Towards a More Equal City

This fact sheet introduces the World Resources Report: Towards a More Equal City, which examines how providing equitable access to core urban services—such as housing, water, sanitation, energy, and transportation—can lead to more economically productive and environmentally sustainable cities in rapidly urbanizing regions.

• Global urban populations are projected to grow by approximately 60 percent by 2050, with about 2.5 billion additional people living in cities. Over 90 percent of this increase is expected to occur in Asia and Africa, with estimates suggesting that by mid-century, Asia will hold 52 percent and Africa 21 percent of the world's total urban population.
• Modern urbanization differs from historical trends in four ways: the highest rates are now in South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; it is occurring more frequently in low-income countries; a rising proportion of the poor live in urban areas; and cities in the global South possess the fewest public resources per capita.
• A significant portion of the population in the global South lacks essential services, with up to 70 percent of residents being under-served. Specific deficits include 482 million urban residents lacking modern fuels in 2012, 131 million lacking electricity in 2012, and 140 million lacking reliable, clean water in 2015.
• Preliminary analysis indicates that successful urban transformation is characterized by three common features: a strong coalition of change agents with a shared vision to solve a seminal problem, the availability of financial resources for ambitious reforms, and long-term political commitment.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Towards a More Equal City. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRR_Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Brochure.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Towards a More Equal City. n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRR_Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Brochure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Towards a More Equal City |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRR_Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Brochure.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendtowards, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Towards a More Equal City}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/WRR_Towards_a_More_Equal_City_Brochure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }