THE OPPORTUNITY
There are currently one billion people living in slums and squatter settlements and that number is expected to double by 2030 and reach 3 billion by 2050, more than a thirds of the projected world population at that time. All urbanization is happening in the developing world: Over the next 30 years 2 billion people will be added to the global population and most of this increase i
s expected to take place in urban areas of the developing world. Cities must adapt to climate change: As cities invest in their adaption and resilience to climate change, this is also a window of opportunity to fix the underlying causes of vulnerability, the inequalities that constrain access to resources and create and sustain poverty. Information & Communication Technologies: There is a tremendous amount of unexplored potential in harnessing the digital commons and increased connectivity to transfer knowledge and innovations. This is a dramatic departure from the past and a window of opportunity to get serious and creative about planning smarter, more inclusive, and sustainable cities. THE CORE SOLUTIONS
We cannot even begin to solve the challenges of urbanization, without giving voice to those who have been stigmatized and ignored because they are poor. Real solutions will not come from technical fixes or top-down initiatives motivated by "bang for the buck" calculations. Policy and practice needs to be transformed by giving voice to the marginalized and converting our collective knowledge into action. There is enough energy and creativity in the cities today to address the challenges, but there are too few mechanisms to channel these forces into the policy making process or to multiply the effects of approaches that work.
