Development Prospects for Medium-Size Cities of Southeast Asian Countries

Abstract

Medium-size cities are vital for the development of any nation. These cities act as economic and social hub for their local inhabitants and surrounding rural areas. Actually these cities promote the concept of regional development. There are various countries in this globe, who had taken initiatives for their medium-size cities planning and development. This study had critically analyzed and compared the planning initiatives taken at national level in the Southeast Asian countries for the development of their medium-size cities. The study had taken South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam as case study areas. The study had adopted secondary data collection resources for gathering the required data. The results revealed that the national planning strategies taken in Indonesia and South Korea countries had successful results. However, due to centralized system of planning, the Vietnam government heavily focused on Industrial development. It is therefore suggested that the planning strategies for medium-size cities development should be developed by considering the economic functions these cities and their rural hinterlands are performing in order to promote regional development.