Cities Are The Future
The only way to meet the challenges of the 21st Century is to address poverty, pollution and environmental sustainability in the world's cities, writes Worldwatch Institute president Christopher Flavin.
"Urban centers are hubs simultaneously of breathtaking artistic innovation and some of the world’s most abject and disgraceful poverty. They are the dynamos of the world economy but also the breeding grounds for alienation, religious extremism and other sources of local and global insecurity. Cities are now both pioneers of groundbreaking environmental policies and the direct or indirect source of most of the world’s resource destruction and pollution.
This modern 'tale of two cities' is something that every policymaker and citizen needs to understand. The battles against our greatest global problems, from unemployment and HIV infections to water shortages, terrorism and climate change, will be largely won—or lost—in the world’s cities. Yet from 1970 to 2000, urban aid worldwide was estimated at $60 billion—just 4 percent of the $1.5 trillion in development assistance."
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
Related News Stories
Assessing Future Planning Through Film - Jun 10, 2008
Living Well In The Era Of High Gas Prices - May 20, 2008
How Urban Road Networks 'Evolve' - Apr 29, 2008
American-Style Suburbia Spreading Across The Globe - Apr 17, 2008
Planning Cities In The Age Of Global Warming - Apr 16, 2008







