Urbanization

ISSUES

Urbanisation

The megacities
In 2005, there were twenty agglomerations of more than 10 million inhabitants whereas there were only two in 1950 and three in 1975. Fifteen of these cities are in developing countries. These cities alone account for 9 % of the world's population. The largest is Tokyo with 35 million inhabitants and the 9 other largest megacities are Mumbai (or Bombay) and Mexico with 21 million inhabitants, Sao Paulo -20 million, New York -19 million, Delhi -18 million, Shanghai -17 million and finally, Calcutta, Dhaka and Jakarta with 16 million inhabitants. (1)
The fabric of society of large cities tends to merge to create huge « conurbations ». Hence, the Tokaido corridor around Tokyo and Osaka could represent over 80 million inhabitants whilst the North-East corridor, between Washington, New York and Boston has 55 million inhabitants. It is often hard to draw the precise line between a city and an agglomeration.

NEWS

Street lights disrupt ecosystem, says beetle study

Tokyo mega-quake 'would kill over 9,000'

Cities on front line of climate change

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DEBATES

Growing food in greener cities

FAO

Urban horticulture supplies fresh food, creates jobs, recycles waste. By 2025, more than half the developing world's population -...

Africa’s Urban Farmers

When I met Eunice Wangari at a Nairobi coffee shop...

What Makes Europe Greener than the U.S.?

The average American produces three times the amount of CO2...

FOCUS

New cities

The building sector is the sector in which greenhouse gas emissions could be greatly reduced: -29% by 2020. This would not cost much as the technical solutions already exist. Good double glazing reduces heat loss...

VIDEOS

25/10/2011	This is the latest promotional video for the Share the Road initiative,...	27/09/2011	Westside bike ride on the freeway of Los Angeles
14/06/2011	Two wild elephants went on a rampage in a town in southern India, killing...	11/01/2011	A green roof can certainly make a building look nicer, but can it...

GREEN TIPS

In Albi, light is cheap

The town of Albi has installed which are more eco-friendly. These produce good quality white light which...

INDICATORS

Urban population
IT indicators

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