Half the World's Population Now in Cities
2007-06-27 - Sam Hopkins
It is perhaps the single greatest indicator of civilization's rise...and its potential downfall. The United Nations Population Fund says the magnetism of cities is drawing a million people every week into the urban centers of Africa and Asia, where populations will double over the next three decades as rural communities dwindle.
From fuel to food to sewage, the problems created by this monumental shift will force major shifts in the way both rich and poor countries are run. The knock-on effect of overcrowded slums will be emigration, not back to farming communities but to cities in other countries, where opportunities are thought to be better.
As the needs of newly urbanized citizens are met, new markets will develop. Clean, green technology will be a must, as will large-scale delivery of generic medicines and major infrastructural development like roads and pipelines.
It is perhaps the single greatest indicator of civilization's rise...and its potential downfall. The United Nations Population Fund says the magnetism of cities is drawing a million people every week into the urban centers of Africa and Asia, where populations will double over the next three decades as rural communities dwindle.
From fuel to food to sewage, the problems created by this monumental shift will force major shifts in the way both rich and poor countries are run. The knock-on effect of overcrowded slums will be emigration, not back to farming communities but to cities in other countries, where opportunities are thought to be better.
As the needs of newly urbanized citizens are met, new markets will develop. Clean, green technology will be a must, as will large-scale delivery of generic medicines and major infrastructural development like roads and pipelines.
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