Urbanization in South-east Asia and the Far East : a comparative study of the origin, growth, social, economic and physical development of selected metropolitan areas with special references to planning policy

One of the outstanding characteristics of the Twentieth Century is its urbanization, which stems from and is supported by the development of technology and mass production systems in western countries, This urbanization has come to create an unprecedented form of human settlement: the metropolis, and, recently, the megalopolis or conurbation. At present, Asian countries are less urbanized than most western countries, yet Asia has more large cities in terms of absolute population compared with other continents. However, urbanization in Asia is: at the stage of the formation of the metropolis, except in Japan, where already a form of megalopolis has been seen. Urbanization in Asia is progressing with a speed unprecedented in history, but without the technical and industrial background which is necessary to support the huge mass concentration of population, Moreover, this rapid rate of growth is expected to continue at a high level for some time, and the economic gap between western and Asian countries is not getting narrower.