Journey to Planet Ea; The Urban Explosion

Hood Iraq we've always been drawn to cities from high above. Signs of life are nearly impossible to detect until days slowly turns back into night to reveal shimmering islands of intense human activity. Whether lured by neon or driven from the country side by economics.

For the first time in history more than half the world's inhabitants live in cities. Please join us now as we journey to four great cities of the world Mexico city Istanbul Shanghai. And New York along the way we will explore a major dilemma of the 21st century. How to shelter and sustain the world's exploding urban population without destroying the delicate balance of our environment. Plan it. This is where Discovery became. Major funding for Journey to planet Earth was provided by. The National

Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA's Earth Sciences enterprise dedicated to understanding the total earth system and the effects of natural and human induced changes on the global environment. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of its continuing work to build a more sustainable food system. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Continental Airlines in 38 countries worldwide. The World Bank. Additional funding was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation American Honda Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture sustainable agriculture and research program. Mexico city pulses with energy.

It's an ancient gathering place layered with a rich history of indigenous and Spanish cultures. The nation's capital where pilgrims come seeking miracles and offer prayers of gratitude. It's also a 24 hour a day high octane city that never sleeps. Especially on September 15th the eve of Mexico's Independence Day. Close to a million people have gathered in Mexico City's main square to recite a historic 200 year cry for freedom. Long live liberty. Long live justice long live democracy they shout. Lately the people who live in Mexico City have little else to celebrate.

Home to over 20 million citizens and growing by 350000 each year living conditions are so serious. That a 200 year old celebration in praise of liberty is often marked by angry demonstrations demanding environmental action. Mexico City it's a very important human rights issue. It has to do with how the city functions. It's related to a lot of other human rights issues such as how much people the citizens of Mexico City can actually participate in making public policy and in and solving a lot of the terrible disastrous environmental issues that we have in the city this is a city that has taken its environment to the verge of collapse. How did this happen. How could such a proud and beautiful city become

a metaphor for all that could go wrong with urban development. Computer generated models help visualize the city's fundamental problem. Mexico City is located in a valley a mile and a half above sea level. Surrounded by a wall of mountains some as high as 12000 feet. It is locked into what scientists call a closed ecosystem. Unlike most other mega cities there is little wind to cleanse the air. And no ocean or major river to exchange water and sewage. The city's atmosphere is thick with the smog. A toxic soup of cooking airborne chemicals into the ozone. Eight out of 10 days are declared hazardous to human health. Just breathing is said to be the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.

Adding to the problem are 35000 factories spewing tons of pollutants into the air. But it's primarily the emissions from over 3 million cars that leave the city gasping for breath. Mexico City is trapped between the limitations of its geography and a way of life shaped by the internal combustion engine. Yet the city struggles towards a cleaner future thousands of repair shops cater to stricter exhaust regulations and increased auto inspections. To encourage residents to use public transportation the rapid transit system has been greatly expanded. Unfortunately city officials have been forced to use much of their limited resources to deal with a more serious crisis.

In a city famous for its richly decorated fountains Mexico City is running out of water. When the Aztecs founded the city it was dotted with lakes and surrounded by a densely forested watershed. Today only a few groves of trees remain. The lakes are also gone drained by the Spanish to expand the city. In their place are fourteen hundred square miles of asphalt and concrete. And the remains of an ancient aqueducts that once brought water in from nearby Springs. But as the city's population grows more water is needed. The brief rainy season offers a little help and the nearest river is on the other side of the mountain. The Mexico City sits on top of a vast aquifer. It is in danger of running dry because 70 percent of the

city's drinking water is pumped from the underground reservoir. Angel statue commemorates Mexico's independence from Spain. Built in 1910. Its foundation was anchored deep beneath the surface of the street. Yet over the years. Twenty three steps had to be added to its base. Incredibly the land around the statue is sinking. In fact. Almost all of Mexico City is sinking as water continues to be consumed at the aquifer loses volume because in the land that rests on top to slowly collapse much of Mexico City's Center has sunk more than 30 feet in the last century and is sinking another one to three inches a year. Compounding the problem are open canals cutting through the heart of the city.

Each day they carry billions of gallons of raw sewage spreading foul odors and disease the waste water is pumped over the mountains away from the city. The canal eventually spills into the true river along the way the water foams with phosphates and deadly bacteria poisoning everything in its path before the toxic waste reaches the Gulf of Mexico. It makes a brief but lethal stop. Sixty years ago the mesquite toll Valley was an arid wasteland. Today it is a fertile oasis because farmers desperate for water use the city's untreated sewage to irrigate their crops. Jenny Garcia Sanchez knows little about the water her parents used to irrigate their

passengers. She is nine. A good student and talks about becoming a doctor. If she gets her wish business could be very brisk. Every few years the tainted water brings call of up to the valley. It's a deadly trade off most of these farmers have reluctantly accepted. A few miles away is the village of Santa Ana. WAY WAY PON. Tainted irrigation water has contaminated the aquifer. Disease has taken its toll. This is the community's leader. Several years ago he petitioned the local government to build a water purification plant. He's still waiting. Most of the younger people have already given up and moved on. There are very few opportunities in a town without clean franking water

for those that stay there. Only hope is that Mexico City does something to ease the crisis. 50 miles away and 600 feet below ground. Construction crews are working to correct the problem. They are expanding Mexico City's network of deep drainage tunnels when completed this underground passage will be filled with raw sewage. It's part of a massive construction project that will eventually eliminate all open sewage canals. At the end of the tunnel a huge drill cuts through 20 feet of earth and rock each day. The project's long term goal is to treat the city's raw sewage before it ever reaches the mess to talk about it. Though only 10 percent of the city's waste water now passes through new

purification tanks. It's at least a start. An added benefit is that the treated water is used in another environmental effort. The restoration of Lake Texas cocoa drained by the Spanish 400 years ago. Mexico City's treated water is giving the dried out lake bed a new life a love one of these for Storm Lake is very important because you place it in that way. That's why market conditions here in Mexico the heat races the humidity which helps the formation of massive dust storms where once a major problem. Now a safe haven for local and migrating birds. The restored lake is strong evidence that much can be done to improve the city's quality of life. The floating gardens of Sochi Milka are in the middle of Mexico City.

It's a place to spend a few leisure only hours drifting on a network of ancient canals. But hidden from view. Away from all the musicians and all the vendors. Is a world rarely seen by outsiders. This is what much of Mexico City looked like six hundred years ago when it was founded on an island in the middle of a lake. Tech ancestors farmers created land by piling mud along the shores. These manmade fields called us are highly productive because water seeps up through the mud and keeps the soil moist during the dry months. The posts are a delicate ecosystem requiring the one commodity that Mexico City cannot spare fresh water. Over the years a series of local springs were depleted and polluted

waters flowed into the canals. The farmers of the US led by Lucas good boy decided to do something about it. Their goal was to save some of the most productive land in the world where the soil is so fertile it can yield as many as 10 harvests a year. Recently Luke is convinced the authorities to allow a combination of fresh and treated water to flow back into these canals. It was in the invaded because we are direct descendants of the Aztecs and are very proud of our roots. They were a great culture and we want to maintain and defend this heritage. The chinup us is our identity for the farmers who work these small plots of land. Their success reflects Mexico City's spirit of survival. It's an attitude that can be found throughout the

city. Particularly in a place called El Capitan a neighborhood that overlooks a stagnant pond filled with garbage and sewage. Yet it's a major success story. At first the community had no roads little drinking water and no provisions for handling waste by working on their days off. The citizens have transformed Cappy lane into a healthy and vital place to live in Mexico City. People have learned to rely on one another to make things happen. Every Sunday about 200 people attend a town meeting the residents are considering the construction of a green house that will provide jobs. Tanya Ramirez is keenly interested.

Like many of the residents of El Cap Elaine Tonio earns a living selling flowers. On most mornings he visits a wholesale flower market. He makes his selections with care. Tonio can't afford to buy more than he can sell. He then finds a busy downtown street corner preferably with a long traffic signal. Street vendors like Tonio are a common sight throughout Mexico City. They sell flowers. Clowns perform. Homeless teenagers hawking newspapers. Some even suspect by. All to make a few pesos and survive another day. The lesson of Mexico City is simple. Despite all its history

all its efforts the devastating consequences of uncontrolled growth serves as an environmental warning to the rest of the world. Especially to newly emerging mega cities. Like Istanbul. A sophisticated waterfront city. Rich with ethnic and religious diversity. This has always been one of the great metropolis is of the world. Istanbul's location is both unique and strategic. Built on the edge of two continents Asia and Europe. Throughout history this was a bridge between the Aryans. And the trading centers of Europe and the Middle East. Connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmora is the Bosphorus Strait.

A narrow 15 mile waterway cutting through the heart of Istanbul. For more than a thousand years. This was a center of the civilized world a capital of three great empires Roman and Byzantine and ottoman. The streets of Turkey's largest city still reflect much of its early splendor. The Aya Sofia was a 6th century Christian basilica. This was the world's largest dome to structure until the building of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. The nearby Blue Mosque is a crowning glory of Islamic architecture. In a country that is 99 percent Muslim. This is one of the nation's most important places of worship. Istanbul is an ancient city racing into a new century

saddled with all the contradictions of a modern metropolis. For centuries its citizens have been asking themselves where they truly belong. East or West. Muslim traditions or a secular lifestyle. Now they must ponder the consequences of Istanbul's recent transformation from a city of a million and a half. To an uncontrolled and sprawling mega city. Istanbul is a city of something like 15 million people. Nobody really knows the precise size of it. And of bringing so many people together in such a small space obviously brings a lot of environmental problems with it in many ways. You can see they stumble to be a city on the edge right now and photographer has documented life in Istanbul for the past 50 years. He struggles with the changing face of the city.

This is my country it's every star is my city and my house is somewhere here. But now I am looking at all my old pictures. Because I am now at sixty eight years old. This is the longs for. Portraits of his beloved city. Of places that may no longer exist. Your face. Or an image hidden in the new. But when he focuses his camera his change. Is that he never stops

searching for new images in a city thats verging on the edge of chaos. Newest residents are those who flee in violence. Many are from Turkey's border Kurdish region drawn to the safety and booming economy of Istanbul. They arrive at the rate of over fourteen hundred every day 43000 every month. More than half a million hungry and it harbors every year. With little room left in the Old City people are crowding into Istanbul's unspoiled areas. Igniting a battle between those who need housing and those who want to preserve the city's remaining green spaces. Here behind me you see the typical view of forests

mixed forests which cover 45 percent of the surface area which is quite a big amount for a lot of cities. We're going to have much screen space. What this green space is very very we are very worried about its future. And that's the most dramatic example of green space loss is along the Bosphorus. Until a few years ago this 17th century Ottoman palace was surrounded by a healthy habitat for plants and animals. Today it's been invaded by urban sprawl. A nearby forest has been completely destroyed and replaced by a huge housing project. Most of its development was illegal. These immigrant settlements called conduce the translation is built overnight are actually sturdy structures that the government

eventually legitimizes illegal housing is the quickest and easiest way to shelter an exploding population. As new arrivals pour into the city its water supply begins to suffer. This is not the first time Istanbul's water fell victim to human pressures. During the sixth century Romans built a huge underground reservoirs for times of drought or enemy attack. These highly decorated cistern sustained Istanbul for centuries. Then about 400 years ago the city's population rose sharply. These sub training chambers were no longer adequate plunging Istanbul into a serious water crisis.

To ease the city's thirst nearly 35 miles of aqueducts were built by connecting Istanbul to rural reservoirs and natural springs. Just outside of Istanbul Ottoman engineers constructed the kharaj dam. It's changed very little over time and the surrounding watershed is still productive and I'm polluted. But reservoirs with in Istanbul are surrounded by illegal settlements inadequate sewage facilities threaten Istanbul's drinking water. The impact of mass migration on the city's infrastructure is enormous. Just ask those who work the waters of the Bosphorus. This is an industry that has always supported generations of families.

Today they face a grim future. Like the farmers of Mexico's mosquito Valley. These fishermen are suffering the consequences of a city that can't handle the sewage it generates. Istanbul treats less than 50 percent of its waste water. The rest is pumped into what was once one of the world's most productive fisheries into the waters where Mecca met those Turk has fished for almost 20 years. He was 18 when his father taught him the trade meth Matt always dreamed that one day his son would join him. That was when this fishery was among the world's most productive. Today. His catch is meeting a family tradition is about to disappear. On most

days many Met can't help noticing that he's surrounded by an even graver danger. The Bosphorus is a channel only 700 meters wide that it's not robust and some 70 meters deep. It's one of the world's major shipping channels. So here we have a huge city. Absolutely bubbling with people. The major shipping channel going right for the middle of it each day. One hundred fifty freighters some filled with nuclear waste and highly flammable cargo must share this narrow waterway with fifteen hundred ferries and fishing boats. Simply put the Bosphorus is a ticking time bomb. There have already been a series of fatal tanker disasters where once the threat of invading armies haunted Istanbul residents now fear oil and fire could destroy their city.

Fortunately there are still some who dream of what their city can be. Ten years ago the community of SMU it was an economic and environmental nightmare a barren landscape inhabited by the city's poorest immigrants is a city with a bit of the buffer was the one I did when I was elected mayor of the US and your comments about the field. The population was about 50000. There were no roads no water. No electricity no sewage system. Life was particularly difficult for women. In New York only 7 percent held a job. It was unheard of for a woman to own property. After his election. The new mayor brought dramatic change. It's had a profound effect on women.

He decided to build a new community from the ground a. Contemporary approach to city planning by building hospitals schools that astri and ways bicycle paths and daycare centers. It soon became one of Istanbul's most successful housing developments. And it was legal for the women of S in New York. The benefits were enormous. It gave us the freedom to start a career with a three hundred fifty dollar loan from the Community Foundation. She opened a cafe. It changed her life. She now owns her own business and has already paid off for a loan I should success and that of her community shows that there are ways for cities to face new challenges.

Hope. Can also be found in the kinds of images our searches for. Images of a people open to new ideas. And new ways of adapting to change. These are images of the people seeking answers answers that just may come from a city 5000 miles away. From the city of the new millennium. There are moments when Shanghai seems caught between two. Especially in the early morning hours along the city's famous waterfront. Yet it was here. Beside the Huangpu River.

That China's richest and most important industrial city. First showed signs of economic greatness. It wasn't all that. About one hundred and fifty. The year. That's when foreign interests transformed a sleepy fishing village into a thriving colonial trading center. By the 1920s Shanghai was the commercial capital of Asia. Called the jewel of the Orient. It was also a city famous for its body US and European flair. Then came the horrors of World War Two invaded and ultimately occupied by the Japanese. Shanghai suffered enormously. After the war. Chinese nationalists took control of the city

four years later. Mao's communist forces liberated Shanghai but living conditions worsened. The new regime was determined to make the city pay for too long. History of capitalism and decadence. In the early 70s during the extremes of the Cultural Revolution Shanghai's most educated citizens were sent to world war camps to be re-educated. Many never returned. Today Shanghai has literally really emerged from these earlier up peoples. It's once again an international port of call. Just across the river is a futuristic skyline of the city's newest neighborhood dong. Home to thousands of multinational corporations.

They have located here for only one reason. Shanghai is destined to become the financial center of China. If not all of Asia. The result is a city crowded with people in less than a decade. Thirteen million people have been joined by nearly three million farmers from the poor countryside. Some seek prosperity by selling food in the local markets. Nishant and her family arrived four years ago. Shaw is 21. Her mother hopes to earn enough to give her daughter an advanced education. She would be the first in her family to go to college. Others seek economic opportunities in one of the 20000 construction sites in Shanghai. These workers were once rice farmers from the northern provinces. Today.

They share a common dream of earning enough. To Shop on mangling road. The city's most elegant thoroughfare. Each day over a million people pack it sidewalks. Increased wealth has made Shanghai our Mecca of materialism. In a city of mostly non-Christians Christmas has been embraced as a symbolic way to cast off 50 years of austerity. Even though the city's booming economy never seems to let up. Shanghai must face the same reality as Istanbul and Mexico City. Rapid growth and uncontrolled development. Often generate major environmental problems. Most mornings small d hangs low over Shanghai's imposing skyline. It's the result of burning low grade coal used as the primary fuel for

cooking eating and running factories. Lately the air is becoming even more polluted as bicycles are being replaced by automobiles and buses to ease the problem. There are limitations on the ownership of cars and stricter air quality regulations for factories Shanghai's authorities are also learning from other mega cities all the people show by people a top from the office down to the city then they aware about they are always talking about the water. The city is slowly rebuilding its infrastructure starting with a public transportation network. At its heart is a new subway system. Above ground new highways eased traffic congestion as well as

link Shanghai with surrounding industrial and bedroom communities. But like all cities Shanghai has major issues with water and sewage. Sue Jo Creek is an ancient canal cutting through the heart of Shanghai Each day thousands of barges carry food and construction materials in and out of the city. It has also become a sewer receiving much of Shanghai's untreated waste water. Compounding the problem are massive amounts of pollution coming from solid waste collection sites and factories flanking the water where. Conditions like these cannot sustain a city in the midst of an economic boom as in Mexico City. Construction workers are building a series of huge tunnels that will collect Shanghai's waste water instead of sending it to places similar to the

mosquito Valley or the Bosphorus Strait. The water will be treated and flushed out to sea. Shanghai is also improving the quality of its drinking water. The city's first water treatment plant became operational more than a century ago. It has always drawn Shanghai's drinking water from the river. Today the facility can no longer handle the mounting levels of pollutants in the river. 20 miles upstream from Shanghai where the wind is less affected by industrial waste. The government remedied the problem by building a new water intake and pumping plant. But as the city continues to grow it's having a major impact on the surrounding countryside. Some of China's most fertile farmland is giving way to factories.

Rural waterways and aquifers are becoming contaminated with industrial pollution. Perhaps the most dramatic impact of Shanghai's effect on the countryside is in the nearby city. This is a place famed for its ancient gardens. For thousands of years here to a more traditional spiritual way of life. It's a city that cherishes its ancient system of canals. The rapid growth hasn't come without a price. In this 10 year old satellite image of rural villages near. Green indicates agricultural activity.

In a recent photograph the pink areas indicate Urban Development and the dramatic loss of farmland. Today officials are struggling to preserve its historic district. They have imposed height restrictions on buildings and close some streets to motorized vehicles. But it may be too late as Shanghai's industrial sprawl begins to envelop. In Shanghai almost all green spaces have disappeared. Apartments are at a premium. Million share cramped and adequate quarters for many. The streets are their living rooms. The sidewalks their work spaces. In just two decades Shanghai will be a city of over 20 million people.

To control population. The government is trying to enforce a one child per family policy. In response the people of Shanghai provide their youngest generation with a strong sense of culture and history. Their hope is that these young people will develop their own vision to deal with the city's environmental needs in the years to come. The same sort of vision New Yorkers clearly demonstrated more than a century ago. It was a time when great waves of immigrants came to the United States. Many fleeing from religious or political unrest. Most came in search of economic opportunity. As the city's population surged. It was forced to deal with growing

water sewage and rapid transit needs. By the 1930s New York's population was 7 million and over took London as the world's largest city. New York City has a lot of advantages because it is a city that. Had its main growth period. Much longer ago and is a stablished aset infrastructure. Not only the physical infrastructure but a governmental infrastructure and social infrastructure that can deal in some ways a lot better with its growth. From the air New York is like no other place on earth. Ringed by water and steel. This is a mega city that works. For the 20 million people who live in or around New York with a few exceptions. Water and air quality are relatively high and all of that sewage is treated before leaving the city.

I saw actually what you want to do is you want to allow the cities to grow upwards and to Flora's but not to grow outwards and you don't want people leaving the city. If you want people flocking to them and living there because the city is going to handle ways much more efficiently they can use water more efficiently. They can use natural resources more efficiently than any other. Social. Development Organization. Above all. New York is still a beacon for those seeking a new life in. A city where more than half its population are foreign born or are the children of immigrants while in the city is a Mexican grandmother someplace going into Texas and getting a whole New York City the same thing. The bravery. God takes. Over a young kid that come up with a start. Why does a boy in a coffee shop is the bar whistling that made the city what

type of sizzling coming into was city. The energy that makes New York work can be found in ethnic neighborhoods like the South Bronx. Once a community of Irish Italian and Jewish immigrants today it is still a thriving neighborhood. But now it's a place where Spanish is the first language. Not very long ago the South Bronx was a metaphor for environmental and urban blight industrial pollution plagued the community. Buildings were condemned dreams shattered confused and angry. For some arson was a response. This community in the 70s and 80s experienced an average of five buyers per evening in fact people growing up here often spoke of coming home from school and hearing fire engines and sirens and not ever quite knowing is this

my house that's burning this time. That image remains beyond sort of the people's minds about this is what the South Bronx represents. Eventually the city gave the neighborhood back to its residents and they started to rebuild their homes. For example over here you have the 27 co-ops. These are what we call sweat equity where the people who lived in these co-ops back in the early 80s began to actually rebuild themselves their sweat their time into this property is their equity. And so today the community organizes itself through a special program that allows people to really live out their own American dream. The American dream. For the densely populated community of West Harlem. It is a concept that it times has little meaning. Each day its residents struggle with serious environmental abuses. Their street arc. Reflects the depths of their frustration.

From the air it is hard to distinguish between affluent neighborhoods and those in need except. Over Harlem. Lush Parkland is visible along much of the city's shoreline. When the green space ends Harlem. Along the city's most elegant Street Park Avenue. A subway line is hidden deep underground. But when it reaches Harlem it suddenly comes roaring into view. Though the issue of loss of green space is serious it pales when compared to Harlem's major problem. The community is haunted by a serious health problem. I'm standing on a corner in Harlem. Which is one of the most polluted areas in New York City. Harlem is one of the four neighborhoods in northern Manhattan.

Which is home to six. Of Manhattan's seven bus depots. The important thing to know is that the buses run on diesel fuel and diesel fuel emits very small particles easily breathed into your lungs and very hard to expel. This contributes to a virtual epidemic of asthma in Harlem. With an incidence triple the New York City average. The community has been called a public health disaster. Recently waste water and sewage treatment plants were constructed along the Hudson River though a originally planned for a downtown neighborhood when its absent citizens complained the plants were built in Harlem. When we look at the sightings. Of the woods and other polluting facilities we have in the northern Manhattan community we realize that we have been targeted for environmental injustice

because they are predominantly poor. They are predominantly people of color. Because we have less influential politically. But thanks to the efforts of community leaders like. Health conditions are slowly improving. A plan to expand the city's waste facilities in Harlem was stopped as the community continues to fight for environmental equality. Across the East River in the borough of Brooklyn an environmental turnaround has already taken place. In a modest neighborhood called Carroll Gardens. Here. Elderly immigrants still claim to the ways of their European heritage. The neighborhood for the most part is made up of Italian-American immigrants. The

process was you move up the economic social educational ladder and then retreat to the suburbs. That was the experience the poor Irish immigrant went throw and the Italians followed the Irish immigrant into this part of town. But in the 60s in the early 70s a group of us decided that we were going to change that selfish old pattern. And why did people have to leave. Why did they think they had to leave to get out of the suburbs. The major problem was a waterway running through the heart of Carroll Gardens. Why. Since the 1860s the Oneness canal provided passage for barges. It was a lifeline for the city's expanding economy. But over the years the canal lived its usefulness. Why. Its water became blue. Suspecting that this could be a health threat. In the early 80s the neighborhood

demanded that the canals water be analyzed. I'm almost reluctant to say because it was so bad but they identified typhus typhoid and a variant strain of cholera. And once that word got out to our elected officials we finally got motion. And that meant a four hundred fifty eight million dollar application to build the red sewage treatment plant which has been on flaws and December of 1989 as word spread about the cleanup. Carroll Gardens began to change. There are 250000 people within walking distance of this canal. The commercial potential is a mess. Shops restaurants coffee houses housing. Public Use walking by the canal. We're on our way to saying a difference today. New waves of immigrants are moving in. Young professionals from middle America.

Drawn to the community because of the promise of a waterfront promenade. And the warmth of it's old world charm. The people of Carroll Gardens. The people of New York City are no different from those in Mexico city Istanbul and Shanghai. The quality of their lives is controlled by their ability to cope with change. By the year 2020. Over 60 percent of humanity will live in urban centers. Fortunately. We are now beginning to understand how cities work as a unified system. We have the natural resources to care for them and we have enough water for them to break. Live official. The only way to do that is to make cities that work.

We are also recognizing that those who live in cities have the right to basic necessities. Like clean air and water. It is what is called a human rights issue of the fourth generation. It's the right tool to sustainability though the challenge of balancing economic growth with the health of a city can be a difficult struggle. No one questions that it must be done. They come from the towns and small villages and rural areas to get better education for their kids to get better job opportunities. And. To have more options more choices. Despite all the problems the extraordinary thing about cities is that they remain places of learning. And ideas can be exchanged aspects of a healthy city. A city with those elements can survive and be sustainable. For the people who live in cities who are drawn to the promise of a more rewarding life.

They all share a common bond. A bond that is renewed by the birth of each new generation. Bringing new ideas. New Visions for the future. This is. This is where I discover my speaking. To learn more about journey to planet Earth and how you can use the series in your classroom. Visit our

website at w w w dot PBS dot org slash teacher source slash to order your copy of a three part journey to planet Earth series called PBS home video at 1 800 us. This three hour set is available for 59 95 plus shipping and handling. You're a. Major funding for Journey to planet Earth was provided by. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA's Earth Sciences enterprise dedicated to understanding the total earth system and the effects of natural and human induced changes on the global environment. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

As part of its continuing work to build a more sustainable food system. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. Continental Airlines in 38 countries worldwide. The World Bank. Additional funding was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation American Honda Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture of sustainable agriculture and research program. This. Week.