GOLD Report I - UCLG

257Even beyond the boundaries of metropolitansettlement itself, increased mobility andcommunication have intensified social andeconomic links between urban centers andoutlying areas. Metropolitan regions, likemost central cities, function as centers ofproduction and distribution for the surroundingregions. However, they are also centersof consumption for outlying areas, providinga strong cultural economy for intellectuallife, education and tourism. Indeed, growthin the metropolis often comes at the expenseof rural economies, triggering a populationinflux from rural areas.Differences between northernand southern metropolitan regionsWithin these broad commonalities, urbanregions in the developed North and those inthe developing South have distinctive characteristicsand face markedly different challenges.In parts of the South, especially in Asia andAfrica, urban regions are growing at unprecedentedrates, faster even than cities grew atthe onset of urbanization in the North. Flightfrom the countryside is driven by rural environmentaldegradation, disappearing jobopportunities and poverty. So dire are conditionsin many rural areas that growth insouthern metropolitan regions is simplyexplosive. Although current rates of growthamong cities in the North vary widely, theyare generally lower. In much of Europe, decliningbirth rates and migration present newproblems among declining urban populations.The populations and forms of peripheral settlementalso differ. In most of the North,middle class and affluent residents have leda migration from the central cities (Hoffman-Martinot and Sellers 2005). In most of theSouth, however, urban regions remain generallymore concentrated and dense, and poorresidents typically predominate on the urbanperiphery.Concentrations of poverty and slums may stillbe found in major metropolitan areas in theUnited States and in a number of Europeancountries. In many Southern metropolitanregions, however, poverty predominates. Thelatest survey data suggest that 25% of theurban population is below the poverty line inIndia, 15% in Brazil, 30% in Tanzania, 19% inGhana, 13% in Jamaica, 57% in Sierra Leoneand approximately 7% in Vietnam (UNF-PA:2006). If poverty in the South were measuredby the same standards applied indeveloped countries, at least half of the urbanpopulation in many developing countrieswould be categorized as poor. In developingnations, the urban figure is usually less thanthe proportion of households below the relevantpoverty line in the rural areas (UNFPA:2007).The most recent UN figures also suggestthat one third of the world’s urban population– 90% of city dwellers in the developingworld – live in slums, defined as areaswith inadequate provision of infrastructuresuch as sewers, running water and electricity(UNFPA: 2007).For urban residents in the South, a notablemeasure of informality characterizes employmentand housing (cf. Gilbert 1998;Segbers et al. 2007). While their legal statusvaries with local circumstance, these settlementsby definition lie outside the formalplanning and legal system, and are usuallybuilt on land that the inhabitants do not own.Such residential areas come in many formsand sizes, and most attain de facto acceptanceby local authorities. Local municipalpoliticians often use their residents as sourcesof patronage and electoral support. Oneresult of this acknowledged but unofficialstatus has been the appearance of a fullfledgedunderground housing market withproperties (usually shacks) being unofficiallybought and sold. Because most settlementresidents can not afford to “own” property,even under such quasi-legal conditions,there is also a strong rental market.In many developed countries, local governments,planning regimes, property laws andwelfare states institutionalized at the natio-Concentrationsof poverty andslums may still befound in majormetropolitan areasin the United Statesand in a number ofEuropean countries