In praise of megacities in a global world

This paper argues that in the historical evolution of cities, large-scale urbanization is not only a fact, but a necessary outcome of the forces of globalization and competition. The current trend towards large cities and megacities in a complex global urban system, operating and interacting at a local to global multi-layer scale, is inevitable. However, their dynamics is as yet a poorly understood phenomenon that deserves full-scale policy action and research attention in our highly diversified space-economy.