Over the next decade or so, our cities will they will swell almost unimaginably. By 2030, it is expected that the New York City is home to about 20 million people, Shanghai rises with 31 million and Tokyo, some surprising 38. In fact, by the fourth decade of the 21st century, 70 percent of the world's population will be "urbanites", which means an increase of slightly more than 50% with reference to the situation current.
Almost 800 million people will be living in just 41 megacities (Classified with more than 10 million inhabitants) inhabitants) as indicated in the following graph:
You can access it from HERE and see the evolution forecast from 1950 to 2030.
This trend is not only happening in the world developed; it is expected that 90 percent of the growth of urban population occurs in Africa and Asia. However, no matter where it occurs, rapid urbanization is not exempt of consequences.
As an increasing number of people move into search for a better life, our cities will be filled with people. And as urban space becomes scarcer and the cost of housing rises, billions of people will struggle to find a suitable and affordable place for live.
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We want to make a reflection from a global perspective showing the "key points" of some unstoppable changes that affect everyone and that the United Nations does not stop warning us in its sustainable development goals (More information from objectives HERE).
By the next 2050, 70% of the world population will live in cities . In 1950, the number was 30%.
This is where the sustainable cities index will come into play for see if we are really doing things right. Can consult HERE.
Most of us were born into a world of countries, but by the time we leave this planet, it will basically be a world formed by 600 quite powerful cities. The fast urbanization of the last decades is only the beginning of a steeper growth curve. By 2050, the proportion of people living in urban areas will have increased to 70 percent.
In the next 40 years, the volume of construction urban area for housing, work spaces and infrastructure could nearly equal the total volume of such construction to date.
Our urban environments already have a serious impact on our mental and physical health, so… What happens when our cities get even more crowded? .
41% of India's population is under the age of 20 years (Census – 2016). In the next decade, we will see a explosive population growth in some countries and a decrease in others . In the developed world, we will observe an aging of the population and a growth slow demographic.
Other societies are young and fast growing, which will have far-reaching effects that will include new markets for wider consumption, increasing pressure on the supply of critical resources and radical changes in objectives and personal and social aspirations of people.
More people will have to be fed, housed, educated and employed for the productive potential to materialize.
The world population is expected to increase by 2.5 billion people by 2050, to almost 10 billion people. Increasingly, these people will come out of the poverty and will enter the new world class of consumers urban .
Over the past decade, we have seen changes in the balance of global economic power from West to East, as well as the growth of the middle classes in the economies emerging markets, where living standards and purchasing power they are getting better.
We witness a reduction in poverty, better care health, a higher educational level, the strengthening of women's rights and the widespread use of new communication technologies.
As a result, individual empowerment will accelerate substantially over the next 15 to 20 years, and for Of course, business will be in the big cities.
In the next 15 years, the world will need 50% more energy, 40% more drinking water and 35% more food .
In 2030, there will be almost 8.3 billion people in the world. In combination with the consumption patterns of a middle class expanding, the demand for resources will grow substantially.
Unfortunately, climate change is likely to worsen many people's access to these critical resources. It's simple: we can't keep up with consumption through the finite resources of our planet. all the evidence suggests that if we continue at our current pace, we will soon we'll need a second planet.
The number of people connected directly or indirectly to the Internet will soon approach 100% according to Scientific American by CIFS.
The pace of technological change is increasing exponentially. The perpetual flow of ideas and innovations creates increasingly powerful enabling technologies, where potential user scenarios are limited only by the human imagination.
Indeed, technology and data are affecting the cities as we show in the article about the cities and Big Data.
Every hour of every day, advances on the frontiers of the research and development, ranging from intelligence artificial intelligence and big data to automation and new digital business models are transforming our world.
Technological advances are having a constant impact and significant in the size and shape of the sectors manufacturing and high-tech industries in the world and are also creating entirely new industries, offering constantly new opportunities for both companies as for individuals.
It is much easier, for example, to be able to access share a home with people similar to oneself or power find new home buying opportunities or rent, or new ideas for coexistence.
While the above points are being triggered quickly, we're just not building enough housing to meet global demand. In fact, to house 10 billion people, we need build a city the size of New York every two months for the next 35 years… Is it a problem that politicians or administrations are beginning to address?
It is hard to imagine governments without money solving the housing crisis through large-scale projects. So… Shouldn't we consider how to use improve the existing infrastructure to develop more suitable spaces for these new urban dwellers in cities? And if so…. Could the coexistence provide a solution?
The previous image belongs to the guide article on guidelines for sustainable cities we need implement.
With normal people struggling to find accommodation affordable, shared spaces – be it housing, offices…etc – have grown in popularity, particularly in big cities. the perfect examples like Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona or New York...etc, where the housing crisis is especially acute.
So it is not surprising that The Economist considers that “Coexistence is for hipsters, not for hippies” or that companies reinvent the idea of the flatmates as it was told in the article of the The Guardian…. “although people have lived with roommates for a long time, what we are doing is just taking this way of life and making it better since in many cases it is no longer an option, it is more of a obligation»
However, it's not just the lack of affordable housing that that encourages young people to live together. Many seek a more sociable lifestyle, but rather an antidote to loneliness . According to a 2011 study, 86 percent of millennials reported feeling lonely and depressed. (See article on boring urbanism and how it affects to the people)
As of 2015, a study found that youth ages 18-24 years were four times more likely to feel lonely all the time time than those over 70 years of age. And according to the research recently presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association..."Loneliness and social isolation may pose a greater danger to the public health than obesity, and its impact has been growing and will continue.”
Another issue is that there are also cultural factors to keep in mind . In low-income countries and means, households occupied by singles are the group of fastest growing households. And as in the West, the youth – who traditionally might have lived at home until they got married – today they want to live the single life in the big city, away from his family. However, much of These new urbanites do not want to live alone, nor in many cases, they can afford it.
And of course, there is another important reason why so many millennials have embraced the coexistence. His is a generation that has grown sharing almost every aspect of her life to through social media, a generation accustomed to share photos, gifs, stories, memories…etc, a generation accustomed to spaces for sharing and work together.
It seems that coexistence could be the solution to the urbanization, loneliness and lack of affordable housing… Is it time to start sharing?
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