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