Urbanization in Southeast Asia.

It seems doubtful whether one could give a satisfactory picture of the city in Asia as being different from that in other parts of the world. It may be argued that the differences between cities in Asia are so striking that it may be believed that there will be relatively few common features, and perhaps more similarity of some of them with cities outside this region. This may be true, it is therefore the purpose in this paper to see whether there is any common bond among cities in non-homogeneous societies rather than to see whether there is anything typically Asian in the cities in this part of the world. The phenomenon of urbanization is very important in Asia, although the extent of urbanism is still the lowest in the world, except Africa. The rapid growth, as well as the colonial situation in Southeast Asia, has led to the lack of homogeneity. The heterogeneity of Asian cities is already shown physically when one considers the striking differences, not only between the different quarters but also within the quarters. The problem of Asian cities is that their growth did not take place around a well-organized, socially and physically settled, strong nucleus, which already had a long history behind it as an important urban center. The typical combination of rural and urban life, each in multifarious ways, makes for the heterogeneity of cities in Southeast Asia and for their continuous contact with the countryside through the steady stream of new migrants who seek a living since the rural areas cannot support them any more.