ABSTRACT
Urbanization is generally recognized as one of the most significant socioeconomic phenomena of the twentieth century. In regard to the future of urbanization, there is a need to improve projection methods by expanding the factors that should be considered. These improved methods should be able to take into account market forces, institutional factors, and policy interventions. Several countries in Southeast and East Asia have been enormous borrowers, with the amounts involved dwarfing foreign investments in those countries. The increasingly critical area of urban management would benefit from further study of policy institutions and processes. To come to grips with a host of urban management issues, we need to examine political and administrative systems that seem to be working effectively in providing various public and social services and learn how they differ from those that are ineffective. National urbanization policy, to be effective, requires both spatial and intertemporal coordination of economic and social activities by an appropriate government ministry.
