Publication Date

1-28-2020

Description

The challenges faced by the cities today particularly in the developing world are mainifold. These are rising population, growing urbanization, widening inequalities, adapting and mitigating climate risks and realizing the full economic potential of agglomeration of economies . How to make cities sustainable in the wake of these onerous challenges is therefore not an easy task ? What is Sustainability ? There are many different interpretations but what is most accepted definition is “ meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs” . It has three main pillars: economic, environmental, and social. These three pillars are informally referred to as people, planet and profits. Developing world population mainly in South Asia and Africa would keep on moving on an upward rising slope for the next few decades. By 2050 their share in the world population is projected at 80 percent of the world population. Today, over 4 billion people around the world – more than half the global population – live in cities. This trend is expected to continue. By 2050, with the urban population more than doubling its current size, nearly 7 of 10 people in the world will live in cities. The majority of the additional 3 billion urbanites would be concentrated in Asia and Latin America. Similarly, the number of urban agglomerations (750,000 inhabitants or more) and the number of inhabitants per agglomeration are expected to grow significantly in Asia and Africa by 2025 . It is expected that over 80 per cent of the urban population added in the next 15 years will be found in middle-income countries such as China, India, South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Notes

"Chief guest address at International Workshop", organized by COMSTECH, Islamabad on January 28, 2020.

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