Major cities in Brazil, China and India are witnessing rapid urbanization [Xinhua]
The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur will next week host the Ninth Session of the World Urban Forum to discuss the challenges societies as more people move to the cities.
The forum titled, Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda, will focus on the efforts of major countries, such as China, India, and Brazil to overcome the challenges posed by rapid urbanization.
Some of these challenges include the ever-growing income gaps, smog and pollution, and crumbling infrastructure which can no longer support such population growth.
In 2018, about 50 per cent of the global population is living in cities. But the World Bank says that by 2050, 70 per cent of the global population will be living in cities.
In Delhi, for example, the number of residents living in the capital has grown from 9.7 million in 1990 to 25.7 million in 2015.
In fellow BRICS member, China, cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have seen their populations grow from 6.8 million to 20.4 million, and 7.8 million to 23.7 million, respectively, in the same period.
For Brazil, Sao Paulo has witnessed 14.8 to 21.1 million residents in the 25-year period.
For Africa, the greatest urbanization has happened in Cairo, from 9.9 million in 1990 to 18.8 million in 2015.
The rapidly changing climate and regional conflicts which have lately produced tens of millions of refugees further exacerbate the pressures these cities and others face, the World Bank says.
Read more: BRICS tackles urbanization
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