Written specifically as a teaching text and authored by a team of leading academics in the field, this is the first book to bring together the key issues of rapid urbanisation with approaches to planning and housing. Outlining and explaining core concepts from ‘informal settlements’ to ‘sustainability’, it focuses on the rapid urbanization of developing countries with case studies from Latin America, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of rapid urbanization and associated globalization on land-use and housing is described and analyzed with reference to the particular issues of poverty, health and the environment of these areas. Providing an accessible introduction to the key issues as well as enhancing current theoretical debates and exploring practical applications, this book is an essential resource for students and researchers in this area.

Informal settlements are a shameful feature of poverty and inherited inequalities in South Africa. Defined in this book as 'settlements of the urban poor developed through the unauthorised occupation of land', they are regarded by many as unhealthy and overcrowded blights on the urban landscape 'squatter camps' in common parlance. Yet census data tell us that 16.4% of households across the country live in informal settlements, mostly in urban areas where an insecure foothold on the land enables these households to access the economic opportunities, social and economic networks and basic amenities that are essential to their survival.

This open access book discusses booming housing markets in cities around the globe, and the resulting challenges for policymakers and central banks. Cities are booming everywhere, leading to a growing demand for urban housing. In many cities this demand is out-pacing supply, which causes house prices to soar and increases the pressure on rental markets. These developments are posing major challenges for policymakers, central banks and other authorities responsible for ensuring financial stability, and economic well-being in general.This volume collects views from high-level policymakers and researchers, providing essential insights into these challenges, their impact on society, the economy and financial stability, and possible policy responses. The respective chapters address issues such as the popularity of cities, the question of a credit-fueled housing bubble, the role of housing supply frictions and potential policy solutions. Given its scope, the book offers a revealing read and valuable guide for everyone involved in practical policymaking for housing markets, mortgage credit and financial stability.

Examines the trends, challenges, issues, and strategies developing countries evaluate when facing a population upsurge and expeditious development of urban environments. The volume explores the use of different governance techniques, trending patterns in urbanization and population growth, as well as tools and the appropriate allocation of resources used to address these issues.

As the global population continues to increase, it has become necessary to find ways to handle this increase through various policy tools that address population growth and urbanization problems. The urbanization process has both potential issues and opportunities that need to be exploited to move societies forward. Megacities and Rapid Urbanization: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines trends, challenges, issues, and strategies related to population growth and rapid urbanization and its impact on urban environments. The book also explores the use of different governance approaches in addressing challenges and different tools and systems of appropriate allocation to address issues. This publication is an ideal reference source for academicians, students, practitioners, professionals, managers, urban planners, and government officials.

This is an insightful study of spatial planning and housing strategy in London, focusing on the period 2000-2008 and the Mayoralty of Ken Livingstone. Duncan Bowie presents a detailed analysis of the development of Livingstone’s policies and their consequences. Examining the theory and practice of spatial planning at a metropolitan level, Bowie examines the relationships between: planning, the residential development market and affordable housing environmental, economic and equity objectives national, regional and local planning agencies and their policies. It places Livingstone’s Mayoralty within its historical context and looks forward to the different challenges faced by Livingstone’s successors in a radically changed political and economic climate. Clear and engaging, this critical analysis provides a valuable resource for academics and their students as well as planning, housing and development professionals. It is essential reading for anyone interested in politics and social change in a leading ‘world city’ and provides a base for parallel studies of other major metropolitan regions.

In recent decades, Chinese cities have experienced profound social, economic and spatial transformations. In particular, Chinese cities have witnessed the largest housing boom in history and unprecedented housing privatization. China now is a country of homeowners, with more than 70 per cent of urban residents owning homes, higher than many developed countries. This book shows how China’s spectacular housing success is not shared by all social groups, with rapidly rising housing inequality, and residential segregation increasingly prevalent in previously homogeneous Chinese cities. It focuses on the two extremes of the residential landscape, and reveals the stark contrast between low-income households who live in shacks in so-called ‘urban villages’ and the nouveaux riches who live in exclusive gated villa communities. Over four parts, the contributors look at the degree to which inequality affects Chinese cities, and the extent of residential differentiation; housing for the urban poor, and in particular, housing for migrants from rural China; housing for the rapidly expanding Chinese middle class and the new rich; and finally, governance in residential neighbourhoods. Housing Inequality in Chinese Cities presents theoretically informed and empirically grounded research into the polarized residential landscape in Chinese cities, and as such will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese studies, urban geography, urban sociology, and urban studies.