Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth

The UNFPA State of World Population Report 2007 begins by stating that in 2008, for the first time in history, more than half the world’s population, 3.3 billion, will be living in urban areas.

While it says there is cause for alarm, the report is generally positive about the promise of urban growth.

The six chapters focus on:

The promise of urban growth
People in cities: hope countering desolation
Rethinking policy on urban development
The social and sustainable use of space
Urbanization and sustainability in the 21st century
A vision for a sustainable future.

There is also a companion youth supplement, Growing Up Urban, profiling the lives of young people from seven cities.

The report aims to look beyond the current problems and give a vision for the future, noting that poor people will make up a large part of future cities and need to be included in urban planning, not marginalized.

The report calls for a concerted effort by all population institutions and specialists, social movements, governments and the international community to reduce poverty and promote environmental sustainability today, so that cities will be viable tomorrow.