Urban Growth in Emerging Economies: Lessons from the BRICS

Urban Growth in Emerging Economies: Lessons from the BRICS
Editors: Gordon McGranahan, George Martine
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Year: 2014
Edition: 1st Edition

About this Book
Urban Growth in Emerging Economies examines the dynamics of urbanization and its role in shaping the development trajectories of the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The book explores how urban transitions have accompanied the southward shift in global economic power, highlighting both successes and failures. By analyzing the historical and contemporary urbanization patterns in the BRICS, the editors demonstrate how past mismanagement or neglect of urban growth has resulted in enduring inequalities and missed opportunities.

The book emphasizes the critical lesson that cities and nations must anticipate urbanization and manage growth proactively to maximize economic potential while promoting social inclusion. Each country’s urbanization approach has had distinct consequences, influencing patterns of social, economic, and spatial development. For example, China’s step-by-step integration of capital and labor contrasts with India’s sluggish and exclusionary urban growth, while Brazil and South Africa continue to wrestle with legacies of divided cities and social reconstruction.

This volume is intended for students, researchers, and policymakers in urban studies, development studies, and related fields. It combines comparative analysis with practical policy lessons, aiming to guide not only the BRICS countries but also other rapidly urbanizing nations in Asia, Africa, and beyond. By reflecting on the BRICS experience, the book provides insights into avoiding common pitfalls, facilitating inclusive urban growth, and leveraging cities as engines of economic and social development.

Contents

1. Urbanisation and development: Policy lessons from the BRICS experience – Gordon McGranahan and George Martine
2. Brazil’s negligent urban transition and its legacy of divided cities – George Martine and Gordon McGranahan
3. China’s radical urbanisation and bringing capital and labour together step by step – Gordon McGranahan, Jia Guoping, Guoyi Han and Arie Hoekman
4. Russia’s planned urbanization and misplaced urban development – Charles Becker, S Joshua Mendelsohn and Kseniya Benderskaya
5. South Africa’s tortured urbanisation and the complications of reconstruction – Ivan Turok
6. India’s sluggish urbanisation and Its exclusionary development – Amitabh Kundu
7. Could a more positive approach to urbanization in the BRICS have facilitated both economic growth and social inclusion? – Gordon McGranahan and Ivan Turok