MEGA CITIES

Spatial Distribution

27/33 in developing world; China has 6 and India has 5

Nature and Character

Nature of over-urbanisation; Character of large informal sectors (65% of Dhaka), clear social divisions

Formal and Informal Sectors

Formal is recorded by the state; Informal is unregulated, small-scale and low paying

Types of Responses to Challenges

Planned management by government; Aided-self-help management; Unaided self-help management; Top-down; Bottom-up

Challenge 1: Housing

Homelessness and illegal housing (50% of Mumbai’s population in slums, City of the Dead in Egypt)

Challenge 2: Employment

High unemployment due to lack of jobs; Informal economy; Grameen Bank provides microtransactions (High interest rates at 20%)

Challenge 3: Sanitisation

Orangi Pilot Project is an NGO teaching residents how to construct and maintain low-cost toilets and underground sewerage (500 people per toilet in Dharavi, 48% of India’s population openly defecate)

Challenge 4: Traffic and Pollution

Causes congested roads and accidents; No Driving Day in Mexico limits vehicle flow (Carbon monoxide dropped by 11%)