Taming the Megalopolis. A Design for Urban Growth

126 Pages·1976·5.448 MB·English

by  Lauchlin Currie (Auth.)

TAMING THE
MEGALOPOLIS
A Design for Urban Growth
by
LAUCHLIN CURRIE
PERGAMON PRESS
O X F O RD · NEW YORK · T O R O N TO · S Y D N EY
PARIS · F R A N K F U RT
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Copyright© 1976 Lauchlin Currie
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First edition 1976
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Currie, Lauchlin Bernard.
Taming the Megalopolis.
(United Nations habitat series)
1. Cities and towns-Planning-1945-
I. Title. IL Series.
HT166.C85 1976 309.2'62 76-6846
ISBN 0-08-020980-7
This book is published by Pergamon Press Ltd.
in co-operation with the United Nations.
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Exeter
Foreword
by E N R I Q UE P E Ñ A L O SA
Secretary-General of Habitat, United Nations - Conference for Human Settlements
The major purpose of a World Conference on themes of global interest - environment,
population, human settlements - is not to resolve the problem at a single conference of a
week or so but rather to focus world attention on the theme in its many facets. From this
point of view the preparation for the conference and the aftermath are as miportant as the
conference itself, indeed more so. The conference can be viewed as one important step, but
only a step, in what is hoped will be a continuous process. It provides a target date, and the
necessary preparations for this date provide, in turn, a stimulus to direct world and national
attention, on which there are so many other demands, to a range of problems related to a
single subject.
The General Assembly of the United Nations that authorized the undertaking of a
Conference on Human Settlements, acting on a resolution of the World Conference on
Environment, directed that it be solution-oriented. This posed a problem for the Secretariat.
On the one hand it was felt that the Secretariat should not propose any one solution or
solutions - that is the responsibiUty of the member nations separately, aided, it is hoped, by
the Conference. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the Secretariat to promote
meaningful discussion - to aid in the identification of problems and in calling attention to
proposed solutions.
To identify the issues and focus attention on their possible solution the Secretariat
arranged for a continuing series of preparatory meetings both at technical and governmental
levels, regionally and internationally. In addition, written expressions of views of various
experts that might serve to stimulate discussion were soUcited.
The present work is a result of this latter line of action. Knowing of Lauchlin Currie's
iimovative work in the field of urban poUcy I asked him to write a paper on what he
conceived to be the basic issues in the field and their possible solutions. He was given
complete liberty to express his personal views, even though they might be quite
controversial. The puφose of the paper, which is now being published in book form, is to
stimulate discussion, as it is only from discussion that we may eventually hope to arrive at
some degree of consensus on the most promising hues of attack on the problems of human
settlements.
Dr. Currie's treatment is selective rather than comprehensive and is mainly oriented
toward the emerging problems of larger cities in developing countries with mixed economies.
He would be the first to agree that it does not attempt to cover all the urgent problems of
human settlements in all types of economies. He was also limited by considerations of time,
as it was desired to have the paper for early discussion, and by my desire that it be directed
to the inteUigent layman and not to fellow academicians.
vii
Personally, I find the treatment stimulating and provocative and I hope that others will
also. His solution calls for possibly the first major change in the design for growth of larger
cities and for bold proposals to separate the allocative function of urban land pricing from
the existing distributive effect.
viü
Acknowledgemen ts
My thanks are due to all those who, in recent years, made it possible for me to develop
and refine earlier ideas on urban economics and design - to the former and actual chiefs of
the National Planning Department of Colombia, Roberto Arenas, Luis Eduardo Rosas and
Miguel Urrutia, to all of whom I acted as adviser; and to the various agencies who made my
services available to that agency - the Ford Foundation, the Canadian International
Development Agency and the Banco de la Rep٥bUca of Colombia. The Habitat section of
the United Nations asked me the basic questions, the attempt to answer which led to the
writing of this book; the U.N. Center for Housing, Building and Planning enabled me to
revisit the larger South American cities in 1975; and the Canadian International
Development Agency to visit Singapore in 1973. A United Nations-United Kingdom
Seminar in 1973 permitted me to study the British New Towns. A Habitat Conference in
Dubrovnik in 1975 gave me an opportunity to visit and study the new urban developments
in and around Paris. My work in drafting terms of reference and sittmg on Steering
Committees for the various urban studies in Colombia, financed by the United Nations
Development Program and USAID (some eight, of which two were supervised by the World
Bank) enabled me to attempt to apply theory to the solution of actual city and site
problems.
These studies were contracted with Llewelyn-Davis, Weeks, Forestier-Walker and Bor,
American City Coφoration, Planners Inc., Toups and Loiederman (Planning Research
Coφoration), Consultιcnicos, Garcιs and Smith, and AEI de Medellin. In the economic
feasibility studies the work of John Delaplaine was invaluable. His early death, while
working on the economics of a large urban project for Bucaramanga, Columbia, was not only
a loss to the country but a great personal loss to me. In the course of the successive studies I
maintained close contact with professionals in the National Planning Department,
particularly and recently with Rafael Obregσn and Luis Ricardo Paredes.
I have elsewhere (in Ahorro, Corrección Monetaria y Construcción, University of Los
Andes, Bogotα, 1975) acknowledged my debt to the advisory group that assisted in thinking
through the manifold problems of introducing an indexed savings/mortgage system in
Colombia with a minimum of disturbance.
As a member of the Colombian Delegation in the various preparatory conferences for
Habitat I was able to work closely with the Head of the Delegation, Virgulo Barco, who, in
the course of his distinguished career, was once Mayor of Bogotα and commissioned the
early 1967 study I directed, while head of the Economics Department of the National
University of Colombia, on The Alternatives for the Development of Bogotá, in which the
main thesis of the present work was set forth.
The manuscript was edited by Roger Sandilands and the Habitat Secretariat of the United
Nations, to whom I express my hearty appreciation. My secretaries, Alicia de Tιllez and
Nydia Parra, deciphered my scrawl and met constant datelines, as various earlier drafts were
prepared for regional conferences. LAUCHLIN CURRIE
Bogota July 1975
C H A P T ER 1
The Frame of Reference
General
The theme of "human settlements" is so vast, touching as it does on so many aspects of
living, that to say anything very meaningful on the subject it is necessary to define, to
clarify, to select and to state explicitly the various frames of reference employed and the
specific problems it is proposed to treat within these frames. It is, of course, the frame of
reference together with our interest and competence that determines the range of problems
to be dealt with. This study is deliberately concerned with urban issues related to well-being
on which there exist differences of opinion. It is, thereafter, a distinctly personal study that
raises rather than skirts issues that are controversial. In this way, paradoxically enough, it
seeks to contribute to the solution of problems, broaden the area of consensus and influence
the formulation of poHcy in a field that promises to grow in importance and urgency.
However, the more specific.problems differ so widely because of differences in magnitudes
and numbers, incomes, style of living and the organization of society as to make
generalization difficult. Therefore, it appears desirable to modify the frame of reference
from all settlements to groups of cities that share a number of significant characteristics in
common. As will become evident, the author is an economist by training and his approach is
undoubtedly influenced by this circumstance.
What are settlements?
Settlements, whether they be villages or great metrópoli, reflect the economic state and
organization of a society. A society, the bulk of whose members are concerned with securing
the bare necessities of life, will probably be diffused in small settlements over the arable
area. At the time of the American Revolution it was said that seven-eighths of the people
lived in rural settlements, or, to put it another way, seven out of every eight members of the
work force were required to supply the food and raw materials for the society at the scale of
consumption then prevailing. This condition still applies to some degree in some developing
countries. It is evident that if agricultural productivity grows so greatly that, despite the
growth in numbers, only four out of every 100 persons in the work force are sufficient to
supply the food and fibers demanded, settlements will undergo a profound transformation.
The word "settlement" itself indicates the change in the nature of the problem. In English,
at least, the word still carries its older connotation of smallness-one thinks of a cluster of
rural homes. One would never think of applying the word to a city. To call New York or
London "settlements", — which, strictly speaking, they are — would today be an
anachronism. In Spanish, the identity of people with the place where they live is suggested
by the use of the common term "pueblo" for both, but it is significant that when the word
is used to refer to a place, it is always to a small settlement or town and never to a large city.
The rapidity of change and the efforts of writers to use words that will recognize and
3
4 The Frame of Reference
keep pace with change can be clearly shown by the evolution of terms, from "settlements"
themselves to villages, towns, cities, metrópoli, agglomerations, conurbations, megalopoH. It
is significant that the distinguishing characteristics that led to this proliferation of words to
describe settlements are size and numbers, and that this in turn suggests an implicit
recognition that the nature of the problem changes with size and numbers. These
characteristics in turn have their roots in economic factors, which have permitted the
enormous growth in numbers and has resulted in profound changes in the places where one
lives and where one works.
What is the urban problem?
The growth in area and population is in very large part the origin of "the" urban problem.
The basic design of our great cities is still the small town clustered around the central plaza
or village green or central square. Not only has this design become increasingly inappropriate
in the sense of creating problems, but it will continue to do so as cities grow in size. It has
been estimated that by the year 2000 the world's urban population in developing countries
alone will have grown by 1.4 billions. (With another additional 400 millions in cities in more
developed countries.) If concentrated in 200 cities, this would be an average growth of 7
million each; if in 300 cities, of 4.7 million each. And it must be remembered that these
figures would be in addition to existing numbers.
The evolution of cities suggests that it may be possible to generalize dSooui groups of cities
in more or less the same stage of development. This appears to be the case in price or market
economies for very deep-seated and pervasive reasons. It even appHes in part to socialist
economies, where certain economic forces still work as in market economies. However,
certain political decisions, often based on differences in values, may result in significant
differences in urban evolution.
From the point of view of the interests of a Worid Conference, the basic concern is the
impact of the process of urbanization on well-being. The word "urbanization" is more
suggestive of cities than is settlements, and it is assumed that it is the growth and the
character of cities that together form such a distinctive characteristic of the modern
environment as to justify such interest as it aroused in the United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment. The word "urbanization" serves to focus attention on the aspect of
size of settlements, which is the aspect that has given rise to so many problems.
Frame of reference
It is quite possible and justifiable to limit the frame of reference so that it becomes an
attempt to answer the question: Given the existing dispersion and modes of transport, and
given existing trends, how may the projected increase in traffic be handled in the most
"efficient" manner? Indeed, much of the discussion of urban problems revolves around this
very point. Another widely used frame of reference is the most "efficient" pattern of land
use and height of building, given the existing prices of land. Attention is called to the word
"efficient" and to.the assumptions mentioned, though they can be and are usually implicit.
The term is ambiguous and may omit broader economic costs borne by the community at
large or by individuals, or they can be social or environmental costs. The assumptions may
Taming the Megalopolis 5
be what we should actually be questioning, since it is quite possible that they should not be
assumed as "given".
But in such cases, what do we use as criteria to judge the efficacy of policies? The answer,
again, depends upon our objectives and these, in many cases and in the last resort, on our
values. We are too prone to assume, especially in urban matters, that meeting the test of
costs and benefits, in its narrower application, signals the best allocation of resources from
the point of view of human well-being. As will be argued later in this document, adherence
to the unrestricted forces of the market give most questionable results in terms of well-being,
especially in urban planning. It is the human factor which cannot be ignored and yet is so
imperfectly understood that it probably accounts for the vehemence of most of the
discussion on urban matters. When Lewis Mumford condemns an urban design, or Frank
Lloyd Wright a building, or Le Corbusier's designs arouse wide controversy, more likely than
not the vehemence of the discussion arises from differences in personal values and the
absence of objective criteria to which to appeal.
While, however, well-being is the ultimate desideratum, we must beware not to go to the
other extreme of exaggerating the importance of the physical environment on well-being. It
is a factor of great importance, but still only one factor. After the basic physical needs are
iftet, man's social needs become increasingly important. The design of a city, its size and
physical characteristics, its cleanliness, the adequacy of its services and housing, and of its
health, educational and diversion facilities all touch on man's needs, particularly his social
needs, but there are relations to his fellow man that transcend even these matters, important
as they may be. It is a most difficult matter indeed to know what is the good life for billions
and how it may be attained. It is also difficult to maintain a balance between the importance
and the unimportance of our theme in relation to our objective; to make sure that our urban
policies are making their maximum contribution to the good Ufe but to recognize that their
effectiveness is limited and that we are dealing with only a portion of the overall problem.
This study is not concerned with housing policy per se or especially with housing policy
for the poor in developing countries. While an adequate urban policy must, almost by
definition, be concerned to provide housing for the poor, it is concerned with much more -
with urban design in general, with the allocation and utilization of resources in all countries,
with the impact of the physical environment on well-being, and the impact of the physical
environment on the social as well as the physical needs of man. Indeed it wiU be argued that
preoccupation with housing for the poor may very well lead to the selection of less
appropriate urban policies for the poor. Poverty must be treated in a broad framework.
Piecemeal and specific treatment is Ukely to be an inadequate treatment.
Regional aspects are either treated in relation to metropolitan areas, or in connection
with the growth of urban centers in different regions of a country. It appears to the writer
that basic issues in regional planning are for the most part subsumed in these two aspects of
regionalism, and hence that the term urbanization covers these aspects.
It is assumed that most developing countries face a tremendous expansion in population,
if for no other reason than the youthful composition of their existing populations. It is
further assumed that most of the increase in most countries will be concentrated in cities.
Hence the probability of large urban growth is assumed. The existence or non-existence of
urban growth has, of course, a tremendous influence on the nature of the problem and hence
on the nature of the treatment. However, one of the major policies that will be proposed
could, though perhaps with some difficulty, be adapted to older cities experiencing little
6 The Frame of Reference
growth, though the urgency of the problem and the solution is not as pressing as in
developing countries.
Still another limiting factor in the frame of reference must be the compatibility of urban
poUcies with the objectives and poUcies of the national plan or the extent to which urban
planning furthers national objectives.
The frame of reference of this particular work, therefore, has to do with the process of
urbanization, the underlying causes, the various forms that urbanization can take, the
problems and unresolved issues raised, the alternatives both to urbanization and to the forms
it has assumed. All these aspects will be treated in the general framework of their impact on
the quality of life, which is the focus and unifying element of the treatment. Some
generalizations, it is hoped, will apply to a greater or lesser degree to urbanization
everywhere. Particular emphasis, however, will be placed on problems of urbanization in
developing countries with mixed economies.
C H A P T ER 2
Why Urbanization Occurs
Mobility and movement
To answer the question, why urbanization occurs, resort must be had to a number of
economic concepts. This chapter is concerned with the nature of such concepts and is
fundamental to our theme.
Many writers both deplore the process of urbanization and are convinced that it is neither
necessary nor desirable, despite the strong positive correlation, as indicated in Table 2.1,
between the size of per capita income and the degree of urbanization.
This kind of evidence (the cross-sectional pattern tends to be repeated by time series
data) would appear to be a compelling argument in favour of the necessity of urbanization if
average income levels are to be raised.
We shall treat first of the basic underlying causes of urbanization, both in developed and
underdeveloped countries. (It appears that in large part the explanation is appHcable to
socialist as well as mixed economies.) The question of desirability will be accorded separate
treatment later.
Until recently, where one worked determined where one lived. Hence, the explanation of
dispersion or concentration of people is inseparable from the question, why do people work
where they do? It is helpful, in treating of the growth of a community, to distinguish
between the ''natural" growth of an existing population arising from an excess of births over
deaths, and the excess of immigration over emigration either from abroad or more usually
from within the country. The first source of growth depends not only on the size of families,
but also on the age composition of the population. Nearly all developing countries have a
youthful age composition as well as more than two children per new family, so that the
urban population is increasing rapidly on this score alone throughout much of the world
(including developed countries).
Whether an excess of urban births results in a growth of population in any particular city
depends on the movement of people, which usually is in response to economic forces - job
opportunities, higher pay, etc. Whether it results in growth of cities as a whole depends not
on movement between cities, but in movements to and from rural regions or, within the
category "urban", from small towns to larger cities.
A distinction should be made between movement and mobility. Generally, in economic
literature, mobility imphes movement from less to more attractive jobs or employment. A
movement of the unemployed from one region to another would not generally be considered
"mobility". MobiHty, both of capital and the work force, is the chief instrument relied upon
in mixed economies for the allocation of resources to their most productive or efficient use.
It is also the main "natural" instrument to ensure a greater uniformity or equality in wage
rates and the rate of return on capital. The degree of immobility, therefore, must be listed as
the first and most important economic concept that explains the dispersion of peoples or
unequal rates of growth of cities, regions and economic sectors.
7