The urban effects of the emerging middle class in the global south

Abstract

This article explores the implications of a growing middle‐income population on the cities of the global South. The emergence of this group, situated between the poor and the very rich, long the standard binary categorization of understanding the global urban South, has important implications for physical reconfigurations and changing social structures. We discuss the reasons behind the rise of this middle‐income category, note some of its characteristics and review its urban impacts. We focus on just three themes: new consumption patterns, housing markets and, urban politics. We contribute to broader theories of global urbanism by highlighting how an expanding middle‐income‐class are shaping and configuring a new urban realm in the global South.