The future of humanity is decidedly urban. Today nearly half of all people worldwide are living in cities and it's projected this number will increase to 70% by 2050. Compared to a global urban population of 34% in 1960, 14% in 1900, and only 3% in 1800, these statistics suggest the human race is currently on an exponential mass migration to our planet’s cities.
This large scale population movement has resulted in the relatively new phenomenon of the “Megacity," a metropolitan area with a population of 10 or more million people. In 1950, New York City became the world’s first megacity. 65 years later it’s population has doubled to 20,300,000 and there are now two more megacities in North America - Los Angeles and Mexico City.
As of 2015 there are a total of 36 global megacities; 23 are in Asia compared with only 5 in the Western World. This is to be expected as Asia holds the bulk of the global population. The economic potential alone of all these people makes the prediction of the Asian Century, wherein cultural and political dominance shifts west to east, extremely likely. The engines fueling this growth are its megacities.
This topic of global "mega urbanization" is one of my key interests and I've traveled in 17 of the planets's 36 megacities. I want to know, "What are the present and future challenges facing the planet’s super populated urban areas?"
Much of this large scale urbanization is found in the developing world where it's happening at unchecked speed and with little long term planning. The logistics of managing such large populations and areas becomes increasingly difficult for governments, especially those prone to instability and corruption. Other immediate, tangible problems include pollution and sanitation; increased pressure on food, water resources, and infrastructure; social problems such as human trafficking, exploitation, poverty, public health, and basic quality of life concerns. Beyond this are problems likely to result from climate change and likely to be an even bigger existential threat than the problems at hand. The true human and environmental costs of a city of 20 or 30 million have yet to be fully seen.
India is a developing country of 1.25 billion people. It has 6 megacities of its own including the capital, New Delhi, metropolitan population 26.5 million. It faces serious hurdles in its development. As a British colony it was exploited; systematically dismantled and agriculturalized. Post independence its population has quadrupled, its environmental record has been poor, human development low, and until fairly recently, stagnant from decades of adhering to a planned Soviet style economy. Massive regional differences in ethnicity, language, culture, values, and religion make governance and policymaking even more challenging in an already endemically corrupt system. Reforms made in the 1990's have improved environmental policy and spurred numerically impressive economic growth but widespread extreme poverty remains an undeniable fact of life here.
The Indian government defines poverty its own way but the World Bank criteria is any individual living on less than 1.25 USD per day. 33% of the total Indian population is currently living at or below this line and many hundreds of millions more at levels not substantially higher. As the economy has grown and diversified, a broader middle class has emerged however remains relatively small at 150 million out of 1.25 billion people,
Delhi is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and is projected to become one of the largest. It provides an excellent case study for the 21st century megacity as many of the problems of dense urbanization are here in plain sight. With many millions dwelling in slums or living on the street, it offers a window into the realities of extreme poverty. Also, as a capital city, the visible wealth of the political and business elite makes for a striking contrast between those who have nothing and those who want for nothing.
The city is big, dirty, and occasionally threatening. The human condition is on display here in a way unlike any place I've ever been. The initial shock of those first few hours after arriving alone here is something I'll never forget. The overwhelming chaos and filth of its streets; people approaching me so aggressively and shamelessly trying to get money. Lying to my face. My first night in town I lay there, thinking, "What have I done? I can be back in Thailand in four hours." I ended up staying for two months.
"New Delhi", "Old Delhi", to the locals it's all just "Dilli". Here's the old part of the city seen from the rooftops. On the ground below is a tangled network of crumbling 14th century alleys, filthy mud streets, and the true signature of all Indian cities: the endless crush of people, vehicles, and animals. Nothing can really prepare you for it. The air quality in Delhi and in much of the north is a major problem. Unlike neighboring China whose abhorrent air is mostly from industrial coal burning, here much of the urban haze is dust from unpaved roads and smoke from millions of small cooking fires. The only other city I've been in with air this bad was Beijing and there too it's not uncommon to go many days without seeing the sun. This is subconsciously troubling and environmental factors affecting psychology such as this are in my opinion, major quality of life issues.
