TURIN, Italy -- Urban planning plays a fundamental role in preventing crime in the increasingly urbanized world, international experts said at a global forum on urban security that kicked off in Italy's Turin on Monday.

The world is experiencing an unprecedented level of urbanization. More than half of the global population lives in urban settings and two-thirds are expected to live in cities by 2050, according to figures released at the meeting.

However, though the process of urbanization fosters general improvements in life quality, it may also affect, if mishandled, the stability of growing cities, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) director Jonathan Lucas noted.

The conference, held on Monday and Tuesday in the northern Italian city, was jointly organized by UNICRI, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and local authorities to share knowledge of security and crime prevention in urban environments.

The mayors of more than 20 important cities around the world exchanged with global experts and organizations the experiences and results achieved to protect especially the most vulnerable such as women, young people and marginalized groups.

"No city can enjoy development without security," Lucas said, pointing out that "crosscutting prevention" requires integrated policies able to provide equal access to basic services, enhance the rule of law and foster cooperation between the citizens and government institutions.

For Cecilia Andersson, a UN-Habitat officer, the challenge for fast developing countries such as China in the next few decades would be learning how to take advantage of the possibilities that urbanization offers and thereby promote sustainable development.

"I think it is very important to actually plan the growth of the cities" and be able to support it "with services and service delivery" involving affordable measures, she told Xinhua.

The UN-Habitat launched last year the Global Network on Safer Cities (GNSC), an initiative aimed to show the world that more than 100 international cities wanted to take concrete action to guarantee the safety of their inhabitants.

Andersson said the program's idea was bringing different partner organizations together in a "coordinated way of actions on security issues."

The first phase will be a four-year incubation period from 2012 to 2016 during which monitoring and evaluation of new synergies to contribute to innovative approaches to urban security will take place, she said.