Urban and Rural Development in Latin America

Abundance of population, shortage of land, and maldistribution of income affect Latin-American rural and urban areas in analogous fashion. Throughout the area, population is growing at the rate of 3 per cent per year, rural populations by about 1 1/2 per cent and urban populations by more than 4 per cent. The concentration in urban areas is greater in the larger cities, but the cities are not able to absorb the entire annual increment, and unemployment remains high. More rational use of land is called for in both areas. In the cities, progressively higher percentages of people live in shantytowns. There has been little rational planning of urban facilities to accommodate them. Provision of adequate water, sewage, and transportation would be more costly than most governments— or consumers—can afford. In the country, the maldistribution of population and income has resulted in many landless people. Colonization on vacant lands will not solve the problem because of high capital costs and distance from markets. Furthermore agricultural output is progressively less capable of meeting the growing cities' demands. No government is able to afford the necessary rational distribution of land. Nor are governments politically oriented toward the dimension of reform needed. Latin America must look forward to an intensification of rural and urban poverty and its consequences.