The extent to which the Global South will be at the center of the world’s growing urbanization is highlighted in the UN’s World Urbanization Prospects report 2025. For example, the research notes that around 60% of the land that has been transformed into urban areas since 1970 was formerly fertile farmland. This has manifested as urban sprawl in Pakistan, where expanding housing societies are engulfing agricultural land. Those who abandon farming or are uprooted by urban sprawl frequently wind up living in metropolitan areas. The general helplessness of local administrations, whether urban and rural, contributes to and exacerbates the problems produced by poor data.

Source: The Patriot January 10, 2026 20:10 UTC