Name: ……………………………………..

Megacities: a new kind of city

A The term ‘megalopolis’ (or megacity) was first used by French geographer Jean Gottman to
describe the north-eastern United States in 1961. The term is used more widely now and is
defined as an urban area of more than 10 million inhabitants dominated by low-density
housing. In 1995 there were 14 megacities. By 2015 there could be 21.
B Megacities are the result of the process of urbanisation. After cities grew into crowded
urban centres, people who could afford to move into suburbs at the edge of the city. When the
suburbs in turn became crowded, people moved into villages and dormitory towns outside the
city, but within commuting distance. In this way, for the first time since industrialisation, the
countryside began to gain population, whereas cities lost their inhabitants. In the 1980s St
Louis and Detroit in America lost between 35 and 47 per cent of their populations and
London lost 15 per cent in the 20 years to 1971.
C However, this movement away from cities does not mean that the city is dying. In fact it is
spreading. From the old city develops a metropolitan area with many low-level urban
developments. When these metropolitan areas merge together, they form megacities which
contain over 10 million people. The largest of these is in America, called Boswash - a region
over 300 miles long from Boston in the north to Washington DC in the south with more than
44 million people. There are emerging megalopolises in Britain centred around London and
the south-east, in Germany in the industrial region of the Ruhr and in Japan in the Tokyo-
Osaka-Kyoto region.
D Megacities used to be concentrated in the developed regions but today the greater number
are in developing countries - mainly in East and South Asia. Today the five largest cities are
Tokyo. Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York City and Mumbai. In 2015 they will probably be
Tokyo, Dhaka, Mumbai, Sao Paulo and Delhi. At the moment just under 394 million people
live in megacities, 246 million in developing countries. In 2015 there will be about 600
million people living in megacities and by 2030 60 per cent of the world’s people will be
living in megacities.
E Megacities have a number of similar specific problems. Among common problems are high
population concentration, high traffic levels, housing problems and, in some cases, extreme
socio-economic differences. However, large population numbers alone do not create these
problems; city problems are thought to be caused mostly by weak and unrepresentative city
governments.
Questions 1-5
Read the passage and choose the most suitable headings for sections A-E from the list of
headings.
List of headings
i Megacities around the world
ii The formation of megacities
iii What is a megacity?
iv Megacities and the individual
v Problems megacities share
vi Megacities in developing countries
vii Cities lose their people
1. Section A
2. Section B
3. Section C
4. Section D
5. Section E
Questions 6-9
Complete the table. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each point.

Change Result

city centres become crowded (6) people________

suburbs become crowded (7) people________

(8) many low-level urban developments

(9)________ a megacity is formed

Questions 10-14
Read the passage again. Do the statements reflect the claims of the writer?
Write: TRUE if the statement is true according to the passage.
FALSE if the statement is false according to the passage.
NOT GIVEN if the statement is not given in the passage.
10. A megacity is characterised by high-rise apartment blocks.
11. Cities lose their populations when poorer people move into them.
12. Movement away from cities creates metropolitan areas.
13. There will be more megacities in developed countries than in developing countries.
14. Problems in very large cities are mostly due to poor administration.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.