Most urban poor in Phl, China, Indonesia — WB

The Philippines has one of the highest concentrations of urban poor in the East Asia Pacific region, a new report released by the World Bank showed.

The region currently has the world’s largest slum population of 250 million people, most of whom live in the Philippines, China and Indonesia. Some 75 million people in the region even subsist on less than $3 per day.

The World Bank said the world’s most rapidly urbanizing region has not been delivering infrastructure, jobs and services at a level matching urban development, leading to “widening inequalities” and threatening economic growth.

World Bank vice president for East Asia and the Pacific Victoria Kwakwa said cities across the region have driven the region’s growth but failed to expand opportunities for the urban poor.

East Asia and the Pacific is now the world’s most rapidly urbanizing region with an annual urbanization rate of three percent. By 2018, half of its population—around 1.2 billion—will be residing in urban areas. This corresponds to one third of the world’s urban population.

While rapid urbanization in the past two decades lifted 655 million people out of poverty, many still remain on the fringes of progress.

Kwakwa said in high income countries like Japan and Korea, inclusive urbanization— which involved urban planning and effective delivery of infrastructure, housing and services—paved the way for higher economic growth.

“Our collective challenge is to expand opportunities to all in the cities from new migrants living in the peripheries to factory workers struggling to pay rent so they can benefit more from urbanization and help fuel even stronger growth,” she said.

Priced out of formal housing markets, the region’s urban poor find housing in unsafe areas in the cities, putting them at risk of hazards such as flooding. High transportation costs also hinder them from pursing economic activities.

Aside from poor housing conditions, they also have limited access to basic services.

World Bank lead urban specialist Judy Baker urged city governments to have a multi-dimensional approach to urban planning by incorporating aspects of economic, spatial and social inclusion to spur economic growth and reduce poverty.

Specifically, this entails connecting the urban poor to job markets, investing in integrated urban planning, ensuring the affordability of land and housing, strengthening local governance and engaging citizens.

‘Rapid urbanization is a challenge and an opportunity. Provide low-income residents with affordable services or housing, so they can save for their children’s education. Ensure that social protection programs are in place to help families cope during difficult times, such as in the aftermath of natural disasters,” she said.

The World Bank, however, commended several social support programs in the region that can be further strengthened. These include the conditional cash transfer programs in the Philippines and China, community upgrading programs in Indonesia, and transport programs in China.

The report said urban development, if managed well, can create more jobs and boost productivity. Urban density also has the potential to lower the unit cost of public services, enabling governments to extend basic services to more people.