AMMAN -- Jordan and other developing countries need to acknowledge and prepare for the inevitable surge in urban growth, which is expected to double by the year 2030, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The 2007 State of the World Population Report released on Wednesday warns governments to take immediate action before negative consequences outweigh positive potentials.
The UNFPA report, in its 30th edition, chose to highlight the rise in urban population.
The theme "Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth" interprets the potential disaster of a rise in poverty, health, social and environmental problems as a challenge to humanity to take early action and exploit its benefits.
The report stresses that over the next few decades, the developing world will face an unprecedented, inescapable, population expansion, with more than half of the world's people -- 3.3 billion -- living in urban areas next year. This figure will escalate to around 5 billion -- 60 per cent of global population -- in 23 years.
"To take advantage of potential opportunities, governments must prepare for the coming growth. "If they wait, it will be too late... This wave of urbanisation is without precedent. The changes are too large and too fast to allow planners and policy-makers simply to react," UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmad Obaid, said.
The report is particularly significant for the Kingdom because 82.6 per cent of the population is already urban, according to the Department of Statistics.
UNFPA assistant representative, Muna Idris, told The Jordan Times that previous policies adopted by countries like Vietnam and China, restricting rural dwellers from moving to urban cities, did not work.
"They tried to stop migration but when the strict regulations eased, people started pouring into the cities. You cannot stop people from choosing to move in search of better opportunities, better work and services for their families," she said.
More importantly, the report findings show that more live births than deaths is the leading cause of urban population growth, not migration.
This is an urban country, natural growth is the leading cause... if policy-makers want to buy time in order to cope with its impact then focus should be geared toward the reproductive health of woman and men. Slowing birth rates will allow the country more time to plan better, according to Idris.
The UN representative explained that people must be given a choice because ultimately, how many children they have is up to them, but if they were informed that more children might mean that they will have less access to services, it might make them think again.
Poorer areas will grow the fastest, and constitute the majority of urbanites. To curb growing slums and unleash sustainable economic growth, decision-makers must identify the weakest districts and then support housing, healthcare, education and employment in those areas, according to the report.
A major issue is land. Providing minimally serviced land for the poor will help meet present and future needs. With secure tenure, street access, water, sanitation, waste disposal and power, poor people will do their own building; a home can be the first step out of poverty.
Potential benefits, however, can far outweigh the negatives if governments take action and plan accordingly, according to the UNFPA.
"Urbanisation can and should be a force for good. No country in the industrialised age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanisation," the report reads.
It points out that although mega-cities will continue to expand it is the smaller cities - 500,000 or fewer - that will inflate the most. This means that for Jordan to plan right, it needs to focus on the smaller cities surrounding Amman because the capital already has an advantage in services and infrastructure.
"The report tells us that if this growth is addressed properly, it can be a good trend. In an urbanised setting, people are closer and it is easier and less costly to focus on certain areas to spread vital services and infrastructure," Idris told The Jordan Times.
"Governments need to make sure they are working in the smaller cities because those are the most in need. Listen to the poor, address their needs, don't forget them in an urbanisation plan, then we will have a better chance at combating the problem," she added.
Meanwhile, another issue the report highlighted is giving priority to women's empowerment to increase the health and well-being of families and thus communities.
During a keynote address at the launch, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador HRH Princess Basma pointed out that that another phenomenon has emerged as a result of aggravated poverty, "foremost of which is violence in all its forms, especially family violence and the violence directed against females."
Investing in women is a key component to positive growth and addressing urban population growth, according to the Princess.
"We need to benefit from the experiences of other cities --appearing in the report -- to face future challenges and create a prosperous future," she said.
By Linda Hindi
© Jordan Times 2007
