Megacities , as they have now come to be known have not developed in the modern day , they have just grown and taken the lead in where the world population is living . In the ancient times of civilization we had the great cities such as Rome, Athens, Kumasi,Alexandria and many others .
I think what makes the importance on the modern day mega cities is when we look at a few issues as I shall tabulate below ;

Where are the modern cities located ,examine where they are in the 3rd world and the developing . Where in the 3rd world they are many a times an eye sore due to the low levels of developements in the developed world they are statures of prosperity .

Why are they growing?
In the modern world in it is because it is the trendy thing to live in Manhattan or beverly hills , in the third world you dont own any land or need a job in Lagos or Dakar.

Does the prosperity they offer now equal or overcome the price we shal pay for the unsustainability they shall present.

Consider the Francis Fukuyama and the theory of sustainaibility and how man shall damage herself as she seeks more prosperity.

Megacities rock and they are good but at what cost ?

Japhet Miano Kariuki

The graying of the society can not be reversed. The trend of more aging is unavoidable. The topic about this phenomenon has never failed to attract attentions of nations. But the result of the discussion is far from satisfaction. At the beginning of the 21st century, the aging is nearly 600 million with the number tripled from 1950. It is predicted that the situation will be markedly intense throughout the world for the number of the aging will be up to 2 billion by 2050.
As the number of the aging is expanding with explosive force, the changing structure of the labor pool is becoming a severe problem all over the world. Since the people born during the baby-boom reach their sixties and younger well-educated workers entering labor market can not compliment those leaving due to declining fertility rate and death rate, therefore, all the nations should prepare themselves for the coming problem from now on. And they also need to unit together as to find a solution to fight against this “Workforce Gap War”. Mutual cooperation among all the countries around the world will dwarf all the difficulties no matter how serious it is. Harmonious, peaceful and health international relationships will be the best weapon towards the difficulties. In my opinion, nations must spare no effort to try to solve the problem from the following three aspects:
.The young: they need to enlarge their knowledge to adapt themselves to the demanding society
.The senior citizen:they should not retire so early for most of the old people of their sixties are as health as the young and they also are demanded to try their best to improve their abilities of dealing with the complicated machinery.
.The mutual study between the senior citizen and the young:The young generation must be modest to learn from the old because of the elder generation’s rich work experience and mature skills;meanwhile,the senior citizens can also learn the new technology from the young workers. The new management theory can be obtained through their communication with the new entrants.
If everyone both in the city and in the rural ,no matter he is the young or the senior citizen,has a good command of skill in a specialized field ,the wolrd will be more liveable and more sustainable.

It’s a future preplanned fact that every city will become bigger and become stronger, looking back to the history of cities we can observe that cities took a long path to get those state which we do observe, so can we stop development of cities, I think NO, and do we need to do it. People want development. About the aspect of disorder I do not think that there will much problem, maybe by the age people will tend to find silent environment. But apocalypse hmm I think we are people make mistakes, but we try to improve them so my opinion is that we can find reasonable solution of it.
Of course we will see those interests, because human being always look back to the past and try to return those days they just reminisce, as an example I take myself, at the moment we have not those places where we used to meet with our friends and eat ice cream, that atmosphere I can not find in new fast food centers. Of course it is just a small, but I think it was and it will be if only a society had a big influence of it and just liked.
Sometimes I just think is it important quantity or quality, every accept has its own good and bad sides, but looking to younger generation we can not say that it will make a big influence on human progress of course it will affect but having a specialized younger generations we can say it is possible not to loose youthful drive.
Certainly only co-operation will tend to the harmony, I believe that this path is very important. Thinking about business fewer expenses always attract people, that is a drive in economy world.

• ‘The thought that a single institution could solve all the problems of humanity, is replaced by the realization that only the co-operation of governments, businesses and NGOs can tackle the challenges of the new world order.’

The notion that a single institution can solve all the problems of humanity is certainly outmoded. As Drucker argues, co-operation between governments, businesses and NGOs is essential, yet so too is an approach backed up by sensible social policy. For example, building parks or community centres in poor community housing areas, while creating a positive community sentiment, does little to alleviate grinding urban poverty. A preferable approach would be to prevent urban ‘ghettos’ from developing in the first place by creating affordable housing in areas throughout the city, not just in the traditionally poor ones. Such a social policy would integrate the ‘haves’ with the ‘have-nots’, and give all citizens the sense of belonging to a larger city community, instead of a specific socio-economic microcosm of the city. In this context, the construction of parks or community centres would serve a far more important purpose.

Well the issue of megacities is really burning, and it has a great impact in the economies of many countries.
Recently in Davos,Switzerland were the World Economic Forum is being held we have heard the Mayor of London talking about increasing levy for car owners who want to drive their cars in central London. By doing that is serves two puporses; economic and environment that is to say it increases city’s revenue and protect the environment by discouraging pollution, because a high levy will mean less polluters.
The question is ”How effient this works?”

Maurice Njowoka,Tanzania

Another important thing to consider for Megacities is to build a soul for the city. Many cities in the world are famous for one or two functions, e.g New York as the world’s financial center and Washington D.C as the political center. It is very interesting to observe that the buildings and infrastructures in those two cities differ from each other. Although both have tall buildings, subways, parks and museums, those in New York give a very intensive fast-paced capitalism impression while those in D.C are more spacy and rigid. Similar observations can also be seen in Beijing and Shanghai in China.

Ji Gu,
what is the soul of Shanghai or Beijing?

The Anglo-saxon common law legal system, being quite corrupt and unaccountable, due mainly to the abused doctrine of judicial independence and the largely privateering nature of the profession, means that its cities, however desirable to live in they may appear to be, will always teem with moral squalor and ugliness. Irrespective of whether one lives in London, New York or Sydney, those enjoying their lives will labour under the yoke of false consciousness and inauthenticity. Noone is more to blame for this sorry state than David Hume, Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, no matter how brilliant and seminal these sceptical utilitarians, because the problem of Anglo-saxon cities is essentially philosophical. Hopefully the emerging megacities of the developing world will manage to leapfrog the meanness of Scottish epistemological and juristic malaise. China is showing some strong signs of distrusting the Scottish ways but it is too soon to tell for India, which also has to roots of corruption implanted in its legal system. Continental Europe’s system is more open and statist, thus its middle-sized city model, exemplified in Cologne but anti-exemplified by Paris’ “grandeur”, offers more hope of providing citizens with opportunities for “authentic” lifestyles. As Dickens described so well, London is a thieving pox that gave unnatural birth to a Sydney Town of convicts after America refused them following their short-lived overthrow of tyrranical governance. Thats why London, Sydney and New York vie to see which megacity will dive to the bottom of the murky financial harbour that is the world of modern Anglo-saxon financial engineering. They compete agressively, like Titans, to subvert the much needed Sarbanes-Oxley Act, introduced to clean up rankly-rotten accounting systems in the wake of the Enron scandal. Again Americal notions of justice were short-lived. Vive Cologne! Vive Conrad Adenauer and Charles DeGaulle, a bit less. Vive the EU foreign policy of the future, an ethical powerhouse.

Majority of cities in the developing world are in crisis from Dar Es Salaam, Lagos to Johannesburg African cities are changing fast, there is steady increase in urban population, unemployment and lack of access to clean water or toilets, population growth is at the center of mega cities social0 economic problems in developing world.
The current population growth that is fueling growth of major mega cities in the developing world is highly unsustainable. People tend to move from rural areas to urban centers in search for jobs, agriculture the main source of employment has lost is potential to sustain high employment levels in the developing world; global climate change has made soil unsuitable for crop production. Life is becoming is hard and tough every day in Africa and some part of Asia and Latin America, living standards are deteriorating in African cities no running water, electricity is hard to get health services are stretched to the limit who do turn too?
Cities can be designed in more sustainable way by coming up with innovative ideas that can solve social-economic problems at the heart of the agenda is job creation for youth dwellers in mega cities, creating environmentally friendly technologies such as wind power and solar power to provide electricity and heating to the most poorest who can not afford to pay for such services will reduce poverty levels in the developing world cities. One way or the other governments in the developing world have to start empowering their citizens to live in better homes, living with out toilets or access to clean water in the 21st century is highly unacceptable to humanity.
kabenga Kaisi (Johannesburg)

Stimulating the creation of a constructive community will reduce social conflict while producing a balance between security and freedom. This type of community will not only bring up harmony but also enhance the population’s sense of belonging needed to generate unity in diversity.
It is the time to recognize that any sector by itself can be responsible for the required social change in our urban life. Only the contribution and leadership of different but joint sectors will provide us the opportunity to achieve a better lifestyle for this generation and the generations to come. The synergies derived from better networks among individuals, groups, businesses, organizations and governments will generate more conscious, participatory and compromised populations needed to ensure peace and inclusive progress in our heterogonous world.

Maria Belen Avellaneda

All who wrote here their opinions are right… But, probably what is important in the 11th WBD is that to find a nice solution for a proper city!!! That is, take ONE big city and try to analyse the situation in it!!!

But if to consider the perfect city, I’d like to see it as one which has developments in terms transportation, technology, etc.; in addition to surviving warm realationship among citizens!!! We’re living, approximately, 60 years… It doesn’t worth living in a “developed” city, but being afraid of even a neighbour!!! It might seem to you that I am approaching this notion full of emotions! However, believe me it’s not impossible! The main catalysts are those who have power and whose words would be exercised!

P.S. Kiev is a nice city, what do you think???

All who wrote here their opinions are right… But, probably what is important in the 11th WBD is that to find a nice solution for a proper city!!! That is, take ONE big city and try to analyse the situation in it!!!

But if to consider the perfect city, I’d like to see it as one which has developments in terms transportation, technology, etc.; in addition to surviving warm realationship among citizens!!! We’re living, approximately, 60 years… It doesn’t worth living in a “developed” city, but being afraid of even a neighbour!!! It might seem to you that I am approaching this notion full of emotions! However, believe me it’s not impossible! The main catalysts are those who have power and whose words would be exercised!

P.S. Kiev is a nice city, what do you think???

Charles Dickens writes about Darwinian cities. Who exemplifies postmodern megacity literature?

There are inumerous problems that megacities must solve in order to provide a liveable and pleasant atmosphere to their citizens. And if there are lots of problems in industrialized countries, this number is even bigger in developing countries. Nowadays, the concentration of population in urban areas has made the difference between rich and poor indescribable. In a city such as Recife, located in the northeast of Brasil, for instance, there is a real civil war going on. While most of the population is poor, few people drive around in armour-clad cars, afraid of the growing rebellion of the poor class. Every day people are murdered over a celular phone, a tennis shoe or a wallet. And the criminals are not worried about the consequences anymore, since there are no policy on the streets. When the citizens of such a megacity wakes up in the morning, they pray to arrive home to their families alive at the end of the day. There are lack of cultural and social life, since everyone is afraid to go out. However, even though this critical situation is a fact, the population cannot alow themselves to be prisioners. They must stand out and try their best to change the actual panorama, and for this, the governments, the private sector and the social sector must work together, embracing the idea of solving those inumerous problems and transforming the atmosphere of megacities.

Maria Eduarda Simões (Brasil)

Migration to urban areas from rural territories, and hence the creation of Megacities would inaugurate new opportunities for firms and organizations. Not only will they be able to access structured markets, but they would also be able to target larger chunks of population located in concentrated cities and towns. The distribution systems will get enhanced and would reach greater markets with the same resources. Thus, it would add another dimension to geo-demographic analysis of population for marketing and advertising concerns.
Formation of Megacities has an added dimension with respect to catering to “Bottom of the Pyramid” markets - the unexplored and untapped sector of the market with great potential for growth and profitability. In the process of the creation of megacities by increased migration, the lower-middle class would be moving upwards in the socio-economic hierarchy of their societies; therefore, exhibiting incremental buying potential and purchasing power.
I must say the realm of Marketing would metamorphosize to a different level in the coming years.