Economic globalization, regional integration and
industrialization, as well as information technology and market
forces, are having a tremendous impact on the development of large
urban centers. In response, mayors and city governments must find
appropriate models for sustainable development.
To that end, more than 120 city mayors or delegates from 43
cities in 25 countries and 16 Chinese mayors from the Yangtze River
Delta are attending the First High-Level Forum on World Megalopolis
Development?in Nantong, Jiangsu
Province. The forum, co-sponsored by the Boao Forum for Asia
and the China Association of Mayors,?opened on Saturday.
The 300-plus participants include former Philippine President
Fidel Ramos; Lee Soo-sung, former prime minister of?the
Republic of?Korea; and Jenny Shipley, former prime minister of
New Zealand.
As economic, political, social, cultural and scientific centers,
cities embody the strengths, including governance ability and
international competitiveness of a country, participants
agreed.
While megalopolises and megacities have diverse models of
development, they are at the same time increasingly interdependent.
The forum presents an opportunity for decision-makers and
representatives to exchange ideas and experiences to work toward
development of and prosperity for all cities.
To that end, on Monday the attendees passed the Nantong
Initiative. They agreed to collaborate for urban improvement, with
priority given to programs that enhance the lives of citizens, such
as comfortable habitation, ample jobs and healthy environment.
Signatories to the declaration agreed that each city's
individuality must be preserved to create a wide basis for exchange
and mutual learning while also preserving the beauty of
diversity.
The development of megacities is a long and complex process,
they agreed, making the existence of a long-term, high-level
exchange platform essential and timely.
"We are convinced that with strong sense of purpose and
responsibility coupled with rich experience, we will be able to
contribute to the common prosperity of all cities and well-being of
the people through this exchange mechanism," according to the
initiative.
The megalopolis was first conceived by French geologist Jean
Gottmann and set out in his 1961 book Megalopolis. It is
usually considered to be a cluster of interconnected metropolitan
areas -- cities and their suburbs -- between which people commute
in the conduct of their daily lives. It should have at least 25
million residents with a population density of 250 people per
square kilometer.
Famous examples of megalopolises include the BosWash
(Boston-Washington) area on the US East Coast; the cities lining
the Great Lakes in North America; the Pacific coastal area of
Japan; the southeastern UK centered on London; the Ruhr region in
Europe; and the Yangtze River Delta cities centered on
Shanghai.
The 16 megacities of the Yangtze River Delta account for only 1
percent of China's total land and 6 percent of its population, but
they generate about 20 percent of its GDP, 22 percent of total
income and 31 percent to the total exports of China, while taking
in 48 percent of total foreign investment.
(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2004)