I now live in the Majority, although I am now from the Minority

According to The Economist, sometime this month, the percentage of people on this Planet who live in Cities, will officially cross over from 49.99...% to 50.01... %. For the first time in history, more than half of all humans will live in cities.

I grew up in the countryside, and lived there till I was 22, when I went to Minneapolis for Medical School. In three more years, I will have lived half my life in a city.

"Wisely or not," quotes The Economist, "Homo sapiens has become Homo urbanus."

They have written a series of articles, that address a large number of issues.

They dare to address the question that haunts many of us rich folks... namely... Why do many of the people in the Urban Slums of Asia choose to live there when they could easily return to their home villages. Most people who live in the vast teeming slums of Asia, have come there recently, and could easily return to their home villages, and find food, water etc. Yet they stay in the slums for a reason. "Why do people prefer Urban Squalor to Rural Hopelessness? "

In India, many Dalits (low castes and outcastes) move to the cities to escape the harsh biggetry of the countryside, much like the serfs of Europe moved to the cities hundreds of years ago. "Stadtluft macht frei" (The City Air sets you Free), said the Germans of Prussia and The Mark.

In the past, most cities were Spiritual centers, drawing people for Spiritual purposes, in addition to its other draws. In the west (and elsewhere), this draw is loosing its shine as many people embrace secularism, but a new "Religion" has arisen to fill the void...namely Culture. The Culture of the city, and its many cultural events "are taking the place of God."

"No one wants to live in a city that is impossibly congested, suffers constant blackouts and frequent floods, chops down its trees, concretes over its parks, has aweful schools and hospitals, is devoid of any buildings of charm or character, and is governed by corrupt politicians and incompetent civil servants. Yet many people have to."