education, training, information exchange, and 

 cooperative international research. 



OPPORTUNITIES AND PROPOSED INITIATIVES 



1 . Deterioration of Large Cities 



under Conditions of Rapid Growth 



Between 1950 and 1975, the world's population 

 increased from 2.5 billion to 4 billion. By the year 

 2000, there may be some 6 billion people to house, 

 feed, and supply. But even these figures fail to 

 measure the full implications of the tasks involved. 

 Along with absolute increases, there will be a 

 continuing increase in the percentage of people living 

 in urban places (variously defined) , from 25 percent in 

 1960 to probably more than 50 percent by the year 2000. 



Most of this urbanization is occurring in the major 

 metropolitan concentrations. The world had only 71 

 cities of a million people each in 19 50 compared to 181 

 in 1975. 



What can be done to alleviate the critical problems 

 of people living in the largest cities — the millions 

 who live in slums and squatter settlements in the so- 

 called informal sector, and the millions who inhabit 

 the modern sector which is the primary source of 

 economic growth and social change? Both groups require 

 more urban services, but the severe needs of the lower 

 income groups call for major national and international 

 efforts. 



Recent experience with building and rebuilding 

 whole communities points out the general directions for 

 initiating community development and redevelopment on a 

 worldwide scale. The United States has made only a 

 beginning in such community-building to date, and in 

 fact has had some disappointing experiences. However, 

 it does have the technology, skills, and capability for 

 systems design that could be useful in cooperative 

 undertakings with other countries. The United states 

 is also aware of some of the factors that have 

 frustrated remedial action, and it can share its 

 lessons with other countries that are beginning to 

 struggle with the same problems. 



Remedies should be tailored to reach as many people 

 as possible within prevailing resource constraints. 

 This requires realistic standards, stage construction 

 methods, self-help housing, and other labor-intensive 

 approaches, as wel± as integrated community-building 

 efforts that permit effective management of land use 

 and community investment decisions. 



Although each country must formulate urban 

 strategies according to its own constraints, policies, 



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