This article analyzes urbanization processes in Kazakhstan during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and examines the transformation of major cities into megacities. The study focuses on economic, demographic and territorial factors of urbanization, migration trends and regional characteristics of urban development. Using Almaty, Astana and Shymkent as case studies, the paper evaluates both positive and negative consequences of urban growth and transformation.

Kazakhstan, urbanization, megacity, migration, agglomeration, Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, demography.

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