Report of the NEAT Working Group on
"A New Wave of Urbanization: Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Collaboration" held in Singapore
Friday, 1 August 2014
Overview
“Urbanization” generally refers to the “growth of towns and cities” and is a process marked mainly by the flow of people from rural to urban areas. Urbanization and industrialization often go hand-in-hand, with people leaving agricultural and farming occupations in rural areas for manufacturing and service jobs in towns and cities.
The global urban population has grown rapidly since 1950, from 746 million to 3.9 billion in 2014. Despite its lower rate of urbanization, Asia is home to 53% of the world’s urban population, followed by Europe at 14%, and Latin America and the Caribbean at 13%. The UN estimates that continuing population growth and urbanization will add 2.5 billion people to the world’s urban population by 2050. Asia and Africa are expected to contribute to nearly 90% of this increase.
As a significant part of Asia that will have to grapple with the anticipated and accelerated growth in urban population, it is imperative for the ASEAN Plus Three countries (APT) to better plan the growth of their cities to manage not only economic growth but also other social and environmental considerations.
For the full text of the report, click here.
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