Everyone agrees that Asia is urbanizing rapidly and that this trend will have a dramatic impact on economic development in the region. But unearthing tangible business opportunities in those markets will not be straightforward. Making money in and from Asia’s cities is about to become a lot more complicated.

There are more Asian cities than outsiders tend to realize. Everyone has heard of Mumbai and Delhi, Beijing and Shanghai. But what about Johor Bahru, in Malaysia, or Medan, in Indonesia? The key to tapping urban wealth in Asia will be to look beyond first-tier megacities to the second tier: “middleweights,” with populations of less than ten million.

Development in that second tier is astounding. In India, for instance, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Pune together will have as many households earning $20,000 a year in purchasing-power-parity terms as either Delhi or Mumbai by 2025. In China, 14 cities, including Wuhan, Xiamen, and Shantou, will have more households in this income segment by 2025 than either Beijing or Shanghai do today.