Moving to cities

I idolise where I live: in a very, very small town. Am I an exception?

There are more than 5 million people moving to cities every month, rising disparity and inequality in urban areas. So why are all those people going there? To properly handle urbanization is not an easy task: it can trap people into poverty since everyone must have access to services and opportunities necessary to build the prosperous future they’re looking for.

It all comes down to poverty, at the most basic levels: having running water, paved roads, street lighting, heated houses, safer streets. Theorically urbanization has the potential to increase prosperity but in reality rising inequality and exclusion threaten to derail the progress. Are cities fostering jobs and opportunities? Are we building them in the correct way? Is the whole concept sustainable? Can cities expand and expand limitlessly? All those question have one answer: no.

Not because I (a nescient) am stating it, wherefore there are 1 billion “urban” poor who live in informal / decadent slum settlements. Something different HAS to be done. Obviously. We can discuss about public transportation, increasing jobs (?), improving basic services, increase community participation in decision making and what else?

My take? One day we’ll be obliged to realize that maybe (just maybe) we need more but smaller cities.

….Always humble,

Angiolino