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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 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 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: