40
1950 to 47 percent in 2000—and will likely reach 60 percent in 2030. In the developing countries of Asia and Africa, urbanization is proceeding rapidly. Megacities, as the largest entities of worldwide urbanization, are defined as cities with more than five million inhabitants. Scientists estimate that by 2015, the world may contain as many as 60 megacities, together housing more than 600 million people. Megacities are not just very big.
B
Their scale creates new dynamics, new complexity, and new simultaneity of events and processes—physical, so- cial, and economic. They host intense and complex interactions between dif- ferent demographic, social, political, economic, and ecological processes. Megacities undergoing economic boom times often generate considerable op- portunities, as well as strong pressures for change accompanied by environ- mental degradation. In the developing world, megacities grow faster than their infrastructure. This uncontrolled urban sprawl can foster great traffic volumes, high concentrations of industrial pro- duction, ecological overload, unregu- lated and disparate land and property markets, insufficient housing develop- ment, and in some cases, such extremes of poverty and wealth living side by side that social unrest may follow.
y now, more than half of the world’s population (3.3 bil- lion people) live in cities—an increase from 30 percent in
MELTING POT
Megacities contain a rich mix of coexist- ing people; groups with their own distinc- tive ethnic, community, cultural roots, lifestyles, and social milieu are common. Differences in economic development, social polarization, quality of infrastruc- ture, and governance must be recog- nized and taken into account. Such scale and dynamism, coupled
with complex interacting processes and the sheer concentration of human capi- tal, make megacities incubators of huge growth and innovation. They are the fo- cal points of globalization as well as the driving forces for development; they har- bor a wide spectrum of human skill and potential, creativity, social interaction, and cultural diversity. Megacities are also the focus of glob-
al risk. They are increasingly vulnerable systems because they often harbor pro- nounced poverty, social inequality, and environmental degradation, all of which are linked together by a complex system supplying goods and services. People from different socio-economic groups and corresponding political allegiances may become segregated geographical- ly, creating disparities and conflict. Pop- ulation density increases vulnerability to natural and manmade hazards. Thus megacities, exposed to the global envi- ronmental, socio-economic, and political changes to which they contribute, are both victims and producers of risk.
For many megacities, inadequate
representative governance inhibits spa- tial planning, building control, the de- livery of services (such as water supply, sewage disposal, and energy distribu- tion), and the establishment of general order (including security and disaster prevention). Existing administrations and their organizational structures may have been outgrown by the rapidly expanding city and may simply be unable to cope with the huge scale of their new respon- sibilities. In addition, informal processes and activities can take on an important role in the development of megacities.
MEGACITY RESEARCH
Megacities are ideal places to investigate the impact of socio-economic and politi- cal activities on environmental change and vice versa, and to identify solutions to the worst problems. For these reasons, megacity research has the potential to contribute substantially to global justice and peace—and thereby prosperity. Among the most important research
Mumbai’s Dharavi slum is considered to be one of the world’s largest and most crowded slums.
questions are those bearing upon how we can improve the quality of life for millions of people, which for many resi- dents is commonly low, rich and poor alike. Air, water, and soil pollution, wa- ter and energy supply shortages, traffic congestion, environmental health prob- lems, limited green spaces, poverty and malnutrition, social security, and public safety problems place many burdens and restrictions on people. In the mega- cities of the developing world, city plan- ning needs to adapt to diverse socio- cultural circumstances by including the often widespread and dynamic informal activities that enrich such communities. Innovative management solutions for new visions of “quality of life” have to be developed. The identification of “hot spots” of urban problems, such as insuf- ficient water supply, poor healthcare, or inadequate public safety, is important in planning strategy. Megacities, moreover, require hu-
man and natural resources for energy, in- dustry, construction, infrastructure, and maintenance. Their sprawl commonly en- croaches on areas with difficult ground
Local Action Moves the World •
www.icleiusa.org
PLANET EARTH \\ MEGACITIES
KOUNOSU
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68