1In this lecture, we examine the remarkably rapid expansion of megacities across much of the developing world.
2A megacity is typically defined as an urban area whose population exceeds ten million inhabitants.
3Contrary to popular belief, the fastest growth is occurring not in capitals but in secondary cities.
4Early demographic projections suggested that Lagos would stabilise, though the most recently revised figures indicate continued exponential growth.
5What I want to emphasize is that infrastructure consistently fails to keep pace with migration.
6Consider the water supply: in several Asian megacities, daily demand already outstrips installed capacity by nearly half.
7It is not merely the population density but weak governance that ultimately intensifies these chronic shortages.
8Let me give you a concrete example from a widely cited study of informal settlements.
9Residents there initially relied entirely on street vendors, though community networks eventually organised collective purification systems.
10Moving on to the policy responses, some national governments have invested very heavily in planned satellite towns.
11The available evidence, however, suggests that these ambitious projects frequently relocate poverty rather than genuinely alleviate it.