A Review of sustainable urban development in Imo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Africa is looking forward to the attainment of Agenda 2063, a long term regional agenda to achieve development in five decades. This process will be supported by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the outcome of HABITAT III, which will define the New Urban Agenda for the next 20 years. In this context sustainable urbanization and human settlements development must unlock the benefits of economic agglomerations, realize the force of economic clusters for competitiveness and enhanced productivity by putting the levers of sustainable urbanization in place. This review paper provided information and suggestion on how sustainable urban development in Imo State, Nigeria can serve as an enabler in attaining the desired structural transformation, increased prosperity and peaceful co-existence within the framework of Agenda 2063. Urbanization would allow exclusion and accompanied by adequate infrastructure and services that could be detrimental to the quality of life of the urban poor. While income inequality between rural and urban populations typically diminishes as economic growth occurs, inequality within the city, particularly in the form of slums, often remains until later stages of development. Both urban and rural incomes improve with growth in urban areas and rural-urban disparities in income and poverty levels diminish with economic growth. The disparity in access to clean water and sanitation between rural and urban populations also diminishes with increased urbanization.