Urban Poverty Alleviation in the Age of Globalization

In 2000, almost one out of every two people lives in an urban area. Although a low overall level of urbanization characterizes Pacific Asia, which includes East and Southeast Asia, the region has the largest urban population in the world. By 2000, Pacific Asia had approximately 804 million urban inhabitants, representing 27.5 percent of the world's urban population. Many of these people live in large cities; of the world's 15 largest cities with more than 10 million inhabitants, 6 are located in Pacific Asia. Pacific Asia's rapid economic growth in recent decades accompanies its urban dominance. Following the example of Japan's postwar economic transformation, the newly industrializing economies (NIEs) o