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The Asian Megacity Region pp 43–71Cite as

From Megacity to Megacity Region: Is an Asian Paradigm Emerging?

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Abstract

Given the current and projected proliferation of Asian megacities, and their transformational reach into surrounding territories, a common understanding of the evolving ‘megacity region’ (MCR) phenomenon is needed to initiate meaningful conversation on a coherent research and planning agenda for sustainable development. This does not appear to have happened yet. Even in the West, where the concept of city region was born and matured, the discussion has been characterized by a gamut of different interpretations and nuances as per inter and intradisciplinary orientations. Partly as a corollary to this diversity, definitional ambiguities and overlaps on scalar and other variations of the city region have further impeded a common understanding of city-regional dynamics. Following a brief discussion of this and a few related issues, I take a look at the evolving city-regional character of Asia through the respective lenses of a small number of scholars and researchers over the last few decades, taking note of the unique perspectives and research initiatives that have relevance for the Asian MCR.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Following Sayre’s (2005) example, I note that I use the word ‘scalar’ as pertaining to scale.

  2. 2.

    The word ‘some’ in the above statement is emphasized because of my belief that while there are commonalities in certain areas, there are intrinsic differences in other aspects of the forms, functions, and characteristics among ‘[smaller]city regions’ ‘megacity regions’, and ‘megaregions’.

  3. 3.

    There are ample examples in the literature to validate this statement; however, citing them would be a waste of time for the reader. It may be more interesting to mentally add (or change) the prefix(es) while reading some of the narratives to consider their interchangeability. For example, see Harrison and Hoyler’s (2015b, p. 10) apt insertion of [mega] to Allen et al’s (1998, p. 2) description of region.

  4. 4.

    Bibliographic information on the works of McKenzie and Christaller, as cited by Friedmann (1956), are presented in the Reference Section.

  5. 5.

    Some of the definitional and data-related issues of the megacities have been discussed in Chapter 2.

  6. 6.

    In this context, he also noted the “distinctive and seminal research of Paul Wheatley on the origins of cities in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia….” (Ginsburg 1989, p. 21).

  7. 7.

    Pacific Conference on Urban Growth, theme: “A New Urban Debate”, under the auspices of the East-West Center, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and AID, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1967 (Ginsburg 1991, p. xv).

  8. 8.

    Vining defined the core areas as “…the regions containing and surrounding the country’s most important and dominant city (in a few cases, cities), which is generally but not always the capital city…” (Vining 1986, p. 4 as cited in McGee 1991). McGee noted that “these core areas were too narrowly defined spatially to fit neatly with zones of desakota, which may extend over large areas between urban centers. Still, the data presented in Vining’s analysis give an overall picture of the emergence of desakota zones in Asia” (McGee 1991, p. 9).

  9. 9.

    In addition to the tertiary activities, other activities (e.g., related to research and technological innovation) can also be expected to start concentrating in the core.

  10. 10.

    As they noted, there were many reasons for this tendency to cluster, “…including local spillovers and synergistic labour markets. The immense pools of productive labour and innovative industries that come together in modern mega-regions allow them to compete in the global market in a way that is very difficult for smaller places to match” (Florida et al. 2008, p. 460).

  11. 11.

    While not directly connected to my work, I find it important to make note of the authors’ view that the paradox was related to ‘human capital externalities’ that needed to be examined in future megaregional studies. “Developing deeper understanding of the role of these human capital externalities in the formation, growth and function of mega-regions is an important task of future research”, they concluded (Florida et al. 2008, p. 474).

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  1. Department of Environmental Studies, Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA

    Debnath Mookherjee

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Mookherjee, D. (2020). From Megacity to Megacity Region: Is an Asian Paradigm Emerging?. In: The Asian Megacity Region. The Urban Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42649-1_3

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