Which one of the following cities was the first to attain the status of a ‘megacity’?
- (a)London
- (b)Paris
- (c)New York
- (d)Washington
Correct — C, New York. New York is generally regarded as the first city in the world to attain the status of a 'megacity' — a city of about 10 million or more people — reaching that mark around 1950. London, though the largest city of the 19th century, is counted as a 'million city' and had not crossed the 10-million threshold at that time.
- (a)London — London was the world's largest city in the 1800s but is classed as the pioneer 'million city'; it did not reach the roughly 10-million megacity mark as early as New York.
- (b)Paris — Paris was a major early metropolis but did not attain megacity status before New York.
- (d)Washington — Washington, D.C. is the US capital but has never been among the world's largest cities, let alone the first megacity.
Human geography classifies large urban centres by population size: a 'million city' has over 1 million people, while a 'megacity' has roughly 10 million or more. As industrial urbanisation advanced, New York was the first to reach the megacity threshold, around 1950.
London tempts because it was the largest city of the 19th century. But the term megacity has a specific size threshold (around 10 million), which New York crossed first — London is remembered as the pioneer 'million city', not the first megacity.
- A megacity is usually defined as a city with about 10 million or more inhabitants.
- New York was the first city to reach megacity status, around 1950.
- London was the world's largest city in the 19th century and the classic 'million city'.
- Most of today's megacities are in the developing world (for example Tokyo, Delhi and Shanghai).
- Assuming London, the biggest 19th-century city, was the first megacity — it is the classic million city, not a 10-million megacity.
- Confusing 'largest city historically' with 'first to cross the megacity threshold'.
Asks which city first reached a size threshold — recall New York as the first megacity, around 1950.
Consider the following statements about the megacities of India: I. Population of each megacity is more than 5 million. II. All the megacities are important sea ports. III. Megacities are either national or State capitals. Which of these statements are correct?
- (a) I, II and III
- (b) I and II
- (c) II and III
- (d) I and III
Answer(d) I and III
Same concept — the definition of a megacity by population size. That item tests the traits of India's megacities; this one asks which city first reached megacity status.
Social theorists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries emphasised the emergence of industrialisation, urbanisation, secularisation and bureaucratisation as hallmarks of:
- (a) Modernity
- (b) Feudalism
- (c) Kingship
- (d) Medievalism
Answer(a) Modernity
Same theme — urbanisation. That item frames urbanisation as a hallmark of modernity; this one tracks urbanisation to the rise of the first megacity.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A 'megacity' is generally defined as an urban area with a population of at least
- (a)1 million
- (b)5 million
- (c)10 million
- (d)50 million
Answer(c) 10 million — the commonly used megacity threshold.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The city usually described as the world's largest in the 19th century was
- (a)New York
- (b)London
- (c)Tokyo
- (d)Mumbai
Answer(b) London — the classic 'million city' of the industrial era.