In 2003, urban development nonprofit Bombay First, along with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), and the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) commissioned a report by McKinsey & Company titled “Vision Mumbai: Transforming Mumbai into a World-Class City.” It is interesting to consider how such initiatives are conceived, contested, and translated into policy. Links to the report, McKinsey’s synopsis, and the Bombay First site are included below.

“Vision Mumbai” report:
http://www.bombayfirst.org/McKinseyReport.pdf

McKinsey synopsis:
http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/india/communityservice/visionmumbai

Bombay First:

http://www.bombayfirst.org

The plan has been very controversial. According to the “Water, No Ice” blog:

http://waternoice.com/2007/06/26/the-dharavi-development-project

Urban Planet is a collection of features on urbanization from the BBC News. It includes an interactive map that tracks the growth of the world’s largest cities, as well as comparisons of the environmental effects of urban and rural life.

Photo from the BBC Photojournal: Chad urban migrant’s story

In Globalization and Its Discontents, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz presents an incisive critique of globalization and the liberal economic policies of the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. Stiglitz includes detailed examples of the effects of such policies on developing countries, and concludes with a list of seven recommendations for reforming the international financial system to help globalization reach its positive potential.

Global Cities is an exhibition at the Tate Modern that focuses on the explosive growth of cities around the world. It is on display from June 20 to August 27, 2007. This article on the Global Cities exhibition from the Telegraph includes a slide show of work on display.