Megacity
Topic: Human Settlements and Urbanisation in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A megacity is an urban agglomeration of 1 crore (10 million) people or more. An urban agglomeration is one continuous urban spread, made of a town with its built-up surroundings or several towns that touch. Megacities are the top of India's city hierarchy. They show how much growth crowds into a few very large centres.
Example
Census 2011 had three megacities in India: Greater Mumbai (about 18.4 million), Delhi (about 16.3 million) and Kolkata (about 14.1 million). The UN ranks Delhi among the world's two largest cities (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Million-plus city: a city or UA of 10 lakh (1 million) or more. India had 53 in 2011, but only three were megacities.
- Megalopolis: Jean Gottmann's term (1961) for a chain of metro regions merged into one belt, such as Boston-Washington. It is not a single city.