2.14 - Urbanization

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Human life on Earth is increasingly urban. 53% of the World's population now lives in cities. There are more than 400 cities with over 1 million people and 28 cities with over 10 million.  In 1700,  just 10% of the World's population lived in cities and only 5 cities had populations of several hundred thousand people. 

Cities are growing worldwide because they are centers of innovation and culture and therefore attract new migrants. These people are looking not just for jobs but for education, the freedom to express themselves, and excitement. Cities pull migrants. Mechanized agriculture has drastically reduced the need for rural labor, resulting inn people being pushed off the land.

The most rapidly growing cities are in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Sub-Saharan Africa is the least urbanized region with about 40% of the population living in cities.  But the region is rapidly urbanizing and by 2050 56% of the population is expected to live in cities. In North America, 82% of the population live in urban areas, Latin America (78%), Europe (74%),  and Asia (50%).

Many cities are unprepared for the massive inflow of rural migrants. About a billion people worldwide live in slums with sub-standard housing, inadequate infrastructure (water, sewer, electricity and roads), and inadequate access to food, clean water, education  and social services. These slums are called barrios, favelas, shantytowns, ghettos and tent villages.  Housing is often self-built out of whatever can be scavenged. Electricity is often obtained illegally by tapping into nearby power lines. Usually there are no toilets with sewer connections and little access to clean water. By 2030, the UN estimates 2 billion people will live in urban slums.

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