Three million people around the world are moving to cities every week (UNHabitat,
2009). The fast rate of urbanization brings with it both risks and
opportunities for the migrants, communities and governments. The World
Migration Report 2015 explores how migration and migrants are shaping
cities, and how the life of migrants in turn is shaped by cities, their people,
organizations and rules.
• It examines the relationships between migrants and cities on issues such as
employment, housing and health, and also considers how migrants help to
build and revive cities with their resources and ideas, both in the origin and
host country. The Report also identifies innovative examples of how some
cities are seeking to manage the challenges of increased global mobility and
social diversity with varying degrees of success. It will highlight new policy
developments concerning urban partnerships among migrant groups, local
governments, civil society and the private sector which are designed to meet
these challenges posed by migration and cities.
• Urbanization, defined as the increasing share of a population that is living
in urban areas, can be attributed in general to natural population growth,
net rural-to-urban migration, and also to the progressive extensions of
urban boundaries and creation of new urban centres. Human mobility and
migration clearly play an important part in the urbanization process as
internal and international migrants gravitate to cities and urban areas. Yet
there is no common method for analysing the interplay between migration
and urbanization.
• Cities are generally conceived as settlements characterized by certain
indicative features such as large populations, density, administrative functions
and social diversity which make them distinct from non-city, suburban or
rural areas. The traditional distinction between urban and rural areas in
many developed countries has become blurred and the principal difference
between urban and rural areas in terms of the circumstances of living, tends
to be the degree of concentration of population. There is no internationally
agreed definition of a “city” or any consensus on how to identify when a
settlement is ‘urban’ or to determine its boundary.
• Overall patterns in migration and urbanization can be observed. There is
however a lack of empirical data and the absence of systematically collected
information of a comparative quality and content, especially in low income
countries. This lack of data inhibits a deep understanding of migrants in urban
environments. Cities, with their high concentration of migrants, often from
different places of origin, offer a unique spatial domain for researching and
understanding the dynamics of migration, urbanization and the intersection
of national and local governance and policy.
June J.H. Lee
15
WORLD MIGRATION
REPORT 2015
Migrants and Cities:
New Partnerships
to Manage Mobility