Mega-cities - Research Paper Example

The population growth rate of Shanghai has been tremendous with increases in population over the years threatening the city’s ability to handle its vast citizenry. The city has a growth rate estimated at 23%, being much higher than the Chinese national population growth rate (Shen, and Kee 78). However, the natural growth rate has been decreasing, implying that immigrations have led to the increased population growth rates. The projected population size of its mega city is 20.02million, meaning it has already surpassed the mark before the year 2025.

This is a serious situation, because analysts estimate that the population may reach 50 million by the year 2050. The social and economic spheres of this city have greatly been affected by the high population growth rates. From the high congestion and wastage of land in the city, it is palpable that many prospective economic activities are slowly chocked and the ability of the city to grow greatly reduced. On the other hand, the city’s current situation has given great disparities in income and led to social evils like theft and imbalance of resources.

On the social perspective, the city has a high population of ageing population as well as imbalances in the gender where the ratio of boys is higher than that of girls at an alarming rate (Shen, and Kee 103). Further, the levels of fertility are very low as well as the burdening on the social facilities that has over the years affected the city’s ability to contain its population. The aging population of Shanghai city is a problem to the authorities and has been a key contributor to the increased dependence ratio in the city.

The rates of dependence determine the city’s ability to grow, and also covers the decreasing work force form retirement and aging. Dealing with the aged and provision of basic services to them has been a key challenge to the authorities over time. The government