1960 Megacities

In 1960, the world’s megacities—urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million—were rare, with only New York and Tokyo officially surpassing that threshold. New York, already a global economic and cultural powerhouse, had experienced explosive growth through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fueled by waves of immigration and industrialization, and by 1960 its metropolitan area population hovered just above 10 million. Tokyo, recovering rapidly from the devastation of World War II, was undergoing a postwar economic boom, with its population swelling as rural Japanese flocked to the city for work, pushing it past the 10 million mark as well. Other cities like Shanghai, Mexico City, and London were large and rapidly growing, but had not yet reached megacity status; Shanghai’s growth was curtailed by political upheaval, while Mexico City’s population was surging due to rural migration and urbanization trends common across the developing world. The 1960s marked a turning point, as global urbanization accelerated, setting the stage for the proliferation of megacities in Asia, Latin America, and beyond in the decades to follow.

Data from UN World Urbanization Prospects