10 Supercities of the Future.

• Position: Brief Article

Big cities on every continent are competing fiercely to become the new world-class urban centers of the future. "Assembling a new supercity is a formidable task anywhere," McKinley Conway, an expert on economic development and technology, told the World Future Society, Bethesda, Md.

Potential supercities must make tremendous investments in improving their infrastructure and services. They will try to attract the world's attention in many different ways--building new airports and domed stadiums, improving public transportation, and establishing technology and communications centers.

The following are Conway's 10 candidates to become "supercities," and how they plan to get there:

Bangalore, India, could be a rapid riser because of its mushrooming computer software industry.

Wuhan, China, has a central location, high-tech industries, and numerous colleges.

Istanbul, Turkey, could thrive as the western terminus for the new Silk Road, extending across Asia and central China.

Shanghai, China, is developing a vast commercial center called the...