Will We All Live in Megacities Soon?

Today, on average, 3 out of 4 people living in modern industrialized states are already building their lives within an urban area — a ratio that will jump to more than 5 in 6 by 2050. By contrast, today in the least-developed regions of the world, more than 2 out of 3 people still eke out a living in a rural area. For these people, even the slumdog existence in places like Dharavi can offer more opportunities than their villages ever could. And within these developing regions, according to UN-HABITAT, cities are gaining an average of 5 million new residents — per month.

“Most of these [urban immigrants] couldn’t earn cash in their rural situations,” says Chuck Redman, director of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University in Tempe. “There’s not as much of a cash economy there, but they still want cash to buy radios and mobile phones or TVs — or even send their kids to school, which costs money in many of these countries.”

ABC News