Megacities of the Developing World

DEFINITION: A megacity is generally defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million

people

In 2000, there were 18 megacities and by 2007 27 megacities of which ….are located in the developing world

• Tokyo, (33,600,000) • Seoul, South Korea (23,400,000) • Mexico City (22,400,000) • New York City, USA (21,961,994) • Mumbai (Bombay), India (21,600,000) • Delhi, India (21,500,000) • São Paulo, Brazil (20,600,000) • Los Angeles, USA (18,000,000) • Shanghai, China (17,500,000) • Osaka (16.7) • Cairo (16.1) • Kolkata (15.7) • Manila (15.6) • Jakarta (15.1) • Karachi (15.1) • Buenos Aires (13.6) • Dhaka (12.6) • Beijing (12.8) • Lahore (12.7) • London (12.5) • Paris (12.0) • Istanbul (11.8) • Rio de Janeiro (11.5) • Tehran (10.2) • Lagos (10.1) • Moscow (10.1) • Bangkok (10.1)

Board of Studies requirements…

• Outline the nature, character and spatial distribution of mega cities in the DEVELOPING WORLD

• Describe the challenges of living in mega cities and evaluate the responses to these challenges

• Evaluate the role of community based groups, NGO’s in addressing one challenge of living in mega-cities.

…..the term Megacity

• Was first used in 1957 by Jean Gottmann in the USA and reflected changes in work and social habits of people after World War II

• In 1970’s the United Nations used the term to refer to cities of 8 million

• In the 1990’s the UN raised the size of cities to 10 million – in 2000 there were 22 megacities; today there are 27.

World Urban Population

• In 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in cities. • By the end of the 20th century 47% lived in cities.• In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding

one million; • By 2007, this had risen to 468 agglomerations of more

than one million.[2] • If the trend continues, the world's urban population will

double every 38 years, say researchers. • The UN forecasts that today's urban population of 3.2

billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030, when three out of five people will live in cities

Population Pyramids

• Complete the table above

Very Short Short Tall Very Tall

Very Wide Wide Narrow Very Narrow

Concave Straight Convex Very Convex

High Declining Declining Low

High Declining Declining Low

Very Short Short Long Very Long

High Low Low High

• Describe the table above use simple words for e.g.

Height – Short or tall,

Base – wide or very narrow etc.

Urbanisation

• Urbanisation describes the increasing proportion of people living in urban areas (towns and cities) as opposed to rural areas (villages and country side).

• The main causes of Urbanisation– Rural-Urban migration– Population Increase

Spatial Pattern• In 1950 there was one megacity – New York• 1975 there were four megacities – Tokyo, New York, Shanghai,

Mexico City and Sao Paulo of which three were in the developing world

• In 1995 there were 14• 2001 there were 17 megacities with 13 in the developing world• 2015 there will be 23 megacities with 18 in the developing world.• The greatest growth is happening in the developed world particularly

in Asia and Africa.• Today the five largest cities are Tokyo, Mexico City, São Paulo,

New York City, and Mumbai (Bombay), and in 2015 they will probably be Tokyo, Dhaka, Mumbai, São Paulo, and Delhi.

….urban growth and change

• Fifty years ago 30% world lived in urban areas• In ten years it will be 60%• China is currently engaged in the greatest migration in

the history of the world • Megacities are simultaneous centres of concentration of

wealth and opportunity as well as arenas of despair for millions

• Ill equipped and often corrupt bureaucreacies have little hope of sorting through the range of challenges urbanisation presents

• We have now entered the first urban century and 2.8 billion people are now poorer than 20 years ago…

Reasons for growth of Megacities in the developing world….

• Economic Growth

• Natural Increase – High fertility rates

• Rural – urban migration

RURAL URBAN MIGRATION DUE TO Push factors – these are:

• Increasing landlessness (no land ownership) due to loss of land from drought, crop failure, war, poverty, debt….

• War and civil disorder• Intolerance• Desertification• Lack of Medical Facilities• Rapid Population Growth• Rural Poverty• Lack of Educational opportunities• Transfer of land from food production and self sufficiency

to export crop production meaning less food for families therefore vulnerable to international commodity price fluctuations

• Lack of medical facilities

RURAL URBAN MIGRATIONPull factors (attraction of urban areas)

due to: • Attracted to employment opportunities

• Promise of higher living standards

• Entertainment and Cultural events

• Educational Opportunities

• Medical facilities

Why the cities have grown?

• An example of rural urban migration –

- In China, 125 million people have moved from areas of low agricultural productivity to coastal cities - that's 25% of the workforce, and you've got another 25% waiting to move

….unfortunately

• For many people in the developing world they move from rural poverty to urban poverty…..as urban poverty grows many find themselves trapped unable to achieve the hoped-for wealth and opportunities that attracted them……

• The increase will be most dramatic in the poorest and least-urbanised continents, Asia and Africa.

• One billion people, one-sixth of the world's population, now live in shanty towns

Cities with over 1 Million

Some of the problems of megacities include:

• Explosive population growth. • Alarming increases in poverty • Massive infrastructure problems with telecommunications services,

transportation and congestion. For example, traffic congestion in Bangkok is so bad that the average commute now takes three hours

• Pressures on land and housing • Environmental concerns, such as contaminated water, air pollution,

and overdrawn aquifers. For instance, Mexico City’s aquifer is being overdrawn and is sinking by about 1 meter per year

• Disease, high death rates, drug-resistant strains of infection, and lethal environmental conditions. For example, 12.6 percent of the deaths in Jakarta are related to air pollution causes

• Capital scarcity • Dependence on federal or state governments for funding

Challenges of living in megacities

• Access to employment – formal and informal employment

• Provision of Shelter and housing – rise of squatter settlements/slums; upgrading housing; new housing projects

• Water and sewage provision and waste disposal• Health and Nutrition issues – overcrowding, unclean

water, vermin, dangerous housing and utility connections, parasites all are challenges.

• Air Water and Noise Pollution• Congestion and Provision of Transport Infrastructure

Urban Problems in LEDCs

Urban Problems

Spontaneous Settlements

Over-crowding

Rural-Urban

Migration

FavelasBustees

CompetitionFor land

PressureOn

services

Shanty towns

Built onDangerous

ground

Rapid growthDifficult to plan

Self-helpschemes

Debt

Responses to these challenges….

• Self Help projects…

• Community self government…

• NGO’s …

• Urban protests…

• Operation of the informal economy…

Growth of Megacities

Mexico City, Mexico

• Urban agglomeration in 1990 was 20.2 million, and is estimated to reach 25.6 million by the year 2000. This growth represents an annual rate of change of 2.4% for the decade.

• A defining aspect of Mexico's population is its youth; in 1980, 48.9% of the total population was in the 0-19 age group. Another important figure is the 40% of the total population that live in "informal settlements." Average life expectancy in Mexico City is 66 years for males and 72 years for females.

• Pollution may be Mexico City's most serious problem killing 100,000 pa. • one quarter of the more than 10,000 tons of solid waste generated daily is

dumped illegally or remains in the streets • infant mortality rate in poor areas is up to three times as high as that in the

rest of the city. • Amongst the poorest are the rubbish pickers who sort the reeking garbage

in the city’s dumps• More than 60% city’s population live in slums – self help projects aimed at

providing lots with water, drainage and electricity on which to build houses or the government building a core structure which is added to by residents.

• Asia's largest slum, Dharavi, lies on prime property right in the middle of India's financial capital, Mumbai (Bombay).

• It is home to more than a million people. Many are second-generation residents, whose parents moved in years ago.

• Today's Dharavi bears no resemblance to the fishing village it once was. A city within a city, it is one unending stretch of narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and cramped huts.

• More than half of the world's population will live in cities by 2008, most of them in developing countries, says a report by the UN Population Fund… while the megacities will continue to grow, the majority of the population growth will be in urban areas of 500,000 people or fewer. Without adequate planning, urban growth will create huge slums, degrade the environment and radicalise the young. There are currently one billion slum dwellers