ABSTRACT
Linking the process of urbanization to forces that can propel economic and social development is one of the major challenges of the twenty-first century (Beall et al. 2010). The problem arises because the urban population of low- and middle-income countries is predicted to double from two to four billion between 2000 and 2030 (World Bank 2013). The United Nations reinforces the point: ‘Virtually all of the expected growth in the world population (until 2050) will be concentrated in the urban areas of the less developed regions’ (UNDESAPD 2012: 3). With 42 per cent of the world's current population, the BRICS 1 will be major contributors to this phenomenon.
