CITIES WITHOUT CIVIS Sharing Knowledge and Learning from Cities SLUMS No. 7 — 2014 Public Disclosure Authorized Commercial road in Tenkodogo, Burkina Faso. Photo by Serge Allou Public Disclosure Authorized The Systems of Secondary Cities: The neglected drivers of urbanising economies Prepared by: Brian Roberts, Land Equity International and Rene Peter Hohmann, Cities Alliance Public Disclosure Authorized “A city’s prospects—or a town’s— Modern cities are part of a new economic geography depend critically on its place within which makes them increasingly dependent on fast communications, trade, finance, and investment the urban system, national and systems to support their development. However, international.” many parts of the global and national systems of Bruntland Commission, 1987 cities are not benefiting significantly from the ‘new age’ and economic geography of cities. Most of these e inhabit a world where an increasing are the secondary and small cities of less than a number of people live in cities. As million people. Many of these are struggling to create a result, we are moving toward or retain jobs; have high levels of unemployment; what Shlomo Angel has described and find it difficult to diversify and revitalise their Was a “Planet of Cities”1, all of which are becoming economies, retain capital and attract investment. Public Disclosure Authorized intricately connected to a global system of cities. Others are rapidly growing cities which do not have the capacity to manage urbanisation. Many of these face a huge backlog in demand for infrastructure, 1 Shlomo, A. et al. (2012) Planet of Cities, Washington: Lincoln Institute for Land Policy housing and other essential urban services. The CIVIS series shares knowledge and learning arising from Cities Alliance projects and other activities in slum upgrading and city development strategies. It also serves as a platform for policy dialogue among city development stakeholders, including national and local governments, donors and slum dwellers to impact change in the lives of the urban poor and advance the urban development agenda. www.citiesalliance.org Figure 1: The unrecognised primacy of secondary cities worldwide 1000 900 800 10 million or more 700 5 to 10 million 600 500 1 to 5 million 400 500,000 to 1 million 300 Fewer than 500,000 Population (in millon) 200 100 0 Africa Asia Europe Latin America North and the America Caribbean Source: UNDESA 2011 Urban population, number of cities and percentage of urban population, by size class of settlement, major area and region, 1975-2025, in World Urbanization Prospects, 2011 Revision, United Nations and Social Affairs/Population Division, New York, 2012, pp. 296. http://esa.un.org/unup/pdf/ FINAL-FINAL_REPORT%20WUP2011_Annextables_01Aug2012_Final.pdf Secondary cities are growing the most but with fewer agglomeration and clusters; a system of well- capacities to plan and manage urban development developed, localised supply chains and networks; a and promote employment and economic growth. diversified economic and employment base; and a Due to their sheer growing number, it is systems of broad housing mix. secondary cities, such as cities with fewer than one million inhabitants, that will have a greater influence However, not all secondary cities are the same. upon the future economic development of nations Growing disparities in the economic, physical and and larger geographic regions. social development between systems of cities can be observed. The consequences of this are growing Globally, there are more than 2,400 cities in the world gaps in income, poverty and levels of employment with populations between 150,000 and 5 million which especially between primary and secondary cities. could be loosely described as secondary cities. Nearly Many secondary cities are struggling to raise capital two thirds of these are located in Africa and Asia. and attract investment needed to build infrastructure, Secondary cities range in form and size from 150,000 to productive enterprises and vibrant communities 5 million people and perform a wide range of functions needed to create dynamic economies, improved in national and international systems of cities. livelihoods and jobs. Secondary cities will play an important role as How to enhance the connectivity, efficiency, catalysts and secondary hubs in facilitating the investment generation, and employment in secondary localised production, transportation, transformation, cities to create more dynamic local economies, or transfer of goods, people, trade, information, ensure greater equity and development opportunities, and services between sub-national, metropolitan, and stimulate trade and competition between national, regional, and global systems of cities. They systems of cities are challenges for governments and will likely demonstrate the presence of industry development partners. 2 The Systems of Secondary Cities – The neglected drivers of urbanising economies today can have a population of several million people. Definition of a Secondary City In China, some secondary cities have populations of over five million. These cities are not comparable A secondary city is largely determined by population, size, to secondary cities in Ethiopia, which have urban function, and economic status. Commonly, secondary cities 5 are geographically defined urban jurisdictions or centres populations of less than 200,000. Other authors performing vital governance, logistical, and production suggest secondary cities as not so much defined by functions at a sub-national or sub-metropolitan region hierarchy, but as part of an integrated functional level within a system of cities in a country. In some cases, system of national or global system of cities. Angel et their role and functions may expand to a geographic region al., also refer to the satellite cities that make up large or the global realm. The population of secondary cities range between 10-50 % of a country’s largest city, although metropolitan regions as secondary cities. some can be smaller than this. They will likely constitute a sub-national or sub-metropolitan second-tier level of Secondary cities fall into three broad spatial categories: government, acting as centres for public administration and delivery of education, knowledge, health, community, and security services; an industrial centre or development (i) Sub-national cities that are centres of local growth pole; a new national capital; or a large city making government, industry, agriculture, tourism up a cluster of smaller cities in a large metropolitan region. and mining; (ii) City clusters associated with expanded, satellite and new town cities which surround large urban What is a Secondary City? metropolitan regions; and Secondary city is a term most commonly used to (iii) Economic trade corridors that are urban growth describe the second tier, or level, in the hierarchy centres or poles planned or developing along of cities below the primary level. Some countries major transport corridors. (Figure 2 shows have several orders, or levels, of cities. A primary examples of the three typologies of secondary city is defined as “the leading city in its country cities.) or region, disproportionately larger than any 2 others in the urban hierarchy”. The definition Many secondary cities, regardless of size, have similar of secondary cities, however, is contextual: it can characteristics and functions. Increasingly, economic relate to population size, administrative area, geography shapes the functions of these cities, rather political, economic, and historical significance of than actual area or population size. The importance a system of cities below the primary order of cities of function has, thus, become of more interest and within a country or geographic region. The term importance in shaping urban policy, planning, and 3 “secondary city” was popularised by Rondinelli in development than it has in the past. Population size the 1970s. His definition characterised secondary is a measure of urban scale, but not necessarily an cities as urban settlements with a population of at indicator of the level of significance a city has in the least 100,000 but not including the largest city in new global system of cities. Strategic infrastructure, the country. His research was originally intended to investment, and systems of supply chains servicing help develop policies to stimulate the economies of secondary cities are becoming increasingly linked rural areas surrounding secondary cities. to the scope of local economic activities than scale. This has important implications for urban UN-Habitat defines a secondary city as an urban area managers, officials, and policy makers of secondary generally with a population of 100,000 to 500,000. cities on the way they plan and develop enabling This definition is based on the classification of cities4 environments and strategic infrastructure to support developed in the 1950s. However, a secondary city the development of more competitive cities. 2 Goodall, B. (1987) The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography, London: Penguin Group 3 Rondinelli, D. A. (1983) Secondary Cities in Developing Countries: Policies for 5 Christaller, W. (1933) Die Zentralen Orte in Süddeutschland, Jena: Gustav Diffusing Urbanization, California: Sage Fischer; Christaller, W. (1966) Central places in southern Germany, New Jersey: 4 Davis, K. (1955) “The origins and growth of urbanization in the world,” Prentice Hall and Hall, P. (2005). “The World’s Urban Systems: A European