"Cities have existed for millennia, but their triumph is remarkably recent. As recently as 1950, only 30% of the world's population were urban dwellers. This week, a United Nations report suggested that more than 80% of people are now urbanites, with most of those living in cities. London became the first city to reach a million inhabitants in the early 19th century. Now, almost 500 have done so."
"Jakarta's explosive growth its population has grown almost 30-fold since 1950 demonstrates both the costs of rapid urbanisation and the difficulties of addressing them. It is choked by traffic and pollution, regularly floods and is sinking fast due to the overextraction of groundwater. The government is now building a new administrative capital more than 1,000km away, in Borneo. But such projects have an uninspiring record. The new city of Nusantra is behind schedule and short on funding and would-be inhabitants."
As recently as 1950 only 30% of the global population lived in urban areas; today more than 80% are urbanites and most live in cities. London was the first city to exceed one million inhabitants; nearly 500 cities now do so. Jakarta, with about 42 million residents, has overtaken Tokyo and exemplifies rapid urban growth concentrated in Asia. Standardised measures reveal a sharp population shift to towns and cities, with the urbanisation rate rising from 55% in 2018 to much higher levels. Rapid growth brings traffic, pollution, flooding and subsidence; large planned new capitals often face delays, funding shortages and limited uptake. Migration stems from both youthful economic aspirations and rural distress driven by agrarian policy and fiscal pressures, while urban sprawl consumes rural land. Cities remain hubs of productivity, creativity, diversity and economic development.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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