Human settlements define people’s
existence. They are places – large and
small, urban and rural, formal and informal -
where people live, learn, work and create.
The world has witnessed a dramatic increase
in the movement of people to urban areas,
especially in developing countries.
Opportunities for employment, education
and access to health care are some of the principal factors that attract people to urban
settlementsa. This has resulted in more urban settlements with bigger populations, and the
dramatic expansion of existing urban centres. In 2000 over 40% of the global population lived
in urban centres compared to 27% in 19721. It projected that the world will soon cross the 50%
mark, reaching 60%, some 5 billion people, by 2030. The urban population in the developing
world is growing at 2.4% per year – double the global growth rate. Rural-urban migration is
most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has an urbanizationb rate of 3.5% per year.
Presently about 300 million Africans live in urban areas, a figure which is estimated to rise to
1405 million by 20302.