How many tropical cities in the world are first world? (middle-class, vs)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
...because it seems like the poorest cities in the world are always in hot desert/tropical climate. Look at most of the world class cities. They have non tropical climates like NYC, London, Tokyo, Paris, etc.. Likewise, large and developing cities like Lagos, Mumbai, etc.. are tropical. Very few first world cities like Singapore are tropical. So, how many tropical cities in the world are first world. I can only count with 1 (or 2) hands...
Singapore
Miami
Honolulu (hesitant to put this one up here because it's really semi arid with microclimates)
Hilo
Cairns
maybe Kuala Lumpur
that's it.
There are some cities that are almost there like Rio but no cigar, whether due to lifestyle or climate.
I don't think Hilo is big enough to be listed with this group, but the overall thought is an interesting one. What about such a climate has historically been detrimental to development? Even within the U.S., we had a long period in which the South, which is not really tropical, lagged significantly behind the North. Air conditioning made the modern South possible. Does heat and humidity really impact industrialness, or is there something more fundamental, like the rain of the tropics washing away arable soil? Is agricultural derived wealth a necessary first step to industrial wealth?
Ditto the ones in Australia, the North Island of New Zealand, and Singapore.
As for the large cities in tropical parts of the world that aren't first world, I think it has more to do with poor politics than anything else; being in the tropics doesn't have anything to do with it. For example: the country of Botswana in Africa (desert climate) has been a stable democracy since independence, with peaceful changes of government, free and fair elections, growing foreign investment, a very high literacy rate, and the country is within striking distance of achieving a middle-class development level within the century. It is right next to Zimbabwe, which has a very similar climate (slightly less arid), similar geography, and similar resources (or a lack thereof); but Zimbabwe is a basket case even by African standards. Thus the difference between the countries comes down, strictly, to good governance VS very bad governance; climate has nothing to do with it.
Korea's not tropical. It can get very cold during the winter, in (at least) the vast majority of Korea. It probably wouldn't even qualify as subtropical. Chejo Do, off the south coast might be an exception.
Both Hong Kong and Taipei are humid subtropical. Even Honolulu is classified as semi-arid
It's still tropical though, just because it doesn't receive a ton of rainfall doesn't mean it's not a true tropical city.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
