Finance crisis could spark rent riots: UN population chief

LONDON: The global financial crisis could lead to unrest in the world's ever growing urban population as people face difficulties paying their rent, the head of the UN population programme said on Wednesday.

"This is really a housing finance crisis," Anna Tibaijuka told a news conference as she unveiled the UN's annual report on the state of the world's cities.

"You cannot have a harmonious society if people are not secure in their homes.

"And if you cannot pay the rent, you are not secure in your home."

She agreed that riots were "possible", saying: "The more unequal the city is, the more problems you will have."

Tibaijuka said that with the world's urban population outnumbering the rural population for the first time in 2008, governments and city authorities must pay more attention to housing for the poorest in society.

"If you want a harmonious society, it is the weaker members that need the support the most."

The report by UN Habitat shows that cities in the United States have greater income inequalities than some cities in Africa and Latin America.

Cities such as New York, Washington, Atlanta and New Orleans have levels of income inequality similar to those of Abidjan, Nairobi and Buenos Aires.

But Johannesburg and other cities in South Africa have the greatest disparities in income of any country in the world.

Beijing is the most equal city in the world in terms of income.