GEOG 240
Topic 7 - Urban Development in Asia
Francis Yee
Camosun College
Urban Development in Asia
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Patterns and
growth
Urban System &
Urban Forms
Factors of Urban
Development
Issues of
Urbanization
Urban Changes
in S. Korea
Business centre in Hong Kong (photo by
F. Yee, 2002)
I. Patterns and Growth
Urbanization 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
Urban as % of Population
Urbanization in Asia, 2010
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
83
72
67
51
47
Countries
Source: UNESCAP 2012
44
34
30
20
Urbanization in China – rapid rise of urban
population which doubled in the past 20 years.
China's Urban Population, 1970-2020
1,500
60
55
47
% Urban
# of Urban…
1,100
763
630
700
26
500
17
142
19
190
1970
1980
30
607
20
303
Source: UNESCAP
2012..
100
-100
40
45
900
300
50
1990
Year
2000
2010
2020
10
0
5
% Urban
Urban Population (in millions)
1,300
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
Urban Growth in Asia Pacific, 2005-2010
Average Annual Growth Rate (%)
6.0
5.6
Source: UNESCAP 2012
5.0
4.0
3.3
3.0
3.0
2.6
2.1
2.0
1.9
1.7
0.8
1.0
0.2
—
Laos
Viet Nam Malaysia
China
Philippines
World
Indonesia S. Korea
Japan
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
Top Cities in Asia-Pacific, 2010
40
37
35
Population (millions)
30
Source: UN Population Division, 20012
25
20
15
10
5
—
20
15
12
11
10
10
10
10
10
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 Forms
a). 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 Growth
A. 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
Casino in N. Myanmar (Photo by F.
Yee, 2005)
New Exhibition Centre in Shenzhen
(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. Korea
1. 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. Korea
1. Urban population – rapid growth from 1950 to
1990 and doubled the rate of population growth in most years
Average Annual Growth Rate (%)
Total and Urban Population Growth in S. Korea, 1950-2010
7
6
5
4
Source: UNESCAP 2012
3
2
1
0
1950- 1955- 1960- 1965- 1970- 1975- 1980- 1985- 1990- 1995- 2000- 20051955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 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
Year
2. High Level of Urbanization: over 80% of
population lived in cities, doubled the level in 1970
Urban Growth in S. Korea, 1970-2010 90
50
40
83
80
74
Source: UNESCAP
2012.
57
30
41
80
70
37
40
32
60
50
40
21
20
30
13
20
10
10
0
0
1970
1980
1990
Year
2000
2010
% Urban
Urban Population (million)
60
Population
% Urban
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
Urban System in S. Korea, 2010
10.0
9.8
350
Urban Population
Growth Rate
297
250
220
8.0
200
6.0
150
3.4
4.0
2.0
300
1990-2010 Growth Rate (%)
Urban Population (millions)
12.0
-8
-10
82
1.1
100
62
1.1
Source: UN Population Division,
0.8
0.7
—
50
—
-50
Seoul
Busan
Suweon
Ulsan
Cities
Ansan
Yongin
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