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"China's urbanization is a marvel. The population of its cities has quintupled over the past 40 years, reaching 813m. By 2030 roughly one in five of the world’s city-dwellers will be Chinese. But this mushrooming is not without its flaws. Restraining pell-mell urbanization may sound like a good thing, but it worries the government’s economists, since bigger cities are associated with higher productivity and faster economic growth. Hence a new plan to remake the country’s map.
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Walking around towns and taking photos of their places of interest you may not see the whole picture: the view from the ground doesn't permit you to fully Via Andy Dorn
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Beijing is building the Xiongan New Area economic zone, planned to cover an area twice the size of New York City, in a nearby district that's mostly farmland and villages. How does it intend to Via Andy Dorn
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Walk on the streets and you´ll be exposed to its informal economy: people who do what they can to eke out a living including washing windshields, selling food, or even singing, dancing, and performing acrobatics for a tip. Via Courtney Barrowman, Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Corey Rogers's curator insight,
December 14, 2018 5:58 PM
Most of the time when you think of Mexico you hear poor and unsuccessful cities and countries. But that is not entirely true because Mexico City is a very successful Primate City and is one of the wealthiest places to be. People need to be more mindful and do more research before making assumptions.
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"Asia's rapid urbanisation is changing the very shape and nature of what we think of as a city. It's not just the rapid increase in their numbers or their sheer size that makes these megacities fascinating. They look, feel and behave differently, too."
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Photographer Vincent Laforet spent the early stages of 2015 photographing the likes of New York, Las Vegas, London, Sydney and Barcelona from a helicopter. Tags: urban, megacities, unit 7 cities, images.
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Picture this: Tourists visiting one of your city's most prominent attractions are unable to see it because of smog, haze and a bevy of other airborne pollutants. What's the solution? Via Courtney Barrowman
Jared Medeiros's curator insight,
April 22, 2015 7:17 PM
Major cities in the world should take a deeper look into controlling pollution problems in their cities. At some point, these places will no longer attract people to live in these areas, thus lowering the impact that these industries may have. But as long as people are still living here by the millions and there is tourism, and buisness is booming, nothing will be done about the issue. 
Courtney Barrowman's curator insight,
May 27, 2015 12:08 PM
Summer reading KQ4: pollution, smog, megacity, sustainability 
Mark Hathaway's curator insight,
November 25, 2015 6:22 AM
Pollution is a huge issue facing both Hong Kong, and the rest of China in general. So far the government has done little to actually combat the problem. The Chinese governments response has been to pretend that the problem does not really exist. A fake skyline can just erase the problem. In reality dealing with the pollution issue would actually help the Chinese economy. When people seek to go on a vacation, they are seeking a destination that is clean and safe. Who wants to visit a place were, you have to ware a mask to prevent the breathing in of armful chemicals. A cleaner less polluted china would lead to an expanded tourism industry.
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Several hundred million more people are expected to move to cities in East Asia over the next 20 years as economies shift from agriculture to manufacturing and services, according to a World Bank report Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
BrianCaldwell7's curator insight,
April 5, 2016 8:13 AM
Cities in this region have experienced spectacular growth; they are at the heart of China's manufacturing and exporting boom. For example, Shenzen was a small city with about 10,000 residents in 1980 but is now a megacity with over 10 million people. China's SEZs (Special Economic Zones). Cities that were once separate entities have coalesced into a large conurbation and if they are counted as one, it's now the largest metropolitan area. Cities like London and New York become global cities over hundreds of years--this happened in one generation. Click here for 5 infographics showing East Asia's massive urban growth. Tags: APHG, urban, industry, manufacturing, economic, unit 7 cities, megacities, China, East Asia.
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"By 2025, the developing world, as we understand it now, will be home to 29 megacities. We explore the latest UN estimates and forecasts on the growth of these 'cities on steroids', and take a look at the challenges and opportunities megacities present for the tens of millions living in Lagos, Mexico City and Dhaka."
Katelyn Sesny's curator insight,
October 31, 2014 11:48 AM
This article asks and answered the question of how and when we will reach a time and place where we live will be limited (as we weigh down the world)? -UNIT 1
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There are only 650 major intersections here—but somehow only 60 traffic lights. Via Mr. David Burton
Sarah Cannon's curator insight,
December 14, 2015 9:50 AM
Its amazing how much traffic can affect air pollution, especially in such a small place. Dhaka is heavily populated, traffic in this small but heavily populated community is very stressful, even to look at in the photo provided above. I can't imagine living in such a heavily populated area. I guess you can compare it to downtown New York City. However the pollution is more intense in Dhaka than it is in NYC. 
Matt Ramsdell's curator insight,
December 14, 2015 3:35 PM
This is a prime example of a megacity and the population that it cohabits the city. The huge populaiton that is se densley populated in such a small area creates for a large traffic and pedestrian issues. After watching the video you would think that there would be more accidents but living in a city like this you would get use to the population ways and learn the ways of life. 
Alex Vielman's curator insight,
December 15, 2015 12:28 AM
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, suffers from overpopulation. As funny and nerve-wrecking this video was, it shows an instability on how important technology is in order for safety. In the video we can see cars just passing by fast and furociuosly within centimeters of crashing in the car in front of it. There is no one guiding traffic and nonetheless, any stop and traffic lights on the streets. It is a free for all in the middle of the capital when it comes to driving and this is a lack of safety for the people in Bangladesh. It is almost impossible for people to cross the road without a high risk of getting driven over. We can also see how there are so many cars in the are was well. The region is very overpopulated and to think how worse it would be if everyone in the area owned a car.
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Over the years, ISS astronauts have had a rare opportunity to witness climate change on Earth from space. Via Sally Egan
Sally Egan's curator insight,
March 30, 2014 7:29 PM
A great illustation of the changes to the environment as a result of increasing technology and population. Plays for 1minute 30.
Sally Egan's curator insight,
March 30, 2014 7:34 PM
A short but fascinating illustration of the rapid changes to areas of teh Earth, observed by astronauts since 2000. Plays for 1 minute 30. |
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Mr Mac's curator insight,
July 24, 2017 9:30 AM
Unit 2 - Migration, Changing Populations; Unit 7 - Megacities
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"The world’s cities are booming and their growth is changing the face of the planet. Around 77 million people are moving from rural to urban areas each year. The latest UN World Cities Report has found that the number of “megacities” – those with more than 10 million people – has more than doubled over the past two decades, from 14 in 1995 to 29 in 2016. And whereas the developed world was once the home of the biggest cities, this map shows that it is now the developing world taking the lead."
Tags: urban, megacities, regions.
Carson Dean Williamson's curator insight,
May 11, 2017 10:43 AM
This relates to our chapter by showing some facts on mega cities. Mega cities are metropolitan areas that have a high population. These cities are the definition of urban development around the world. There is currently 29 mega cities (since 2016) around the world. This article showed the growth of mega cities and urban development of the city.
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If you could go back in time to the 1980s, you would find a city that is drastically different than today’s Shanghai. Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Kelsey McIntosh's curator insight,
May 3, 2018 10:12 PM
Shanghai os growing at an incredibly rapid rate. As more and more people begin to inhabit the city, the neighboring towns have morphed into one large city. However, the city's amazing population increase has taken a toll on its ecosystem. With the rapid growth, Shanghai's temperature has increased dramatically. Similarly, the wild and plant life has declined in the region as well.
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"A host of environmental factors are threatening to push a crowded capital toward a breaking point."
Danielle Yen's curator insight,
March 3, 2017 8:45 AM
Urban ecology, environmental justice, gendered inequities, primate city politics, the struggle of growing megacities…it’s all here in this fantastic piece of investigative reporting. The article highlights the ecological problems that Mexico City faces (high-altitude exacerbates air pollution, interior drainage worsens water pollution, limited aquifers that are overworked lead to subsidence, importing water outside of the basin requires enormous amounts of energy, etc.). just because the article doesn't use the word 'geography' doesn't mean that it isn't incredibly geographic. All of these problems are at the heart of human-environmental nexus of 21st century urbanization.
Tags: urban, megacities, water, environment, Mexico. 
Zavier Lineberger's curator insight,
February 8, 2018 1:04 PM
(Mexico/Central America) Mexico city seems to be built in the worst way possible. The original Aztec architects could not imagine the locational problems the city faces today. Originally built on an island, Spanish conquerors drained the lakes and created an inland, mountainous position that causes the city to sink inches every year. Ironically, the city is now forced to use underground water sources or expensively import drinking water and poor locals can rarely count on tap water. The uneven clay and volcanic soil foundation and climate change further drives subsidence of this unplanned metropolis. Climate change will also create a series of floods and droughts and the inefficient sewage and water system will lead to devastation.
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"For generations we vultures, armed with our senses, have fought in silence. We’ve waged a battle against garbage, but now we’re losing that battle. We want to help humans, so we’ve launched a movement to help you detect piles of garbage so that you can take action to eliminate them. Join us in this fight. Vultures Warn, you take action!" Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Kelvis Hernandez's curator insight,
September 29, 2018 11:00 PM
An ingenious idea to clean up the environment. This group is based out of Lima, Peru uses the vultures in the city to find the piles of garbage and refuse left by people and set up events to clean up the area. It is an amazing way to utilize nature to help us solve the problems we caused ourselves. They utilize the vultures by putting GPS devices and GoPro cameras on them and wait until they locate large trash piles. The video itself is so well-made and interesting that it almost forces you to learn more by checking out their website and their social media pages. The phrase they use is "Gallinazo Avisa, Tu Actuas" translates to vultures warn, you act. 1
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In an edited extract from his new book, Danny Dorling, professor of human geography at the University of Sheffield, argues that the idea of the population bomb is a fallacy and that the human population is checking its rise without the need for a grand plan
Jose Soto's curator insight,
August 5, 2015 9:39 PM
This essay is written by a critic of Thomas Malthus and could serve as a bridge to discuss issues in a population unit and an urban unit. In a nutshell, Dorling feels that that Malthusian-like fears and assumptions about the proliferation of slums are unfounded; this is a good reading that can spark some conversation in a college seminar.
Tags: declining populations, population, demographic transition model, urban, megacities, squatter. 
geographynerd's curator insight,
August 9, 2015 2:26 AM
This essay is written by a critic of Thomas Malthus and could serve as a bridge to discuss issues in a population unit and an urban unit. In a nutshell, Dorling feels that that Malthusian-like fears and assumptions about the proliferation of slums are unfounded; this is a good reading that can spark some conversation in a college seminar.
Tags: declining populations, population, demographic transition model, urban, megacities, squatter.
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The rapid increase in the number of cities home to more than 10 million people will bring huge challenges … and opportunities...
Via Rachael Long, Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Al Picozzi's curator insight,
September 9, 2013 12:06 PM
More and more people are moving to the cities than ever before. As a result I believe there are more megacities on the way. However I think there is a limit to these cities. How are they going to be powered? How are the people going to be fed? Where will they work? how will these cities impact the environment? Where is all the fresh water going to come from? 
Kenny Dominguez's curator insight,
December 12, 2013 12:26 AM
It is a good thing that there is more megacities being created because you can see more people move in which will help the city function better economics wise. When it comes down to the population that is a different story because there is more people to worry and deal with. The increase of people could go both ways because it can be good but at the same time it can go bad because people will start arguing in which it can get physical which means city ratings going down.
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"Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city's population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations." Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Built 4 Betterness Ed van den Berg's curator insight,
December 14, 2014 3:17 PM
Not surprisingly the DNA of cities is a follow-up of human DNA and understanding this will explain and predict how the body of a city will develop! 
SRA's curator insight,
April 16, 2015 2:10 AM
The idea that cities are just organisms that are satisfying the laws of biology is interesting. Especially because Physicist Geoffrey West brings the idea of Scalability which by definition is, the ability of a system, network, or process to handle a growing amount of work in a capable manner or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth. What’s mind blowing to me is that the system that is referred to here is human interaction. We create these cities through our interaction and experience. With a growth rate of 1,000,000 people every year the math adds up to an agreeable 15% rise in income levels, patents, and super creative people every year which is undoubted a win for civilization and society. But with that we must keep in mind also this means a 15% increase in things like deadly disease, crime, poverty, and ecological issues leading to further degradation of our planet. This unbounded growth means the system is destined to collapse. The math behind cities doesn't lie if we don’t prepare cities have a fate to die like every other organism in Biology. So it is up to us to create and innovate to sustain this growth and avoid the collapse. But we must do so at a forever increasing pace. Which subsequently is also part of another system predetermined to collapse. What I mean is what happens when we cannot innovate fast enough to sustain this growth? - Caleb Beckett
BrianCaldwell7's curator insight,
April 5, 2016 8:14 AM
While corporations rise and fall, it is quite rare for a city to entirely fail as an economic system. Huge cities have some negative consequences, but the networks that operate in the city function more efficiently on economies of scale in a way that offsets the negatives. Increasing a city's population will continue to improve the economies of scale (larger cities have higher wages per capita, more creative employment per capita, etc.). However, this growth requires major technological innovations to sustain long-term growth.
Tags: urban, planning, megacities, industry, economic, scale, TED, video.
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Scientists have issued a new warning to the world’s coastal megacities that the threat from subsiding land is a more immediate problem than rising sea levels caused by global warming. A new paper from the Deltares Research Institute in the Netherlands published in April identified regions of the globe where the ground level is falling 10 times faster than water levels are rising - with human activity often to blame. In Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest city, the population has grown from around half a million in the 1930s to just under 10 million today, with heavily populated areas dropping by as much as six and a half feet as groundwater is pumped up from the Earth to drink. The same practice led to Tokyo’s ground level falling by two meters before new restrictions were introduced, and in Venice, this sort of extraction has only compounded the effects of natural subsidence caused by long-term geological processes. Tags: coastal, climate change, urban, megacities, water, environment, urban ecology.
Matt Evan Dobbie's curator insight,
August 2, 2014 6:55 PM
Huge problem when combined with sea level rise 
's curator insight, November 28, 2016 12:43 PM
Could subsistence in megacities becoming a bigger threat than sea level rise? The population rise caused an increase in groundwater extraction practices which made the ground sink over six feet in Indonesia's largest city. The solution is to stop pumping groundwater and seek alternative forms of obtaining drinking water. Effects of land subsistence combined with rising sea levels can leave many coastal cities into project Atlantis.
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Cities in lower-income countries are rapidly catching up with the world's top business capitals, according to a new report. Via Mr. David Burton
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"For the first time in human history, more of the world’s 6.8 billion people live in cities than in rural areas. That is an incredible demographic and geographic shift since 1950 when only 30 percent of the world’s 2.5 billion inhabitants lived in urban environments. The world’s largest cities, particularly in developing countries, are growing at phenomenal rates. As a growing landless class is attracted by urban opportunities, meager as they might be, these cities’ populations are ballooning to incredible numbers. A May 2010 Christian Science Monitor article on “megacities” predicted that by 2050, almost 70 percent of the world’s estimated 10 billion people—more than the number of people living today—will reside in urban areas. The social, economic and environmental problems associated with a predominantly urbanized population are considerably different from those of the mostly rural world population of the past."
Colleen Blankenship's curator insight,
September 5, 2018 10:04 AM
What observations can you make about where the largest cities are? What will be the impact be of these areas in terms of resources such as housing, power, food, etc.? Where will you choose to live? |
