Migration and Urban Decay: Asian Experiences

Indian and Asian mega cities face crucial urban crisis and decay, due to massive migration, urban explosion and over-strained urban services. Phenomena, processes, and planning policies needed are main foci of the study. The book has four parts. First part tells a very sad story of massive poverty-induced migration of illiterate labours into four Indian mega cities. Urban decay in Bangkok, Jakarta,Manila, Shanghai, and Seoul are also discussed. Second, underlying spatial-economic political processes behind such migration and urban decay in developing countries are unfolded. Third, Tokyo’s improved metropolitan planning is highlighted as lessons for better urban management. Fourth, planning strategies are suggested to reduce such problems. Many urban, rural and regional development strategies are discussed which call for spatial restructuring for internal domestic market, development of backward regions and small cities, welfare for poor migrants and common people, and humanistic planning. The main objective of the book is to draw attention of social scientists, urban planners, and policy makers to such volatile situation, before migration-urbanization systems reach to catastrophe. It also breaks new grounds in migration-urbanization research and for better urban management for Indian and Asia.