Slowing Metropolitan City Growth in Asia: Policies, Programs, and Results

In recent years many Asian nations have adopted policies to slow metropolitan growth. Four broad types of strategies have been pursued to achieve this objective: attempts to reverse population flows by fostering migration of urban residents to the countryside; efforts to prevent migrants from entering cities; schemes to resettle migrants in new frontier lands; and programs designed to redirect migrants to new urban centers. Specific examples of these approaches suggest the difficulties inherent in government programs attempting to counter social trends.