Inner Workings of the World's Megacities

CIA DE FOTO

São Paulo Sells Itself

In banning most outdoor advertising, the city reveals its charms and its governability

Where to house the 6,000 who move there every day? If you're rich, in exactly the wrong spot
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Its ambitious mayor has visions of Dubai, but there are grittier issues to resolve first
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After a decade of rampant crime, officials and citizens of Mexico City are trying to fight back
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Winning the 2012 Olympics gives London cover to spend billions to keep the city competitive
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In Bangkok, every hour is rush hour. What it will take to unravel the city's epic traffic jams
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India's biggest city has to move its productive poor, carefully, to build needed infrastructure
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China's capital has made progress against pollution, but its Olympian effort still might leave some gasping
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Most of the world's population now lives in cities. TIME looks at the prospects and problems facing the globe's largest urban centers.