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megacities

Shrinking cities: the rise and fall of global urban populations – mapped

“The world is experiencing rapid urbanisation, but not every city is growing. Population is likely to decline in 17% of large cities in developed regions and 8% of cities across the world from 2015 to 2025, according to a McKinsey report.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

This is a fantastic series of maps for human geography and regional geography classes. Some cities throughout Africa and Asia have experienced spectacular growth (click here for 5 infographics showing East Asia’s massive urban growth).  Europe, on the other isn’t see the same level of growth and is even experiencing urban decline in a few regions.   

 

Questions to Ponder: What patterns do you see in these maps?  What cultural, demographic and economic factors explain some of the regional patterns in these maps?        

 

Tags: APHG, urban, unit 7 cities, megacities.

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Paris mayor unveils plan ​to restrict traffic and pedestrianize city center

Anne Hidalgo says she wants to cut the number of cars in French capital by half as part of campaign to tackle pollution

Source: www.theguardian.com

The world’s biggest cities are struggling to maintain access to congested downtown areas and still ensure that the downtown maintains it’s historic sense of place that generate so much tourism and concentration of cultural amenities.  Pollution is driving cities to change as the private automobile as the default mode of transportation becomes less feasible and unsustainable as cities expand to be far larger than they ever have been before.  

 

Tags: urban, environment, pollution, urban ecology, France, place, tourism, Paris, megacities, transportation.

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The Staggering Wealth Of Mexico City

Walk on the streets and you´ll be exposed to its informal economy: people who do what they can to eke out a living including washing windshields, selling food, or even singing, dancing, and performing acrobatics for a tip.

What Americans may not know is that Mexico City is home to the wealthiest people, the poshest neighborhoods, the most exclusive shops, entertainment venues, and cultural centers on the planet.

Source: xpatnation.com

Mexico City has been the economic center of Mexico for a long time and is a true primate city. “Wealth accumulation in Mexico City has historically been concentrated in the hands of a few. In colonial times, the elite was mostly composed of Spanish-born immigrants who held high-ranking offices or worked as business owners or export-oriented merchants. Later, the wealthy were those who owned large estates known as haciendas…It is estimated that around 40 percent of Mexico’s income is owned by just 10 percent of its population, while 52.3 percent of Mexican citizens live in poverty.”

 

Tags: urban, megacities, economic, labor, Mexico.

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The rise of the Asian megacity (and why ‘metacities’ are the next big thing)

“Asia’s rapid urbanisation is changing the very shape and nature of what we think of as a city.  It’s not just the rapid increase in their numbers or their sheer size that makes these megacities fascinating. They look, feel and behave differently, too.”

Source: www.scmp.com

The term megacity (a city with a population greater than 10 million) has been around for a while and there wasn’t much linguistic need to describe something bigger.  Today, most megacities are more like Lagos and Mumbai, places of extreme wealth asymmetries than the global cities of New York City and London.  Some are now using the term metacity to describe cities with populations of 20 million.  Asian metacities are a good place to start thinking about the largest urban regions that are increasingly dominating economic, political and cultural affairs.      

 

Tags: urban, megacities, East Asia.

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China pollution: First ever red alert in effect in Beijing

“Schools in Beijing are closed and outdoor construction halted as the Chinese capital’s first ever pollution “red alert” comes into effect over smog levels.”

Source: www.bbc.com

A large part of China’s rapid economic growth has been dependent on cutting corners in labor and environmental standards.  This is one reason why I don’t think that the Chinese economy can continue this growth indefinitely.

 

Tags: pollution, China, development, economic, megacities, East Asia, industry, sustainability, urban ecology.

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China pollution: First ever red alert in effect in Beijing

“Schools in Beijing are closed and outdoor construction halted as the Chinese capital’s first ever pollution “red alert” comes into effect over smog levels.”

Source: www.bbc.com

A large part of China’s rapid economic growth has been dependent on cutting corners in labor and environmental standards.  This is one reason why I don’t think that the Chinese economy can continue this growth indefinitely.

 

Tags: pollution, China, development, economic, megacities, East Asia, industry, sustainability, urban ecology.

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Photographing mega-cities from 12,000 feet

Photographer Vincent Laforet spent the early stages of 2015 photographing the likes of New York, Las Vegas, London, Sydney and Barcelona from a helicopter.


Tags: urban, megacities, unit 7 cities, images.

Source: www.cnn.com

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This Is the Traffic Capital of the World

There are only 650 major intersections here—but somehow only 60 traffic lights.

Source: www.newrepublic.com

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and (as I often tell my students) it is the biggest city that nobody has ever heard of.  The infrastructure is so incredibly limited that traffic jams cost the city an estimated $3.8 billion in delays and air pollution.  This is an excellent article to explore some of the problems confronting megacities. 

Tags: Bangladesh, transportation, planning, density, South Asia, development, economic, megacities.

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Flexible Urban Planning

mixed used train-tracks/market place…

I’ve used similar videos in my classes and students are usually quite shocked to see how a city like Bangkok, Thailand operates.  I’ve used this as a ‘hook’ for lessons of population growth, urbanization, economic development, sustainability, megacities and city planning.

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

See on www.youtube.com

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