The world population is ever increasing in all the continents; this population increase has come with it many challenges. These challenges include increase in insecurity, establishment of informal settlements commonly referred to as slums, environmental pollution, pressure on available resources; social amenities and land, just to mention a few.
This population increase is mostly evident in the world’s largest cities which continue to expand each and every year. When these cities expand due to industrial and commercial need for land, they may come together to form even larger cities for example mega city, these challenges become even more aggressive to tackle.
Slums are sprawling at a rapid rate, dwellings characterized by insufficient housing and poor sanitation, traffic congestion is equally on the rise as the number of people who move from one region of the city to another are greatly increasing, likewise the environmental problems more so air pollution is a challenge. The heavy traffic in these cities produces lots of exhaust fumes; coupled by the industrial fumes, leads to the formation of smog.
Metropolises are formed as a result of the convergence of smaller cities. As the smaller cities gain in population and size, the distance between them decreases and soon they become one large city, a mega city.
м Mega cities can also converge to form even larger cities, ‘megapolis.’ Currently there are twenty one megacities din the world with the Tokyo, Japan leading the list with over 34 million people. The mega city concept has been used in many fictional films, for example, the Mega-City One in the Judge Dredd comic.
Another problem that is facing mega cities is gentrification, socio-cultural changes that arise in an area resulting from the rich people purchasing property in less affluent communities.
