Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Migration in India
"The New York Times has done an interesting story on migration in India. The story points out that people are migrating from rural to urban areas in increasing numbers looking for work. Migration to cities offers opportunities that are not available to them in villages. Cities offer the only opportunities for a decent job. Many men who migrate to cities earn much more than what they would earn in their village, they are often able to send a sizable portion of their income back to their families in the villages, saving their families from poverty and unpredictability. A result of this migration is that at least 28 percent of the population of the country lives in cities, and many move back and forth between cities and villages. In 1991, India had 23 cities with a population of one million or more, now it is 35.
Comment by Vishesh Narayen on 12/08/2005 07:59:03 AM: Interesting article. In the area of megalopol-ization, the United States is leading the way. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence of rural American cities becoming ghost-towns for precisly this reason. The real question, and the one that addresses the longer-term impact is: does the phenomenon of (for lack of a better word) megalopol-ization work in cycles? That is, is the flight from rural area to urban areas going to become a permanent feature (of the country, region, world)? Or will it be a cyclical phenomenon? Past civilizations have each had their own major cities and urbanization no doubt occurred. History, as always, can serve as a guide.
I'm looking forward to reading your perspective piece.
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