Urban World: 2050/Viewpoints (bbc)

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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/5094602.stm#dear

Viewpoints: The urban world in 2050

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

The projection is that in 50 years' time, two-thirds of humanity will live in cities. Six experts outline their vision of the urban world in 2050.


"I would like to see cities that restored a more intimate relationship with the environment"
Hank Dittmar, Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment


"We're going to see a lot more of what I call 'post-modern urbanisation'"
Michael Dear, author of The Post-modern Urban Condition

"By 2050 in the developed world, energy sustainability will have become a very big deal"
Professor Nigel Thrift, author of Cities: Reimagining the Urban

"The more we rely on advanced technologies, the more cities seem to grow"
Stephen Graham, human geographer and author of The Cybercities Reader

"An urban nightmare in less than 50 years' time is certainly what will engulf us on current trends"
Walden Bello, director of Focus on the Global South

"What we are going to see is the reinvention of the notion of the political"
Saskia Sassen, author of Territory, Authority and Rights: from Medieval to Global


Hank Dittmar is an American transport expert and head of the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, which was set up by Prince Charles to promote traditional building design.

In 2050, I would hope to see cities that restored a more intimate relationship with the countryside around them both in the use of local materials in building construction and local traditions of architecture.

We should be moving towards cities that are based around walking than around the motor car, and around living in a way that relies on the sort of energy budget and food budget that's available to us close by.