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Essay What are the factors behind the rise of megacities

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What are the factors behind the rise of Mega Cities, and to what extent are these urban areas sustainable?
Megacities, defined by population, have at least 10 million inhabitants. In recent years, megacities in the developing world have grown rapidly with little or no planning. As a result, they face cries of infrastructure, poverty and unemployment. The driving force for the rise of megacities is mass urbanisation between rural – urban areas, as well as rates of natural increase that are higher in urban than rural areas. An example of a megacity is Mexico City, population estimates range between 16-30 million depending on where the boundaries are drawn. Either way, Mexico City is now considered the world’s 3rd largest city and still …show more content…

Many projects have been created to make sure that the mega cities remain sustainable. For example in Dhaka, the Bangladesh Environmental Network works on reducing the high levels of arsenic in Bangladesh’s water supply and combats the countries severe flooding problem. Another example of how megacities are environmentally sustainable is the Blue Skies Project in Jakarta, Indonesia. This project is pushing towards a completely natural gas conversion and is working towards the installation of dedicated filling stations, establishing a fleet of natural gas-fuelled passenger busses, supplying conversion kits for gasoline fuelled cars, and creating suitable inspection and maintenance facilities. Economically, megacities thrive. Most of the time mega cities are also world cities, which mean they are resource and learning centres. This strongly suggests that business and global trade is strong between other countries (that they have high levels of synergy). Regarding how socially sustainable megacities are, lots is being done to make sure that they are socially sustainable. For example, in Jakarta there are traffic problems but they are being faced to rid the city of pollution and congestion. The city has launched a ‘three to one’ policy, demanding that every car on major thruways carry at least three passengers when passing through special zones between 4:30pm to 7:30pm. The city has also undertaken the construction of a nearly 17-mile

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