Urbanization and third world stability

This essay reviews images of urbanization that have been held by academics and activists, including revolutionary leaders. It examines the methodology and findings of case studies in Nigeria, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Kenya, Turkey, Malaysia and other countries with the aim of determining how well suited are our data and theories for assessing the relationship between urbanization and political stability. The review examines the following topics: migration; political participation and the urban poor; radical parties and urban violence; the ‘over-urbanization’ thesis; class and ethnicity. It especially evaluates the role of so-called ‘urban marginals’ in urban political life and concludes that the evidence is overwhelming that there is no widespread ‘culture of poverty’ or ‘culture of apathy’ among the urban poor indeveloping countries.