Monday 23 November 2009

Urban sos

In an increasingly urban world, people across the globe are experiencing the opportunities and challenges that come with rapid urban growth and the evolution of cities. This includes many economic, social and cultural opportunities offered by urban areas, which often drive economic growth, and provide the cradle for social and cultural change. However, people in many urban areas face a range of challenges that affect quality of life, limit opportunities and perpetuate inequalities. These urban problems include:

Environmental pollution
Social disintegration
Economic collapse
Effects of global warming
Impacts of natural disaster
Ecological degradation
Civil unrest
In many places, the benefits of urban growth are maximised and these challenges are mitigated through formal processes of regulation and positive city planning. However, alongside formal processes of city planning, formal urban development and planned investment, much urban change is the result of informal processes and the activity of individuals or initiative of communities. This informal activity operates at many scales, from the spontaneous development of large informal settlements, community-scale initiatives, to the activity of individuals. Often these informal processes are in response to the inability of formal structures to react appropriately or quickly enough to urban pressures and challenges.


http://www.edaw.com/urbansos/home.aspx

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