Urbanization in Southeast Asia

1. Urbanization in Southeast Asia Concepts, Processes and Comparisons

2. Nature of Urbanization in Development Process • Development inevitably entails an increase in urbanization- why? • Because by and large impetus for economic growth lies in the cities • Urban populations are capital accumulating whereas rural populations are capital consuming • Search for regularities in urban systems has revealed several important distinctions

3. Urbanization Distinctions Between DCs and LDCs • Urbanization began earlier in the DCs and by 1900 a reduction in mortality occurred as well as a reduction in birth rates • In the LDCs urbanization began later • Urban mortality lower than in rural areas; then declining urban mortality but high birth rates • Stronger surge of in-migration compared to DCs; industrialization lags behind urban growth

4. World Urban Population

5. Patterns of Urbanization • Distinction between DC and LDC is 75 percent versus 40 percent urban • However striking variations exist across the LDCs in proportion of urban population • Sub-Saharan Africa 30%; Latin America & Caribbean 75%; Asia (excl China) 30% • Yet South Africa 50%, North Africa 45% and East Africa 20% • Central America 68% and South America 79% • West Asia 62% and Southeast Asia 38% • Why these variations in levels of urbanization?

6. Urban Pattern in Southeast Asia

8. Levels of Urbanization in Southeast Asia

9. Southeast Asian Cities Growth

10. Some Answers to Varying Rates of Urbanization • Is population size related to level of urbanization? • Some variation in levels of urbanization simply produced by varying levels of industrialization • Most important is the stronger tradition of urbanization in some areas • Especially true of Middle East (the birthplace of cities) and Latin America where Spanish colonialism produced a deeper urban pattern- Philippines • Other areas the weakness of the rural agricultural base and hostile environment means urban places are more dominant

11. Concepts in Urbanization • Urbanization- process which leads to a higher proportion of the total population of an area to live in cities and towns • Urban growth- absolute or simple growth in the number of urban dwellers • Urbanism-characteristic way of life of urban dwellers • Exceptional is not so much the increased proportion of urban growth, but the absolute growth of urban population • Rapid growth of cities in the developing world has produced several distinctive forms and processes

12. Concepts in Urbanization • Rapid urbanization has been accompanied by explosive growth of very large cities • Primate city is used to identify cities that dominate the urban pattern of their respective countries • Such cities are much larger than next largest city and account for much of the political and economic activity as well as services Examples: Bangkok • The growth of such large cities has produced mega-cities which exceed 10 million Examples: Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila

13. Largest Cities in The World

14. Cities Over 5 Million

15. Growth of Cities: Real or False Urbanization • The rapid growth of cities has been fueled by rapid in-migration in addition to natural increase • Natural increase and internal migration each account for 50 percent of urban growth in the LDCs • Must distinguish however between ‘true’ urbanization where there is a concurrent expansion of non-agricultural activities and ‘false’ urbanization where people live in cities but do not really have fulfilling jobs • The latter produces an urban involution whereby city feeds on itself

16. Urban Involution • Rapid urbanization brings chronic un- and underemployment, over crowding and inadequate housing—why not revolutionary movement? • Contention is that the persistence of intensive traditional and often rural originated activities provide a sense of employment • These labor intensive activities such as food vendors and self employed repair occupations provide minimum income • Thus the service or tertiary sector of city swells to accommodate more and more jobless people by involution

17. Economic Structure of the City • Involution is capacity of service sector to absorb more and more labor in a finely expressed division of jobs • Two parts: Firm centeredor formal and bazaar or informal economy • Firm centered consists of impersonal social institutions, specialized occupations for productive ends and is capital intensive • Bazaar economy consists of independent activities of highly competitive traders who relate to one another through complex ad hoc means-very personalized

18. Informal or Bazaar economy • Informal-Bazaar economy is the most absorptive • Consist of carefully managed credit relationships, splitting of risks and sliding prices • Effect is to split trading activities to allow more to enter the system • Process of involution and absorption is characterized by tenacity of basic patterns, internal ornateness and unending virtuosity-special skills

19. Formal versus Informal Sector Activities • Informal- characterized by small scale, easy entry, adapted technology, flexible hours, no set wages and family or local organization • Formal- large scale, more difficult entry requirements, often imported technology, fixed hours of operation, daily/weekly or monthly wage, distant ownership or management

20. Urban Structures • Core areas of cities, known as Central Business Districts, were usually of colonial origin • Once heart of city activity now often peripheral • Subsidiary cores have cropped up and are associated with new residential areas • Port areas-often the initial site-have now declined in importance • Squatter settlements often on the fringe • Industrial areas have high access arteries

21. Typical Southeast Asian City Structure

22. Contemporary Urbanization Process • Desa Kota-- regions of an intense mixture of agricultural and nonagricultural activities that often stretch along corridors between large city cores. Literally in Indonesian desa (village) and kota (city). These regions were previously characterized by dense population settlement engaged in agriculture, generally but not exclusively dominated by wet rice.