Megacity growth (DP IB Geography)

Consequences of Megacity Growth

• Not only is the world more urban, but the urban area is increasing 

• Many cities are sprawling into and engulfing rural regions. This creates conurbations and adds to the growth of urban areas 

• As the growth of cities continues, the term megacity is used to describe cities with more than 10 million people

  • New York was the first megacity in 1950, with Tokyo 2nd

  • In 1975 there were 4 - New York, Tokyo, Osaka and Mexico City

  • By 2000 there were 15

  • In 2018 that rose to 33 with Tokyo having close to 37.3 million people

  • By 2025-2030, an estimated 630 million people will live in close to 43 megacities around the world

  • Asia alone, has at least 33 megacities, including Mumbai and Delhi, India;  Shanghai, China; Seoul, South Korea and Lagos in Nigeria

• This scaling up of the urban environment is the fastest in human history

• Largest growth of megacities is in Asia

Distribution of megacities in 2022

Consequences of megacity growth

• Economic development

  • Megacities dominate the national and regional economies of countries 

  • Many companies have their headquarters in megacities

  • Encourages population growth which leads to the desirability of goods and services

  • All megacities act as service centres within the formal economic sector

  • However, megacities in MICs are also important manufacturing centres (Mumbai in India or Dhaka in Bangladesh) with thousands working in the informal economy

• Population growth

  • Young people are drawn to live in megacities with their vibrancy, fast pace and opportunities

  • There is also ‘internal growth’ where people who have moved into the cities have children, so sustaining population growth (Mexico City, Mumbai, Pearl River Delta in China)

  • Rapid growth, often means that peri-urban, grow more rapidly than urban centres and this can lead to the development of squatter settlements

• Economies of scale

  • Cheaper to provide goods and services in one place than spread across several cities

  • Financial savings for local governments in respect of infrastructure provision

  • Communication and transport are centralised, making savings in time and money

  • Availability of skilled and unskilled workers (higher numbers allows for choice)

• Multiplier effect

  • As a city prospers, it acts as a beacon to people and businesses 

  • This encourages inward investment

  • This leads to yet more development and growth

  • Generating further need for skills and labour and job growth

  • This cycle multiplies the positive effects and growth continues (San Francisco and the digital development)

Overview of Positive and Negative Impacts of Megacity Growth

Case Study - Mumbai

Mumbai's hyper-urbanisation

• Mumbai has always been a significant trading point and remains the wealthiest city on the north-west coast of India

• Originally a number of separate islands, Mumbai was joined through large-scale land reclamation and causeway projects

• Mumbai is India's most populous city and its growth has been large but steady

• In 1950, Mumbai had a population of 1.6 million people and increased 10-fold to 16 million by 2000

• Most of the growth is through in-migration from rural areas and due to limited physical expansion, Mumbai has the second highest population density in the world with 26,357 persons per km²

• Mumbai has more million and billionaires than any other Indian city, but also the highest rates of poverty

Map of Mumbai

Mumbai's importance to India

• Commercial and financial capital of India

  • Growth is in hi-tech, call centres and online banking

  • 60% of India’s trade is through Nhave Sheva container port

• Approximately 3 million people commute daily into the city

• Mumbai contributes 40% of India's entire tax revenue

Global importance

• Most globalised city in SE Asia

• Has the largest number of TNCs (inc. GlaxoSmithKline, Volkswagen, Tata Steel)

• 40% of international flights to India arrive in Mumbai

• Global transport hub (connecting point for transport links) connects all industrialised cities in India

• Largest foreign investment centre

• Home to the largest film industry in the world - Bollywood

• Centre for design and fashion

Overview of the Consequences of Mumbai's Megacity Growth