Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
17.2.2 Megacities
One additional impact of global urbanization trends is the rapid increase the number
of megacities in which more than ten million inhabitants reside. There were only
8 cities in the world with population more than ten million; however, the number
of megacities grew to 27 by 2012.
4
Of these, ten megacities are in developing
countries, where overpopulated slums exhibit high rates of disease due to unsani-
tary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care. It took 150 years for
London to see population grew from one million to eight million, while the
population of Mexico City grew from 1 million to over 15 million people in only
50 years. Many countries in the developing world neither have the legal nor the
financial capacity to deal with the rapid growth of megacities.
Megacities presents enormous challenges to governments and the inhabitants of
the megacities in both developed and developing countries. In the US, there are many
incorporated and political entities in a megacity. The Los Angeles megacity has
122 independent jurisdictions and minor civil districts (MCDs)
5
each of which has
own decision-making power for maximizing its welfare within the jurisdiction by the
home-rule delegated by the State of California. In exercising their power, individual
jurisdiction's interests often conflict with those of the megacity as a whole.
A few critical questions arise. How can we reconcile different, often conflicting
interests of the metropolis as a whole and of the individual member cities of the
metropolis? Can an urban area be sustainable? Having implemented a numerous
number of public policy and spent enormous amount of budget for mitigating
congestion (Boyce and Kim
1987
), has congestion in urban areas been mitigated?
What went wrong with planning for cities and regions in the past?
17.3
Implications of Unlimited Computing Capabilities
on Spatial Modeling
17.3.1 Large Scale Spatial Models
At the time when Isard proposed integrated spatial models in early 1960s (Isard
1960
), computing capacity was limited for solving even a modest size of spatial
models.
6
The evolution of computer and computing power opened new dimensions
for spatial models and model buildings.
4
http://l-lists.com/en/lists/2mzkgs.html
. Accessed on May 2, 2013.
5
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Greater Los Angeles consists with the Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Riverside Combined Statistical Area, and the entirety of San Bernardino and Riverside
counties.
6
A great number of excellent literatures on large-scale spatial models have been published that
include Wilson (
1974
), Batty (
1976
), Boyce (
1988
), Kim (
1989
), Wegener (
1994
).
