PROSPECTS The urban landscape of mainland Southeast Asia is being dramatically altered, but how much good can come of this and where the motive force for further progress will come from require some consideration. Both the new economic geography (agglomeration) and literature on path dependency ("history matters") stress that agglomeration economies, once started are not easily stopped and can lead to a concentration of growth and wealth in a few isolated urban areas. Similarly Rigg has noted that there is an intersection of space, economy, society, and politics, and all will not benefit from the new urban order (Rigg and Wittayapak 2009). There is clearly room and rationale for policymakers to become more involved in the urban development beyond the usual concerns of urban management such as finance, administration, and municipal facilities, or newer ones such as "green" growth The issue of motive force is no less important and there are substantial grounds for optimism. The first can be simply called the "China factor" although there are various sub-strands. Chinese Government aid on generous terms is one factor, as is investment from Guangxi and Yunnan, frequently fo raw materials and hydropower generation and distribution. The overriding factor however is the China ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA), which the world's was established in early 2010 and, with 1.9 billion people largest free trade area. The newer members of ASEAN will b subject to CAFTA provisions by 2015, but initiatives to use mainland Southeast Asia as a springboard for production to the rest of ASEAN, or to re-export back to China, have started in earnest. Urban centres in the Jinghong-Chiang Rai area, as well as the "two corridors one belt" area between Vietnam and the PRC, are most likely to benefit from these developments. One advantage of the CAFTA-driven regional cooperation is that it is less likely to be dependent on global value chains and intra-industry trade for which countries such as Myanmar, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Cambodia may not yet be except at the lowest technological levels ready, given their systemwide shortcomings in trade logistics. gro other factors which, on balance, suggest sustained intermediate-size urban centres in mainland Southeast Asia include