The pace of urbanisation in Asia and the Pacific unparalleled by any other region in the world has resulted in growth but has also driven up poverty within cities, the United Nations commission covering the region has said.
The urban population of the Asia-Pacific region has been growing at the fastest rate in the world over the past 15 years, according to the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific" released yesterday by the UN Economic and Social Commission.
"This growth is having a knock-on effect," said Pietro Gennari, chief of ESCAP's Statistics Division. "We're seeing more and more people living in slums and also a negative effect on people's ability to access clean water and sanitation in urban areas."
Two out of every five person in urban areas reside in slums, and countries such as China, Indonesia and the Philippines have all