ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to provide one perspective on the nature and implications of the urban transformation occurring in the region. It explains the dimensions of recent and likely future patterns of urbanisation and urban growth in Asia, making considerable use of the United Nations 1996 revision of their population projections. The chapter provides a consideration of the demographic processes involved in the urban transition and the effect of these processes on the changing characteristics of the people living in Asian cities. The problems associated with defining urban areas and urban populations have long been recognised and differences in criteria adopted by countries have bedevilled attempts at comparing levels and patterns of urbanisation. These problems have been exacerbated in Asia and elsewhere in recent decades by increased blurring of the boundaries between urban and rural areas, which has been a consequence of reductions in the time and cost of travelling.
