Naniwa in the eighth century, whereas Edo and Seoul were organically formed
cities, centering on a castle or palace. Shanghai was a traditional local walled
town, called Zhèn.
In the premodern era, the first condition for a megacity—the establishment of
an economic base with global linkages—gradually became evident and was
attained by many large cities with populations exceeding 100,000, which were
governed by local or colonial powers. Even isolated countries such as Japan and
Korea had some relations with foreign countries and with other regions. However, Karachi was only a small town with 250 inhabitants, and Los Angeles was a
settlement with a missionary post at that time and thus neither fulfilled the first
condition for a megacity in the premodern era.
2. The second condition, the rise of secondary industry From 1800, when European
cities began to remove their surrounding city walls or enlarged to encompass
suburbs outside the walls, their populations grew rapidly. New York, London,
and Paris had the highest growth rates for urban populations from 1800 to 1900.
Former colonial states in North and South America became independent states,
and New York (1789), Mexico City (1821), Sao Paulo (1822), and Buenos Aires
(1825) became the capitals of nation states. In 1777, Los Angeles was designed
like a Spanish colonial town, with a grid pattern without surrounding walls.
Many Western cities embraced the majesty of Baroque city layouts when
urban renewal occurred. Moscow, for example, was reconstructed in 1817, after
Napoleon invaded; the outer city walls of Bely Gorod were destroyed, and new
tree-lined boulevards were constructed. Mechanized spinning factories were built
in the surrounding villages in the late 1830s and in the urban area of Moscow in
the 1860s when Russia annexed Central Asia, the main production area for
cotton. London and Paris (which are not included in the 18 megacities of
LandScan 2007) increased their populations rapidly in the first half of the
nineteenth century because, owing to the Industrial Revolution, a population
influx from rural areas occurred, and rural workers became industrial workers
in mechanized factories. As a result, the suburbs of London and Paris expanded
along the main roads. In New York, there was an additional population increase
in the mid-nineteenth century when immigrants from many countries came to
work in the mechanized factories built in the garment district and on the waterfronts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. In New York, the urban grid structure
prevailed as a whole. The discovery of oil fields in the late nineteenth century
resulted in the industrialization of Los Angeles, where grid roads and residential
developments were built on uninhabited land. The population of Los Angeles was
only 102,000 in 1900. In New York and Los Angeles in the North America and
Oceania region, the urban areas were more vast and developed than those of the
cities in the upper Eurasia region: London, Paris, and Moscow. In other words,
the whole grid urban development was applied in the large cities of North
America and Oceania, whereas in upper Eurasia, the development of the key
cities involved urban sprawl or surrounding nodes.
In the colonial cities of South and Southeast Asia, development expanded out
to the suburbs. Jakarta, for example, expanded from its central port of Batavia to
5 Regional Diversity and Sustainability of Megacities in Global Historical. . .
91
cities, centering on a castle or palace. Shanghai was a traditional local walled
town, called Zhèn.
In the premodern era, the first condition for a megacity—the establishment of
an economic base with global linkages—gradually became evident and was
attained by many large cities with populations exceeding 100,000, which were
governed by local or colonial powers. Even isolated countries such as Japan and
Korea had some relations with foreign countries and with other regions. However, Karachi was only a small town with 250 inhabitants, and Los Angeles was a
settlement with a missionary post at that time and thus neither fulfilled the first
condition for a megacity in the premodern era.
2. The second condition, the rise of secondary industry From 1800, when European
cities began to remove their surrounding city walls or enlarged to encompass
suburbs outside the walls, their populations grew rapidly. New York, London,
and Paris had the highest growth rates for urban populations from 1800 to 1900.
Former colonial states in North and South America became independent states,
and New York (1789), Mexico City (1821), Sao Paulo (1822), and Buenos Aires
(1825) became the capitals of nation states. In 1777, Los Angeles was designed
like a Spanish colonial town, with a grid pattern without surrounding walls.
Many Western cities embraced the majesty of Baroque city layouts when
urban renewal occurred. Moscow, for example, was reconstructed in 1817, after
Napoleon invaded; the outer city walls of Bely Gorod were destroyed, and new
tree-lined boulevards were constructed. Mechanized spinning factories were built
in the surrounding villages in the late 1830s and in the urban area of Moscow in
the 1860s when Russia annexed Central Asia, the main production area for
cotton. London and Paris (which are not included in the 18 megacities of
LandScan 2007) increased their populations rapidly in the first half of the
nineteenth century because, owing to the Industrial Revolution, a population
influx from rural areas occurred, and rural workers became industrial workers
in mechanized factories. As a result, the suburbs of London and Paris expanded
along the main roads. In New York, there was an additional population increase
in the mid-nineteenth century when immigrants from many countries came to
work in the mechanized factories built in the garment district and on the waterfronts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. In New York, the urban grid structure
prevailed as a whole. The discovery of oil fields in the late nineteenth century
resulted in the industrialization of Los Angeles, where grid roads and residential
developments were built on uninhabited land. The population of Los Angeles was
only 102,000 in 1900. In New York and Los Angeles in the North America and
Oceania region, the urban areas were more vast and developed than those of the
cities in the upper Eurasia region: London, Paris, and Moscow. In other words,
the whole grid urban development was applied in the large cities of North
America and Oceania, whereas in upper Eurasia, the development of the key
cities involved urban sprawl or surrounding nodes.
In the colonial cities of South and Southeast Asia, development expanded out
to the suburbs. Jakarta, for example, expanded from its central port of Batavia to
5 Regional Diversity and Sustainability of Megacities in Global Historical. . .
91