In The News

Lump Together and Like It

November 10, 2008
The statistics on urbanization worldwide are startling – in the past 30 years alone, urban populations have gone from 1.6 to 3.3 billion people, while the next 30 years project additional growth of 2 billion people. The scale and speed of urbanization today is unprecedented in history, with projections of 2 billion slum-dwellers in 2030. Developing countries like Egypt, with more than 18 million...

Generation Faithful

Michael Slackman October 6, 2008
The city of Dubai is has been in a storm of transformation in recent years, going from oil- and gas-based growth to a real estate, trade and financial hub in the Middle East, meshing a population consisting of 80 percent emigrants from more than 200 ethnicities. Such tremendous growth and diversity have led to a "socially freewheeling yet unmistakably Muslim state" that raises...

Township for Foreign Workers Could House Up to 20,000 Under One Roof

Imelda Saad September 12, 2008
Singapore banks on its stable, multicultural society to attract investors and businesses. Investment in infrastructure construction has required foreign workers who bring new cultures and habits, some considered unacceptable by local Singaporeans. Hence, dormitory operators have proposed building huge “townships” for up to 20,000 foreign workers in one location, a concept that flourishes...

McCain’s Delicate Immigration Dance

Michael Scherer July 1, 2008
John McCain must walk a fine line between courting up-for-grabs Latino voters who are sympathetic toward illegal immigrants and retaining traditional Republican voters who demand a harsher line toward those same immigrants. McCain has already earned the enmity of many Republicans over his support for comprehensive immigration reform. For now, the anti-immigration voters have no options – the...

Keep America Open to Trade

Carlos M. Gutierrez May 28, 2008
Like other countries, the US confronts rising energy, housing and food prices – but limiting immigration or reducing trade will not alleviate such economic problems. The US secretary of commerce and the governor of California urge that the US continue open policies on trade and immigration. In an opinion essay for the Wall Street Journal, Carlos Gutierrez and Arnold Schwarzenegger, both...

In EU, Hope Dims for Iraqi Refugees

Mariah Blake April 24, 2008
The US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent insurgency have produced an estimated 4.7 million refugees. One Swedish town alone, Södertälje near Stockholm, has accepted about 6,000 asylum seekers in the last five years – more than the entire United States. In all, Sweden – which had no role in the war – has accepted 49,000 people who met the conditions required by the European Union’s...

IT Workers on the Move With Globalization

Anthony P. D’Costa April 9, 2008
Talented professionals, including information-technology workers, chose to migrate for jobs and high wages. Such workers have often moved from developing countries in Asia and Eastern Europe to the wealthy developed nations, where graying populations and a lack of youth interest in mathematics and other technical subjects, created a need for skilled workers. But a new shift is also on, reports...