Dado Galdieri/AP
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Around 50% of the world's population lives in cities, according to Millennium Development Goals Report 2007. And as you're likely aware, the global trend is continuing towards a migration towards urban populations.
Now, on a conceptual level, this is good news for green—it ultimately means less need for cars, less distance for goods to travel to market, and more efficient housing (ie, apartments and condos as opposed to energy-and-infrastructure hoggin' suburban homes). But there's a long way to go before this green urban utopia is anywhere close to being realized—as you can see from the same report, urban slum growth is far outpacing urban growth.
So, while many Americans' views of urban areas are Manhattan or San Francisco—which are two notably green cities, thanks to good transit, etc—the vast majority of that 50% of worldwide city dwellers live in depressed slums and developing urban areas in sprawling cities like Mumbai, Mexico City, and Johannesburg. But even slums can teach us something about sustainability.
In order to work towards a truly more sustainable future, we need to be conscious of slum-laden cities like these and providing aid when possible. That's what groups like the Earth Restoration Corps and even agencies within the World Bank do—they attempt to help urban slum communities develop into more sustainable communities for the betterment of the residents as well as the ecosystem. Donating or volunteering with such organizations can help steer urban slums onto a greener path with a higher quality of life for those who live there.
More on Urban Slums
Crop Failure Drives 1,500 Indian Farmers to Suicide
What Is the Future of Suburbia?
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