The issues affecting cities in the face of rapid decentralization, democratization, and globalization are crucially important to developing countries, according to the specialists in urban development who participated in a videoconference that took place on February 25. The program, “Unknown Cities,” brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners in the field from the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, with panelists in Washington, DC, and New York to highlight challenges and share experiences in tackling the problems cities face. The videoconference was an offspring of the special report in the November 2003 issue of Development OUTREACH magazine.
According to Frannie Léautier, Vice President of WBI, who opened the session, urban air pollution is a serious problem worldwide, but is especially serious in the mega-cities of Asia. Tim Campbell, WBI Lead Specialist, who moderated the Global Dialogue, placed urban air pollution in the context of the general discourse on the new role of the cities in the development process. Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, warned that although urbanization opens up opportunities for economic development, the process also creates challenges that can prevent the urban promise to be fulfilled.
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