Mega Cities : The Metropolis Era

This two-volume work focuses on the social, economic, political and technological determinants of growth and change in the great cities of the world. It describes the consequences of rapid change in such cities as New York City, Los Angeles, Cairo, London, Tokyo, Delhi and Shanghai.

Volume II: MEGA-CITIES Mega-Cities presents an in-depth analysis of ten cities, prepared by noted scholars who have lived and studied in the cities under scrutiny. This volume covers the role giant cities play in their regions, successes and failures of their public policy, and their most pressing political and environmental problems. "Unlike Volume I, Volume II presents a comparative problems-oriented description of urbanization using ten of the largest cities in the world. This is a wonderful compliment to the first volume in which conceptual frameworks of urbanization were utilized in describing the urban dynamics of specific cities. In again selecting studies by leading scholars of cities representative of all the world′s regions, the editors have produced in both volumes a remarkably successful comparative analysis of world urbanization. . . . Without question, the editors have contributed enormously to the literature on comparative world urbanization, an area in which there is still much to do. . . . This volume and its companion are invaluable resources and inspirations to all those who have an interest in the urban dynamics in this rapidly changing world. Cross cultural analysis is no easy accomplishment, but the editors and the authors have done it successfully and the community of urban scholars is indebted to them." --Journal of Developing Societies