The characteristics of megacities:

Dynamics: Megacities have phenomenal growth rates. Bangkok, for example mushroomed 22from 67 km in the 1950s to 426 km in the early 1990s and Beijing has more than tripled in size over the last four decades.

Scope of Economic, Environmental and Social Influence: Megacities have a major influence beyond the built up space of the city and there is a need to understand the relationship between the megacity and the corresponding economic region. Solving some of the underlying rural issues would help to stem the influx to the megacities.

Density: To accommodate the large growth of population, megacities sustain the highest density of inhabitants, industrial assets and production, social and technical infrastructures.

Settlement and Infrastructure: Due to the significant dynamics of megacities, urban planning and public infrastructure provision tends to be reactive rather than a guide to development.

Governance: Good governance is one of the greatest challenges for megacities.

Scarce Resources: Within developing countries capacity building is limited and there are scarce human resources to support effective growth management across megacities.

Vulnerability: The concentration of inhabitants increases the risk of man-made and natural disasters.

	Created by nc12hals almost 11 years ago

Urban environments

Megacities