There are many challenges to living in megacities, however a combination of technology, ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit and resilience addresses many of them. Students should be able to discuss a range of responses to the many challenges of living in megacities.
Self-help projects
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Microcredit agencies have propagated in the last 2 decades after the success of the Grameen Bank.
Other self help projects involve offering land tenure to slum dwellers. Improvements in education can beneficial. Skills such as retail, marketing and IT can produce significant income improvements. |
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Community self government
Self-government often forms in Slum and squatter communities and can be highly effective and democratic.
Some global examples include Dharavi's Panchayati Raj, Makoko's Area Boys, Cairo's Zabaleen and the The magistrate/law enforcement role of garbage pickers (as seen in “Welcome to Lagos”).
Some global examples include Dharavi's Panchayati Raj, Makoko's Area Boys, Cairo's Zabaleen and the The magistrate/law enforcement role of garbage pickers (as seen in “Welcome to Lagos”).
Cooperation from NGOs
Fair trade advocates, urban planning researchers and environmental groups all play a significant role in trying to develop megacities.
Urban protest
Protests occur frequently in mega cities over the failure to provide basic services, such as housing, sanitation and water. Water is an essential resources and failure to have access to water generates instability quickly.
In China, the threat of protest resulting from poor quality air has worried the authoritarian government sufficiently to generate action.
Unfortunately, slum evictions are common place. People will protest removal from their homes. One such example is seen in Thailand and Mumbai's Dharavi is also at threat of redevelopment. The World Bank has outlined the many positives associated with slum improvement programs rather than slum demolition.
In China, the threat of protest resulting from poor quality air has worried the authoritarian government sufficiently to generate action.
Unfortunately, slum evictions are common place. People will protest removal from their homes. One such example is seen in Thailand and Mumbai's Dharavi is also at threat of redevelopment. The World Bank has outlined the many positives associated with slum improvement programs rather than slum demolition.
Operations of informal economies
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Informal economic activity is not necessarily illegal, however, it does not provide cities with tax revenues and its unregulated nature can create environmental pollution, human rights issues and very poor working conditions.
Micro scale retail is common place in much of the developing world. Street hawkers sell a wide variety of goods and services in all developing world megacities. Squatting and informal infrastructure (especially power and water) provision are also more common in the developing world. Traffic in megacities may actually be worsened by the various informal transport options offered. Auto Rickshaws in India, Tuk Tuks in Thailand and "Collectivo" taxi in Latin America produce smog through their constant oversupply and poorly tuned, two stroke engines. |
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