In 2008, for the first time, the world’s population was evenly split between urban and rural areas. There were more than 400 cities over 1 million and 19 over 10 million. More developed nations were about 74 percent urban, while 44 percent of residents of less developed countries lived in urban areas…..It is expected that 70 percent of the world population will be urban by 2050 and that most urban growth will occur in less developed countries.[i]

In most cities in the developing countries, social-political people’s movements are focused on the concerns around acute agrarian distress, which is very immediate, and urbanization is often seen only as an evil that needs to be rolled back for a better world. But this is looking more and more unlikely at least in the near future. Many consider the terms sustainability and urbanization as mutually exclusive. Is it possible to reverse urbanization? What is the role of technology? Should we think more about how cities will have to be made more sustainable, rather than the hope that cities can be done away with altogether at lease in the imminent future? Most important, what are the basic social needs of a population that is largely urban and how will they be met? There is a need for a more comprehensive urban program of action, for more policy activism on sustainable cities, urban planning, sustainable urbanization. Urban activism will perhaps have to go beyond defensive struggles and evolve a better understanding of the urban space, solutions to urban poverty, and engagements with urban aspirations. This is critical, not only for the urban poor but also to save the environment and the planet.