Environment & Urbanization is a journal that focuses on urban environmental issues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It offers free English translation to French-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking researchers from these regions in order to bring their work to a wider audience. It is sponsored by the International Institute for Environment and Development (iied) and edited by David Satterthwaite.

E&U sample papers and popular downloads (including an article by Gabriel García Márquez)

Interview with David Satterthwaite on “The Humanitarian Impact of Urbanisation” in IRIN

Urban Planet is a collection of features on urbanization from the BBC News. It includes an interactive map that tracks the growth of the world’s largest cities, as well as comparisons of the environmental effects of urban and rural life.

Photo from the BBC Photojournal: Chad urban migrant’s story

An International Herald Tribune Letter from India, which addresses the need for architects and planners to help manage the effects of rapid urbanization on cities in the developing world. Organizations such as Architects Without Borders and Architecture For Humanity have the potential to address these problems, but a financial commitment on the part of government and the private-sector is essential. I wonder if there is a good way to leverage the creativity of slum residents who have been building their own dwellings for years?

Quoted: The world is racing to the city, and the one group of professionals capable of housing and sheltering the massive human influx to the urban centers – the architects and the planners – freely acknowledge that they are ill-equipped to cope.

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.

Stewart Brand, co-founder of Global Business Network and author of How Buildings Learn, gave a fascinating talk on urbanization and innovation at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club on June 14, 2007. The video of Brand’s presentation, titled How Urbanization Will Drive Innovation on is available on FORA.tv.

Photo credit: Mike Lee

Global Cities is an exhibition at the Tate Modern that focuses on the explosive growth of cities around the world. It is on display from June 20 to August 27, 2007. This article on the Global Cities exhibition from the Telegraph includes a slide show of work on display.