INTRODUCTION
When one seriously considers the development trends in the urban South it is hard
to find areas in which one could generalise because of the area’s great economic,
social and cultural diversity. Consequently, this chapter will begin by looking at the
impact that globalisation had on the economic conditions in the South. It identifies
economic factors that have led to the phenomenon of global regionalization and the
different roles regions in the South have been playing in global core-peripheral
economic relationships over the past two decades. It classifies developing countries
into four groups and shows how global federalism has impacted on the way in which
developing economies have been moulded over the past three decades. Matters that
will be addressed in this part of the chapter include: regional economics, global
competition in the developing world and demographic trends. It will go on to discuss
the impact of these factors on divisions of labour in the South and on migration
trends.
Looking at the urban South against the backdrop of global economic trends, the
chapter secondly deals with the concept of economic growth and the limitations posed
by human capital in the developing world on economic sustainability, environmental
sustainable development and sustainable urbanization. The chapter looks at how the
market principle has to be adapted to tie in with current economic structures of the
urban South. It analyses the informal urban economic structure in the developing
world and shows how elements of it can be reconciled with the traditional formal
urban economic sector in the urban South. Finally, it discusses different approaches
to urban sustainability and ways in which urban development policies in the South can
be reconciled with current options in urban sustainability.
THE SOUTH IN GLOBAL TERMS
Changing global divisions of labour
Generally, globalisation is associated with the relative ease with which goods and
information cross international boundary lines across the globe. It integrates
economies around the world and reduces social differences between nations. The
instantaneous transmission of images and information to once secluded corners of the
globe causes the world to ‘shrink’. A global localism is being created, and as a result,
local views and behaviour are being influenced by people’s perceptions and behaviour
elsewhere in the world (Cyr, 2001; Allen and Thompson, 1997; Harvey, 1989;
Giddens, 1990). The apparent decreasing differences in tastes and needs between
nations increase market sizes and the interdependence between countries. Although
elements of globalisation or the extent of its impact have been questioned before
(Beinart, 1997; Douglas and Wind, 1987), globalisation is by and large being regarded
as a growing force in the development of economies all over the world. The corporate
world plays a key role in driving the process. There is a rapid growth in offshore
financial markets, an explosion in mergers and acquisitions, nationally and
internationally, and all the time corporations are becoming less dependent on one
nation’s economy alone (Emmerij, 1992).
In the process the fragmented global economy of the cold war era is being replaced
by a rapidly integrating global economy. However, social and cultural differences
between nations remain a limiting factor. While global differences are often drawn in
spatial-economic terms, the divide in social-cultural terms has become more marked
in certain circles in recent years (Breathnach, 2000; Smith, 1995). According to