ABSTRACT
Introduction Large cities in developing countries are following a spatial development trajectory similar to that in the developed countries. ‘The largest cities are, with a few exceptions, not growing especially quickly (small ones are, and so become large ones), but their inhabitants are spreading out over much larger metropolitan regions (so as population size increases, densities decline). The region absorbs smaller cities and towns’ (Harris, 1992, pp.ix-x). This pattern of development, with the growing importance of large urban regions, is similar to that found in most developed countries. However, its occurrence 50 to 100 years later means that there are important differences, in particular in relation to income structure and to the pace and scale of change. These compound the problems of the urban sprawl of developing world cities.
