2007年VOA标准英语-Urban Population in Africa, Asia to Double by 2

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
27 June 2007

The United Nations warns that a doubling of urban populations in Africa and Asia by 2030 will have harmful consequences if governments do not prepare now for the coming growth.  In this year's State of World Population report, the U.N. Population Fund says this unprecedented¹ wave of urbanization offers potential opportunities or dismal² failures.  Lisa Schlein has more for VOA from Geneva.

Slums spring up anywhere there is a spare bit of land

The report says that next year, for the first time in history, more than half the world's population will be living in cities.  It says that by 2030 almost five billion people will be urban dwellers³. It says the populations in African and Asian cities will have doubled.  The populations of those cities will be greater than the number of people living in China and the United States combined.

Chief of the U.N. Population Fund's Resource Mobilization Branch, Jean-Noel Wetterwald, says the urban explosion can be managed if governments prepare for it.  But if they put their heads in the sand, he says, the future prospects⁴ will be frightening.

"Urbanization is unavoidable," he said.  "You cannot stop it.  So, it is better to prepare for it and, rather than concentrating on measures to avoid or to exclude people from cities, make sure that they have access to services such as health and schools.  And this is what we are saying.  The concentration of people concentrate the problems, but also concentrate solutions." 

The report says the speed and scale of urban growth will require a revolution in thinking.  It notes the number of people living in cities in Africa and Asia is increasing by about 1 million every week.  It warns global action must be taken now to help cities prepare for growth and head off economic and social problems before it is too late.

The report says more than half of the world's current population of 6.7 billion people will be concentrated in cities by next year.  While mega-cities of 10 million or more will continue to grow, it says most people will live in mid-size cities of 500,000 people or less. 

The U.N. fund says most urban growth results from natural increase, that is people being born in the cities, rather than from migration⁵.  It says policy makers⁶ can reduce the pace of growth by supporting measures such as poverty reduction initiatives, education, particularly of women and girls, and health measures, including reproductive health and family planning services.

Wetterwald tells VOA most of the people living in developing cities are poor and half of their populations are under age 25.  He says these young people have special needs.

"We have to make sure that we have proper education services in place because if this is not the case, then you will see what urbanization can offer at its worst, which is criminality, illiteracy⁷ and all these evils," he added.

The report says cities are great places and should not be viewed negatively.   For example, people can more easily access basic services there than in rural areas. While cities may have poverty, they also offer an escape from poverty.   It notes no country in the industrial age has ever achieved significant economic growth without urbanization.

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

3 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 illiteracy   

n.文盲

参考例句：

• It is encouraging to read that illiteracy is declining.从读报中了解文盲情况正在好转，这是令人鼓舞的。
• We must do away with illiteracy.我们必须扫除文盲。