Abstract
The pace of urbanization in Peninsular Malaysia was slower in the most recent intercensal interval, 1957 to 1970, than in the previous period, 1947 to 1957, Most of the small change in the rural-urban balance from 1957 to 1970 appears due to the growth of towns into the urban classification rather than to a redistribution of population into the previous urban settlements. A number of towns in Peninsular Malaysia do show exceptional growth from 1957 to 1970, but there seems to be no clear relationship between a city’s size and its subsequent growth. The rural areas on the outskirts of the largest cities do show rapid growth, especially the periphery of the capital city. It appears that neither the classic model of urbanization based upon Western experience nor the over-urbanization thesis explain the urbanization process in Peninsular Malaysia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beale, Calvin. 1975. The Revival of Population Growth in Nonmetropolitan America. ERS-605. Washington, D.C.: Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
British Malaya. 1922. The Census of British Malaya, 1921. The Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States and the Protected States of Johore, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Brunei, by J. E. Nathan. London: Waterlow and Sons.
—. 1932. A Report on the 1931 Population Census and on Certain Problems of Vital Statistics, by C. A. Vlieland. London: Crown Agents for the Colonies.
Caldwell, J. C. 1963. Urban Growth in Malaya: Trends and Implications. Population Review 7:39–50.
Cho, L. J., J. Palmore, and L. Saunders. 1968. Recent Fertility Trends in West Malaysia. Demography 5:732–744.
Davis, K. 1962. Urbanization in India: Past and Future. Pp. 3–26 in Roy Turner (ed.), India’s Urban Future. Berkeley: University of California Press.
—. 1965. The Urbanization of the Human Population. Scientific American 213:40–53.
—. 1969. World Urbanization, 1950-1970. Vol. I. Population Monograph Series NO.4. Berkeley: University of California Press.
— 1972. World Urbanization, 1950–1970. Vol. II. Population Monograph Series No.9. Berkeley: University of California Press.
— 1975. Asia’s Cities: Problems and Prospects. Population and Development Review 1:71–86.
Department of Statistics, Federation of Malaya. 1959. 1957 Population Census of the Federation of Malaya: Reports Nos. 2–12 (State Reports). Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1960. 1957 Population Census of the Federation of Malaya: Report No. 14, by H. Fell. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 1971. 1970 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia: Urban Connurbations-Populations and Households in Ten Gazetted Towns and Their Adjoining BuiltUp Areas, by R. Chander. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1972a. 1970 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia: Community Groups, by R. Chander. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1972b. National Accounts of West Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1972c. Consumer Price Index for West Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1973. 1970 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia: Age Distributions, by R. Chander. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
—. 1974. Revised Inter-Censal Population Estimates, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics.
Department of Statistics, Singapore. 1973. Report on the Census of Population, 1970, Singapore. Vol. I, by P. Arumainathan. Singapore: Department of Statistics.
Goldstein, S. 1971. Urbanization in Thailand. Demography 8:205–223.
Hamzah Sendut. 1962. Patterns of Urbanization in Malaya. Journal of Tropical Geography 16:114–130.
—ba]. 1964. Urbanization. In Wang Gunguwu (ed.), Malaysia: A Survey. New York: Frederick A. Praeger.
—. 1965. Some Aspects of Urban Change in Malaya, 1931-1957. Kajian Ekonomi Malaysia 2:87–103.
Hauser, P. 1957. World and Asian Urbanization in Relation to Economic Development and Social Change. Pp. 53–95 in Phillip Hauser (ed.), Urbanization in Asia and The Far East. Calcutta: UNESCO.
Hawley, Amos. 1971. Urban Society. New York: Ronald Press.
Hirschman, C. 1975. Net External Migration from Peninsular Malaysia, 1957-1970. Malayan Economic Review 20 (forthcoming).
Hoselitz, B. F. 1957. Urbanization and Economic Growth in Asia. Economic Development and Cultural Change 6:42–54.
— 1962. The Role of Urbanization in Economic Development: Some International Comparisons. Pp. 157–181 in Roy Turner (ed.), India’s Urban Future. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Jacobson, L., and V. Prakash. 1971. Urbanization and Urban Development: Proposals for an Integrated Policy Base. Pp. 15–38 in Leo Jacobson and V. Prakash (eds.), Urbanization and National Development. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Jones, G. 1975. Implications of Prospective Urbanization for Development Planning in Southeast Asia. In John Kantner and L. McCaffrey (eds.), Population and Development in Southeast Asia. Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath and Company.
Lampard, E. 1955.The History of Cities in the Economically Advanced Areas. Economic Development and Cultural Change 3:81–136.
Lim, David. 1973. Economic Growth and Development in West Malaysia: 1947–1970. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Malaya. 1949. A Report on the 1947 Census of Population, by M. V. Del Tŭfo. London: Crown Agents for the Colonies.
Malaysia. 1971. Second Malaysia Plan, 1971–1975. Kuala Lumpur: Government Printer.
McGee, Terence G. 1967. The Southeast Asia City. London: G. Bell and Sons.
— 1971. The Urbanization Process in the Third World. London: G. Bell and Sons.
Ooi Jin Bee. 1975. Urbanization and the Urban Population in Peninsular Malaysia, 1970. The Journal of Tropical Geography 40:40–47.
Palmore, J. A., and Ariffin bin Marzuki. 1969. Marriage Patterns and Cumulative Fertility in West Malaysia, 1966–67. Demography 6:383–401.
Pryor, R. J. 1973. The Changing Settlement Systems of West Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Geography 37:53–67.
— 1974. Spatial Analysis of Internal Migration. Townsville, Australia: James Cook University.
Sandhu, K. S. 1964. Emergency Resettlement in Malaya. Journal ofTropical Geography 18:157–183.
Saw See Hock. 1972. Patterns of Urbanization in West Malaysia, 1911–1970. Malayan Economic Review 17:114–120.
Schnore, Leo. 1965. The Urban Scene. New York: The Free Press.
Smith, Thomas E. 1952. Population Growth in Malaya. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs.
Sovani, N. V. 1964. The Analysis of “Over-U rbanization.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 12:113–122.
The Treasury, Malaysia. 1974. Economic Report, 1974–75. Kuala Lumpur: Government Printer.
Wellisz, S. 1971. Economic Development and Urbanization. Pp. 39–56 in Leo Jacobson and V. Prakash (eds.), Urbanization and National Development. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Whitney, V. H., and G. Jones. 1973. Population Change and Development in Southern Asia: An Overview. In W. Howard Wriggins and J. F. Guyot (eds.), Population, Politics, and the Future of Southern Asia. New York: Columbia University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hirschman, C. Recent urbanization trends in peninsular malaysia. Demography 13, 445–461 (1976). https://doi.org/10.2307/2060502
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2060502