Most of the rise in the world’s urban population will take place in China, India, Asia, Latin America and Africa, according to planning experts who addressed a conference of city mayors in Cannes, France, in early March. Currently, there are more than 400 cities with a population of more than one million, and 19 of these have more than 10 million inhabitants. London mayor Boris Johnson said: “The future of the world lies in cities.”
Between 18 and 20 million people each year leave the countryside in China to move into its cities, it was noted, and this puts a strain on existing accommodation and infrastructure. The conference also heard warnings about the vulnerability of many cities to earthquakes and floods. The chairman of the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative, Fouad Bendimerad, said that eight major cities are under continuous threat of earthquakes, including Istanbul, Turkey.
One of the fastest growing cities in the world is Dhaka, Bangladesh, which is estimated to have close to 15 million people in its wider metropolitan area and to be growing at 4.2 percent a year. Some 3.5 million of its inhabitants live in slum areas without sanitation or drinking water. The city authorities recently unveiled a detailed plan to resolve its major problems of waterlogged neighbourhoods and widespread traffic congestion.
A study by Citigroup says that, by 2015, the megacities with the fastest growing economies will be London, Chicago, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Moscow. A key issue will be the need to conserve fuel and energy, says Professor Tony Lloyd-Jones of the University of Westminster, who adds that cities need to become more efficient in terms of transport infrastructure, and that investment in public transport is one of the keys to achieving this.
