This letter refers to the article ‘Eight billion and counting’ (September 02, 2024) by Masood Lohar. The global population has reached nearly 8.2 billion and is expected to grow by another two billion over the next 60 years, peaking at around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s. More people live in urban than rural areas for the first time in human history and, over the next three decades, global population growth is expected to occur almost exclusively in the world’s cities and towns. The number of people living in cities is expected to grow from nearly 4.4 billion to 6.7 billion in 2050.
Urbanization plays a crucial role in the economic development of every country. However, the uncontrolled growth of many cities has resulted in insufficient provision of public services and a failure to guarantee a minimum quality of life for all urban residents. The current speed of urbanization in developing countries makes urban governance and sufficient planning increasingly urgent. As cities grow, inequality is likely to increase unless we implement policies to address it.
Asif Thebo
Dadu