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- A city in an emerging country: Mumbai
A city in an emerging country: Mumbai
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Mumbai is one of the world's great megacities. It shows the opportunities and inequalities of rapid growth.
Site and situation
Mumbai is on the west coast of India, on the Arabian Sea. It grew on a group of islands that were joined by land reclamation.
It has a deep natural harbour and is a major port.
It is India's financial capital, home to the Reserve Bank of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange, and to the Hindi film industry, Bollywood.
It has a deep natural harbour and is a major port.
It is India's financial capital, home to the Reserve Bank of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange, and to the Hindi film industry, Bollywood.
Why it grows so fast
Rural-urban migration: people come from rural Maharashtra and poorer states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, pushed by poverty and pulled by jobs.
Natural increase: many migrants are young, so there are many births.
Investment: banks, IT companies and TNCs bring jobs.
Natural increase: many migrants are young, so there are many births.
Investment: banks, IT companies and TNCs bring jobs.
Structure and inequality
The old CBD is in the south of the city, with offices and colonial buildings.
New business districts and suburbs spread north.
Squatter settlements (slums) house a very large share of the population. Dharavi, near the centre, is one of the largest in Asia and full of small businesses such as recycling, pottery and leather work.
Very rich and very poor people live close together: luxury tower blocks overlook slums.
New business districts and suburbs spread north.
Squatter settlements (slums) house a very large share of the population. Dharavi, near the centre, is one of the largest in Asia and full of small businesses such as recycling, pottery and leather work.
Very rich and very poor people live close together: luxury tower blocks overlook slums.
Explain why many people migrate to Mumbai.
- Push: few jobs, low farm incomes and poor services in rural areas.
- Pull: jobs in industry, services and the informal economy, higher wages, and better schools and hospitals.
- Friends and family who have already moved help newcomers find work and housing.
Answer: Rural poverty pushes; jobs and services in the city pull.
Mumbai: on India's west coast, a major port and India's financial capital. It grows through rural-urban migration, natural increase and investment. Its structure includes the southern CBD, northern suburbs and large squatter settlements such as Dharavi, showing huge inequality.
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