Rapid Urbanization in Developing Asia and Africa

Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of urbanization in Asia and Africa in the late twentieth century. Furthermore, rapid urbanization in the 15 countries that are covered in this book is analyzed using several indices related to population and economics. Many Asian and African countries had long been under Western colonial rule. Most of these countries gained independence after World War II. Following independence, most of them have rapidly developed, and urbanization has progressed. Given the colonial historical background, population and urban functions were dominantly concentrated in primate cities. While the increase in population and industry in the primate cities are considered as symbols of economic growth, rapid urban development resulted in social and environmental problems. To date, these problems have not yet been solved, and are still serious in Asian and African cities. Nevertheless, rapid economic growth has been taking place since the 1980s in Asia, and since 2000 in Africa. While Asia is at a more advanced phase of urban development and its ensuing problems, Africa is following Asia’s tracks. In this chapter, a time series of population and GDP growth data is used to gain important insights of rapid urbanization in Asia and Africa.