Rapid urbanization of poor nations at risk of failure: Study

August 8, 2010 (JUBA) – Governments in Africa and Asia must embrace and plan for rapid urbanization or risk harming the future prospects of hundreds of millions of their citizens with knock-on effects worldwide, a new study has warned.

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) published the study which was released on Friday.

Citing Brazil as an example, the study urges policymakers to heed lessons from the South American nation, whose failure in the past to plan for rapid urban growth reportedly exacerbated poverty and created new environmental problems and long-term costs that were inevitable.

Meanwhile the proportion of developing countries that have adopted policies to curb urban growth, says the research, rose from 46 percent in 1976 to 74 percent in 2007.

The study thus warns that this will “undoubtedly result in increasing poverty and environmental degradation.”

The research challenges policymakers to recognize the rights of poor people to live in cities and share in the benefits of urban life, while their next step should involve planning ahead for their [poor people’s] land and housing needs within a constantly updated vision of sustainable land use.

“A ‘business-as-usual’ approach that simply reacts to urban growth will be utterly inadequate,” partly says the study, adding that, “To minimize the negative impacts of rapid urban growth, developing countries can learn from Brazil’s experiences and, especially, its mistakes.”

RURAL – URBAN DIVIDE

According to the latest projections, Africa’s urban population is expected to grow by 936 million in the first half of this century, while Asian urban areas will grow by more than 2 billion.

Policies aimed at preventing or retarding this growth instead of preparing ahead for it, says the study, will only make matters worse. Looking ahead, policymakers need to pay special attention to the land and housing needs of the poor.

This it says, not only improves the lives of poor people, but also enables the city to become prosperous and habitable for all.

“Urbanization and massive urban growth in developing countries loom as some of the most critical determinants of economic, social and ecological well-being in the 21st century,” the study further says.

Dr. George Martine, the former President of the Brazilian Association of Population Studies and Dr. Gordon McGranahan of the IIED authored the comprehensive research.

ST