Outstanding Research Questions on the Carrying Capacity of Megacities: Conception, Evaluation and Policy Responses

Cities are the primary area for the socioeconomic activities of human beings. In line with the unprecedented and continuous urbanization process, those mega cities worldwide have kept receiving plenty of in-flow immigrate populations, which present significant pressure upon the environment and resources systems of urban contexts. Therefore, the discussion surrounding carrying capacity, or the threshold of mega cities’ development has increasingly become one of the hotspots and mainstreams within the broad discipline of urban studies. This paper captures and delineates the research evolution of the conception, evaluation methods and related police instruments as well as responses within the research domain of megacities’ carrying capacity. Major up-to-date achievements have been synthesized align with these three research aspects of megacities’ carrying capacity. Outstanding research questions focusing on the carrying capacity of megacities are also identified and highlighted as heuristic guidance for future research works in the referred discipline.