population growth. The reasons FOR THE RAPID
GROWTH OF MEGA-CITIES in the developing world are:
 The transformation of rural areas with more modern farming methods that increase
productivity and decrease work opportunities in rural areas. The MECHANISATION of
agriculture is forcing farmers to leave rural areas and look for employment in cities (rural
flight/depopulation) e.g. modernisation of agriculture in Brazil  more machines  less
workers  people move to mega-cities such as Sao Paulo
 Rapid population growth within cities due to natural increase and rural-urban
migration (caused by push/pull factors). According to a UN report (10/8/11), more than
half of the Chinese population will be urbanites (city dwellers) within a decade, with
18 million people migrating from rural areas to cities every year.
o PUSH FACTORS – famine, drought, natural disasters, poor living conditions
(health, education, housing), agricultural reform, unemployment, civil war
 e.g. flooding in Bangladesh (during 2007 South Asian floods) destroyed
food crops  farmers had to move to Dhaka
o PULL FACTORS – employment, high incomes, better healthcare and education,
urban facilities, protection from conflict.
 Opportunity for work within cities – mega-cities are major centres for manufacturing
industries, service, information, trade, and wealth accumulation, and thus generate
resources and jobs. They are places where money, wealth and services are centralised.
 The cultural role of the cities attracts skilled workers e.g. Rio de Janeiro is a main
cultural hub in Brazil. Its architecture embraces churches and buildings dating from the
16th – 19th century, blending with world renowned designs of the 20th century.
 National government policies that encourage people to move to the cities
 Industrialisation –TNC’s such as Ford and Nestle locate in a large city for cheaper labour
and manufacturing costs and this attracts more people.
The new international division of labour (global industrial shift of labour-intensive
manufacturing employment from developed to developing countries), a result of globalisation, is
redefining the employment structure in mega-cities. The people employed in manufacturing
have increased, especially in the cities host to labour intensive manufacturing processes of TNC’s.
Most of the growth in employment has occurred in the new industrial estates built on the
outskirts of mega-cities such as Jakarta, Bangkok and Dhaka. From 1950 to 2000, the developed
economies’ share of world manufacturing output declined from 95% to 77%, while the
developing economies’ share more than quadrupled from 5% to 23%.
Character of Mega-Cities
The basis of urban economies of mega-cities in the developing world is different to that of world
cities. The characteristics of mega-cities in the developing world include:
1. Population is over 10 million (+ density of at least 2000 ppl/km2). They have
phenomenal population growth rates e.g. Beijing has more than tripled in size over the
last 40 years. Everyday, thousands of people move to mega-cities from nearby rural
areas, resulting in high population densities e.g. Manila (Philippines) has a population
density of 43, 858/km2.
2. Dynamic – constantly changing, meaning that it is difficult to respond to challenges.
3. They perform many national and international functions and have CBD’s reflect these
roles e.g. banking, insurance, finance, government and trade. These high order services
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are important to their economic structure e.g. Mumbai is a major finance centre in India
and has growing global significance – currently an alpha world city (has high connectivity)
Regions of cultural individuality – Mumbai and Bollywood Film Industry
Many are former colonial cities that have expanded rapidly, but still have old colonial
buildings/infrastructure e.g. Mumbai, Lagos and Manila. For example, the historic
centre of Mexico City represents a mixture of architectural styles from the 16th century
to the present.
They are major centres of manufacturing, and this is expected to continue due to
globalisation and the associated new international division of labour. In cities such as
Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta, 40% of employment is in manufacturing. Mega-cities
have attracted labour intensive ‘footloose industries’ from TNC’s, which travel around
the world in search for cheap and abundant labour (often found in mega-cities).
However, most mega-cities lack a WELL ESTABLISHED manufacturing sector. In the post
colonial era, manufacturing was seen as a way of promoting economic growth and
modernisation. Although manufacturing was labour intensive, it did not make an impact
on the expanding urban workforce. Technology worsened the problem, as many
manufacturing processes now use capital-intensive technologies, reducing the demand
for labour.
They are a result of overurbanisation and overruralisation. Overurbanisation occurs
when the city is growing so fast that there is insufficient employment for job seekers and
insufficient taxation revenue to provide essential city infrastructure e.g. roads and public
transport. There are more urban residents than the economy of the city can sustain.
Overruralisation, the “push” towards mega-cities, is when the economies of rural areas
can’t support excessive amounts of residents, who are then forced into the city (rural
depopulation/flight). It is caused by rapid population growth, acquisition of land by
agribusiness corporations and the expansion of export-orientated cash cropping. These
two processes result in hyperurbanisation – the rapid, uncontrollable influx of migrants.
Shanty towns (slums) often develop on the outskirts of mega-cities and along transport
routes e.g. roads and railways. According to a Guardian Article (22/3/10) by
environmentalist John Vidal, 850 million people live in shanty towns - this is expected
to grow to 900 million by 2020. These shanty towns e.g. Tondo and Dharavi are squalid,
unpleasant dwellings which lack running water, basic sanitation and infrastructure.
Shanty towns exist because authorities cannot keep pace with the influx of migrants
from rural areas to cities. They are spontaneous settlements that inhabitants have built
themselves. Most shanty towns are overcrowded, harbour criminals and are diseaseridden.
All mega-cities have large informal economies (black market), such as vending and
hawking of services. Informal sectors serve the needs of the urban poor and operate
outside the control of authorities. In Lagos (Nigeria), the informal sector accounts for
69% of total employment. The informal sector is caused by a lack of jobs in the formal
sector, forcing people in slums to create their own employment in locally owned
workshops as barbers, beggars, street vendors etc. For example, as shown in the
documentary “Mumbai Makeover” (SBS - 12/2/08), in the Dharavi Slums in Mumbai,
350 000 rag pickers (120 000 of which are less than 14 yrs old) rummage through
garbage everyday in search for recyclable plastics in appalling working conditions
(barefoot, no gloves, medical waste such as syringes and needles on ground) to earn a
mere $2/day.
A significant outcome of globalisation has been to sharpen social divisions. Mega-cities
have large social divisions, with the middle-class enjoying a ‘developed world’ lifestyle
e.g. In Beijing and Shanghai, there is a large economic inequality between the rich and
the poor, resulting in SOCIAL POLARISATION. A quarter of the population of developing
countries are living in situations of absolute poverty on less than $1 a day (World Bank).
The rich are retreating to well resourced, walled communities, using privatisation to
develop their own basic services, while the poor are restricted to makeshift housing on
the outskirts of cities, where governments cannot provide basic services.
11. Population composition is constantly changing due to international migration streams
(guest worker streams). Filipinos (mainly women working as domestic maids), Pakistanis
and Bangladeshis often work as illegal immigrants in countries such as Japan and
Malaysia, and are significant components of these international streams. The different
backgrounds of immigrants give rise to social-cultural conflicts.
12. All mega-cities in the developing world suffer from diseconomies of scale and challenges
such as inadequate housing, traffic congestion, lack of water and power, unemployment,
health issues, crime etc.
13. Mega-cities are centres for:
o A wide range of service and information industries
o Culture and government
o Their country (many are capital cities) e.g. Dhaka, Tokyo, Mexico City.
EFFICIENCY/FUNCTIONALITY OF MEGA CITIES:
As mega-cities increase in size and number, many urban planners, scientists, government and
non-government sectors have become concerned about their efficiency. A concern about the
economic efficiency of mega cities in the developing world is that sheer size could result in
diseconomies of scale such as traffic noises, decaying slums, crime and enormous pressure on
infrastructure and services. Some of these diseconomies can be overcome with careful planning
and redevelopment of congested areas. Mega cities in developing countries perform national
and international functions, depending on their relative connectivity within the global economy.
These functions include banking, insurance and finance. They are also centres of culture and
government, and many are capital cities of their countries.
Spatial Distribution of Mega-Cities:
There is a large concentration of developing world mega-cities in the coastal regions of South
and East Asia. According to a UN report (10/8/11), developing regions as a whole account for
93% of urban growth while Asia and Africa for over 80%. The report also suggests that Asia’s
urban population will increase to 2.7 billion by 2030. During the 19th and 20th century, mega
cities in Europe and North America dominated. It is estimated that by 2015 the cities of the
developing world will contain 3.2 billion of the estimated 4.1 billion urban dwellers worldwide.
Indeed, the growth rates of urban population in the developing countries are such that they will
contain the mega-cities of the future. Coastal cities around the world are growing faster than
inland areas. Of the world’s 10 largest cities, 8 are coastal. According to an SMH article
(19/2/11), by 2015, 340 million people will be living in 18 coastal mega-cities worldwide. Megacities are concentrated in Asia due to overurbanisation and the increasing pressures of
overruralisation caused by the mechanisation of agriculture in rural areas and the abundance of
cheap labour, which attracts TNC’s.
Diagram of the spatial distribution of mega-cities: