Habitat World Online

City Limits?
More of the world's population soon will live in cities than anywhere else, and the growth will be highest in the places that can least afford mistakes.

By Rebekah Daniel

On a chaotic street in Mumbai, India, a toddler leans against the pole of a stop sign, barefoot and clothed in a grimy T-shirt. Standing on a traffic island in the middle of a sea of horns and exhaust and dirt, he watches cars inch through the intersection, an observer with an intimate view of his city's blistering growth. At his feet two adults lie motionless--sleeping or passed out. Despite his tender age, he does not wander from the precarious security of the island and its grownups. He waits.

While he waits, Mumbai, one of several "megacities" in the developing world, grows larger by the minute. By the time he is old enough to marry, he will reside in what is projected to be the second largest city in the world, with a population approaching 22 million people. By 2008, more than 50 percent of the world's population will live in cities, and the urban population of developing countries is set to double from 2 billion to 4 billion in the next three decades. "These 2 billion new urban inhabitants will require the equivalent of planning, financing and servicing facilities for a new city of 1 million people every week for the next 30 years," said World Bank Vice President Katherine Sierra at a United Nations forum.

Urbanization is a reality both simple--people flock to cities seeking a better life--and complex--the needs of urban residents are multi-faceted, urgent and expensive. But, unless the current situation changes, most urban inhabitants will not receive a fraction of the services that could help them adjust and prosper in their rapidly evolving surroundings. In the developing world, the many layers of municipal and national government have been overwhelmed by the task of providing water, sanitation and transportation services to the people already living in their cities, let alone the rising rivers of new migrants streaming into cities each day. The results are grave: According to the United Nations, substandard housing, unsafe water and poor sanitation in densely populated cities are responsible for 10 million deaths worldwide every year.

From the perspective of Habitat for Humanity and other organizations involved in community transformation, urban dwellers need not only water and electricity but also a social network. "The term 'community' is most correctly used to define people who share a common history, common values or common destiny," says Larry English, who was the longtime director of program design and innovation in Habitat's Africa/Middle East office. "The collaborative approach to life is lost when entering the modern city. People are thrown into a melting pot in which they are forced to interact by proximity, not by shared history, blood ties, values or destiny."

Yet, he continues, "community is necessary for the poor; they need each other. The poor lack the resources to act independently."

And so, in spite of the difficulties--or perhaps because of them--strong communities do form. Systems are created to resolve the lack of government services; houses and businesses are bought and sold; people meet, fall in love and get married; babies are born into loving families. And in these new communities, people discover that they are their own greatest resources.

Taking Advantage of Urban Opportunities in Colombia
In Latin America, a slice of the world that is 75 percent urban, poor neighborhoods are tucked away in portions of cities most tourists rarely visit. The steep slopes rising above Rio de Janeiro; the valleys surrounding Mexico City; the muddy riverbanks running through the heart of Santo Domingo--these areas are home to hundreds of thousands of people. When seen from a distance, the roofs of their ramshackle houses form a carpet of rusted tin and plastic sheeting.

Luz Nidia González Chalaca and her two children, Yesica and Carlos, lived in rented houses in Santander de Quilichao, Colombia, a medium-sized town of the sort the United Nations anticipates growing the fastest in the next 30 years. Luz uses her psychology degree to earn about US$228 per month, Colombia's minimum wage, leading a citizen education project at the Vision Joven Foundation.

For Luz, the problem was not only finding quality housing--she was always on the lookout for a place with a decent bathroom and kitchen--but encountering resistance from landlords who did not want children in their properties.

However, even a hard life in the city provided more options for Luz than she would have had in a rural area. By some estimates, the urban poor are economically better off than the rural poor due to their proximity to greater resources; throughout the developing world, cities account for 50 percent to 80 percent of their countries' gross national products.

A partnership between World Vision and Habitat for Humanity led to homeownership. Luz's Habitat house has given her and her children a refuge from which to take advantage of the educational, recreational and employment opportunities of their urban home, but more importantly to Luz, Santander de Quilichao also is home to a special community that has sustained her spirits through the years of housing challenges: her childhood friends.

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