Urbanization and the Third World: The Global Context

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Urbanization and the Third World The Global
Context
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Outline

• First World and Third World Contexts
• Paradigms for understanding Third World
  Urbanization
• Historical context and stages of colonialism
• Stages of peripheral urbanization

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Urbanization1st and 3rd World Contrasts

• Material poverty
• Poor health/education
• Large numbers of people
• Migration
• Higher population growth rates
• Massive slums
• Rising expectations
• Political instability
• Centralized political structures

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Terminology

• Developed/Developing
• Developed/Underdeveloped
• First/Second/Third/Fourth World
• Asia, Latin America, Africa

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Paradigms of 3rd World Urbanization

• Modernization Theory
• Similar path of economic development
• Rostows Stages of Economic Growth (1959)
• Criticized heavily
• Dependency Theory
• Emphasized hegemony and exploitation
• Development and Underdevelopment part of the same
  process
• Center and peripheries

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Paradigms of 3rd World Urbanization

• Problems with dependency theory
• Pays insufficient attention to internal cultural
  and political forces
• International investment also created wealth
• Couldnt explain/predict newly industrializing
  countries of East Asia

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World Systems Theory

• Shifting hierarchy
• Core, semi-periphery, periphery
• Countries can change relative positions
• Common recognition of need for historical-structur
  al perspective, recognizing inter-connectedness
  of economic and urban development across the globe

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Historical Context

• Colonization from 16th century onwards
• Existing cities (e.g. Incas and Aztecs)
  demolished, replaced by colonial settlements
• Overall impact varied
• By nature of colonized area
• By methods of colonizing power
• By period of colonization

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Stages of colonialism

• Mercantile colonialism (1500)
• Transitional phase (1800)
• Industrial colonization (1850-1900s)
• Rapid demand for raw materials
• State central role
• Urban structure heavily influenced by
• Culture,
• Technology
• Political structure

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Stages of colonialism-2

• Late colonialism (1920s-)
• Economic recession
• Influx of large numbers of blue- and white-collar
  European workers
• Early independence period (1950s-70s)
• Independence spreads through Asia and Africa
• Urban surge, but few economic opportunitiesled
  to migration
• Neo-colonialism

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New International Division of Labor

• Financial investment and exploitation of cheap
  labor
• Some expansion in NICs
• Large cities receive bulk of investment
• Increased class formation

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Peripheral Urbanization

• Disruption of pre-capitalism forms of agriculture
• Surplus extraction by national/international
  bourgeoisierapid growth of national capital and
  ports
• Manufacturing growth further concentrates
  urbanization
• Labor follow manufacturing, further expanding
  production
• State provides infrastructure for urbanization
• Beginnings of deconcentration to other cities

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Take-home messages

• Conditions of urbanization in the Third World are
  different, and more challenging, than anything
  the Western World faced
• External factorsparticularly colonialism and
  continued international economic inequalityare
  critical for understanding conditions of
  peripheral urbanization