Global Cities Becoming Global Mega-Regions

A new report from the United Nations says that world cities are increasingly becoming mega-regions of developed areas, and governing these regions must become a new focus of governments.

1 minute read

March 23, 2010, 10:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


These emerging megaregions pose challenges to governments, according to UN-Habitat's bi-annual State of World Cities report.

"The largest of these, says the report - launched today at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro - is the Hong Kong-Shenhzen-Guangzhou region in China, home to about 120 million people. Other mega-regions have formed in Japan and Brazil and are developing in India, west Africa and elsewhere.

The trend helped the world pass a tipping point in the last year, with more than half the world's people now living in cities.

The UN said that urbanisation is now 'unstoppable'."

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