REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - Urbanization: how will it impact on tourism?

T o u r i s m S c a n, Vol. 4 Issue 10 November 2007

Twenty-one major cities are reported to be in most danger of rising sea levels, one of the effects of climate change, as a recently released report by the Worldwatch Institute announced. According to the Associated Press, the most vulnerable cities will count at least an 8-million population by 2015. Cities identified as "highly vulnerable" i.e. in danger by climate change effects, while housing a total of 10% of the world's population are: New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Bangkok, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai,
Cairo, Mumbai and Karachi, according to Australia's News.com. Unplanned and chaotic urbanization is taking a huge toll on human health and the quality of the environment, contributing to social, ecological, and economic instability. Of the 3 billion urban dwellers today, 1 billion live in “slums,” defined as areas where people cannot secure key necessities. An estimated 1.6 million urban residents die each year due to lack
of clean water and sanitation as a result.

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