Integrating Macro to Micro level approach in Metropolitan Planning to explain concept of Megalopolis

INTEGRATING MACRO TO MICRO LEVEL APPROACH IN METROPOLITAN AREA PLANNING TO EXPLAIN THE CONCEPT OF MEGALOPOLIS

Submitted by: LIZ MARIA JACOB VAISHALI SHARMA SAGAR SINHA NAVEEN PRASHAR AMIT SHARMA M.C.P. - Semester II

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND REGIONAL PLANNING IIT Kharagpur Kharagpur

Contents List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Changing Metropolitan Morphology ............................................................................................ 4 1.2 New Metropolis ............................................................................................................................ 6

2. Modelling of Megalopolis Formation.................................................................................................. 7 3. Development Mechanism of Megalopolis: ......................................................................................... 7 1)

Spatial Structure Layout: ............................................................................................................. 7

2)

Development and Layout of Economy and Industry .................................................................. 8

3)

Transportation Development ..................................................................................................... 8

4)

Planning and Regulations ............................................................................................................ 8

4. Planning and Managing Spatial Structure and Connectivity............................................................... 9 5. Metropolis Governance Model ......................................................................................................... 10 5.1 Example ....................................................................................................................................... 11 6. Case Studies (Existing and Upcoming) .............................................................................................. 12 6.1 Bosh Wash Corridor .................................................................................................................... 12 6.1.1 Environmental Strategies ..................................................................................................... 12 6.1.2 Economic Strategies ............................................................................................................. 13 6.1.3Transportation Solutions ...................................................................................................... 13 6.2 Western Region Megalopolis, Sri Lanka...................................................................................... 15 6.2.1 Vision.................................................................................................................................... 15 6.2.2 Strategies and Objectives..................................................................................................... 15 6.2.3 Back Falls .............................................................................................................................. 16 6.3 Manila Megalopolis..................................................................................................................... 17 6.3.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 17 6.3.2 Strategies ............................................................................................................................. 18 6.4 The Growth Model in Gujrat ....................................................................................................... 19 7. The Megalopolis Approach ............................................................................................................... 20 7.1Regional Approach ................................................................................................................... 20 7.2 Urban Form ............................................................................................................................. 20 7.3 Regeneration ........................................................................................................................... 20

7.4 Mega-projects ......................................................................................................................... 20 7.5 Sustainability and Resilience ................................................................................................... 20 8. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 21 9. References ........................................................................................................................................ 22

List of Figures Figure 1: Evolving metropolitan form from mono to an interlinked cluster of urban realms ................ 4 Figure 2: New Metropolis ....................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 3: National, city, and ward (institutional) priority areas .............................................................. 9 Figure 4: Growth of the Bosh Wash Corridor ....................................................................................... 12 Figure 5: Connecting Greenways .......................................................................................................... 13 Figure 6: Transport Systems along the Bosh-Wash .............................................................................. 14 Figure 7:Western Region Megalopolis Clusters .................................................................................... 15 Figure 8: Manila Megalopolis Structure................................................................................................ 17 Figure 9: The integration model for Gujrat. Source (Media, 2009) ...................................................... 19

List of Tables Table 1 Metropolis Governance Model ................................................................................................ 10 Table 2 Variety of Approaches .............................................................................................................. 11

Abstract Rapid development of the global economy accelerated the trend of urbanization and metropolitan areas. The development course of the world megalopolises reflects the spectacular evolution of urbanization process. With the rise of the city center and surrounding small towns, megalopolitan regions are formed and display the utilization of natural resources, market mechanisms, and planning visions to shape better living and working environments. In this paper we are discussing about the Changing Metropolitan Morphology, Modelling of Megalopolis Formation, Development Mechanism of Megalopolis Planning and Managing Spatial Structure and Connectivity through case studies which helps to find out the different approaches of integration from macro to micro level planning for the formation of megalopolis.

1. Introduction A chain of towns or cities formed as result of adjacent metropolitan areas is called Mega polis or Megalopolis. It is a clustered network of cities. The term was first used by Patrick Geddes in his 1915 book ‘Cities in Evolution’. The key parameter which distinguishes a Megalopolis from other urban areas is its scale. Geographers Jean Gottmann, James Vance and Jerome Pickard explored the concept of megalopolis and came up with an idea that urban expansiveness does not tear apart regions but results in new type of linkages (Robert Lang, 2009). They termed it as ‘New Metropolis’ due to its changing morphology.

1.1 Changing Metropolitan Morphology The morphology of megalopolis had been changed over years. Due to the advancement in commuting modes, it evolved from traditional mono centric metropolitan area where all activities concentrated towards a central node to an integrated network of metropolitan areas. Megalopolises became multi nodal where one node is not dominant over other; instead they are dependent on each other. Technological innovations in transportation and digital telecommunication played a major role in this transformation. Apart from that economic restructuring, demographic shifts and neo-liberal policies also contributed to this.

Figure 1: Evolving metropolitan form from mono to an interlinked cluster of urban realms Source: (Robert Lang, 2009)

Until mid-20th century, metropolitan form was conceptualized as mono centric where all the activities encircled a prominent core and it was considered as a combined effect of aggregation and segregation

processes. Later, middle decades of 20th century witnessed the emergence of distributed as well as interconnected urban realms, especially in American metropolises where massive construction of highways subsequently resulted in increased mobility came out of egalitarian liberalism. An example showing that how all these pivoting around the central city in Figure 1a and the evolution of dispersed, polycentric spatial structure and the emergence of urban realm in Figure 1b.

According to geographer James E Vance metropolitan areas became decentralized due to enormous growth and become a series of semi-autonomous sub regions which he called as ‘urban realms’ (Jonathandinochen, 2015). He identified different realm on the basis of size, physical features such as mountains, bays and rivers which directs and restricts urban growth and economic activities contained within the area. Realms became more powerful by the virtue of natural growth of the metropolitan areas which further weakened the core-periphery dependency. Jerome Pickard is an urban thinker who portrayed urban region and metropolitan area. Urban region need not be a contiguous ‘super city’ but rather it is a region of high concentration of urban activities and urbanized population. During the past 3 decades, there is a boom in urban growth in which geographer Brian J L Berry identified a new urban development at inter metropolitan peripheries, which we call as ‘midcorridor realms’. Present day megalopolises are fragmented and multimodal with mixed densities and unexpected juxtapositions of form and function which are connected with urban corridors. They are not just extended cities. The example showing polycentric structure of New Metropolis in Figure2.

Figure 2: New Metropolis The Source: (Robert Lang, 2009)

Nodes of new metropolitan form can be classified into 6 based on its scale, size, services provided and activities within it: 

Traditional downtown centres: the hub of the traditional metropolis, now often the setting for the oldest informal services like banking, insurances, government offices etc.



   

Newer business centres: often developing in an old prestigious residential quarter and serving as a setting for newer services such as corporate headquarters, the media, advertising, public relations and designs.

Internal edge cities: resulting from pressure for space in traditional centres and speculative development in nearby obsolescent industrial or transportation sites.

External edge cities: often located on an axis with a major airport, sometimes adjacent to a highspeed train station, always linked to an urban freeway system.

Outermost edge city: contains complexes for back offices and research and development operations. Typically, such centres are located near major transport hubs.

Specialized subcentres: usually for education, entertainment and sporting complexes and exhibition and convention centres.

1.2 New Metropolis The evolved new metropolises are polycentric in which contributing metropolitan areas need not geographically adjacent to each other. It is a cluster of decentralized activities and employment pattern. Prototypical metropolises are bounded together through urban freeways, arterial highways, beltways and interstate highways. Most distinctive character is the pattern of development in outer suburban and exurban areas – edgeless cities. Edgeless cities may fill a region and might even be the dominant forces of commerce in whole urban realms. The changing nature of jobs is feeding this transition. In many fields, workers need not be present in the office for five days per week. Nowadays, employees visit work places infrequently and mostly work at home especially in high technology firms and this character will soon spread to other sectors. This gives people the flexibility to live at far distances from work place, even in a neighbouring metropolitan area. In accordance to the special pattern of megalopolis it can be classified into 4:    

Metroplex: Two or more metropolitan areas that share overlapping suburbs but principal cities do not touch or share boundary.

Corridor Megapolitan: Two or more metropolitan areas with anchor principal cities between 75 – 150 miles apart that form an extended linear urban area.

Galactic Megapolitan: Three or more metropolitan areas with anchor principal cities over 150 miles apart that form an urban web over a board area.

Megaplex: Two megapolitan areas that are proximate and occupy common cultural and physical environments and maintain dense business linkages.

Metropolitan expansion and regional integration on this scale invites a reconsideration of the traditional separation of urban and regional scales in the analysis and theorizing of special organization. This calls for the urge to look beyond locally bounded processes of competition of land, ecological processes of congregation and segregation and broader impulses of post-modernity for an appropriate interpretative framework. A global example of new metropolis is a region comprising of South California, Sun Corridor and Gulf Coast, which is a corridor megalopolis. In Maharashtra, metropolitan areas of Mumbai and Pune together form a large megalopolis, where Mumbai also includes Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Vasai-Virar, Ambernath, Badlapur and Panvel. (Megalopolis, 2016).

2. Modelling of Megalopolis Formation The mechanism of the megalopolis formation is like, building on the model of city formation

by Fujita and Mori. There is a given population of homogeneous workers. Each worker consumes land intensive goods called the agriculture goods (A-good) and a variety of differentiated goods and services called manufactured goods (M-goods). The production of each M-good exhibits increasing returns using labor as a sole input, while the A-good is produced under the constant returns technology using labor and land as inputs. In this context, cities exist due to the spatial agglomeration force which is generated by the consumers desire for variety and scale economies in manufacturing production: a greater variety of M-goods in the city attracts more workers e.g. consumers. To the city which in turn generates a greater demand for M-goods, supporting a greater number of specialized M-firms in the city. Now, suppose transport costs for M-goods are high. Then, since M-firms can serve only their nearby local markets, there will be many small cities densely distributed over space. As the transport costs decrease, however, since M-firms can have a greater economic hinterland, they concentrate into a smaller number of cities, enjoying greater agglomeration economies.

Hence, there will be a smaller number of larger cities distributed more sparsely over space. It follows that given the sufficiently low transport costs, consumers are rather indifferent to location for purchasing M-goods, since they do not mind paying some additional costs for transporting M-goods.

On the other hand, consumers definitely prefer a cheaper A-good, since it is homogeneous. For purchasing the A-good, then, they prefer to reside farther away from the city in the A-hinterland where the A-good is cheaper. M-firms thus start moving to the A-hinterland. They do so, however, keeping some distance from the city; i.e., they avoid the urban shadow of the city where the competition with other M-firms is intense. Here, since the M-industry is subject to agglomeration economies, when M-firms move out of the city, they do not disperse over the A-hinterland, but cluster into the same location. In this way, a new city emerges, and continues to grow until the wage advantage there is exhausted. Thus, the Single-city system evolves into a two-city system in which the old and new cities co-exist with some distance in between. But, the transformation of the spatial system does not stop here. Given the sufficiently low transport costs, in terms of the intensity of competition and market proximity, the advantage and disadvantage of moving away from one city tend to be canceled out by those of moving closer to the other city along the interval between the two cities. Thus, M-firms are rather indifferent to location along this interval. On the other hand, there is a wage advantage in the A-hinterland lying on this interval due to its cheaper A good. Hence, this wage advantage attracts M-firms to the Ahinterland on the interval, leading to the formation of another new city there. Once this third city emerges, however, the A-hinterland between the three cities again becomes attractive for M-firms by the same reason. In this way, the agricultural area between the cities continues to be filled in by new cities until there is no exclusively agricultural area left between the oldest two cities, so that there is no cost advantage for more M-firms to move there. This process finally leads to the formation of megalopolis, where M-firms agglomerate not into discrete cities, but toward an interval megalopolis may form over a national border by a similar mechanism. A megalopolis then forms over the national border by the same mechanism induced by low transport costs. (Mori, 1996)

3. Development Mechanism of Megalopolis: 1) Spatial Structure Layout: The development of internal structures of megalopolis mostly follows a similar process. Spatially, they experienced the process from the initial single centre structure, to a centre surrounded by sub-centres, and then to the integrated multicentre network structure. For example, the Paris city was dominated by a single centre during the early development. With the continuous expansion of the region, the spatial structure of

the city could not afford its rapid economy and population growth. Then, sub-centres were gradually planned for balancing the regional development.

2) Development and Layout of Economy and Industry: Usually core cities of megalopolises have geographic advantages on economy. New York is one of the important ports serving Atlantic coast to trade with European countries; Tokyo is located in the centre of Japan and close to the Gulf of Tonkin; Sydney has the world's largest natural harbour, Port Jackson. The superb locations of these cosmopolitan cities have laid an important foundation for the rise of international trade and serving as international transport hubs. London, New York, Paris and other cities became the major megalopolitan development centres. Owning to the popularization of computers, the development of communications industry and the impact of government regulation, the centre cities and adjacent small towns in the megalopolitan regions restructured the economic and industrial layout which formed a clear circle structure. Service, finance and high-tech industries dominated the inner circle while the heavy industry and agricultural development dominated the external circle. Meanwhile, the Government's encouragement on decentralization guided the institutions with public functions and research & deployment functions moving to the suburbs 3) Transportation Development: The internal transportation development in megalopolises is influenced by both the urban planning strategy on transportation mode choice and the impact from science and technology development in transportation. Before the Industrial Revolution, the cities of Paris, New York and London all experienced a carriagedriven era. With the application of trains, railway lines linked up the cities effectively. Also, affected by the popularity of cars in the United States, many typical metropolitan areas formed their unique car culture and the scope of metropolitan area was heavily dependent on the distance that commuters can reach by car. The intensified connection between the central cities and adjacent towns resulted in many commuters living in the surrounding towns and driving to work in the central cities. Later, as traffic congestion was exacerbated, and instead of relying on any single mode of transportation, rail, bus, car, and subway were provided together to meet the diverse metropolitan transportation demands. The travel range and service improved significantly and the central cities and adjacent towns achieved better communications and collaborations. Tokyo metropolitan rail network is a good example for public transit development. With the advantages of safety, high efficiency, large volume, high density, and less pollution, the rail transportation network constituted the skeleton of Tokyo’s urban transit network.

4) Planning and Regulations: In the beginning period of the formation of megalopolises, there was no in-depth and far vision for the Metropolitan Area's planning and development plan. As the metropolitan areas continued expanding, the policy implementation and coordination became more complicated, especially in the formation process of polynuclear urbanized system. Therefore, how to ensure the administrative efficiency, effective sharing of resources, and encouraging interactive mechanisms between centre cities and adjacent towns became the most important issues. Most of the world megalopolises formed unified regional executive coordination organizations for the purpose of megalopolitan planning. Typically, New York and New Jersey jointly established Port Authority in 1921, responsible for the entire New York metropolitan area. In 1963, London established the Greater London Council (GLC) in charge of the metropolitan development strategic planning for the London Megalopolis.

(Qiao, Xuedong Yan, & Chunfu Shao, 2014)

4. Planning and Managing Spatial Structure and Connectivity Prioritizing national, city, and ward (institutional) priority areas.  





Intercity connectivity  Facilitate formation of well-connected and efficient system of cities Rapid periphery growth  Improve intra-city connectivity  Plan ahead and facilitate new centres City core with relatively locked in spatial structure  Unlock assets and land resources  Enhance public spaces  Implement innovative policies to rejuvenate core Institutions  Facilitate granular planning  Take integrated, coordinated, and dynamic planning approaches  Strengthen urban governance and capacity  Promote participatory planning

Figure 3: National, city, and ward (institutional) priority areas Source (SANTO):

5. Metropolis Governance Model The main institutional approaches applied internationally to address the needs are categorized, described, and exemplified below. They range from:    

Ad-hoc corporation, and joint coordination initiative Metropolitan planning and service delivery authorities Metropolitan/regional government Consolidated local government through amalgamation of jurisdictions Table 1 Metropolis Governance Model

a.

b.

c.

a.

b.

c.

d.

Approaches Characteristics HORIZONTAL COOPERATION AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Case-by-case joint initiatives When joint action puts local governments in a stronger position to: (i) achieve economies of scale (e.g. bulk purchasing, contracting, fire-fighting, road maintenance, tourism promotion); or (ii) to attract firms, events, or tourists.

When significant costs are involved, a cost sharing formula needs to be agreed upon Contracting among Local Governments A local government engaging another local government for the delivery of a service `that they are responsible for.

Committees, Associations, Temporary or permanent bodies for coordination.

Commissions, Working groups, Often character of networks rather than institutions Partnerships, Consultative platforms.

METROPOLITAN / REGIONAL AUTHORITY  “Bottom-up”, voluntary organizations by local governments.  Effectiveness tends to depend on the level of member commitment.

Metropolitan Council of Governments A forum for coordinated efforts by member local governments.

Decisions need endorsement of the respective local Council (to not undermine the accountability of the individual local governments).

Planning Authority A formal entity similar to COG to design regional strategies and/or exercise planning and policy development authority. With broad mandate or narrow focus (such as for a river basin). They may or may not have authority to enforce or implement plans.

Service Delivery Authority A public service agency (utility corporation or cooperative) owned by member local governments.

Responsible for delivery of one or more services.

Planning & Service Delivery Authority Combination of (ii) & (iii), i.e. planning and delivery of one or more services

METROPOLITAN-LEVEL / REGIONAL GOVERNMENT  Centralization of some functions while preserving local identities via first-level local governments.  Access by residents may be affected. a. A Metropolitan-level Local Government

A separate metro level local government, with a directly elected Council or one appointed by the area local governments.

Responsible for coordination and selective functions (may or may not include service delivery).

It may or may not have authority over the other local governments.

b. Regional Government Established by A government established by a provincial or national Higher Level Government1 government for a metro area. Funding would usually be part of the higher tier government budget.

CONSOLIDATED LOCAL GOVERNMENT (through amalgamation) Jurisdiction covering a large portion (or all) of the metropolitan area.

Source: (Roberts, 2016)

5.1 Example Table 2 represents a variety of options for policy level strategies for megalopolis planning regions.

Table 2 Variety of Approaches

Dimensions Function Slope Degree of authority Legal Status Operational Accountability of Council

Option 1 Planning Single sector/functions Advising Public sector agency Non-Profitable Appointed or elected by local government in the area

Option 2 Planning and service delivery Multiple sector/function Managing Public sector corporation Profitable Elected by the resident in the area

Source: (Robert Lang, 2009)

a. b. c. d.

1

Variety of Approaches for a Metropolitan Authority Flexible tax sharing agreements- on share of property tax, road tax, etc.

Metropolitan-level Planning through Non-governmental Organizations Municipal Development Agencies - A separate agency for planning and development has been established for some cities with a mandate focused on land use and master planning.

The Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, Kenya can be considered a variation of this although with no direct authority over the area local governments

6. Case Studies (Existing and Upcoming) 6.1 Bosh Wash Corridor The corridor connected the major cities in North Eastern United States (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C) is a structural region developed due to population growth and economic pressures. Figure 4 shows the growth timeline of the corridor.

The Rail Spine its usage has declined over the ages, but it remains as an element of resilience to congestion and transportation.

The Highway Skeleton

Shifts in Land Use-

led to suburbanisation in the US. Improved connectivity and increased automobile activity.

growth of metropolitan cities, overlapping with adjoining suburbsconflict/tension at the edges

Continuous urban sprawl, longer commutes, lower quality of life, less resilient to change-Socio Economic Restructuring

Planning and Governance the fragmented political landscape was consolidated to attain the vision of a region wide development.

Figure 4: Growth of the Bosh Wash Corridor Source :(Planning, April 2006)

The dynamics of the Northeast is defined by the area’s three zones: the urban core, the surrounding natural areas that provide the mega-region’s water supplies and other natural resources, and the remaining area of the Northeast’s 14 states. The Northeast’s strong and weak market cities, and powerful economies give way to proposed strategies to strengthen the synergies between these cities to enhance the economy. The existing corridor has:      

14 states 5 major metropolitan areas 52 million people 1 8% of U.S. Population 188,380 square miles 62,440 square miles in core area

6.1.1 Environmental Strategies Most residents in the Northeast mega-region live in five major metropolitan areas that lie along its eastern seaboard, strategically positioned near river mouths or major harbors. Life in these places is underpinned by the mega-region’s “eco-structure” of public water supplies, forests, farms, estuaries, and other natural resources. Its largest contiguous natural resource, the Appalachian Highlands system, lies to the north and west of the core developed areas. These open spaces connect to the urban landscape through river corridors running to the coast. Along the coast, a network of estuaries and barrier beaches and islands represent a major asset, both as an environmental and quality of life resource. To support a growing population and economy, the Northeast must become more sustainable both for economic purposes and to provide a high quality of life for our communities.

Five strategies can address this goal:

   



Connect green spaces to urban places; Promote compact development; Tap into opportunities for renewable energy; Identify and protect cultural landscapes; Enable mega-regional cooperation.

Figure 5: Connecting Greenways Source: (Gao Xiao-lu, 2017)

6.1.2 Economic

Strategies

In the late 19th Century, the combination of mass transit, elevators and steel frame building construction technology made possible the emergence of some of the world’s first high-rise cities in places like Lower Manhattan, Boston’s Financial District and Centre City Philadelphia. The Northeast has long been recognized as an engine for of the United States’ economy. At 3.2 trillion dollars, it comprises more than a quarter of the U.S. GDP, making it the third largest economy in the world after the US and Japan. Even more remarkable is that it is a relatively small mega-region, taking 7% of the country’s land area. The result is the highest concentration of wealth and population in the United States, and in the world.

Economic clusters such as pharmaceuticals and financial services have made their homes in and among North Eastern cities and are leaders in the world marketplace. However, the mega-region’s dominance in the global economy is at risk. Because the marketplace is “flattening” due to globalization, all mega-regions must enhance their comparative advantages to remain competitive.    



Sustaining its technological edge, Retaining the world’s most highly skilled workforce, Investing in its infrastructure Stronger and faster physical links Improved urban fabric

6.1.3Transportation Solutions The Interstate System has enabled metropolitan regions to sprawl to a radius of 30 to even 60 miles across and planned 200 to 500 miles across. The Megalopolis’s transportation system is an elaborate network of roads, airports, and rail lines; this interconnected system has grown increasingly

congested, yet does not operate at its full multi-modal potential. One of the greatest competitive

advantages of the Northeast mega-region is existing investment in transportation infrastructure. However, there is a lack of strong connections between strong cities and under-performing cities.

Figure 6: Transport Systems along the Bosh-Wash Source: (Felino Palafox, 2015)

The following strategies are hoped to be followed in the future: 

 



High Speed Rail (HSR) is the most appropriate mode to service the needs of megaregions stretching from 200-500 miles across. An HSR system, much like those in Europe and Japan, could provide quick links between major cities, whereas regional and local systems can remain in place—with major improvements in maintenance and operations.

A tightly-linked transportation network for the mega-region, Due to the large amounts of money involved, investments should be phased in starting with upgrading the existing infrastructure then adding a HSR demonstration line between Philadelphia and New York, Institutional and funding reforms must be enacted: the federal government must come to terms with the fact that public transit will never be a profit-making business, but is a public service. Public/private partnerships must be forged to provide the necessary funds to run a high-quality, reliable system,



There must be improved standards of service with greater rates of on-time arrivals, faster service, and more affordable tickets.

6.2 Western Region Megalopolis, Sri Lanka 6.2.1 Vision Transform the Western Province as the most vibrant and livable cosmopolitan smart city Technologically Advanced IT, Transport, Communication, Power and energy based on environmental sustainability and dynamic economic growth ensuring socio-cultural harmony thereby securing its position as the preferred location for business and industry with access to the highest standards of education, health and recreation.

6.2.2 Strategies and Objectives Cluster based approach for the development of region with special attention on environmental protection while economic growth. Major development zones include Aero City zone, Logistics and Freight zone, Core area, Industrial zone and Tourism zone as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7: Western Region Megalopolis Clusters Source: (Chuanglin Fang, 2017)

The way forward seeks to achieve the following objectives:           

Promote more balanced social and economic development within the region, and increased investment (Local & Foreign) Encourage development generated by urban functions and improve the relationship between the urban and rural areas Create new opportunities for employment Promote more balanced and efficient accessibility Enhance access to information and Reduce environmental damage Enhance and protect natural resources and natural heritage Enhance cultural heritage as a factor for development Develop energy resources while maintaining safety Encourage high-quality, sustainable tourism Limit the impact of natural disasters

The characteristics of the Megalopolis would show such characteristics like:      



High-density and predominantly finance and commerce related development in the core.

Promote coastal belt for tourism, Regional centres in District Level TOD Centres in the periphery of the core area.

Selected specialised cities based on current development pattern & existing infrastructure availability.

Propose high mobility road corridors in east- west direction 6.2.3 Back Falls The vision of turning Sri Lanka into a Knowledge economy, increasing exports by 30%, eradicating poverty and unemployment, and achieving self-sufficiency in food, energy remains fairly narrow.



Pro- Business Labour- Claims to create 61000 jobs in the transport sector and 79000 in the housing sector, but how, for whom, where ...remains unclear.



From labour intensive to knowledge intensive industries1. Shifting and relocating industries as a measure underlines risks which are not handled in the report. One should learn from the experience in Delhi, where many workers dependent on the micro economies are stripped of opportunities.

2. Will lead to rising unemployment in the labour class; contradicting its vision.



“The undeserved community regeneration programs are urgent, specially to release the economic corridors occupied by them.”

1. Almost 50% of the population occupies less than 10% of the land area, who will now be pushed into high rises- failing to recognize the spatial inequality.

2. 60 new high rise buildings of 40 floors and above in the CBD area.- its environmental effects, air pollution, urban heat islands, liveability and sustainability are neither discussed as issues nor modelled to understand their dimensions. 

No attempt to integrate clear goals with planning dimensions



Dominated by rhetoric and broad economic goals.

6.3 Manila Megalopolis Metro Manila’s growth in population and production is spilling into the adjacent regions of Central Luzon and Calabarzon. Infrastructure, growth centre development and integration have never been more necessary. It is strategically located in the fastest growing region in the world, the AsiaPacific. Manila Megalopolis 2021 and Beyond is a plan that puts forward a strategy which considers the region’s locational advantage nationally and globally. Part of the plan is the development of, among others, urban development. This will spur new investment in the region and redevelopment opportunities in the inner cities, creating jobs and economic opportunities – especially for the urban poor. This is shown in Figure8.

Figure 8: Manila Megalopolis Structure Source: (Andersson, 2012)

6.3.1 Background Metro Manila is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the world, and one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. Infrastructure cannot cope with Metro Manila’s population growth and density, which is over 15,680 persons per sq.km. As a growing region the problems it ffaces are the following: 



The emergence of blighted areas and slums, with all the attendant problems of crime, drugs, violence, and environmental degradation, is the natural consequence of an overly dense population.

The land use trend in the metropolis has largely been a response to socioeconomic demands of a growing population and not necessarily according to plan.

 

 

It has the highest migration rate among the world ‘s megacities, thus leading to congestion and inadequate infrastructure The imbalances in the built environment reflect inequality in society. At the city level, there are informal settlements amidst gated subdivisions, with large homes that incur a higher carbon footprint.

Housing is not recognized as much as a problem of affordability, but more of a problem of lack of supply and access to housing.

Major thoroughfares experience congestion particularly during peak hours. Time spent on travel accounts for loss in productive hours that result to lower real income and purchasing power. The physical separation of the place of work and residence results in less time for actual work and the additional aggravation attendant to the inconveniences of long commutes.

The irony is that the Philippines is blessed with abundant natural resources, yet it cannot plan and manage its urban areas and regions with job creation and more equitable income distribution.

6.3.2 Strategies Macro Level  Agro-Politian Approach- Urban corridors and the wedges to be developed as agrotourism, eco-tourism and prime agricultural areas creating higher value of crops and modern farms. Rather than having a parasitic relationship between rural and urban, this is hoped to strengthen agricultural and urban dependence and their interrelationship.  Clustering of cities/growth centres linked by development corridors for more competitiveness.

Micro Level  New Urbanism - Public transportation should connect neighborhoods to each other, the central city, and the surrounding region. A wide spectrum of housing options should enable people of a broad range of incomes, ages and family types to live within a single neighborhood, town or city. This encourages a healthy interaction or bonding among various kinds of people, resulting in a community, which cherishes socio-civic values.

What should be avoided are large developments featuring a single use or serving a single market segment. New Urbanism is concerned with the pieces and the whole in applying its planning principles in both the neighborhood and the entire region.  Vertical Urbanism- development in the form of more compact, walkable neighborhoods, cities and towns is advocated. Such places should have clearly defined centres and edges.

Cities are allowed a more efficient use of land and transit, shorter utility lines, and maximization on the use of water, sewerage, and drainage. Above all, it allows workers to be near their place of work, saving not only travel time, but their money as well. Where there are higher densities of jobs, you should have higher-density housing as well.

Recognizing the interdependence and the need for better connectivity, interregional and intermetropolitan cooperation among the various levels of government – national, regional, provincial, city, municipal should take place. Tri-folding collaboration among the government, the private sector, and civil society should be ensured for more integrated urban, metropolitan, and regional development.

6.4 The Growth Model in Gujrat In 1960 Bombay state was split on linguistic lines into the present Mumbai and Maharashtra.

After the split a lot of development practices followed in both the states which required land. For the said purpose The Gujrat Town Planning and Urban Development Act was established in 1976.

Under the terms of this act was laid out Town Planning Scheme (TPS).

Under the Town Planning Schemes the government acted as a facilitator where they pooled the land parcels. A development plan is prepared for the whole state with visions for developing the state. This development documents marks the framework for the development of the state.

However for the development of the state a micro level approach is followed in the form of TPS.    

Under the TPS the government acts as a facilitator by pooling land parcels and preparing layout plans for them.

This plan is then taken to the public who then pool together the land for the government to develop.

A portion of this land is taken to auction to raise money for the development and the rest is levied on the owner as a development fee.

The land so appreciated in its value is then returned to the owners.

This has a twofold benefit as the government doesn’t directly invests in the development of the land and the owners of the land gets plots of equal value back and in cases with better values when considered in terms of developed real estate properties. The city in return gets more amount of developed land which helps the city to grow.

Here we can see that merging the macro level development planning with the micro level concept of TPS has helped the state to grow. Such integrations are helpful in providing solutions in scenarios such as the state of Gujrat with a growing mass.

Figure 9: The integration model for Gujrat.

Source (Abbott, 2011)

7. The Megalopolis Approach 7.1Regional Approach – Effective planning for megacities can only take place at the regional scale. Megacities are not just cities - they are also regions. This is why the terms ‘urban regions’, ‘regional cities’ and ‘city-regions’ are ever more in common use. Planning for the full extent of megacities’ territorial influence is the only way to maximize benefits and minimize costs – particularly social and environmental. All megacities need metropolitan master plans with explicit, balanced sustainable development goals and a clear spatial strategy. Planning satellite settlements at well-connected locations outside the city proper is an important component of regional urban planning.

7.2 Urban Form - The compact city and polycentric development are the key concepts. They are not in contradiction; rather, they are complementary. They cannot eliminate urban sprawl, but they can ameliorate its excesses. But urban sprawl will demand more attention in future, and a more tolerant and balance consideration in strategic decisions. We should let sprawl do what it can do well and a high degree of self-sufficiency which the distributed technologies now make possible, while placing clear restrictions on its ecological performance. Large cities need many centres; hence intensifying selected, well-connected locations makes sense economically, socially and environmentally. Some of these centres should be outside the city proper, as well-connected, but essentially independent satellite towns and villages.

7.3 Regeneration - Focusing on reshaping the city inside the existing urban area is an option superior to urban sprawl. However, this position will neither will stop urban expansion, nor will reduce the need to plan for self-sufficient satellite towns. Urban planning should identify and mobilize brownfield opportunities and foster capacities for triggering redevelopment projects in existing urban areas, as well as outside of them.

7.4 Mega-projects - Large urban development projects are key tools in driving the overall megacity transformation; they are not just projects in their own right, indifferent to the context. When coordinated across the city and when master planned in harmony and synergy with the local context, they can achieve much more than just a short-term profit for the developer. They can regenerate areas much larger than their actual size; they can help in financing the public infrastructure; and they can act as models which promote progressive design agendas. However, it is possible that the golden era of mega-projects are over and that they need to be replaced by comprehensive strategies that engage with all sectors and scales of change in the city.

7.5 Sustainability and Resilience – Climate change is a serious and growing concern and adaptation may become more urgent than mitigation. We are already noticing that sustainability (mitigation) agenda is being superseded by the resilience (adaptation) agenda as the paramount concern in urban planning. This strengthens the case for polycentric development and a high degree of self-sufficiency in all decisions about urban form and urban infrastructure. At the same time, this shift weakens the argument for higher density, usually perceived as one of the key conditions for urban sustainability. The reason for this dilemma is obvious: compactness and concentration of people and assets in principle mean higher risk and more dependency on centralized provision of vital services. From an economic and commercial point of view, however, the sustainability-resilience shift opens new opportunities for innovation and business in the areas of technology, design and planning of decentralized infrastructure and distributed generation.

8. Conclusion As huge and diversified as India is the concept of megalopolis can be seen in almost every corner of the country towards the west we have Gujrat, towards east Kolkata and Delhi NCR in the north. As proud as it is to be living in such a grand and diversified country, it also has its own issues when it comes to human settlements. With the second largest population in the world with a developing economy it is a complex job for the authorities to maintain solace amongst the rising pace of economy and providing for the needy. The policy makers however have been in pursuit of various tools and techniques to overcome this situation. In the beginning when India got freedom we tried imposing policies towards the people when the authorities used to make decisions for the people.

Over the years however the government has realized that to maintain such a huge economy the approach needs to have a dual ended approach. With this rising population the question of maintaining the masses or rather their settlements came into being. From acquiring land to building homes right towards to building a future for the city various approaches have been accepted over the years. In the more recent policies we can see the government’s efforts in incorporating the micro level planning approaches right alongside a powerful macro level planning framework to create better environments for the people.

Overall, the effectiveness of urban planning largely depends on how well integrated the planning of land use is with the planning of transportation and other vital infrastructure. Coordination between all sectors and aspects of urban and regional planning is crucial, as is collaboration between the public and private sectors. A genuine balance between the economic, social and environmental agendas is crucial. The environmental agenda is growing in importance and complexity. It is showing a tendency to split into two distinct, though overlapping, agendas: Sustainability and Resilience. The whole purpose of cities may need to be reinvented. Until now, cities were the engines of ecological destruction. In the 21st century, they must become the engines of ecological restoration. Megacities have taken from nature more than other cities, so they should give back more. In the not too distant future, cities might become our principal vessels of survival on a damaged planet.

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