The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements (2003), by the United Nations Human Settlements Program, is an influential report on urbanization in the developing world. It provides excellent case studies on the origins, problems, and solutions associated with urban slums in the context of contemporary globalization.

Quoted: The most authoritative and up-to-date review of the development of the world’s cities and other human settlements. The first global assessment of urban slums, the challenges they present and the ways to improve the lives of slum dwellers. Statistical annexes provide essential information on demographic, spatial & economic, housing, and environment & infrastructural indicators…

In this article on international urbanization in strategy + business magazine, Stewart Brand provides a detailed account of the current growth in urban populations around the world.

Quoted: Get ready for cosmopolitan slums with thriving markets, aging residents, and the most creative economies in history.

A Washington Post photo essay on Vukani, a South African squatter community, which underscores the need for sustainable planning to ease the upheavals associated with rapid urbanization.

Quoted: Vukani means “Wake up!” and represents a cry for help. The people who live in the squatter camp of Vukani near Grahamstown, South Africa, struggle daily in small homes that do not have electricity or clean water.

Sfenvironment.org provides a wealth of information/resources for improving and maintaining the city’s environmental wellbeing. The site reflects the innovative, dynamic nature of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment. Topics include: Urban Nature, Zero Waste, Toxics Reduction, Water, Energy, Air Quality, Transportation, Green Building, and Eco Business.

Quoted: SF Environment’s mission is to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment, and to promote San Francisco’s long-term wellbeing by developing innovative, practical and wide-ranging environmental programs in recycling, toxics reduction, environmental justice, energy efficiency, commute alternatives, and urban forest.

There is a strong connection between civic action, human rights, development, and environmental conservation in Wangari Maathai’s work. She even takes on urban planning issues in protesting the use of public park land for a high rise building. An inspiring and completely engaging memoir.

Sustainable South Bronx was founded by Majora Carter of Hunts Point. SSB addresses issues of land-use, energy, transportation, water/waste policy, and education in order to advance the environmental and economic rebirth of the South Bronx and other urban areas around the world. The pictures above show “before and after” plans for the South Bronx Greenway, courtesy of SSB.

This World Resources Institute review of a report from the World Conservation Union (IUCN) shows how the intelligent preservation and management of ecosystems can ease the effects of natural disasters. The picture on the left depicts a fishing boat damaged by the 2004 tsunami in Koh Phra Thong, Thailand (IUCN Photo Library © IUCN/Jeff McNeely). The picture on the right is of mangrove trees in Bangladesh (IUCN Photo Library, © IUCN/Nicolas Van Ingen and Jean-François Hellio).