Document Abstract
Published:
2008
An overview of urbanisation, internal migration, population distribution and development in the world
A UN report presenting data and examples exploring global patterns of urbanisation
This report presents a range of data and examples to illustrate and explore global patterns of urbanisation. Urbanisation is precipitated by agricultural industrialisation and further driven by the concentration of investment and employment opportunities in urban areas; between 1920 and 2007, the world’s urban population increased from about 270 million to 3.3 billion. There are regional differences to this trend, with more intense urbanisation predicted across Asia compared to the African continent. A further 3.1 billion additional urban dwellers are expected by 2050, including 1.8 billion in Asia and 0.9 billion in Africa. These seismic global changes will both shape and be shaped by economic and social policies.
Urbanisation creates, predictably, winners and losers. On the one hand, urban incomes are consistently higher than those in rural areas. In addition, economies of scale mean it is cheaper and strategically more straightforward to provide a broad spectrum of public services to populations living in high density than it is to those spread out in rural areas.
On the other hand urbanisation brings a range of ills, including environmental contamination, high resource demands and high per capita consumption rates. Income inequality is also stark and increasing amongst city dwellers. Crowded slums are a common feature of many cities. By 2004, over 600 million urban dwellers lacked access to improved sanitation and 180 million lacked access to an improved water source.
Yet continued urbanisation may be the only way to ensure sustainable development. It does not seem ecologically sustainable to foresee the extra 2.4 billion people expected to live on earth by 2050, to inhabit rural areas. Cities, where wealth, infrastructure and know how are already concentrated, are in a better position to adapt to growing populations.
Policy makers therefore, must be prepared to address the effects of increasing urbanisation over the next decades. As a process intrinsically related to development, urbanisation must be managed in ways that maximise its potential benefits and prevent its negative consequences. Policy makers must address issues of service delivery, managing the environmental footprint and health issues as well as housing in rapidly expanding urban contexts. Just how they manage these issues, will determine the role of urbanisation in combating poverty, inequality and environmental degradation.
Urbanisation creates, predictably, winners and losers. On the one hand, urban incomes are consistently higher than those in rural areas. In addition, economies of scale mean it is cheaper and strategically more straightforward to provide a broad spectrum of public services to populations living in high density than it is to those spread out in rural areas.
On the other hand urbanisation brings a range of ills, including environmental contamination, high resource demands and high per capita consumption rates. Income inequality is also stark and increasing amongst city dwellers. Crowded slums are a common feature of many cities. By 2004, over 600 million urban dwellers lacked access to improved sanitation and 180 million lacked access to an improved water source.
Yet continued urbanisation may be the only way to ensure sustainable development. It does not seem ecologically sustainable to foresee the extra 2.4 billion people expected to live on earth by 2050, to inhabit rural areas. Cities, where wealth, infrastructure and know how are already concentrated, are in a better position to adapt to growing populations.
Policy makers therefore, must be prepared to address the effects of increasing urbanisation over the next decades. As a process intrinsically related to development, urbanisation must be managed in ways that maximise its potential benefits and prevent its negative consequences. Policy makers must address issues of service delivery, managing the environmental footprint and health issues as well as housing in rapidly expanding urban contexts. Just how they manage these issues, will determine the role of urbanisation in combating poverty, inequality and environmental degradation.
