CITIESorganizations. These interactions guide policies
affecting local taxation, regulation, implementa-
tion, and public-private partnerships. Some city
neighborhoods have become expendable locations
for rapidly shifting economic activity. Policies to
accommodate to shifting sites of economic activity
influence international and intranational migra-
tion, family life, as well as the use of urban, subur-
ban, and rural space.
Aspects of political-economy perspectives have
been taken into account in more traditional stud-
ies of cities (Frey 1995, pp. 271–336; Kasarda 1995,
pp. 215–268). Walton (1993, pp. 301–320) main-
tains that political-economy perspectives have made
the following contributions to the study of cities:
(1) showing that urbanization and urbanism are
contingent upon the development of social and
economic systems; (2) generating comparative stud-
ies, particularly in developing countries; (3) eluci-
dating the operation of the informal economy in
cities; (4) outlining a political economy of place;
(5) showing how globalization relates to ethnicity
and community; and (6) relating urban political
movements to changes in the global economy.
RETROSPECT AND PROSPECTGlobalization of economic and cultural life is asso-
ciated with new urban trends. While cities in less
developed regions lack resources when compared
with those in more developed regions, cities in
both types of regions are becoming more respon-
sive to changes in worldwide conditions.
During the twenty-first century the majority of
human population is expected to be urban resi-
dents (United Nations 1998). In 1995 approxi-
mately 46 percent (2.6 billion) of the world’s popu-
lation lived in urban areas. By the year 2005,
approximately half of the population is projected
to be urban, compared with fewer than one of
every three persons in 1950. By 2030 approximate-
ly six-tenths (5.1 billion) of the population is pro-
jected to be urban.
Urban areas in less developed areas are pro-
jected to dominate the growth of the less devel-
oped regions and of the world during the twenty-
first century. Reasons are the high population
growth rates and high numerical population growth
of less developed regions, and high rural-urban
migration to cities in these regions. In 1995, only
38 percent of the populations in the less devel-
oped regions were urban dwellers, compared with
75 percent of the populations in the more devel-
oped regions. Urban areas in less developed areas
are expected to account for approximately 90
percent (2.4 billion) of the total of 2.7 billion
persons that the United Nations projects will be
added to the earth’s population from 1995 to 2030
(United Nations 1998). (Cities in more developed
regions are expected to account for only 140
million of the population increase in the same
period.)There will continue to be significant differ-
ences in urbanization between the less developed
regions. About three fourths of Latin-American
population was urban in 1995, roughly the average
level of industrialized regions in Europe, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand, the United States and
Canada. The most extensive future urban growth
will be in Asia and Africa, which are now only
about one-third urban (O’Mera 1999; United Na-
tions 1998).An increasing portion of urban population is
residing in giant urban agglomerations. An urban
agglomeration, according to the United Nations
(1998), is the population within a contiguous terri-
tory inhabited at urban levels without regard to
administered boundaries. In 1995 the fifteen larg-
est ranged in size from 27 million (Tokyo) to 9.9
million (Delhi). Less developed countries are some-
times characterized by primate cities, that is, the
largest city in a country dominates other cities and
are larger than would be expected on the basis of a
‘‘rank-size’’ rule, which indicates that the rank of a
population aggregation times its size equals a con-
stant (Shryock, Siegel, and associates 1976), thus
resulting in an inadequate supporting hierarchy of
smaller cities. Primate cities often appear in small
countries, and in countries with a dual economy,
but are not as apparent in large countries or those
with long urban histories (Berry 1964).Megacities, defined by the United Nations (1998)
as those cities with 10 million or more inhabitants,
are increasing in number and are concentrated in
less developed regions. There were fourteen
megacities in 1995, including ten in less developed
regions. Twenty-six megacities are projected in
2015, including twenty-two in less developed re-
gions, of which sixteen will be in Asia. Megacities
have both assets and liabilities. Brockerhoff and