/Is urbanisation still true? In short, yes. Whilst some of the latest indications are that people are considering moving out of cities to gain space, it is not known if this will continue. The question is, has the sustainable city concept lost its way? As such, when considering projects, policies etc going forward, an assessment is likely to be needed to check if what is being delivered is really more sustainable and in which conditions would probably be useful. It may not be enough for such assessments to rely on the previous assumptions of the last decade, without some degree of stress testing. What can we do to use this change to arrive at a more sustainable world? Prior to Covid, the growth of cities was unquestionable, the trend undeniable and whilst there was always movement to the suburbs or more rural locations, this was offset easily by the growth within cities.
This phenomenon is not a new one. Cities have grown for hundreds of years and, with an increasing population, individuals are still attracted to them even today.
Let’s remind ourselves… cities grew as did populations There are many sources for global population projections. The United Nations has more recently projected a range of possible global population figures, ranging from a decline in population to less than eight billion by 2100 to a high in excess of 12 billion. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division projects that population could peak at 11 billion around the end of the century before declining. Division director John Wilmoth said that this outcome “is not certain and in the end the peak could come earlier or later.” ii In addition to the ’numbers’, demographics are likely to change as well. For example, it is estimated that globally more people live in cities now than in rural areas – the first time this has occurred in history. By mid-century, some project that the number of cities on the planet with populations exceeding 10 million people will increase from 28 in 2014 to more than 40. If we look to China, it is easy to demonstrate the extent of this growth. There are now 35 cities in China where the regional city-scale economy is on the scale of some national economies. The data below shows the top ten.
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