Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth

The United Nations Population Fund has released their State of World Population Report for 2007. It begins like this:

In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor. Their future, the future of cities in developing countries, the future of humanity itself, all depend very much on decisions made now in preparation for this growth.

The growth of the Global South of the Far East continues to out pace the rest of the world.

Between 2000 and 2030, Asia’s urban population will increase from 1.36 billion to 2.64 billion, Africa’s from 294 million to 742 million, and that of Latin America and the Caribbean from 394 million to 609 million. As a result of these shifts, developing countries will have 80 per cent of the world’s urban population in 2030. By then, Africa and Asia will include almost seven out of every ten urban inhabitants in the world.

The report reveals some statistics contradicting earlier predictions of urban growth in the world's mega-cities. Many of these cities, even Mexico City, show a decline in urban sprawl, while some moderate sized cities show dramatic growth.

. . .the mega-cities are still dominant, but they have not grown to the sizes once projected. Today’s mega-cities account for 4 per cent of the world’s population and 9 per cent of all urban inhabitants. This is an important slice of the urban world, but it will probably not expand quickly in the foreseeable future. Many of the world’s largest cities—Buenos Aires, Calcutta, Mexico City, São Paulo and Seoul—actually have more people moving out than in, and few are close to the size that doomsayers predicted for them in the 1970s.

The report gives some clear recommendations for government officials and policymakers. One general exhortation I've posted below:

. . .population institutions and specialists can and should play a key role in supporting community organizations, social movements, governments and the international community in improving the nature and form of future urban expansion, and thus enhancing its power to reduce poverty and promote environmental sustainability. A concerted international effort at this critical time is crucial to clarify policy options and provide information and analyses that will support strategies to improve our urban future.

How should the Church respond?