Urbanization and Sustainable Development

Author: Department of External Affairs, Ministry of Construction
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: With the development trend of economic globalization, global urbanization is also accelerating rapidly. To date, nearly half of the world's population has gathered to live in cities. At the same time, a large number of people are continuously migrating from rural areas to cities, building various opportunities for survival and employment, and gradually forming social vulnerable or marginalized groups. Cities are plagued by increasingly severe economic development issues, public service problems, social management issues, and housing issues. This will be one of the most serious challenges to human sustainable development in the 21st century. Following a series of international conferences on "Habitat" jointly organized by the Ministry of Construction of China and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in China, such as the Chengdu Conference, Hangzhou Conference, and Baotou Conference, the "2003 Weihai Sustainable Urbanization Strategy International Conference" was held in Weihai City in November 2003. Over 300 representatives from China and 37 other countries attended the conference and submitted papers reflecting the different models of experience from their countries and regions. Extensive exchanges and a wealth of new information benefited all participants greatly. After consultation between the Ministry of Construction and UN-Habitat, selected papers from the conference were edited and published as this proceedings, as a contribution to readers who are concerned about and interested in the field of habitat. This achievement will also serve as an important summary and reference, recommended by UN-Habitat for submission to the "Second World Urban Forum" in Barcelona in September 2004, to a broader audience and to play a greater role.