By Ibrahim Mohammed
Asia and Africa will account for 90% of world urban population growth between 2018 and 2050, with more than a third of this growth to happen in Nigeria, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India, according to a report released on Monday.
The report entitled: “Creating Livable Cities: Regional Perspectives” jointly released by the African Development (AfDB), ), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), looks at urbanization trends across emerging and developing economies in Africa; Asia and the Pacific; Eastern Europe, Southern and Eastern Mediterranean; and Latin America and the Caribbean.
It contained that “rapid urbanization has provided most cities in the world with opportunities to provide more sustainable, vibrant, and prosperous centers for their citizens. But they must first address challenges such as inadequate infrastructure investments, pollution and congestion, and poor urban planning.”
Besides, it recalls that the world’s urban population has grown from just 750 million in 1950 (or 31% of the total population) to 4.2 billion in 2018 (55% of the total population)—a number that is estimated to reach 5.2 billion in 2030 (60% of the total population). While the majority of leading economic hubs are still in advanced economies, the center of economic activity is moving toward the developing and emerging markets.
Although large and still dominant, megacities of more than 10 million people and national capitals are not the fastest-growing urban areas. Urban areas with fewer than 1 million residents account for 59% of the world’s urban population and are experiencing a faster growth rate across the regions, the report noted.
The publication examines the types of policy interventions and approaches needed to promote competitive, inclusive, equitable, and environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient cities—four factors that taken together make cities “livable,” pointing out that “Regional Development Banks (RDBs) play an important role in identifying, distilling, and diffusing knowledge and actions that can accelerate progress toward creating more livable cities.”
Commenting on the report, President of the African Development Bank, Dr.
Akinwumi Adesina said, “we are helping to open up rural areas to development as
a means of reversing migration trends. To do this, we are investing in skill
upgrades, creating jobs, providing access to SME finance for young men and
women. Ultimately, we need to create livable and workable cities for the
younger generation.”
The report was launched at the IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C., with
presidents of the other three development banks: Dr. Akinwumi Adesina of the
African Development Bank, Suma Chakrabarti of EBRD, and Luis Alberto
Moreno of IDB.
Newsdiaryonline recalls that Nigeria a West African nation of over 200 million people is currently experiencing 2.6 per cent population growth annually.
The country is the most populous black nation and largest economy in Africa with South Africa trailing behind it as number two.
