Oh the Urbanity!

The UN says that more than half of humanity will soon live in urban areas. The epochal demographic shift could happen as early as 2008 and shows no signs of slowing. This Reuters report quotes Anna Tibaijuka, head of the UN Human Settlements Programme UN-HABITAT, who says, "We live in an age of unprcedented, rapid, irreversible urbanisation. The cities growing fastest are those of the developing world, and the fastest-growing neighbourhoods are the slums." Already, one sixth of the world's population lives in urban slums, where basic amenities and health services are lacking. With the increasing urban settlement, many hyper-cities will become so-called mega-cities of 20 million or more. Tokyo is currently alone in that distinction, but the UN projects that Mumbai, Lagos, Dhaka and Sao Paulo will all be part of the club by 2015.