GEOG 240Topic 7 - Urban Development in Asia

Francis YeeCamosun 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 GrowthUrbanization 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

S. Korea

Malaysia

JapanW

orldChina

Indonesia

Thailand

Viet Nam

Cambodia0

20

40

60

8083

72 67

51 47 4434 30

20

Urbanization in Asia, 2010

Countries

Urb

an a

s %

 of P

opul

ation

Source: UNESCAP 2012

5

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

142 190 303

607

630 763

17 19

26

45

47

55

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

-100

100

300

500

700

900

1,100

1,300

1,500

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

% U

rban

Urb

an P

opu

latio

n (

in m

illio

ns)

Year

China's Urban Population, 1970-2020

% Urban# of Urban…

Source: UNESCAP 2012..

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

5.6

3.33.0

2.6

2.11.9

1.7

0.8

0.2

—

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

Laos Viet Nam Malaysia China Philippines World Indonesia S. Korea Japan

Ave

rage

Ann

ual G

row

th R

ate

(%)

Urban Growth in Asia Pacific, 2005-2010

Source: UNESCAP 2012

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

37

20

15

12 11 10 10 10 10 10

—

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Pop

ulat

ion

(mill

ions

)

Top Cities in Asia-Pacific, 2010

Source: UN Population Division, 20012

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 Formsa). Extended Metropolitan (Mega-urban) Region

• an extended urban stretch of 50-100 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 GrowthA. 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. Korea1. 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 1990

6. 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. Korea1. Urban population – rapid growth from 1950 to 1990 and doubled the rate

of population growth in most years

1950-1955

1955-1960

1960-1965

1965-1970

1970-1975

1975-1980

1980-1985

1985-1990

1990-1995

1995-2000

2000-2005

2005-2010

Total

1.9 3.4 2.5 2 2 1.5 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.5

Urban

4.6 5.9 5.6 6.6 5.3 4.8 4.3 3.8 1.9 1.1 0.9 0.8

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

4.5

5.5

6.5

Total and Urban Population Growth in S. Korea, 1950-2010

YearAvera

ge A

nnual Gro

wth

 Rate

 (%

)

Source: UNESCAP 2012

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

1970 1980 1990 2000 20100

10

20

30

40

50

60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

13

21

3237

40

41

57

7480 83

Urban Growth in S. Korea, 1970-2010

Population% Urban

Year

Urb

an P

opul

ation

 (mill

ion)

% U

rban

Source: UN-ESCAP 2012.

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

Seoul Busan Suweon Ulsan Ansan Yongin —

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

-50

—

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

9.8

3.4

1.1 1.1 0.8 0.7-8 -10

8262

220

297

Urban System in S. Korea, 2010

Urban PopulationGrowth Rate

Cities

 Urb

an P

opul

ation

 (mill

ions

)

1990

-201

0 G

row

th R

ate 

(%)

Source: UN Population Division, 2012.

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