| Abstract: | The image of East and Southeast Asia is of a predominantly rural region, with the exception of Japan. This image no longer reflects reality. Although in 2000 the proportion of the population living in areas officially defined as urban will still be below 40 percent, this understates the degree to which populations throughout the region have, in terms of employment, ease of transport and communications, been brought into a close relationship with urban areas. Not only this, but the region already has eight of the world’s 21 megacities — cities with populations exceeding eight million. Urbanised corridors are emerging in parts of the region, in some cases cutting across national boundaries. Some implications for the future are discussed: the growth of a truly urban proletariat, the influence of megacities on political change, the ending of rural isolation, and regional development and income inequality issues. |
