An important milestone in human history will be reached at the end of this year. For the first time ever, half the world’s population will be living in cities, says a United Nations report. The report says that by 2050, 70 per cent of the world population will be urban. The figures indicate the rapid pace at which the world is being urbanised. People are leaving villages in search of jobs and a better lifestyle to settle in towns and cities. The level of urbanisation in India is below the global average. Despite growing migration to cities, India remains a rural country at present. Only 29 per cent of India’s population is urban today. Half of India’s population will be urbanised by 2050. China’s urbanisation is proceeding at a far faster rate than that of India. Around 40 per cent of China's population is in cities now. This is expected to cross 70 per cent
by 2050.

Increasing urbanisation is often associated with growing economic prosperity. Urbanisation is very high in the West. The population in Europe and North America is 70 per cent urban at present. Urban living is often associated with modern thinking and living. In India, for instance, living in urban areas has broken down caste barriers to a considerable extent. However, increasing urbanisation means more pressure on urban infrastructure. Already, infrastructure in India’s cities and towns is unable to cope with the influx of people to cities. Pressure on the requirement of water, electricity, healthcare, transport and so on is bound to grow with urbanisation and the failure to meet needs of the people will contribute to conflict.

India will have to act now to address the challenges of increasing urbanisation. It should strengthen urban infrastructure so that cities can cope with the massive influx of people. But a better approach to the problem is to stem migration to cities. This can be achieved by providing more jobs and better amenities in rural India. The government has taken some steps to attract investment to small towns and villages. This is to step up employment generation here. But the incentives being given to draw people away from the big cities has not proved attractive enough, although some states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have achieved some success in this regard. The pressure of population in our cities is already serious and if not addressed adequately soon, it could lead to an explosive situation in the coming years.