Introduction to the Mega City & the Global City

How did Industrial Revolution create a push towards Urbanization?  In 1800 only 3% of the world’s population lived in cities.  By end of 20 th Century, 47% did so.  In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding one million; but by 2007, this had risen to 468

Continued… The Industrial revolution kick started the city growth by: 1. Improving food availability – better roads, trains and trucks 2. Movement of jobs – no longer were people working the land, now factories were being built in the cities, thus a migration from rural areas to cities, mechanization of machines eliminates manual labour 3. Elimination of the health risks – the industrial revolution improved handling of sewage/ garbage and also provided safe drinking water = less deaths and greater population densities

Continued… 4. Mass transit – the travel distance between people was reduced by subways and street. No more walking to work = living greater distances from work

Mega Cities Are:  Urban areas with populations greater than 10 million people  Rapidly growing  Characterized as having high levels of poverty, crime and high levels of social fragmentation.  A mega city can be a single metropolitan area or two or more metropolitan areas that converge upon one another.

Mega Cities Around the World  In 1950, New York was the only urban area with a population of over 20 million.  Currently 24 Mega Cities in the world Top 5 Mega Cities 1. Tokyo, Japan - 28,025, Mexico City, Mexico - 18,131, Mumbai, India - 18,042, Sáo Paulo, Brazil - 17, 711, New York City, USA - 16,626, Tokyo, Japan - 28,025, Mexico City, Mexico - 18,131, Mumbai, India - 18,042, Sáo Paulo, Brazil - 17, 711, New York City, USA - 16,626,000

Canadian Mega Cities  The 1990s, the forced amalgamation of several municipalities created what was labeled a mega city by the media  None of the municipalities actually fit the definition of a mega city Examples include:  Halifax - the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth and surrounding municipalities were merged in 1996 into the HRM, often called a "mega city," with a total population of  Toronto - In 1998 the municipalities that constituted the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were merged into a new City of Toronto, currently the largest of the Canadian cities, with a population of 2,503,281 in The Greater Toronto Area (or GTA) had a population of 5,555,912 in 2006.

Global Cities PRESTIGE STATUSPOWER INFLUENCE Demographic -Large population -Many well educated people -Ethnic diversity Technological -Good access by air -State of the art communication - Centre of research and development Economic -Capital/money centre -Large corporation headquarters Political - National seat of democratic government -Headquarters of major governing bodies Cultural -Excellence in arts and entertainment -Rich heritage -Prestigious universities and research institutes -Museums QUALIFYING ATTRIBUTES

A Few More Characteristics  International, first-name familiarity – Paris NOT Paris, France  Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs - New York City is home to the United Nations headquarters complex  A fairly large population of at least one million, typically several million  several international cultures and communities such as a Chinatown, Little Italy

Just to Name a Few  London  New York City  Paris  Tokyo   San Francisco   Sydney   Toronto   Zürich

Push Factors  The poverty and living conditions in the rural areas actually push people from the rural to the urban settings. They move in hopes of finding better living conditions.  In the MDC’s the rural areas are usually more attractive places to live than in the LDC’s. Some find there are fewer services in the rural areas. Negative Giving up clean air, peaceful environment.

Pull Factors  The skyscrapers, freeways and excitement are equally attractive in both the LDC’s and MDC’s. Don’t forget the work opportunities in the urban LDC’s and MDC’s. Both have the opportunity of better education, jobs and better medical facilities. Negatives  They also offer less desirable opportunities such as landfill scavenging, and begging for money on the overcrowded streets.