Grim outlook projected for slum cities of the future

MORE than half of the 1.1 billion people projected to add to the world’s population by 2030 will live in urban slums if global development priorities are not reassessed, according to a report out yesterday.

The warning comes in a major study on cities — State of the World 2007: Our Urban Future — released by the Washington-based WorldWatch Institute, an international independent research institute.

It says that while cities cover only 0.4% of the Earth’s surface they generate the bulk of its carbon emissions, making them key to alleviating the climate crisis.