Abstract
With the majority of the world population projected to live in urban areas, cities are experiencing rapid rates of urbanization and population increase. Most of the projected increase in urban population is concentrated in Asia and Africa which have relatively lower levels of resilience. The majority of the larger cities are also located in low-lying coastal areas, which are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. One of the main reasons for the increase in urban population in the Global South stems from over-population and crowding in the rural areas. This results in the seasonal or permanent migration of mostly younger males to urban areas in search of employment and better living conditions. The consequence is even more overcrowding in the big cities, exerting pressure on the already thinly stretched resources and infrastructure in these cities. As a result, most of the migrants end up living in slums with the bare amenities, unhygienic conditions, and hot spots of crime. There has been an increasing number of media reports of crime on women and girls in many of the larger cities in the Global South often attributed to young unemployed men who have migrated to the cities in the search of jobs. In addition, cities are also experiencing higher levels of air pollution and detrimental effects associated with urban heat island effect.
