The growing number and size of cities: causes and consequences

The paper examines the population growth process and effects in the Yenagoa capital territory of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta, Nigeria on housing need, demand and supply as well as the demand for residential land for owner-occupier housing production. Owner-occupier housing is the norm for residents in most urban areas of Nigeria, including Yenagoa since government has failed in providing adequate housing for the citizenry. For the purpose of data collection, three sets of the structured questionnaire were administered to households, the housing and land authorities respectively. Questionnaire items sought to examine population and socio-demographic characteristics of the resident population and housing need/demand and supply and the demand for urban land by residents, including accessibility, land acquisition routes, cost and constraints. Twenty out of twenty-six communities within the metropolitan area were surveyed. The study confirmed a strong correlation between increasing households and the demand for separate units of accommodation. About 91% of the resident population desire to own a house but low income, low savings and difficulties in obtaining land to build on and Government’s zoning regulations are constraints. The study suggests a re-evaluation of our urban development strategy.

This paper compares slums (subnormal clusters) with formal city to identify similarities and differences between these populations. The exercise is done for two Brazilian cities: Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, both with over 2 million inhabitants. In Rio de Janeiro 22% of population lives in 763 slums while in Belo Horizonte 13% of population lives in 211 slums spread throughout the city territory. The analysis consists of comparing the formal city with slums regarding individual demographic characteristics of the population such as age structure, composition by race / color as well as characteristics of households like access to basic sanitation, including access to potable water and waste disposal. Using data from the 2010 National Demographic Census, the results indicate that, in fact, there is not a great disparity between slums and rest of the city with regard to the differences in attendance to basic services, being this difference was more pronounced with regard to the age structure of the population and social inequalities understood as differences in income and race/color. Finally, some recommendations are made for public policies aimed at the population living in slums.

We analyze the urban hierarchies of China and the United States. We first review the emergence of Shanghai, and of New York City, as the Super Metropolises in the two countries. The histories of both Shanghai and New York City indicate that the dominance of a city is not solely based on having a large population, but more importantly on performing various key functions. Next, using concepts and theories of human ecology and demography, we analyze data from the 2011 China City Statistical Yearbook and from the 2007 Economic Census of the U.S. to configure quantitatively the urban systems of the two countries. The composite indexes of metropolitan dominance are generated for each of China’s 171 large cities and for each of the 67 large cities in the United States (a large city has a population of 750K or more). We next develop a hierarchical classification of nine categories of metropolitan dominance to delineate quantitatively the hierarchies of China and United States. Further, we analyze the similarities and dissimilarities in the urban systems of the two countries. We conclude that it is the dominance of the city, rather than its population size, that determines its position in the urban hierarchy.

Beside the dominance of large cities in the process of urbanization, there is spatial disparity in terms of their growth, distribution and other characteristics. Therefore the paper compares the class I cities (100000 population and above) located within UA boundaries and those located outside UA’s in terms of their population size, growth and employment growth. The latter part of this paper tries to see the relationship between size and growth of the cities. In addition, the paper also looks at the changes in migration pattern towards large cities.
The paper concludes that Indian urbanization is experiencing concentrated decentralization where growth is concentrated in class I cities particularly within UAs. Within this category, cities located outside UAs are catching up with those located within UAs. There is a Movement from Monocentric to Polycentric urban pattern in largest UAs of the Country. In addition a decline in the growth rates of a number of million plus cities suggests that large cities, particularly the metropolises, have become less welcoming to the prospective migrants or indicates exclusionary urbanization. Its also important to note that most of these new million plus cities have emerged in close proximity to the already existing million plus cities.

Rivaling drought-hit Ethiopia in its proportion of stunting, India holds 45% of children under 5 as victims of persistent malnutrition. The situation has barely improved over two decades and even worsened among urban poor, whose numbers are exploding and already count 95 billion as per 2011 census. Child malnutrition being a multicausal condition, the present study aims at unveiling a wide range of determinants at individual, mother, and household level. By focusing on children under 3, when effects of malnutrition are still reversible, a sample of 691 children was drawn from the latest Family Health Survey of India (NFHS-3, 2005-2006). Ordered logistic regression was run both on stunting and underweight levels. Child nutritional status appears to be highly dependent upon mother nutritional status and her capacity of breastfeeding. Findings also show that child malnutrition among urban poor emerges early (6-12 months) and keeps worsening with age, indicating insufficient medical supervision. The cruel lack of diversity in the child’s diet is not compensated by access to food assistance or vitamin supplementation, which seem to be mainly out of reach of urban poor. Moreover, poor water and sanitation play a significant role, revealing the necessity to fight the multiple causes of child malnutrition in an integrated manner.

The relationships between migration and health are multiple. There is growing evidence, albeit incomplete, that the process of migration and health of individuals and communities are inextricably intertwined in complex ways, with implications for those who move and those who are left behind.It is believed that migrants from rural to urban areas may be particularly vulnerable to developing obesity and diabetes, but little robust information to examine this hypothesis exists. Epidemiologists have traditionally hypothesised the health consequences of migration in terms of exposures experienced in the home country; exposures acquired in the new country; health or disease selection of those who migrate; and, exposures due to the process of migration itself. However, migration as an “exposure” is complex. The usual typologies of migrant – settler, contract worker, student, professional, illegal immigrant and refugee - are likely to be of less value in understanding health consequences than the process of migration. Age at migration and gender are likely to be key factors, but the speed, reasons for migration, together with the social disruption involved, might be expected to influence the health consequences experienced.