Development, Urbanization, Migration, and Quality of Life - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 109

However, in developed countries such as Korea and
Japan, populations in the biggest cities are expected to
decline. In both cases governments have initiated decen-
tralization programs by improving infrastructure and
creating employment opportunities in other regions of
the country . Y ou can see by Table 4-4 that Seoul, T Tokyo,
and Osaka-Kobe' s populations are shrinking. These cases
provide an example of how circumstances can change
over time.
Clusters of cities, or urban agglomerations, have
evolved into mega-urban or extended metropolitan re-
gions that extend far beyond metropolitan boundaries, in-
corporating towns, villages, and transportation corridors.
These are complex fields of urban and rural interaction
reaching 62 miles (100 km) or further beyond urban
nodes. In other words, the distinction between urban and
rural has become blurred as cities expand along communi-
cation corridors and either bypass or incorporate towns
and villages in the process.

with squatters, who find it difficult if not impossible to
conform to city regulations, see these as spaces of oppor-
tunity . The result, according to McGee (1989), is that
“there is no clear-cut division between rural and urban
relations; rather, activities in the two sectors are fused
and complementary .”
Globalization expands and intensifies kotadesasi
landscapes. As we will discover in Chapter 12 on Southeast
Asia, the ramifications of new socioeconomic complexi-
ties transform or even compromise long-standing famil-
ial and community relationships.

LIV ABILITY OF CITIES
All city governments have to manage city growth and
create comfortable and healthy environments for their
inhabitants. These things are more likely to be ad-
dressed in richer countries such as Korea and Japan.
But even their cities have significant levels of air pollu-
tion and large numbers of poor people that require as-
sistance. In some East Asian cities such as Beijing or
Taipei, people wear masks to fend off the horrendous
air pollution.
Pictures of China' s fantastic urban architecture
dazzle the eyes and foster an image of modernity and
well-being. Although this is the experiential world for
some people, the reality is that millions live in less than
ideal conditions. For instance, only three-fifths of resi-
dents in Shanghai live in buildings connected to a
sewer. The United Nations says that dirty air is respon-
sible for the premature deaths of at least 400,000
Chinese a year.
The worst case scenarios are found in poorer coun-
tries. For example, only a quarter of Dhaka' s residents are
connected to a proper sewage system. The majority use
open latrines with the result that Dhaka has the highest
rate of infectious disease of any city in Asia. Untold mil-
lions of Asia' s city-dwellers have no access to potable
water. Housing conditions are abominable (by Western
standards) for most. New apartment structures and single-
family housing tracts are surrounded by slums, espe-
cially in South Asia.
Fortunately , some city environments have improved.
In Bangkok, a group of city officials (without the support
of the national government) managed to reduce the city' s
air pollution levels by 20 to 50 percent despite a 40 percent
increase in the number of vehicles in the past decade.
They accomplished this feat by enacting stringent vehi-
cle emission controls, raising taxes on two-stroke

KOTADESASI LANDSCAPES
Kotadesasi zones are characterized by an increase of di-
verse nonagricultural activities in predominantly agri-
cultural areas. Members of the same household
participate in sundry occupations in both realms, mak-
ing economic linkages within the kotadesasi zone as im-
portant as those with the dominant city . Larger numbers
of women work in supply chain factories. Proliferation
of cheap transport such as bicycles, motorbikes, and
scooters, along with public buses and trucks, allows for
great mobility of people and goods within and between
these and other zones.
Mega-urban, kotadesasi landscapes are kaleido-
scopes of activity , including rice paddies, water buffalo,
bullock and horse-carts, factories, golf courses, and
traffic-jammed multilane highways. Industries locate in
and subsequently pollute surrounding agricultural land.
Agricultural production shifts from mono-crop cultiva-
tion (principally rice) to diverse production of vegetables,
livestock, and fruit for regional and even international
consumption.
In this ambiguously rural and urban environment,
governed by overlapping jurisdictions, management of
infrastructure can only be a nightmare. However, since
the definitions of “urban” and “rural” are highly variable
and frequently change, kotadesasi zones are sorts of gray
territories where urban and industrial regulations may
not apply . Small-scale and informal sector operators along