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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF CITIES: AN INTERNATIONAL FORUM MAY 31-JUNE 1 (ISTANBUL, TURKEY)
1 June 1996

• Science and technology and the future of cities (the full report)

By the middle of the next century, most of the world's population will be living in urban settings. The rapid increase in urban dwellers - 68 million a year - presents massive challenges for urban infrastructure and services and for creation of job opportunities. At the same time, it fuels the economic growth of countries. A consortium of the world's academies of sciences and engineering, including a representative from the Australian Academy of Science, will meet to explore promising innovations and technologies that address urban challenges. Participants will discuss their work in transportation, employment opportunities, communications. environmental issues, the needs of the poor, as well as housing, water, sanitation, and other areas.

Co-chairs of the forum are Nobel laureate F Sherwood Rowland, foreign secretary, US National Academy of Sciences; P N Tandon, former president, Indian National Science Academy; and Hans Forsberg, president, Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences, Sweden.

The meeting precedes the June United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, known as 'Habitat II', at which the academies will present statements from the science and engineering communities urging the world's leaders to elevate to a higher priority science and technology solutions for urban problems.