How Megacities are Changing the Map of the...
Transcript of How Megacities are Changing the Map of the...
How Megacities are
Changing the
Map of the World
By Parag Khanna
The Global Connectivity Revolution
The Infrastructural Matrix:
Exoskeleton on the
Planetary Body
● Skeleton System /
Transportation: Highways,
railways, bridges, tunnels,
airports, seaports
● Vascular System / Energy:
Oil & gas pipelines and
refineries, electricity grids
and power plants
● Nervous System /
Communications:
Internet cables, satellites,
data centers
Cartographic Evolution
“What we build today will last centuries.” - Santiago Calatrava
Natural Geography Political Geography Functional Geography
The Connectivity Atlas (https://atlas.developmentseed.org/)
)
Topographical Engineering and Mega-Infrastructures
X-Ray to MRI: GPS and Geofusion, OSM and IoE, ArcGis and Google Earth Pro
Connectivity is Destiny: Reimagine How Life is Organized on Earth
“Geography is destiny”: Ancient adage obsolete?
Arc of History: Connectivity as Meta-Pattern
Bridges to Everywhere
- Industrial revolution to World War I
- Keynes to Wirtschaftswunder
- Asian Tigers to China & AIIB
Paradigm Shift: Connectivity > Division
Political geography (nations & borders) Functional geography (infrastructure & supply chains)
Systems change: 19thC vertical empires 20thC horizontal states 21stC global network civilization
Connectivity - not sovereignty - is the organizing principle
of the human species
Planetary Urbanization:
Urban Archipelagos Define Humanity
China: Empire of Mega-Cities
Pearl River Delta (PRD)
From Political to Functional Geography
Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia Growth
Triangle (SIJORI)
Evolution and Coexistence of Urban Archetypes
Medieval stratification Industrial mass production Financial capitalism
Services hub Peri-urban slums Mega-city archipelago
All Great Global Cities are Melting Pots
Racial Mingling: Ch-Indians (Singapore), Indi-Pinos (Dubai)
From Nationalism to Civicism: Cumulative not exclusive identities
Pax Urbanica: Cities Drive the Global Network Civilization