MANAMA: The demographic imbalance as a result of mass rural migration to urban centers will result in five billion people living in cities by 2050, posing a serious threat to the world's economic sustainability, experts warned on Sunday.
"Though cities like Manama, Dubai and others in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are well planned, the governments still need to look toward implementing economic, social and environmental sustainability models," experts from the US-based Urban Land Institute (ULI) told a Press conference on Sunday.
Uwe S. Brandes, managing director of ULI, William P. Kristler, president ULI Europe, Middle East, Africa and India and Shahswar G. Al-Balushi, ULI executive director MENA, addressed a roundtable in Manama to seek support for the upcoming global real estate summit in Muscat, Oman.
The ability of cities in the Middle East to thrive in the decades ahead and accommodate urban growth issues such as demographic and population shifts, the globalization of capital markets, the provision of adequate housing and infrastructure, technology changes, environmental preservation and land conservation will be explored at an upcoming global real estate summit in Muscat.
"The City in 2050: Building Tomorrow's Legacy, Today", is being organized by the ULI, an international, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to responsible land use, and ULI, which serves the institute's growing membership throughout the region. Set for March 22-23, 2010 in Oman, the event is being hosted by Oman and the Ministry of Tourism of Oman.
According to William P. Kistler, president of ULI EMEAI, the roundtables and MENA 2050 illustrate the institute's expanding outreach in rapidly developing markets throughout the region.
"ULI's focus in the Middle East reflects the vast importance of this part of the world in the increasingly globalized real estate industry," Kistler said. "The Middle East has enormous potential in the years ahead as a global magnet for investment and development. We are excited to offer ULI's expertise in an area of the world that has so much to offer in terms of contributions to the built environment."
"The roundtables have been designed specifically for real estate development professionals in both the public and private sectors who want to share their land use expertise and perspectives," Al-Balushi said. "These very timely events will shape MENA 2050, and the program will further solidify ULI's involvement in the Middle East."