This in turn drew more workers (Hassan 2004). The result is that Kuala Lumpur has added millions to its population and enjoys a far greater average annual income than does rural Malaysia. Indeed, Harris-Todaro also helps to explain urban-urban migration in Malaysia. As Kuala Lumpur has grown to be the country's primate city, it has captured migration from smaller urban areas, including the region's former primate cities such as Melaka and Georgetown.

Compact development for a sustainable city is generally possible when a long-term strategy is put into place. Typically, this will also involve a slower pace of rural-urban migration, so that the city will have the resources to handle the new migrants. Curitiba, Brazil is a city that has long had a sustainable development plan. By designing a city that encourages compact development, including dense and integrated transit networks, urban sprawl is contained. Compact development typically emerges as a...
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