May 2011

Globalization, Urbanization and Environmental Issues in Asian Cities

By Vanja Karanovic

Course: Professor:

Asian Urbanism: Emerging Trends Nihal Perera

1. Introduction
Asia is the largest region in the world with 30% of the land mass and 60% of the population. It is also the most diverse region in social, economic, cultural and environmental aspects. Asian 63 countries are grouped in 5 sub-regions: East and North-East Asia, South-East Asia, South and South-West Asia, North and Central Asia and Pacific. Continent features high, middle and low-income economies as well as wealth of diverse societies and cultures. Environment is also diversified with tropical and water-rich biomes, mountains like Himalayas and gigantic rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganges, Indus, Mekong, Yangtze etc. Urbanization rate was 42.2% in 2010 and was ranked as second least urbanized in the world, after Africa. Now, Asian cities are home to 1.76 billion people. While the world became mostly urban in 2008, Asia is not expected to reach 50% before the year of 2026.Number of megacities whose number is 10 million or more is increasing and half of them (12 out of 21) are in Asia. These urban regions are emerging links between city growth and economic activity. Asia Pacific region urbanized very fast which is also showed in the urban population whose per cent of 31 increased on 42% for 20 years. Urbanization in Asia involves 44 million people added to already big population of the cities. This requires 20,000 new dwellings and 250 kilometers of new roads each day. This phenomenon for sure brought many economic and social benefits but also shortcomings: traffic congestion, pollution, and reduction of the living quality. The biggest social problem is overcrowding, urban poverty with unemployment and lack of housing and services. Cities are considered productive and creative since they are doing their best to integrate in the world s economy. Asian cities used comparative advantages, international specialization and economies of agglomeration. They managed to transform from low productivity agriculture to higher productivity industry and services. Democratic expansion is obvious; adding to that multi cultural environment, creativity is reasonable step forward. Due to all this, Asian cities are moving away from being a world factory to being international financial centers and knowledge economies. Asia globalization and urbanization are inevitable while there are some similarities with global trends. Still Asia has some unique features: 1) Cities are in constant flux and major difference is demographic expansion 2) Urban Asia has high population densities-the highest in the world and 3) Mixed use development which means that residential areas are next to commercial activities, traditional buildings next to skyscrapers etc.

2. Globalization influence
Globalization is the process of reshaping the cities of the developing world. Some of the cities are obvious leaders in articulation a sub region with the rest of the world. Globalization is a share of elements with a western world but in the case of Asia, cities are mix of developed with the elements of the Third World. History of colonialism plays important role of globalization of Asian continent and is composed both, of distinction and homogenization. Distinction depends on the base on which globalization process is built. Differences are in religion, culture, tradition, and race. Three terms are of extreme importance for the understanding of new direction Asian cities is going to: colonial and postcolonial background on which is based partially globalization. Like everywhere, the capital is the main representation of the country and its citizens and with other country citizens. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of multi-ethnic Malaysian nation. Its architecture and urbanization are symbol and flashpoint in this religiously and race diversified city. Global trend is to build ultra modern megalopolises which would change the existing living space. This is called urban violence. Many governments want to show political power like the example of Beijing Olympics which was spectacular. Industrialization impacts the agricultural areas. Religion plays important role in urbanization process According to Douglass, capital city can play three roles: 1) local municipality charged with creating a livable environment for its residents 2) as capital to represent the nation s economic, political and cultural strengths and 3) as a world city that is the locus of transnational capital accumulation. Taking this into account, globalization with local forces is complex issue and endings are not as visible as in non capital cities. Problematic issues are regulation of public spaces, interest conflict driven consumption and heritage space and new migrant spaces- Globalization is pushing the city toward the world city formation but local role of the capital city is usually negotiated trough creation of civil spaces and heritage sites. Capitalism stands on the opposite side of heritage values. Old cities like Beijing, Seoul, Bangkok, Hanoi have long history and very strong cultural stamp. Relationship between culture, politics and economics is determinant factor in the future look of capital city. Some politics preserve cultural heritage, others not due to transnational capitalist needs which tend to destroy traditional buildings and replace them with brand new commercial ones. South East Asian capital cities have big number of elites who holds the monopoly over institutions of modernization. It is a matter of pre-colonial period; cities were seats for monarchy families and needed larger population to save the city from external treats. During colonial times, even larger numbers of elites were based in these capitals. They developed trading system and administration. For instance, Kuala Lumpur growths almost double the rate of Singapore in postwar times in order to become the new national center for the new state of Malaysia. Numerous elites and state organizations
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with good administrations explain why South Asian cities became so powerful in urban terms. Bangkok seems like new industrialized economy within the country. This means large proportion of grey economy, poor and inadequate infrastructure, slums and squatters. These are the problems of rural migration and not sufficient government funds to cover these migration problems. Due to globalization, capitals in South East Asia are among the fastest growing in the world because Bangkok generates 50% of gross national product of whole Thailand while Manila in Philippines generates just the third. All of these factors in South East Asia capitals changed the look of the city. Now there are numerous towers, skyscrapers, shopping malls etc but this makes unbalanced development between rural and urban area. Golden period was in 1970 when governments included reduction of regional imbalances in their national projects. For instance Malaysia initiated policy for regional development and transferred development from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru. But some difficulties raised, all of the countries are in constant race for being the best which automatically pulls the funds from rural to urban areas. Now in globalization era, more than ever, national governments face competing priorities. They are mostly focused on fostering the capitals development but in order to have national security and happiness of its citizens, country must work on programs and develop the other regionns that are left behind in the shadow of globalization. One of the most salient features of urban areas in the region are complex linkages between rural and urban areas and high degree of population mobility. It is expected that Asian rural population will decline over next thirty years while the urban population will almost double. But projections differ trough Asian countries. SouthCentral Asia is the least urbanized with about 30% of people living in urban areas while Eastern Asia is the most urbanized with 41% of people living in urban areas. By 2030, two out of three people in East Asia will live in the cities, 44% in Central Asia and 57% in South East Asia.

3. Urbanization, advantages and disadvantages

The rapid economic growth in Asia s cities in recent years has not been shared equally between all inhabitants. Indeed, there are important inequalities between opulent leafy sections of cities characterized by large housing on spacious allotments occupied by elites and the overcrowded, often unhealthy, ramshackle dwellings of the poor often located in squatter settlements on public land with little or no service provision. While the latter areas are extensive and an area of concern in Asian cities, they can often tell a misleading story to the outside observer of conditions in Asian cities. Nevertheless, within cities there are steep gradients of inequality between the havings and not
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havings in these cities and those differences may be increasing. Mostly, infant mortality levels are generally lower in urban areas than in rural, especially in the largest cities and poverty rates are lower in urban areas, although there are real difficulties in equating costs of living in urban and rural areas in Asian contexts. Nevertheless, there are large populations living below the poverty line. Moreover, family supporting is weaker in the cities than is in rural areas for many groups.

4. Urban Planning and Environmental Issues

The rapidly growing population of Asian cities presents city planners with an array of daunting challenges in provision of appropriate services, utilities and infrastructure. Indeed, the sheer size of multinuclear megacities is especially difficult in this aspect. An Important issue relates to governance. In fact, many of the largest urban areas have administrative and planning boundaries. Hence, integrated planning can be very difficult with a number of jurisdictions having responsibility for different parts of the city and policies often being at odds with one another. City administrators often lack the power and organization to apply an appropriate and equitable taxation and revenue raising system and to fully enforce building codes, environmental controls etc. Many cities in the region hence face environmental problems of substantial magnitude. For instance, Jakarta in Indonesia, air pollution levels in some parts of the city often exceed WHO maximum levels, a situation exacerbated by the universal use of leaded petrol. Availability of uncontaminated fresh water is an issue in many areas. In Jakarta overuse and contamination of aquifers is a large problem and incursion of sea water into those aquifers is making it impossible to draw fresh water from wells over a large part of the city. The spectrum of health problems associated with exposure to emissions, infected water etc. are serious. Congestion has reached massive proportions in several cities, although some have developed modern rapid transit systems. Public transport is the main way people get around in the cities and while there is a diverse range of such transport available, travel times within cities are much greater than in European and North American cities of comparable size. Other utilities such as electricity are difficult to provide on a reliable and economic basis. Sewerage is confined to limited parts of most cities and waste disposal is a massive problem. Some cities have substantial problems in maintenance of law and order and crime is a major issue. Cities are unable to meet the challenge of providing adequate or indeed in some case any housing to the burgeoning urban populations. Squatter settlements have hence developed in railway right of way areas and in other public land areas. So sometimes provision of health, education, policing, aged care and other services are difficult. The city is also dependent upon the sustainability of the rural economy for food, agricultural inputs to industry, natural resources, and energy. Rural and urban linkages are usually one-way flows to the city without renewing rural economic potential or its resources. As cities reach further and further afield for water, the deforestation of rural areas and pollution of
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rural water systems result in the declining ability to provide it. There is now, more than ever urgent a need to return to currently forgotten concerns about rural-urban linkages and how to make this relation more reciprocal and mutually beneficial in the long run.

References:

1. G. Hugo, Urbanization in Asia, 2003. http://time.dufe.edu.cn/wencong/africanmigration/2Hugo.pdf

2. UN HABITAT,The State od Asian Cities 2010/2011

3. M. Cenzatti, L. Findley, A. Kusno, Changing Asia: Perspectives on Difference http://www.capasia.net/reader/JAE_KusnoFindley.pdf

4.K.C.Ho, Globalization and Southeast Asian Capital Cities, Pacific Affairs British Columbia, 2006. http://intranet.ukzn.ac.za/geog/ugrad/level3/hc_sust_cities/readings/1_INTRODUCTION /South%20East%20Asian%20Cities.pdf