The challenges facing an urban world (BBC) {>50% of humans in cities}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Mark Kinver
Science and nature reporter, BBC News

The world is fast approaching the point where the majority of the human population will be found in urban areas.

Somewhere, sometime in 2007, someone migrating from their rural home to begin a new life in a town or city will tip the global rural/urban balance, the UN estimates.

Throughout history, the world has experienced urbanisation but the huge rise in the number of people making their homes in towns and cities is a recent phenomenon.

In 1950, less than one-in-three people lived in urban areas. The world had just two so-called "megacities" with populations in excess of 10 million: New York and Tokyo. Today, there are at least 20.

Greater Tokyo, the world's biggest city, has expanded from 13 million residents in 1950, to today's figure of 35 million.

The United Nations estimates that about 180,000 people are being added to the urban population every day. This means the world's urban infrastructure has to absorb the equivalent of the population of two Toykos each year.
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5054052.stm

This report is part of BBC's larger Web project, "Urban Planet", with multiple links to related topics, from urban poverty & slum growth to efforts to "greenify" cities: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2006/urbanisation/

[sweetheart]

1. sea change

Well, there you have it... why los angeles and its turmoil is key to the future.

[lapfog_1]

2. One word, Urbmon

Robert Silverberg probably had this right as well. That's the future of mankind, at least if we want to have 8 billion people on this planet.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. What story or series was that from? nt

[lapfog_1]

5. I think the title was "The world Inside"...

You can probably find out more from Amazon or similar.

The basic premise was that the human population had grown so much that we ended up building these huge skyscraper "Urban Monad" towers and that became our world. You lived, worked, and recreated completely within your Urbmon. Everything else on the planet was used as acreage to grow the needed food items, with occasional nature preserves. No vehicles, no travel (except occasional trips by VIPs to other Urbmons - but really, why go since they are all the same).

Anyway, when I see the new plans for these very tall buildings that "have it all", I think back to this story (or series, I can't remember which).

Maybe not quite as good of near future (for the 1960's!!!) sci-fi as any book by John Brunner, but this one was good.

[cprise]

4. Book review

The accumulation of the wretched

Review of 'Planet of Slums')
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HE20Aa01.html

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Thanks, sounds like an important book. nt

[Nihil]

7. Interesting combination isn't it?

The majority of human population living in mega-cities.
+
The majority of human population living on the coast.
+
Sea-level rising.

Hmmm

- Eight of the top ten largest cities are on the coast.

- 44 % of the world's population (more people than inhabited the
entire globe in 1950) live within 150 kilometres of the coast.

- In 2001 over half the world's population lived within 200km of
a coastline.

(http://www.oceansatlas.com/servlet/CDSServlet?status=ND0xODc3LjU4Nzc3JjY9ZW4mMzM9bmV3cyYzNz1pbmZv)

[NNadir]

8. Not a pretty picture by any means...

[Boomer]

9. Just gets better and better

The majority of people do not have access to land in which to grow their own food.

The majority of people do not know how to grow and preserve their own food, even if they had the land to do it in.

Large-scale agribusiness farms supply these urban areas with food from a long distance.

Agribusinesses are centralized in a few regions of the country.

At any given time, any region of the country could be devastated by climate change: drought, floods, storms or even fuel supply shortages that limit distribution.

Summary: A majority of people are at high risk for famine in case of ecological or energy emergencies.