James Gray

Mr White Distribution of Megacities

A. The main reason that the distribution of megacities is spread out in the 1985 of just 8 megacities is because as a global state we were less technologically advanced than the rest of the world. This meant that only a few cities had the population of a megacity and so there were only 8 at that time. There were other cities which were large but they werent quite megacities as the definition states. The second reason there is a increase in the worlds number of megacities between 1985 of 8 megacities to 26 in 2009 is because there was more globalization across the world. This means that more places became switched on and so they could trade with other countries and expand as their populations grew. The rural to urban migration also has been increasing all the time due to the increasing number of pull factors in these megacities, which has led to the increase in the number of megacities across the globe. In 2009 there was a total of 7 megacities with populations of more than 20 million which is a huge change compared to 1985 when there was only one city with a population of more than 20 million, which was Tokyo. This city only had a high population due to the boom in technology and the hub of this was in Tokyo. The third reason that there has been a significant change in the distribution of megacities is because of new trade blocs and the networking of countries and trade between them. The whole of India and south East Asia has now become switched on when before there was only Shanghai and Tokyo as megacities there are now 4 with over 20 million as their population and 9 with at least 10 million. B. Megacities are cities that are metropolitan areas with populations over 10 million people. These are often found in core hubs of economic and social activity such as the heart of the EU and the capital of China India and Brazil. These are often more developed countries in proportion to the rest fo the world and are scattered across the globe. They have key characteristics such a slums or suburbs which span for miles and a thriving economic core of industry in different sectors. One Challenge of rapid megacity growth is the loss of culture and overflow of external migrants seen in many cities and megacities. One example of a city where this has happened is the area Little Italy in New York. This has had problems because it has gained many inhabitants throughout the 20th century of other nationalities and ethnicities. As many Italians started to gain economic success they departed away to other suburbs to fulfill and mre rewarding career. This left behind many migrants and the Italian culture was at threat. Luckily this loss of culture was prevented by an increase in pizzeria and Italian services that others could enjoy and so the culture was recovered in the society. Many other megacities face these problems but often on a larger scale and this can cause backlashes against migration schemes from the government if people feel like they are loosing touch with the culture that they had. This means that the governments and councils have to ensure that they control the migration into these large megacities.

James Gray

Mr White

Another Challenge that rapid megacity growth can cause is the strain of rail and transport networks. A good example of this is in the city of New Delhi where trains often come over packed and crowded which can lead to fatalities when people fall out of the train. Waiting times in the stations for tickets can often be in excess of 10 hours due to the lack of staffing and small stations for the population density. This particular problem is present mostly in the rail systems in the less developed megacities due to the lack of technological advances and money to advance the development of these transport systems. There are stories of people falling out of these trains as they are travelling along and this can cause death and ever present risk. If the train journeys are for a long sustained time then the carriages are cramped and often illness can pass on and spread due to the positioning of the passengers to each other being too close. A third challenge that rapid megacity growth can cause is the government trying to create sewage systems that can handle with the extreme amount of waste that is coming out of these cities. The suburbs and slums in the immature megacities are often dirty and the sewers can cause disease and illness to spread all across the area and puts children and elderly populations at risk. They are also often unsealed and so children could fall into them and drown as they are often uneducated and cant swim. This lack of education is also a problem because the children are unable to get jobs, which can pay them well in the future because there is no system for school care in the immature megacities. The more mature megacities didnt have this much of a problem but the high population can cause problems due to the high numbers of children requiring education and a lack of teachers and schools to educate them. In conclusion the challenges faced by the governments and agencies because of rapid megacity growth are huge and so a lot of organization and money s needed to try and control them. Some cities have been more successful at controlling this and are often the more mature megacities but there are some immature megacities that cannot cope and often the population is at risk because of a lack of healthcare or strain on services, which can in some cases, prevent it from developing and becoming a well built and controlled megacity.