Urbanization and urban growth are intricately intertwined with economic growth — and the BRICS are no exception. The BRICS’ vastly different individual experiences of ‘urban transition’ offer inspiring examples of how to seize urbanization’s opportunities, but also lessons on the pitfalls and problems~inappropriate policies can bring.

South Asia will be among the regions hardest hit by climate change. Higher temperatures, more extreme weather, rising sea levels, increasing cyclonic activity in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, as well as floods in the region’s complex river systems will complicate existing development and poverty reduction initiatives.

Growing Indian cities have the potential to support their peri-urban futures by providing irrigation water for food production. Over 9 million ha of land could be irrigated if the city waters are rendered safe for use.

By 2030, according to the projections of the United Nations (UN) Population Division, each of the major regions of the developing world will hold more urban than rural dwellers; by 2050 fully two-thirds of their inhabitants are likely to live in urban areas.

At least fifteen million people each year are forced to leave their former place of residence as a result of major development projects. It is estimated that large development projects such as dams, roads and exploitation of raw materials led to the displacement of least 300 million people between 1988 and 2008.

New Delhi and Mumbai are amongst the cities that are most prone to multiple environmental risks warns this new analysis by Atkins. Covering 129 cities, it assesses the risks to cities from climate hazards and resource scarcities and how they can act now to future proof themselves.