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AWO
RLDO
FCITIES
A WORLD OF LIGHT AND DARK
ith just under half of its population
living in cities, the world is already
urbanized. When measured in
knowledge, attitude, aspiration,
commercial sense, technology, trav-
el and access to information, even
the most rural societies on earth are, to one extentor another, woven into a global network of cities.
Thus, the Songye people of the Congo produce
masks and statues for purchase in Nairobi by the
owner of a Milanese Africana shop. A Cana dian
ran cher flies his own plan e to Vancouver to meet a
friend from San Francisco. A Br azilian placer miner
uses his cell phone to m onitor g old prices in Lon don
through a broker in So Paolo. A Kaza kh folk singer
places her music on the Internet in Alma Ata for
downloading by a scholar in Shang hai. And a
Peruvian expatriate in Perth responds with help to a
call, again over the Internet, from the priest in a
flooded village in Peru.
The industrial revolution of the late 18th century
began the current phase of globalization . In less
than one hundred years, the steam engine, tele-
graph, telephone and elevator were conveying peo-
ple, goods and ideas both horizontally and vertically
at an unprecedent ed volume and velocity. Now, in
less than another century, low-cost international air
transport, digital telecommunication and liberalized
trade have the global economy moving at warp
speed.
The focal point of global economic activity has
invariably been the city, a place of deals and deci-sions, take-offs and land ings - a pla ce less concerned
with the rhythms of nature, where everything can be
Wbought and sold, especially ones ideas and labour.
During the past two hundred years of global eco-
nomic expansion, the collective population of the
worlds cities grew from less than 30 million to 3 bil-
lion - from one in thirty of the earths inhabitants to
every other person on earth . Now at the beginnin g
of the new century and millennium, the planet hosts
19 cities with 10 million or more people; 22 cities
with 5 to10 million people; 370 cities with 1 to 5 mil-
lion people; and 433 cities with 0.5 to 1 million.
Anoth er 1.5 billion p eople live in urb an areas of less
tha n half a million people. The process of urbaniza-
tion will continue well into the 21st century and, by
2030, over 60 percent of all people (4.9 billion out of
8.1 billion) will live in cities1.
As isolated seats of power from which to govern rura l
holdings, cities were, throughout most of recorded
history, exceedingly small islands in a vast ocean of
rural culture and tr ad ition. With the advent of the
industrial age, humanity rapidly evolved into a city-
dwelling species that is intensely competitive but atthe same time cooperat ive, specialized yet adap table.
H omo urbanusis ident ified by dense living p attern s, a
200 MILLION PEOPLE
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0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
2000
1900
1800
1700
1600
(Popula
tionin
Billio
ns)
TOTAL P
OPUL
ATIO
N
URBA
N POPU
LATION
Mega-cities in the developing worldThe rise of the mega-city (cities of at least 10 million peo-
ple) in d eveloping countries over the past t wenty years is
of concern because of incap acity to increase the provision
of housing an d basic services at the same pace. There is
currently an extremely rapid displacement of developed
country cities2
on the list of the worlds 30 largest cities
by those in developing countries. Between 1980 and
2000 Lagos, Nigeria, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Cairo, Egypt,
Tianjin, China, Hyderabad and Lahore, India, along
with several others in developing countries, were added
to the list. By 2010 Lagos is projected to become the
third largest city in the world.
World urbanization rates from 1950-2020
-0.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Oceania Northern America
Latin America and the Caribbean
Europe
Asia Africa
World
2025
-2030
2020
-2025
2015
-2020
2010
-2015
2005
-2010
2000
-2005
1995
-2000
1990
-1995
1985
-1990
1980
-1985
1975
-1980
1970
-1975
1965
-1970
1960
-1965
1955
-1960
1950
-1955
Percen
tage
1 21.9 Tokyo 25.1 Tokyo 26.4 Tokyo 26.4 Tokyo
2 15.6 New York 16.1 New York 18.1 Mexico City 23.6 Bombay
3 13.9 Mexico City 15.1 Mexico City 18.1 Bombay 20.2 Lagos
4 12.5 So Paulo 15.1 So Paulo 17.8 So Paulo 19.7 So Paulo
5 11.7 Shanghai 13.3 Shanghai 16.6 New York 18.7 Mexico City
6 10.0 Osaka 12.2 Bombay 13.4 Lagos 18.4 Dhaka
7 9.9 Buenos Aires 11.5 Los Angeles 13.1 Los Angeles 17.2 New York
8 9.5 Los Angeles 11.2 Buenos Aires 12.9 Calcutta 16.6 Karachi
9 9.0 Calcutta 11.0 Osaka 12.9 Shanghai 15.6 Calcutta
10 9.0 Beijing 10.9 Calcutta 12.6 Buenos Aires 15.3 Jakarta
11 8.9 Paris 10.8 Beijing 12.3 Dhaka 15.1 Delhi
12 8.7 Rio de Janeiro 10.5 Seoul 11.8 Karachi 13.9 Los Angeles
13 8.3 Seoul 9.7 Rio de Janeiro 11.7 Delhi 13.9 Metro Manila
14 8.1 Moscow 9.3 Paris 11.0 Jakarta 13.7 Buenos Aires
15 8.1 Bombay 9.0 Moscow 11.0 Osaka 13.7 Shanghai
16 7.7 London 8.8 Tianjin 10.9 Metro Manila 12.7 Cairo
17 7.3 Tianjin 8.6 Cairo 10.8 Beijing 11.8 Istanbul
18 6.9 Cairo 8.2 Delhi 10.6 Rio de Janeiro 11.5 Beijing
19 6.8 Chicago 8.0 Metro Manila 10.6 Cairo 11.5 Rio de Janeiro
20 6.3 Essen 7.9 Karachi 9.9 Seoul 11.0 Osaka
21 6.0 Jakarta 7.7 Lagos 9.6 Paris 10.0 Tianjin
22 6.0 Metro Manila 7.7 London 9.5 Istanbul 9.9 Seoul
23 5.6 Delhi 7.7 Jakarta 9.3 Moscow 9.7 Paris
24 5.3 Milan 6.8 Chicago 9.2 Tianjin 9.4 Hyderabad
25 5.1 Teheran 6.6 Dhaka 7.6 London 9.4 Moscow
26 5.0 Karachi 6.5 Istanbul 7.4 Lima 9.0 Bangkok
27 4.7 Bangkok 6.4 Teheran 7.3 Bangkok 8.8 Lima
28 4.6 Saint Petersburg 6.4 Essen 7.2 Teheran 8.6 Lahore
29 4.6 Hong Kong 5.9 Bangkok 7.0 Chicago 8.2 Madras
30 4.4 Lima 5.8 Lima 6.9 Hong Kong 8.1 Teheran
1980 1990 2000 2010
Trading Places on the Top 30 List(population in mill ions)
At the same time Milan, Italy, Essen, Germany,
and London, United Kingdom have all disap-
peared from among the top 30 cities, and New
York, U SA, Osaka, J apa n a nd Pa ris, Fran ce will
have slipped farther down the list by 2010.
Amon g d eveloped cou ntr ies, only Tokyo will
have held its place - as the largest urban
agglomeration in the world - for 30 years.
It should be noted tha t none of th ese great
cities, with the possible exception ofLondon, will have lost population over
the 30 year span. Mega -cities are still
growing, but in the developed world
they are part of the gen eral slowdown of
urban growth rates to a global rate of
about one-third of one percent per
year. The overall urbaniza tion rate in
Asia, in contrast, is four times that
and is reflected in the growth of its
mega-cities.
Source: U N, World U rbanizati on Prospects, 199 9
Source: UN , World U rbanization Pr ospects, 1999
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ub-Saharan Africas urban population will
approach 440 million, or 46 percent of its
projected total of 952 million, by 2020.3
Toda y, urba n a reas account for 34 percent of
the total population of 611 million and are
credited with 60 percent of the regions
G DP. Municipalities, however, capture only a small
percentage of GDP - US$14 per capita - in revenue,
creating disparity between the requirements for
municipal governance and available resources.
Definitions of urban and rural vary widely across
Africa. Many African countries use a popula tion fig-
ure of 2,000 to distinguish between rural and urban
settlemen ts. H owever, the figure varies from 100 in
U gan da to 20,000 in Nigeria and Mauritius. Almost
half th e countries in Africa use a numerical definition
to indicate the areas that qualify as urban.
The p attern of urba nization in West Africa differs
somewhat from that in East Africa. In ma ny West
African countries there are few secondary cities, so
the population is concentrat-
ed in o ne or a few large cities.
Population growth in East
Africa is more evenly distrib-
uted over secondary and ter-
tiary cities. But there, also,
primary cities are going
through a period of rapid
growth. By 2015, it is expect-
ed that one city in Sub-
Saharan Africa (Lagos) will
have a population of more
than 10 million inhabitants,
and 70 cities will have popu-lations of more than 1 mil-
lion. The most importa nt
contributor to urba nization in b oth West and Ea st
Africa was until recently migration from rural areas.
In Southern Africa natural population increase is
already the most importan t cause of urbanization.
Global economic processes have stalled in Sub-
Saha ran Africa with severe consequences for its urbanareas. Africa is the only region of the world without a
true newly industrializing economy. The failure to
industrialize can partly be explained by external fac-
tors, but a variety of domestic factors must also be
taken into account, including economic policies, the
effects of personal rule, historical legacy, the role of
the stat e an d low levels of literacy.
Structural adjustment, which created shortages of
imported materials, reduced investment, retrenched
the public sector and led to declining effective
demand , ha s badly affected urban-based ma nufactur-
ing. Large-scale man ufacturing, which created animpressive volume of jobs in Asia and Latin America,
has generated only a small number of employment
opportunities in urban Africa.
In many countries of Africa, states are pitted against
their cities, abetted by a pro-rural bias among most
aid agencies. As populat ion shifts toward urban
areas, parliaments become disproportionately
weight ed in favour of rural constituen cies. Where sys-
tems of governance are still centralized, this can
result in nationa l neglect of urban areas. This neglect
can translate into a failure to supply and maintain
essential infrastructure and services required by
urban populations and potential investors.
Noneth eless, there is forward movement. In recent
years, national governments across Africa are adopt-
ing decentralization as one of their primary strategies
for developmen t. Africa has also spawned an asso-
ciative sector built on local solidarity movements.
Many of these have been support ed by external aid in
developing and testing innovative bottom-up
approaches to service delivery in both rural and
urban a reas. To increase the involvement of disad-
vantaged groups in economic, social and political
decision making processes, countries in Africa have
revised constitutions and passed legislation that sup-ports the participation of excluded and disadvan-
taged groups, especially women.
Anti-urban bias amongaid agenciesSeveral international development agencies in
Africa still have no department specifically in
charge of urban development. In several agen-
cies, the ruralist lobby is so strong that urban
poverty is hardly recognized as such and urban
development has to walk in disguise behind the
imperatives of health, education, gender, family
planning, micro-enterprise promotion, environ-
ment . Aid organizations tend to ignore the
city as an engine of social and economic devel-
opment that can also contribute to sustainable
rural development.
A
FRICA
AWORLDOFCITIES
(Popu
lation
000's)
Africa Sub Sahara RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
URBANP
OPULAT
ION
TOTA
LPOP
ULATION
20202010200019901980
82,781(23.2%)
132,888(28.1%)
209,472(34.3%)
310,347(40.4%)
440,035(46.2%)
S
(Popu
lation
000's)
Ten Largest Cities - Africa RegionPopulation: 1980-2015
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Nairobi - Kenya
Johannesburg - South Africa
Dar Es Salam - Unit ed Republic of Tanzania
Addis Ababa - Ethiopia
Luanda - Angola
Cape Town - Sout h Africa
Maputo - Mozambique
Abidja n - Cte d'Ivoire
Kinshasa - DemocraticRepublic of the Congo
Lagos - Nigeria
20152010200019901980
Source: U N, World U rbanizati on Prospects, 199 9
Source: UN , World U rbanization Prospects, 1999
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he Arab States urban population is pro-
jected to be 260 million, or 66 percent of
its estimated total of 395 million, by
2020. Tod ay, urban area s account for 56
percent of the total population of 270
million. Municipalities capture about
U S$46 per capita in revenue per year.
The Arab States comprise a great diversity of socio-
economic and human settlement profiles and char-
acteristics: from least developed, th rough d evelopingto oil rich countries; conflict and post-conflict situa-
tions; from very open economies to economic isola-
tion; and highly urbanized to predominantly rural.
The regions considerable internal disparities are
reflected in the conditions in its cities and have
resulted in widely varying domestic needs and prior-
ities: rehabilitation and reconstruction (Iraq,
Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia); poverty alleviation
(Egypt, Jorda n, Syria, Morocco and Yemen); urban
mana gement and housing needs (Egypt, Jordan a nd
Algeria); an d capacity building (Gulf countries).
Rapid population growth remains a ma jor challenge.
Some countries have annual population growth rates
between 3 and 5.5 percent, while some urban g rowth
rates are even high er: 6.4 percent (Iraq ), 5.9 percent
(UAE), and 4.1 percent (Oman and Ba hrain). Urba n
growth rates will remain higher than total population
growth rates in the foreseeable future. In the
regions more diversified economies, urban growth
has been the result of rural-to-urban migration as
well as high fertility and declining rates of mortality.
In some countries, however, high rates of urbaniza-
tion have been stimulated by transnational migration
as well as by nat ural increase.
Urban population is greatest in the smaller states(Kuwait 97 percent, the Gaza Strip 95 percent, and
A
RA
B
S
TATES
Ba hrain and Qata r 92 percent). Saudi Arabia, one of
the largest Arab States, is 86 percent urban, and is
projected to rise to 89 percent urba n by 2010.
Egypt is 45 percent urban and Sudan 36 percent.
Both countries will remain among the regions least-
urbanized in the years to come.
Although rural populations have declined in most of
the regions countries during the 1990-2000 period
and will continue to do so during 2000-2010, six
countries need to deal not only with high urban
growth rates, but also with rapidly expanding rural
populat ions between now a nd 2010: Yemen 38.5 per-
cent, the G aza Strip 31.1 percent, Syria 13.7 percent,
Iraq 11.1 percent, Jordan 11.8 percent, and Egypt
9.9 percent.
Thus, several Arab States need to prepare for both
urban and rural growth. U rban ag glomerations such
as the Amman-Zarqa urban corridor, Jordan, in
which most of the countrys industrial activity and
social and educational facilities are concentrated,
serve as major pulling forces for rural-to-urban
migration. Likewise, Dam ascus, Cairo and
Alexandria can also expect further strong rural-to-
urban migration. Many cities are now going through
a critical phase of development, marked by dwin-
dling resources, increasing poverty, and serious envi-
ronmental degradation.
AWORLDOFCITIES
(Popu
lation0
00's)
Arab States RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
URBA
NPOP
ULATION
TOTA
LPOP
ULATION
20202010200019901980
259,963
(65.8%)
204,446(61.4%)
152,382(56.4%)
109,529(51.2%)
71,475(44.9%)
T
The regions considerable internal dispari-
ties are reflected in the conditions in its
cities and have resulted in widely varying
domestic needs and priorities
(Popu
lation
000's)
Ten Largest Cities - Arab States RegionPopulation: 1980-2015
0
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
Beirut - Lebanon
Aleppo - Syrian Arab Republic
Damascus - Syrian Ar ab Republic
Arbil - Iraq
Khartoum - Sudan
Riyadh - Saudi Ara bia
Casablanca - Morocco
Alexandria - Egypt
Baghdad - Iraq
Cairo - Egypt
20152010200019901980
Source: U N, Worl d Ur banization Prospects, 1999
Source: U N, World U rbanization Pr ospects, 1999
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he urban population in the Asia and
Pacific region is expected to be 1,970 mil-
lion, or 46 percent of its projected tota l of
4,298 million , by 2020. By 2025 the
majority of the regions population will
live in urban areas. Urba n areas today
account for 35 percent of the total population of
3,515 million. On averag e, municipalities secure
about U S$153 per capita in revenue per year.
In recent years, the Asia and the Pacific region has
been known for extremely high rates of industrializa-
tion, linked to increased international and regional
trad e. An average urban growth rate of about 2.7
percent per year is nearly 27 percent greater tha n the
global a verage (2.11 percent), and th e absolute num-
ber of urban residents is nearly triple that in the
highly industrialized countries. Both China (2.47)
and India (2.84) are close to the regional average
rate of urban growth in the past five years.
Southeastern Asia has the highest urban growth in
the region at 3.57 percent, followed by Southcentral
Asia at 2.97 percent. Eastern Asia and O ceania ha ve
the lowest urban growth rates at 2.02 percent 1.21
percent, respectively.
Amidst this aggregate increase, urban growth in sev-
eral Asian countries was, at times, negative. These
countries, where national population policies have
often been applied ruthlessly, include Sri Lanka
(1975-1985), Cambodia (1970-1975), East Timor
(the last 40 years), Vietnam (1990-1995) and the
Ma ldives (1990-1995).
Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific raises red flags,
particularly because an increasing number of poor is
living in urban areas. The size and urgency of the
problem requires different ways of managing cities
and their related infrastructure and service require-
ment s. Recently, ma cro-economic an d finan cial
crises have cast doubt on conventional concepts and
app roaches. Coun tries tha t had achieved well-func-
tioning cities in a steady process of improvement
over a period of twenty to thirty years have seen the
collapse of urban functions in the wake of the finan-
cial crises of the 1990s.
The economic contraction affected the lives of mil-
lions, agg ravatin g social vulnerabilities. It has had
many dimensions - falling incomes, rising absolute
poverty and malnutrition, declining public services,
threats to educational and health status, increased
pressure on women, and increased crime and vio-
lence. In Ea st and South east Asia, the social conse-
quences of the financial crisis continue to linger in
spite of recent indications of recovery. Its impact ha s
been felt m ore in cities, reflected in in creased p over-
ty brought about by cutbacks in both public and pri-
vate employment as well as in public expenditures
for health and education.
Yet, m any cities have been able to achieve significant
success, which can be built upon, scaled up and repli-
cated. The increased pace of urban ization and its
linkages to economic globalization have reinvigorat-
ed interest in the process of governance and its linksto economic growth.
In Asia and the Pacific, decentralization and local
autonomy are gaining more momentum and, with
this, the interest in building t he capa city of local gov-
ernm ent s is growing. While several Asian countr ies
have adopted decentralization policies, excessive
controls are still exercised by higher levels of govern-
ment on the functional, financial and administrative
responsibilities of local government . As a result,
there is a mismatch between the functional p owers of
local governments and the financial resources avail-
able to them.
A
SIA
A
N
DT
H
E
PA
CIFIC
AWORLDOFCITIES
(Popu
lation
000's)
Asia and Pacific RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
3,000,000
4,000,000
5,000,000
URBANPO
PULATION
TOTAL P
OPULAT
ION
20202010200019901980
657,481(25.9%)
943,431(31.0%)
1,229,835(35.0%)
1,572,425(40.0%)
1,970,010(45.8%)
T
urban growth rate of about 2.7 percent
per year is nearly 27 percent greater
than the global average
(Popu
lation
000's)
Ten Largest Cities - Asia & Pacific RegionPopulation: 1980-2015
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
Metro Manila - Philippines
Osaka - Japan
Jakarta - Indonesia
Delhi - India
Karachi - Pakista n
Dhaka - Bangladesh
Shanghai - China
Calcutta - India
Bombay - India
Tokyo - Japan
20152010200019901980
Source: U N, World U rbanizati on Prospects, 199 9
Source: UN , World U rbanization Prospects, 199 9
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he urban population in the Highly
Industrialized Countries (HIC) is project-
ed to be 547 million, or 84 percent of its
total population of 649 million, by 2020.
Toda y, urba n a reas account for 80 percent
of the total population of 597 million. On
average, municipalities receive about US$2,906 per
capita in revenue per year.
In most highly industrialized countries, the urban
tran sformation has near ly stabilized. Therefore,
cities no longer deal with the effects of rapid urban-
ization, but rather with a combination of other demo-
graphic issues and the impacts of global trends:
increasing internationalization of metropolitan
regions; chan ges in the d istribution of responsibilities
between the public and the private sectors; a general-ly stronger role for a few major cities within each
country; ageing populations and the related prob-
lems of access to health care and pensions; interna-
tional migration; and the highly detrimental impacts
of social and economic polarization. In several indus-
trialized countries these trends are compounded by
the mo vement of jobs to newly industrializing regions
and by rising urban poverty among vulnerable
groups, further fuelling polarization trends.
In nearly all industrial countries, rural populations
are still decreasing; a trend expected t o continue over
the coming decades. In the past half-century, cities
have changed from fairly concentrated and identifi-
able entities into amorphous areas, sprawling into
their hinterlands without visible borders between
town and country. The autom obile may be the facili-
tator, but causes of this dispersal include consump-
tion-driven capitalism, the desire for more modern
and spacious housing in open landscapes, the archi-
tectural and planning ideals of modernists and the
developers preference for cheap greenfield sites.
Currently, half the urban population of Europe lives
in small towns of 10-50,000 people, a quarter in
medium sized towns and cities of 50-250,000, and a
quarter in cities with more than 250,000 people.4
Projections for 2020 do not indicate much change in
the pattern of population distribution over city-size
classes. In 2020, there will be five urban a gglom era-
tions larger than 5 million inhabitants in Europe:
Par is, Moscow, Lon do n, Essen/Ruhrgebiet an d St.
Petersburg. In Nort h America, cities of more than 5
million will be New York, Los Angeles and Ch icago.
For the past two decades, the industrialized countries
committed themselves to economic policies aimed at
encouraging macroeconomic stabilization, structural
adjustment and the globalization of production anddistribution. Although t hese policies have in general
been effective in promoting short-term economic
growth, low inflation, and lower current-account
imbalances, negative longer-term societal implica-
tions are now emerging as major political and socio-
economic dilemma s. G rowing political disenchant-
ment arising from widening income gaps, declining
political participation, and wide-spread social exclu-
sion is manifesting itself in cities across North
America and Europe alike. Social exclusion, urban
segregation and violence have become phenomena
common to man y cities and, in the U nited States, the
National League of Cities says racial tension is the
number one issue facing cities.5
West European an d N orth American cities are
wealthy with generally well-educated populations. In
1998, the industrialized countries were among those
with the highest GD P per capita - more than three
times the world average. Noneth eless, persistent
pockets of destitution continue to exist in cities
throughout the entire region and poverty certainly
has not yet been overcome. Around 17 percent of all
urban households in the highly industrialized coun-
tries are income poor. But access of women to
employment, literacy rates and school enrolmenthave a ll increased in Western Europe an d N orth
America.
AWORLDOFCITIES
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
URBAN
POPULA
TION
TOTAL
POPUL
ATION
20202010200019901980
(Popu
lation
000's)
Highly Industrialized RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
404,725(77.7%)
439,695(78.9%)
480,089(80.4%)
513,769(82.2%)
547,476(84.3%)
T(Popu
lation
000's)
Ten Largest Cities - Highly IndustrializedRegion Population: 1980-2015
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
Milan - Italy
Philadelphia - United States of America
Toronto - Canad a
Essen - Germa ny
Chicago - United States of Ameri ca
London - United Kingdom
Istanbu l - Turkey
Paris - France
Los Angeles - United Stat es of America
New York - Unit ed States of America
20152010200019901980
H
IG
H
LY
IN
DU
STRIA
LIZED
Source: UN , World U rbanization Prospects, 1999
Source: U N, World U rbanizati on Prospects, 199 9
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atin America and the Caribbean is the
most urbanized region in the developing
world. In 1930, Latin America had just
over 100 million inhabitants. Now, its
populat ion stan ds at 519 million. With
75 percent, or 391 million, of its people
living in cities, it h as an urban/rural ra tio similar to
tha t of the highly industrialized countries. The pro-
portion of urban population is particularly high in
Argen tina (89.8%), the B ah am as (88.5%), U rug uay
(91.3%) an d Venezuela (86.9 %). Moreo ver, urban
agglomerations of Buenos Aires, So Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro, Mexico City and Lima are already among
the 30 largest in the world. The urban population
in the Latin America and Caribbean region will
approach 539 million, or 81 percent of its projected
tota l population of 665 million, by 2020. On a ver-
age, municipalities capture about US$87 per capita
in revenue per year.
Urbanization patterns in the region, with Brazil
being a notable exception, typically involve a single
very large city per country. For example, the Lima
metropolitan area has over 7.4 million inhabitants -
almost 30 percent of Perus total population. The
second largest city, Arequipa, has fewer than 700,000
inhabitants.
In recent years, a more broadened urban hierarchy
has developed in the region with a host of fast grow-
ing intermediate cities because of the penetration of
global economy to new levels and t he increasingly
specialized functions that smaller cities are perform-
ing. The region now has 51 cities with more than
one million inhabitants - 14 of these are in Brazil
alone. The growth of these intermediate cities has a
dampening effect on the number of mega-cities.
Nonetheless, secondary cities have not necessarily
gained enough political power or improved govern-
ment services despite their growth. They still tend t o
lack the economic diversity, urban services, and the
cultural life that the regions prima te cities offer.
Despite general economic growth, deep inequalities
persist in most countries of the region. Much pover-
ty is concentrated in the urban areas, and a massive
40 percent of the population of Mexico City and a
third of So Paulos population is at or below the
poverty line. These poor urban dwellers mostly live
in substandard housing within informal settlements
and with limited or no a ccess to ba sic services. Man y
of the regions urban residents have to deal with a
host of societal shortfalls: insecurity of tenure; ina de-
quate access to affordable transportation; environ-
mental degradation; high levels of violence; andincreasing social and spatial segrega tion. Poverty is
often the result of social position, depending on eco-
nomic class, ag e, ethnicity or gen der. As the num ber
of poor people in th e region rose from 44 to 220 mil-
lion between 1970 and 2000, so did the number of
women in poverty. More than one-third of the poor-
est households are headed by women.
LATIN
AM
ERICA
AND
THE
CAR
IBBEAN
AWORLDOFCITIES
(Popu
lation
000's)
Latin America and the Caribbean RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
URBA
NPOP
ULATION
TOTA
LPOP
ULATI
ON
20202010200019901980
234,634(64.9%)
312,714(71.0%)
390,921(75.3%)
467,431(78.5%)
539,100
(81.0%)
In 1930, Latin America had just
over 100 million inhabitants.
Now, its population stands at
519 millionL
(Popu
lation
000's)
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Porto Alegre - Brazil
Guadalajara - Mexico
Belo Horizont e - Brazil
Santiago - Chile
Bogot- Colom bia
Lima - Peru
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Buenos Aires - Argent ina
So Pau lo - Brazi l
Mexico City - Mexico
20152010200019901980
Ten Largest Cities - Latin American RegionPopulation: 1980-2015
Source: U N, World U rbanizati on Prospects, 199 9
Source: U N, Worl d Ur banization Prospects, 1999
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
12/2417
he urban population in the countries with
economies in tra nsition (ET) will app roach
420 million, or 78 percent of its projected
total population of 541 million, by 2020.
Toda y, urba n a reas account for 70 percent,
or 382 million of the total population of
543 million. The urban share of total populat ion
ranges from 40 percent in most of the central Asian
republics to nearly 75 percent in Russia, about the
same as the HI C and Latin American countries. Of
the central Asian republics that were part of the for-
mer Soviet Union, four - Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan a nd Turkmen istan - recorded n ega tive
urban g rowth rates between 1990 and 1995. The
aggregate urban populations in the first and last of
these countries is still decreasing. On averag e,
municipalities of the ET countries capture about
U S$275 per capita in revenue per year.
It is primarily the former centrally planned
economies of Eastern and Central Europe, plus the
CIS countries, that have become known as economies
in transition. Some of these were amo ng the first
industrialized urban societies in the world but in
recent decades have failed to modernize their cities.
The enormity of the task of their transforming to
market economies and upgrading their cities is now
man ifesting itself to a full extent. At present, there
are very few ETs whose tran sition is complet e.
Although the transition from centralized to free mar-
ket economies ha s delivered considerable social ben-
efits, it ha s also proven a costly process. Tran sition
started with general impoverishment in 1996, real
wage levels in ma ny ETs had fallen to half or less
compared to 1989. Next came rises in unemploy-
ment, followed by sharp increases in poverty and
inequality, a striking deterioration of public services
and a fall in the provision of educational services.
The elderly often sentenced to poverty - became
major losers in the tra nsition process, as well as manymidd le-aged people, since retirement was widely used
to reduce unemployment . H alf the regions poor cit-
izens live in cities.
There are, indeed, sharp differences among the vari-
ous countries with economies in tra nsition, not ably in
criminality, corruption an d democracy. Some, partic-
ularly in Central Europe, have clearly started to
ad just to the m arket economy promoted by the West.
But, although the laissez-faire model was assumed by
many experts to be the solution, experience during
the past decade indicates that this does not necessar-
ily hold true for all. The informa l sector in a number
of countries will play an increasing role, as a conse-
quence of growth in the labour force without a mat ch-ing response in the level of formal employment
opportunities.
In several of the regions countries, newly enfran-
chised city governments often have neither the expe-
rience nor the capacity to deal with the huge defi-
ciencies built up over the years. In spite of quant ita-
tive transfer of tasks to local autho rities, dema nd s fre-
quently overshadow administrative and financial
capacities. It is, therefore, importa nt to strengthen
both the institutional and financial bases of local
auth orities to enable them to part icipate effectively in
the development process. Local government income
figures suggest that decentralization has not been
achieved since the national government transfers are
still very high. There are, however, capacity building
programmes ongoing in such countries as Poland and
Romania, a nd, in the Balkans, cities are undergoing
not o nly reconstruction but re-invention.
Sustainable urban development in ET countries will
depend upon the creation and maintenance of effi-
cient land and property markets; the development of
housing finance; a greater emphasis on municipal
finance and institution building; the strengthening of
urban utility systems; a growing int erest in th e preser-
vation of cultural assets and heritage; and the respon-siveness to such emergencies as earthquakes and
flooding.6
AWORLDOFCITIES
(Popu
lation
000's)
Transition RegionPopulation: 1980-2020
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
URBAN
POPULA
TION
TOTALPOPULATION
20202010200019901980
305,977(61.3%)
354,035(66.3%)
382,296(70.5%)
404,534(74.2%)
419,690(77.5%)
T
www.undp.org/hdro/www.worldbank.org/wdr/
(Popu
lation
000's) Ten Largest Cities - Transition Region
Population: 1980-2015
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
Minsk - Belarus
Budapest - Hungary
Baku - Azerbaijan
Bucharest - Roman ia
Tashkent - Uzbekista n
Warsaw - Poland
Kiev - Ukraine
Katowi ce - Poland
Saint Petersburg - Russian Federati on
Moscow - Russian Federatio n
20152010200019901980
ECO
N
O
M
IE
S
IN
TRA
NS
ITIO
N
Source:U
N,
Wor
ldUrban
izat
ion
Prospec
ts,
1999
Source: U N, Worl d Ur banization Prospects, 1999
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
13/24
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
14/2419
Another hazardJust as it is becoming clear that poverty reduction demands more effective local response and more supportive en-
abling policies at th e nationa l level, the urban poor fa ce addition al risk. In th e 1970s, the world emba rked on a p hase
of globalization aimed at deregulating labour markets, privatizing government functions and liberalizing finance.
Finan cial liberalization was supposed to move savings from d eveloped to d eveloping countries, lower the costs of bor-
rowing, reduce risk through n ew finan cial instruments, an d increase economic growth. Much the opposite material-
ized: savings have flowed from poor to richer countries, interest rates have generally increased, risk has risen and
economic growth throughout the world has slowed for the vast majority of countries, rich and poor.2
With global liberalization, job and income security worsened in both rich an d poor countr ies. Com petition for for-
eign investment and the greater ability of employers to shift production to other locations have undermined job se-
curity and collective bargaining . Mergers and acquisitions, now the most prevalent form of foreign domestic
investment (FDI) in developing countries, have commonly produced corporate restructuring and massive layoffs.
Then, in 1997-1998, the economic crisis in Asia struck a blow against economies in the developing world that had
been held up as mo dels of liberalized success. The crisis was caused in p art by poorly regulated financial systems that
allowed an excessive flow of credit to weak borrowers and to high risk projects.3 Banks were weakened by growing
levels of unreported n on-performing d ebt. In m id-1997, market confidence collapsed.
In one country after another, starting in Thailand a nd spreading to Malaysia, Ind onesia, th e Philippines and the Re-
public of Korea, th e Asian crises exposed th e risks inherent to close integration of na tiona l economies with th e global
financial ma rkets. H uman impacts were severe and will persist long a fter economic recovery.
In the two decades prior to the crises, East and Southeast Asian countries made spectacular welfare gains, primarilybecause growth was largely inclusive - the poor shared the benefits. The numb er of poor people ha d fa llen and the
severity of poverty had declined. Life expectan cy at birth, infa nt mort ality, and literacy all improved. The economic
crisis in Asia caused th e biggest setback for poverty reduction in several d ecades. It caused lay-offs, real wage declines,
weak demand for new labor market entrants, and falling margins in the informal sector.
In Thailand , unemployment increased by 50 percent. In th e Republic of Korea, unemployment reached t wo million
people during 1998, up from one-ha lf million the year before. In th e Philippines, one million addition al people
joined the r anks of th e jobless.
Job losses hit women, youth a nd unskilled workers hard est. Families under stress were taking children out o f school.
Increasing d omestic violence, street crime a nd suicides were reported in m ost of th e countries as a result of increased
social stress and fa mily fragm entat ion. More people live in poverty toda y in Asia than in the m id-1990s.
Lessons in governanceIn Asia, cities became the locus of bad debt generated in large part by a vast over-
supply of middle and upper-class housing estates, condominiums, hotels and office
towers. The Asia crisis revealed the destru ctive side of glob aliza tion . The prospect of
global markets fueled the desire of many entrepreneurs and some government offi-
cials to cash in quickly. It increased the oppor tunities for crony capitalism and cor-
ruption. Expecting a rising tide to float all ships, it diverted att ention from the basic
needs of those who are normally excluded or could not participate.
As the Asian crisis and those that occurred in Mexico, Brazil and Russia have demon-
strated, a ll urban commun ities, not o nly the poor - who are always at greatest risk - are
vulnerable to malfunctions of global economic system. It is only a ma tter of time be-
fore another systemic shock shakes investor confidence and capital abandons even
stronger economies. At th is moment, r ising oil prices, falling stock prices and a series
of global food supply problems are causing politicians an d investors no small concern.
Local auth orities, who know the micro-realities of poverty an d a re on th e front line in
respond ing t o all social, economic and environmental crises, urgently require different
and more effective tools for securing the lives of their citizens and ensuring that the
urban poor have some protection against global market hazards.
The silver lining is that the increased pace of urbanization and its linkages to eco-
nomic globalization have reinvigorated interest in good urban governance and its
links to economic growth. The combined effect of economic foibles and failures is
helping to define the fundamentals of good governance, made conspicuous by their
absence: fiscal discipline, fair and tran sparent resource allocation, effective and p re-
dictable regulatory systems, fiduciary responsibility, strategic planning, independent
and just mecha nisms for conflict resolution, p articipator y decision-making , safety andsecurity for all, open information flows and ethical behaviour.
Hobbling local governmentIn t he name of a g lobal economy, international
institutions are taking steps to liberate ma rkets
from the regulatory authority of nations and
their autonomous subdivisions - the provinces
and cities. That aut hority can be pre-empted
by such instruments as the proposed Multilat-
eral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which
was read by many local authorities as re-
stricting their abilities to: (1) condition new
major investments within their jurisdictions onperformance requirements in support of local
economic development; (2) prohibit contracts
with entities that violate international human
rights, labour and environmental laws; and (3)
prohibit public entities from conditioning the
receipt of public funds on compliance with
human rights laws or other criteria reflecting
community values. Local Ca nad ian and
U nited Sta tes officials noticed tha t the MAI put
in question the ability of municipalities, acting
in the public interest, to limit the use of prop-
erty through zoning, among other instru-
ment s. An intern ation al coalition, using
Internet to organize opposition, scuttled the
MAI.
www.tradewatch
.org/otherissues/MAI/
www.w
towatch.org/
www.socialwatch.orb/2000/
www.id21.org/insights26/
www.unchs.org/(HabitatDebate,December2000)
www.apsanet.or
g/PS/dec99/waltz.cfm
www.
epinet.org/
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
15/24
A Tale of
20
he urban poor have seen globalization be-fore, whether in the name of Civilization,
Empire, Industrialization or Moderniza-
tion: all terms used to describe the web of
international forces - in finance, trade, mi-
gration, governance and culture - that have
shaped na tional and global history.
On e hund red an d seventy years ago, such forces were
at work in Victorian England, the first industrialized
society on earth. Through out the 19th century, Eng -
lands expansion of national wealth and consumer
purchasing power continuously outpaced the rise in
population, so there was much to be said for indus-
trialization. The promise of employment in the fast-
growing cities ensured that rural-to-urban migration
rapidly transformed England into an urban society.
However, the contrast of living conditions between
rich an d poor in the city remained glaring.
Eventually, politicians and reformers realized thatsomething had to be done about the growing
human and environmental tragedy, whether by reg-
ulating the price of bread, for example, or offering
poverty relief backed up by punitive forms of social
regulation. It took decades for the institutions of
government to temper the Industrial Revolution
with social justice, often only in response to the
threat p osed by rad ical political movements such a s
The Chartists (1837 1848) or the public outcry
caused by writers such as Kingsley, Mayhew and
Dickens.
Even though the cost to those who lived in th e over-
crowded cities was inhumanly high, within a few
decades the d omestic benefits of the Ind ustrial Rev-
olution were indisputable: reduced cost of bread,
meat, coffee, tea and coal; an 80 percent reduction
in the cost of cloth; factory working hours reduced
from 74 to 60 hours per week for adults
and from 72 to 40 hours for children; five
years added to the average life span;
criminal law reformed and per capita
taxes reduced by fifty percent. On e can
see how difficult it must have been to
convince those with power and wealth,
the main architects and beneficiaries of19
th century globalization, that swifter
prog ress toward social justice was need ed.
British slums in the 1850sThen, as now, these slums existed in part because they
were profitable for land lords. A lodgin g house of eight
rooms might take on a hundred boarders, each paying a
shilling or two a week to live in hugger-mugger promis-
cuity, sleeping with as many as twenty members of thesame or opposite sex in the same room.
Mi chael Crichton, T he Great Trai n Robbery
Dickenss London
Cities
A Tale Of2
One of the notoriously
over-crowded slum areas
of London. Sheets dr y ona makeshi ft pole poked
from the window of a
lodging house and a
woman emerges from a
cell ar. Cellar dwell ings
were il legal at thi s time. T
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
16/24
RiissNew York
21
American
slums in the 1890s
As a result of this laissez-faire
philosophy of private enterprise,
of the weak municipal authori-
ties of the n ew state-centered po-
litical system, an d of th e political
tenets and antiurban biases of
the ag raria n philosophy, some of
the worst housing and living
conditions experienced by
modern man were created in
America during the coming half
century .On the congested
streets of the city - frequently of
mud and often strewn with
garbage - the contrast between
the personal wealth of the few
and the abject poverty of the
many was startling.
I nternati onal City Managers Associati on,
The Practice of L ocal Government Plann ing
In the latter half of the
19 th century, New
York, the main
gateway to the New
World , grew to be-
come the largest city on
earth. Many immigrants
arrived from th e crowded
slums of Europe and set-
tled in conditions just as
bad or worse than those
they had left. The ra il-road flats, 5 to 7 storey
versions of the London
slum, were a standard so-
lution to unprecedented
demand for city space.
Parked together like
crates in a warehouse,
these elongated walk-up
flats had no side win-
dows, water supply or
sanitary facilities. A small rear yard conta ined a commun al latrine, and some-
times a well, creating appalling public health conditions.The second ha lf of the 19
thcentury, often called th e G ilded Age , nevertheless
witnessed th e failure of American g overnance to provide any relief to th e poor,
urban or rura l. Ind ustrial growth seemed like an unlimited blessing - but the
depression of 1893 and other events began to change all that. 1
The willingness of industrialists - heroes of virtue, hard work and success - to
fire workers, shut down plants and use violent means to suppress strikes, tar-
nished their reputation.2 Then, the eyes of the other half were opened to the
filth, disease and squalor of Americas slums through the ph otogra phs and writ-
ings of journalists such as Jacob Riis and Lincoln Steffens - the latter, for ex-
ample, writing a series of influential articles on corruption in six major
American cities for McClures Magazine in 1902 and 1903. 3
Such popular accounts of the living conditions of the poor awakened a society
that had hitherto believed th at m ost social problems emana ted from the moral
defects of the people them selves - par ticularly immigra nts. Out of th is flood of
exposs came a series of reforms, including the founding of the National Mu-
nicipal League in 1894 as a citizens campaign for the reform of the state and
local government.
In 1909, legislation was passed giving municipalities the right to engage in city
planning. Among man y other local, state and national reforms of the Progres-
sive Era were housing codes and zoning to regulate construction; civil service
legislation that curtailed patronage; protection for women; development of fire
codes; laws setting reserve requirements of banks; licensing laws for profes-
sionals; laws regulating disposal of sewage and garbage as well as food pro-
cessing in restaurants; and laws regulating hours and working conditions of
women and children.Thus two different countries - and cities - responded to the harsher effects of
globalization: through public awareness, and democratic reform.
Five Cents a Spot, Lodgers in a Bayard Street Tenement
Photograph
1889 M useum of the City of New YorkJacob A. Ri is Coll ection # 155
Two Cities
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
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0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
(Popu
lation000's)
TOKYO
2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
985
1
98
0
1
975
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
955
1
95
0
6,9
20
26,4
44
MUMBAI
2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
985
1
980
1
97
5
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
95
5
1
95
0
(Popu
lation000's)
2,9
01
26,1
38
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
MEXICOCITY2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
985
1
980
1
97
5
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
95
5
1
95
0
(Popu
latio
n000's)
2,8
85
19,1
80
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
SOPAULO2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
985
1
98
0
1
97
5
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
955
1
95
0
(Popu
lation000's)
2,4
23
20,3
97
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
NEWYORK2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
985
1
98
0
1
975
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
955
1
95
0
(Popu
lation000's)
12
,339
17,4
32
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
2
01
5
2
01
0
2
005
2
000
1
995
1
990
1
98
5
1
98
0
1
97
5
1
97
0
1
965
1
960
1
95
5
1
95
0
(Popu
lation000's)
LAGOS288
23,1
73
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
NUMBER OF AGGLOMERATIONS OF
MORE THAN 1MILLION PER REGION, 2000
0
50
100
150
200
250
Polynesia
Micronesia
A
ustralia/New
Zealand
Ocean
ia
NorthernAmerica
Middle
Africa
WesternAfr
ica
SouthernAfr
ica
NorthernAfr
ica
EasternAfr
ica
Africa
Caribbean
CentralAmerica
South
America
La
tinAmericaandtheCaribbean
NorthernEur
ope
SouthernEur
ope
WesternEur
ope
EasternEur
ope
Europe
South-
easternAsi
a
WesternAsi
a
South-centralAsia
EasternAsi
a
As
ia
Popu
lation
(inm
illions)
206
109
61
2115
64
2620
117
51
33
135
43
129 8 8 6
41
6 60 0 0
Toronto
So Paulo
Santiago
RiodeJaneiro
PortoAlegre
Philadelphia
NewYork
MexicoCit y
LosAngeles
Lima
Guadalajara
Chicago
BuenosAires
Bogot
BeloHorizonte
4,651
17,755
5,538
10,582
3,708
4,402
16,640
18,131
13,140
7,443
3,908
6,951
12,560
6,288
4,170
THESIXWORLD'SLARGESTCITIES
A WORLD OF CITIESTHE WORLDS LARGEST CITIES
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
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1000
500
250
100
50
25
5
1
Populat ion Density(persons/km2)
2015
0
10
20
30
40
50
Fewerthan
500,0
00
500,0
00
to1million
1to5
million
5to10
million
10million
ormore
(%)
9.8%6
.
5%
26.3%
9.8%
47.6%
Fewerthan
500,0
00
500,0
00
to1million
1to5
million
5to10
million
10million
ormore
9.
2%
6.1%
26.7%
10.1%
47.9%
2000
(%)
0
10
20
30
40
50
Fewerthan
500,0
00
500,0
00
to1million
1to5
million
5to10
million
10million
ormore
4.4%8
.
2%
21.2%
11.4%
54.8%1975
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
(%)
Source: World Popula tion Prospects: The 1999 Revision, Unit ed Nations Populat ion Division
THE TEN LARGEST CITIES IN EACH REGION, 2000 (in 000's)
THE WORLD'S URBAN POPULATION, BYCITY SIZETHE WORLD'S URBAN POPULATION, BYCITY SIZE
TokyoTashkent
Shanghai
Saint Petersburg
Riyadh
Paris
Osaka
Nairobi
MoscowMinsk
Milan
MetroManila
Maputo
Luanda
London
Lagos
Kinshasa
Kiev
Khartoum
Kat owice
Karachi
Johannesburg
Jakarta
Istanbul
Essen
DhakaDelhi
DarEsSalam
Damascus
Casablanca
CapeTown
Calcutta
Cairo
Budapest
Bucharest
Bombay
Beirut
Baku
Baghdad
ArbilAlexandri a
Aleppo
AddisAbaba
Abidjan
26,4442,148
12,887
5,133
3,324
9,624
11,013
2,310
9,3211,772
Warsaw2,269
4,251
10,870
3,025
2,677
7,640
13,427
5,064
2,670
2,731
3,487
11,794
2,335
11,018
9,451
6,541
12,31711,695
2,347
2,335
3,541
2,993
12,918
10,552
1,825
2,054
18,066
2,055
1,936
4,797
2,3694,113
2,173
2,639
3,305
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
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20002000
19501950
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
UrbanPopulationas%ofWorld'stotal,1998
OECD
EastAsia
SouthA
sia
LAC
EasternE
urope
andt
heC
IS
Sub
-SaharanA
frica
Sout-EastAsia
andt
heP
acific
Arab
States
percen
tage(%)
5%7% 7%
10%
14%15%
17%
31%
Source: UNDPHuman Development Report2000
A WORLD OF CITIESTHE WORLDS URBANIZED AREAS
7/27/2019 2001 a World of Cities
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0 - 10
10 -20
20 -30
30 -40
40 -50
50 -60
60 -70
70 -80
80 -90
90 - 100
% of urbanpopulation,by country
URBANIZATION RATESURBANIZATION RATESSource: World Popula tion Prospects: The 1999 Revision, Unit ed Nations Populat ion Division
20302030
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Source:W
orl
dPopu
lation
Prospec
ts:T
he
1999Rev
ision,
Un
ited
Na
tions
Popu
lation
Division
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
3.9
7
2.6
7
0.3
4
2.1
1
1.1
1
1.2
6
6.00
(%)
Polynesia
Micronesia
Melanesia
Australia/NewZ
ealand
allOceania
NorthernAmerica
South
America
CentralAmerica
Carib
b
ean
allLatinAmerica&Caribbean
WesternEurope
SouthernEurope
NorthernEurope
EasternEurope
allEurope
WesternAsia
South
-easternAsia
South
-centralAsia
EasternAsia
allAsia
WesternAfrica
SouthernAfrica
NorthernAfrica
Middle
Africa
EasternAfrica
allAfrica
Urban populationgrowth ratesin countries,
byregion,1995-2000
6
Average annual rat eof change of theurban population (%)
Source: World Populat ion Prospects: The 1999 Revision, United Nations Population Division
URBANPOPULATIONGROWTHRATES, 1995-2000
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T H E S T A T E O F T H E W O R L D S C I T I E S 2 0 0 1
HOUSING
SECURITY OF TENURE
WOMENS PROPERTY RIGHTS
LAND
HOUSING FINANCE
BASIC SERVICES
TRANSPORT
his chapter looks at the conditions of
shelter throughout the world, and the
trends likely to determine whether
shanty towns become the prevailing icon
of urban life, or whether we shall indeed
see a world of cities without slums.
An enabling strategy
Around these issues, Habitat II broke new ground.Member States committed themselves to working
with local authorities, the private sector and with or-
ga nizations of civil society as genuine p artn ers in sus-
taina ble urban development. The essence of this
new consensus is an enabling strategy in which the
state no longer assumes the role of direct provider,
but creates a legislative and administrative environ-
ment in which shelter an d services can best be deliv-
ered by a wide range of actors.
This reappraisal coincides with two other global
trends:
the unprecedented rate of urbanization, particu-
larly in the developing world; and
the devolution and decentralization of power and
authority.
Within an en abling environment , the role of national
or local government moves from the direct delivery
of services to the creation of appropriate and effec-
tive mechanisms to facilitate delivery by the private
and community sectors, along with new standards of
accountability.
Human rights and sustainabledevelopment
A significant trend in the past decade has been thegrowing awareness of the relationship between
human rights and sustainable development. In the
field of shelter, this has led to a decline in human
rights a buses, such as ma ss forced evictions, an d con-
frontation is being replaced by negotiation an d par-
ticipation.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the most ur-
banized region of the developing world, organized
land invasions and mass evictions have declined
ma rkedly. As a result, energies ha ve been chan nelled
into negotiating security of tenure and the up-
grading of settlements, mainly through self-helpconstruction.
Elsewhere in the d eveloping world, th e experience is
mixed. Post-apa rtheid South Africa has one of the
clearest policies for preventing forced evictions,
whereas in some other Sub-Sahara African countries
arbitra ry and violent evictions still ha ppen. In south
Asia, there have been significant settlements in the
battles over shelter, but there are still instances of
forced evictions.
Women are taking the leadThe growing role of women offers one of the most
significant policy opportunities in this field, not only
as a matter of political equity but as a key imperative
for development. Women have demon strated their
contribution through the m anag ement of credit pro-
grammes, as well as by assuming positions of urban
leadership. The Habitat Agenda has helped increase
awareness of the tenure rights of women, and of their
role in the management of community services.
Water, land, finance andsecure tenureRising water demand and water scarcity are rapidly
becoming a major challenge, particularly in water-scarce regions like West Asia. The provision of water
typically highlights issues of access and cost re-
garding basic services, with the general rule being
T
Tim Vaulkhard
URB
ANSHE
LTE
R
28
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that the urban poor - unable to wield sufficient political power or develop alter-
native sources of supply - pay the highest prices, while suffering from inade-
quate provision in many parts of the world.
Two of the mo st importa nt comp onents of a sustaina ble shelter policy are land
and finan ce. Without a ssured access to either, the poo r will continue to find
their own - usually illega l and un health y - solutions. Action plann ing for infra -
structure, title registration a nd micro-credit schemes offer the poor m ore effec-
tive solutions, though in ma ny developing countries improved access to housing
finance is also needed even for mod erate-to-upper income g roups.
In all regions of the world, extending urban citizenship to the poor, through the
granting of secure tenure for example, is one of the most far-reaching decisions
that can be taken in promoting a sustainable shelter strategy.
Local delivery of servicesToda y, local auth orities are increasingly providing or m ana ging the m ost essen-
tial urban services. In La tin America and th e Caribbean , where 150 million
people do not have access to safe water and an estimated 250 million lack
proper sanitation, experience has shown that city-wide programmes of support
to low-income settlements can have considerable impact on daily living condi-
tions, an d th at decentralization has helped ensure the implementation of com-munity development programmes, especially the provision of water, sanitation
and other basic health measures.
Similar lessons emerge from Asia, though the trend towards decentralization is
not without pitfalls and has at times resulted in a mis-match between the finan-
cial resources and skills of local auth orities and their n ew responsibilities.
TeddyA.Su
yasa/TophamPicturepoint/UNEP
S q u a t te r s in se le c t e d c it ie s
Guayaquil Ecuador 49.00%
Ulaanbaatar Mongolia 48.40%
Monrovia Liberia 42.00%
Tacna Peru 30.00%
Mysore India 18.90%
Lima Peru 18.80%
Bangkok Thailand 17.90%
Phnom Penh Cambodia 16.40%
Jinja Uganda 16.00%
Pokhara Nepal 14.00%
Camaguey Cuba 10.30%
San Salvador El Salvador 9.50%
Cajamarca Peru 8.50%
Vientiane Lao 7.40%
Bishkek Kyrghyzstan 6.00%
Algiers Algeria 5.90%
Buenos Aires Argentina 5.70%
Cebu Philippines 5.00%
Vina del mar Chile 3.90%
Cienfuegos Cuba 3.30%
Belgrad Yugoslavia 2.30%
Valparaiso Chile 1.67%
Katowice Poland 1.50%
Kuwait Kuwait 0.80%
Ljubljana Slovenia 0.10%
Yerevan Armenia 0.04%
Gdansk Poland 0 02%
City Country% of house-holds living as
squatters
some regional variations In highly industrialized countries, demographic
trends - including smaller families and an age-
ing population - are increasing the demand for
smaller housing units closer to social servicesand amenities.
Falling birth rates are expected to lead to a
gradual decrease in the urbanization rate in
many developing countries.
In most European countries the conservation,
renovation and modernization of existing stock
is a higher priority than the provision of new
housing.
In Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), where the quality of
old d wellings is generally inferior to th e housing
stock in Western Europe, m odern ization of
existing stock is a key requirement.
In Turkey, as well as the Russian Federation and
the Central Asian republics, overall demand for
new housing stock remains high.
In the United States, a strong economy has
pushed the price of housing in many cities out
of reach not just for the poor, but for young
midd le class families also.www.urbanobservatory.org