Inter-American Development Bank IADB/BID, 2011 Available online
at: http://bit.ly/qMmbks “…………Latin America and the Caribbean
(LAC) has the highest rate of urbanization in the developing
world. The proportion of the region’s population living in
cities almost doubled between 1950 (41%) and 2010 (80%).
Likewise, economic activity in the region is significantly
concentrated in its cities. Between 60% and 70% of the regional
gross domestic product (GDP) is currently produced in urban
areas. Despite this generation of wealth, two out of every three
people in Latin American and Caribbean cities live in poverty.
These circumstances, together with the growing importance of
cities’ impact on the environment and the high vulnerability of
Latin American and Caribbean cities to climate change, natural
disasters, and financial limitations, create a need for
reflection on the concepts of sustainability and urban
development in LAC.