State of World Population 2007 focuses on urbanization

Released on 27 June, the publication is available online at www.unfpa.org/swp/2007

In 2008, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population – 3.3 billion people – will be living in urban areas. This number is expected to swell to almost 5 billion by 2030. In Asia alone, between 2000 and 2030, urban population is expected to increase from 1.4 billion to 2.6 billion.

This year, UNFPA has chosen to devote its flagship publication State of World Population to the timely topic of urbanization, under the title “Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth”.

The publication examines the implications of impending urban growth and discusses what needs to be done, with specific attention to poverty reduction and sustainability. Dispelling a few myths, the publication makes two observations: “Poor people will make up a large part of urban growth, and most urban growth comes from natural increase rather than migration”.

Three recommendations ensue: “Accept the right of poor people to the city, abandoning attempts to discourage migration and prevent urban growth”; “Adopt a broad and long-term vision of the use of urban space, providing minimally serviced land for housing and planning in advance to promote sustainable land use…”; and
“Begin a concerted international effort to support strategies for the urban future”.
The publication looks beyond current problems and calls for pre-emptive action for future urban growth.

“Although attention has been focused on mega-cities, most urban growth will be in smaller towns and cities. Their capacities will need considerable strengthening to meet the future challenge. Action now by governments, civil society and the international community can make a huge difference to social, environmental and living conditions”, the report reads.

“The growth of cities will be the single largest influence on development in the 21st century. Yet little is being done to maximize the benefits of urban growth or reduce its harmful consequences”.

Launching the publication in London, Ms. Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director, UNFPA said: “Our primary concern in this report is Africa and Asia. Within a single generation, the urban population in Africa and Asia is set to double… We have never seen urban growth like this in history in terms of its speed and scale”.

“Today, a billion people live in slums, 90 per cent of whom are in developing countries. The battle to reach the Millennium Development Goals, and cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, will be waged in the world’s slums. To win it, policymakers need to be proactive and start working with the urban poor so they can lift themselves out of poverty”, Ms. Obaid stated.

For the second consecutive year, the publication comes along with a youth supplement entitled Growing Up Urban, which features the stories of young women and men growing up in cities of the developing world, where people under age 25 often constitute more than half of the urban population.