Ambassador anwarul k chowdhury travels mumbai

Anwarul K. I extend my special thanks to the large number of policy makers and leaders, city government and municipal representatives, UN entities and other international organizations, public transport organizations and companies, and various participants from the host country Germany for their engaged presence contributing to the success of the Dialogue.

I am impressed by the collaborative spirit that has brought together so many partners in the organization of this event. Centrality of sustainability in our entire endeavour for global development, progress and prosperity can not be under-estimated. Our world is going through a very significant turning point in relation to human settlements and urbanization.

Beginning in for the first time, more than half of humanity is now living in towns and cities. A new urban era is a reality. It is projected that globally urbanization levels will rise dramatically in the next 40 years to reach 70 percent by when the world population is expected to hit 9 billion.

Ambassador Chowdhury organized his speech around an encounter he experienced with his granddaughter just a week before the day of the event.

Urban growth is most rapid in the developing world, where cities gain an average of 5 million residents every month. As cities grow in size and population, harmony among the spatial, social and environmental aspects of a city and between their inhabitants becomes of paramount importance. The Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations call for a significant improvement in the lives of at least million slum dwellers by At the same time, it is essential that the growth and expansion of urban areas do not come at the expense of the natural environment.

The importance of cities as living space needs particular attention as these are also the places where the ecological 4 and social challenges of the 21st century are particularly pronounced. Part of these challenges is also the growing mobility and the accessibility of our cities. A transport crisis of major proportions is looming on the horizon in many of the world's cities.

Increasing motorization and air pollution threaten economic development as well as the environment. The importance of sustainable transportation in cities cannot be overstated.