Sustainable urbanization is a dynamic multi-dimensional process covering environmental as well as social, economic and political-institutional sustainability. It embraces relationships between all human settlements, from small urban centers to metropolises, and between towns and cities and their surrounding rural areas. In this document, the main challenges to achieving sustainable urbanization are identified and recent experiences of promising approaches to planning and managing urban areas reviewed. These demonstrate a range of ways in which urbanization can contribute to sustainable development.

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UN-HABITAT & DFID (2002)