Trend Megatrend 4: urbanisation

Summary

The fourth megatrend in the Megatrends 2040 report is urbanisation, which continues to accelerate worldwide while cities grow and operate more autonomously and set new social and economic standards. Under a recently adopted definition, 76.5% of the global population already lived in urban areas in 2015, far above earlier estimates of 54%. Nine of ten future megacities are expected to be in the developing world, and 43 major cities are projected to exceed 10 million inhabitants. The report observes that city dwellers use less energy and land per person than rural residents, yet cities face overpopulation, inequality, heat, pollution and congestion. It calls for balancing compact, dense development with quality of life, supported by data-driven smart cities and innovation.