It is not an open secret that the mega-cities of today already keep almost the majority of the world’s population. New is a number of the United Nations, revealed in t New York Times report recently: By 2030 5 billion people will live in cities and town around the world. This means that the migration into cities has not come to an end yet.

Gabarone, the Capital of Botswana, is expected to grow up to 500 000 inhabitants by 2030. In 1971 there were just 18 000As the UN point out it is not the already existing mega-city like Mexico-City, Sao Paolo or Calcutta that will extraordinary grow but the mid-sized ones like Gabarone or Botswana. Here the population will raise from 18 000 inhabitants in 1971 to 500 000 in 2030. In cities like Calcutta and others of that size more people move our then in.

The skyline of Sao Paolo
One thing that pricks up one’s ears is the fact that by 2030 developing nations will have 80 percent of the world’s urban population. While star architects in the Western world like Sir Norman Foster think about sustainable cities in the future with social areas, public transport infrastructure and roof gardens there is no way that these growing cities can adopt those ideas and set into practice until 2030. The opposite will be the case: The growing of urban slums will pollute watersheds. The struggle for clean water, for water in general, will be fought in these urban areas. The simple standards of living – like missing sanitation - there will threat the whole environmental structure of these cities.

Slum in Calcutta