By the end of this year, half the world's population will live in cities, according to the United Nations, and the proportion will only increase. The way we develop our cities may determine our collective future, living standards, culture, politics, freedom — even our survival.
This is also the year that Morning Edition begins a series called "The Urban Frontier," an occasional examination of the world's cities.
We begin in Karachi, Pakistan. This week, host Steve Inskeep will introduce people who are trying to reinvent one of Pakistan's historic cities. It is a place where so many people live that population estimates run anywhere from 12 million to 18 million — all of them working for their piece of real estate in this seaport city.
We meet an ambulance driver, navigating Karachi's streets.
We meet the mayor, who's eager to show us every new overpass he's had built in the city.
We meet newcomers, struggling to make it in Karachi's worst illegal housing.
Later on, after we've left Karachi, Morning Edition may report from cities as diverse as Tokyo, New York or Lagos, Nigeria, as well as the "exurbs" that sprawl across America. Our journeys to these and other places could lead to interviews with urban residents and city politicians, with writers and architects — people who will help us understand the urban frontier.
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