ABSTRACT
The main argument of this contribution is that market-steered processes of urbanizing the fringes of major Asian cities are supplanting attempts to pro mote the planned growth of secondary cities and growth centers, in order to achieve what is called a more balanced regional development. Fringe devel opments, moreover, create a new socio-spatial urban order, in which the boundaries of central cities play an important role. Better-off urban citizens live within these boundaries in a relatively well-maintained environment, while the urban poor are increasingly found beyond the city limits, living in a much worse environment.
