In the Spring edition of City Journal, Joel Kotkin argues it may be much more important for the fate of Chinese civilization to "create a more humane, less hierarchical, and more affordable urban future" than "trade deals or perfecting technology." China's urbanization rate stands at 60%, up from 19% in 1979, and it is currently home to 6 of the world's megacities. Kotkin explains that even though important economic growth accompanied this wide-scale urbanization, Chinese cities are plagued by a number of grave problems.  Forty years of rapid urbanization under authoritarian governments means that: "China's cities offer a cautionary tale about authoritarian planning, excessive density, too many unneeded units, rising class tensions, plunging birthrates, heavy pollution, and, perhaps most ominously, the imposition of increasingly sophisticated population surveillance"