The New Global Frontier: Urbanization, Poverty and Environment in the 21st Century

The worlds developing countries will be experiencing massive increases in their urban populations over the 21st century. If managed intelligently and humanely, this growth can pave the way to sustainable development; otherwise, it will favour higher levels of poverty and environmental stress. The outcome depends on decisions being made now.

The principal theme that runs through this volume is the need to transform urbanization into a positive force for development. Part I of this book reviews the demography of the urban transition, stressing the importance of benefi cial rural-urban connections and challenging commonly held misconceptions. Part II asks how urban housing, land and service provision can be improved in the face of rapid urban expansion, drawing lessons from experiences around the world. Part III analyses the challenges and opportunities that urbanization presents for improving living environments and reducing pressures on local and global ecosystems. These social and environmental challenges must be met in the context of fast-changing demographic circumstances; Part IV explores the range of opportunities that these transformations represent. These challenges and opportunities vary greatly across Africa, Asia and Latin America, as detailed in Part V.

Published with IIED and UNFPA

George Martine is lead author of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, and a consultant in Brazil. Gordon McGranahan is the Head of the Human Settlements Group at the IIED. Mark Montgomery is a professor of economics at Stony Brook University, New York, and a senior associate at the Population Council. Rogelio Fernandez-Castilla is former Director of the Technical Support Division (TSD) of UNFPA.