Why people living in urban slums?
• During 2008 humankind reached an historic milestone: for the first time ever, half of the world’s population were living in urban areas. • The trend towards urbanisation continues with the population of the world’s cities increasing by approximately 5 million people each month. • Much of this increase is due to migration in search of economic opportunities rather than births. • Within the next two decades nearly 60% of the world’s population will be urban dwellers. The rate of urban population growth is fastest in developing countries, which are least equipped to cope with the need to provide infrastructure and development control. The urban population of Africa is projected to more than double by 2030 (from 375 million to 760 million people – which represents more than the current number of city dwellers in the entire Western Hemisphere) and is likely to double yet again by 2050. Of the 3 billion or so urban dwellers today, UN Habitat estimates that around a third live in slums. Urb
