GEOG 240 Topic 7 - Urban Development in Asia Francis Yee Camosun College

Urban Development in Asia I.Patterns and growth II.Urban System & Urban Forms III.Factors of Urban Development IV.Issues of Urbanization V.Urban Changes in S. Korea Business centre in Hong Kong (photo by F. Yee, 2002)

I. Patterns and Growth Urbanization in Asia East Asia: at world average (50%) SE Asia: below world average at 42% A busy pedestrian crossing in Beijing, a city of well over 15 million people (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

Urbanization in Asia: lower than world average but large regional variations

5 Urbanization in China – rapid rise of urban population which doubled in the past 20 years.

Urban Growth = natural growth + migration + boundary changes  Rate of urban growth > population growth  Rural to urban migration significant  Dramatic growth due to expansion of city boundaries (e.g. Tokyo and Shanghai in 1990s) Motorcycles waiting at a traffic light in Kuala Lumpur, a rapid growth metro with an estimated 7 million people (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

Urban Growth in Asia : lower growth in developed economies but high growth in rising economies

Urban Future Urban growth will slow down Higher rate of growth continues in SE Asia than world average Urbanization level  64% in E Asia by 2030 (higher than world average of 59%) A satellite city in Putra Jaya was built in 1995 to reduce the population pressure in Kuala Lumpur (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

II. Urban System a)Million-sized and mega cities b)Global Cities c)Primate Cities d)Medium and Small Sized Cities CBD in Singapore (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

Million-sized and Mega Cities 134 million-sized cities in E & SE Asia (out of 449 in the world) - China (95), S. Korea (8), Japan (8), Indonesia (7) 7 mega cities (> 10 million people): concentration of economic, political & technological power - Tokyo, Shanghai,, Beijing, & Manila, Osaka-Kobe, Guangzhou, Shenzhen (out of 23 in the world) Informal sector activities are vibrant on the streets of Hanoi to provide income and employment opportunities for the poor (photo by F. Yee 2010)

Largest Cities in Asia

Transformation of Shenzhen SEZ – from a small border town to a mega city Photo of Shenzhen SEZ by F. Yee, 2005

Global Cities Perform global functions & have worldwide impacts command posts for global economy, key financial and specialize services locations, sites of leading industries, and markets for innovative products World Cities in Asia: Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore Financial district of Tokyo (photo by F. Yee 2010)

Primate Cities: Disproportionate share of urban population Population in primate city > population in next 3 cities combined Examples: Tokyo (44%); Bangkok (35%), Seoul (24%) Seoul, a city of almost 10 million, has a disproportionate share of urban population in S. Korea (photo by F. Yee 2008)

4. Medium and Small Cities: most urban population lived in medium and small cities Cityscape of Kyiang Tong in N. Myanmar (Photo by F. Yee, 2007) Cityscape of Lijiang in Yunnan, a UNESCO world heritage site site (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

B. Urban Forms a). Extended Metropolitan (Mega-urban) Region an extended urban stretch of km from the city centre an integrated rural-urban region, increased non-farm jobs, land use changes, transport accessibility Examples, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin, Taipei-Hsinchu

2) Trans-border Development Regions Territories encompassing more than one country, cooperative economic areas Southern China Growth Triangle (China & Hong Kong) SIJURI Growth Triangle (Singapore, Johor in S. Malaysia and Riau Is. of Indonesia)

III. Factors of Urban Growth A. Rapid economic and industrial growth: encouraged large scale migration from rural to urban areas Housing boom in China (Photo by F. Yee in Guangzhou, 2005) A new industrial park in Dongguan, China (Photo by F. Yee 2005)

B. Foreign Investment: large influx of foreign investment promoted economic and employment growth in many Asian cities Carrefour, a multinational retailer in Singapore (Photo by F. Yee, 2007) A Panasonic plant in Batam, Indonesia (Photo by F. Yee, 2007)

C. Transportation and Communication Systems – speed up the movements of people, commodities, and information A new subway was built in Guangzhou (Photo by F. Yee, 2005) Satellite dishes on top of the apartment building in N. Thailand (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

D. New Urban Economy – shift towards the services sector with new economic and employment opportunities New Exhibition Centre in Shenzhen (photo by F. Yee, 2005) Casino in N. Myanmar (Photo by F. Yee, 2005)

E. Migration: relaxed policies on migration and large influx of migrants to cities Migrant workers taking a break in the park in Dongguan, China (Photo by F. Yee, 2005) More than 3 million migrants lived Beijing (Photo by F. Yee at the Beijing Railway Station, 2007)

IV. Responses to Urban Issues (McGee) A. City Development: uncontrolled urban growth led to many unplanned development and land use conflicts need to be monitored and assessed Unplanned use of land created conflicts in many Chinese cities (Photo by F. Yee in Guangzhou, 2005)

B. Urban Governance : A bottom-up instead of top-down fiscal approach in urban governance A strong governance is required to deal with the complex issues of urban slums. (A photo of a slum in Jakarta with poor housing and sewage provision by F. Yee 2012)

C. Provision of appropriate housing, transportation, clean water, sanitation, and social services Singapore has been considered one of the more successful models in the provision of public housing with over 80% of population living in public housing (Photo by F. Yee in 2007)

D. Civil Participation: increasing demands from the middle class to participate in political and urban development decisions should be supported Migrant workers in Hong Kong rallied to protest wage cuts for domestic workers approved by the government. (Photo by F. Yee, 2002)

E. Livable City and Environment: Pollution problems and environmental protection requires major attention and enforcement Pollution from industrial production continued to be a major problem in many cities and towns in the Pearl River Delta Region, China (Photo by F. Yee, 2005) Recycling is a relatively new concept in Shenzhen, China (Photo by F. Yee 2005)

V. Economic and Urban Changes in S. Korea A view of Seoul, a city of almost 10 million people (photo by F. Yee 2009)

A. Economic Changes in S. Korea 1.Ties with US: strong ties both politically and economically with U.S. 2.Land reform: sales of Japanese owned farms and divest large land holdings allow small farmers to own land 3.State capitalism: state-led industrial development with an emphasis on light manufactures and textiles after WWII; Heavy industries, such as iron an steel and chemicals were developed since the 1970s 4.Chaebols ( giant corporate conglomerates) – family based large businesses received government support, e.g. Hyundai 5.Personal consumption: consumer goods were discouraged until Foreign investment: increasing overseas investments and outsourcing of jobs to China and SE Asia

Chaebols ( giant corporate conglomerates) e.g. LG The twin towers of LG, one of the chaebols in S. Korea (photo by F. Yee, Seoul 2009)

Personal consumption of foreign goods was discouraged with high tariffs before 1990s Many brand name stores have opened in Seoul to serve increasing demands for consumer goods (photo by F. Yee 2009)

B. Urban Development in S. Korea 1. Urban population – rapid growth from 1950 to 1990 and doubled the rate of population growth in most years

2. High Level of Urbanization: over 80% of population lived in cities, doubled the level in 1970

3. Urban Primacy: ¼ of all urban population lived in Seoul A busy shopping district, Mingdung, in Seoul (photo by F. Yee 2009)

Urban Sprawl: Seoul spread eastward and southward creating multicentric CBDs in satellite cities, Songdo City – a new development on reclaimed land near the port of Incheon to be developed as a free economic zone with 80,000 apartments. Computers will be built into every building to connect every Incheon, a satellite city of Seoul (photo by F. Yee, 2009)

4. Urban Forms and Structure: densely populated with occupancy rates well over 100% which meant that many apartments housed more than one family

Urban Structure: high growth in small and medium sized cities but negative growth in large cities

5. Technobelts: research and industry are linked One of the key technobelts in the South, is centred in Ulsan with a focus on engineering (photo by F. Yee 2009)

Readings Weightman, Ch. 4