This document summarizes discussions on the future of cities from global experts. It identifies several trends cities will face by 2050, including mass urbanization as over 70% of people live in cities, cities consuming 75% of resources and producing 60% of emissions, and most cities facing flooding risks from climate change due to being located on coasts. It also notes challenges like adapting to aging populations and harnessing creativity and technology to address issues in sustainable ways.

1. The
Future
of
Ci-es
Insights
from
Discussions
Building
on
an
Ini4al
Perspec4ve
by:
Harry
Rich|
Chief
Execu4ve
|
Royal
Ins4tute
of
Bri4sh
Architects

2. Context
The
ini4al
perspec4ve
on
the
Future
of
Ci4es
kicked
off
the
Future
Agenda
2.0
global
discussions
taking
place
through
2015.
This
summary
builds
on
the
ini4al
view
and
is
updated
as
we
progress.
Ini4al
Perspec4ves
Q4
2014
Global
Discussions
Q1/2
2015
Insight
Synthesis
Q3
2015
Sharing
Output
Q4
2015

3. Mass
Urbanisa-on
By
2050
over
70%
of
people
will
live
in
a
city.
The
growth
of
mega-­‐ci4es
is
crea4ng
a
new
wave
of
urbanisa4on.
Such
mass
urbanisa4on
requires
a
rethink
about
how
we
plan
and
design
ci4es.

4. Consuming
Ci-es
Ci4es
consume
75%
of
the
world’s
natural
resources,
and
produce
more
than
60%
of
GHG
emissions.
As
a
result,
while
the
economic
power
of
ci4es
con4nues
to
grow,
they
remain
vulnerable
to
the
by-­‐products
of
their
success.

5. Floa-ng
Ci-es?
Climate
change
poses
a
worrying
challenge
for
ci4es.
Already
50%
of
ci4es
are
dealing
with
its
effects,
and
nearly
all
are
at
risk.
Over
90%
of
all
urban
areas
are
coastal,
pung
most
ci4es
on
earth
at
risk
of
flooding.

6. Adap-ng
for
Ageing
Popula-ons
In
developed
countries,
80%
of
older
people
will
live
in
ci4es
by
2050,
while
ci4es
in
developing
countries
will
house
25%
of
the
older
popula4on.
Planners
are
adap4ng
urban
environments
to
support
healthy
ageing
of
popula4ons.

7. Crea-ve
Hubs
Ci4es
have
a
long
history
of
fostering
social
and
prac4cal
innova4on.
New
technology
has
enabled
ci4es
to
evolve
and
reinvent
themselves
in
the
face
of
huge
social,
environmental
and
technological
upheaval.

8. Living
Ci-es
As
technology
becomes
more
sophis4cated,
new
approaches
create
place-­‐
based
design
that
addresses
the
health
and
environmental
impacts
of
ci4es,
making
more
compact
spaces
more
appealing
to
poten4al
residents.

9. Digital
Engagement
Ci4es
are
using
digital
pla`orms
to
beaer
plan
for
the
future
and
encourage
public
engagement.
Using
new
technology
and
big
data
to
support
strategic
planning
of
a
city
can
help
improve
public
engagement
with
the
process.

10. New
Models
and
Measures
We
need
measures
to
help
technology
to
play
a
role
across
boundaries.
Globally,
a
strong
cultural
shid
will
be
required,
moving
away
from
business
as
usual
to
models
that
enable
the
economy
to
thrive
within
resource
constraints.

11. People-­‐Powered
Planning
In
an
era
where
the
public
voice
is
easier
to
access
and
harder
to
suppress,
it
becomes
harder
to
generate
support
for
new
ini4a4ves
without
taking
public
views
into
account.
Leaders
will
need
to
maintain
public
and
poli4cal
support.

12. Las-ng
Design
We
need
a
shid
toward
a
circular
economy
that
is
restora4ve,
both
naturally
and
technically.
Buildings
have
to
be
built
to
an4cipate
future
change,
rather
than
using
design
standards
based
on
exis4ng
condi4ons.

13. Valuing
Crea-vity
Ci4es
need
to
increasingly
embrace
the
value
of
crea4vity
as
both
an
agent
of
change
and
as
part
of
considering
and
providing
holis4c
processes
for
change.

14. Healthy
Ci-es
New
approaches
to
city
design
will
gain
by
encouraging
healthier
urban
dwellers
-­‐
reduced
healthcare
costs,
increased
produc4vity,
more
community
resilience,
improved
life
expectancy
and
fewer
demands
on
health
services.

15. Coopera-on
Across
Boundaries
Ci4es
need
more
joined-­‐up
coopera4ve
government
working,
across
systems
and
boundaries.
This
includes
a
focus
on
long-­‐term
benefits
to
society,
par4cularly
with
regard
to
planning
and
investment.

16. Public-­‐Private
City
Partnerships
To
collec4vely
address
major
urban
challenges,
as
shown
by
Medellin
in
Colombia,
governments
increasingly
openly
collaborate
with
business
to
improve
the
ins4tu4onal
fabric
of
ci4es
as
well
as
core
infrastructure.

17. Safe
Ci-es
Urban
dwellers
expect
their
ci4es
to
be
secure,
leading
to
increased
monitoring
of
human
behaviour
and
surveillance
to
improve
the
sense
of
physical
security
but
at
the
cost
of
increased
fears
over
personal
data
and
privacy
breaches.

18. Ci-es
as
Products
People-­‐orientated
transforma4on
means
that
ci4zens
are
seen
as
the
most
essen4al
stakeholder
for
urban
development
-­‐
providing
enhanced
quality
of
life
in
ci4es
through
greater
comfort,
sa4sfac4on
and
sense
of
belonging.

19. In
Need
of
Belonging
Small
communi4es
exist
in
mega
ci4es
to
provide
a
sense
of
community
and
social
wellbeing.
Looking
ahead,
the
more
responsive
ci4es
will
seek
to
enable
communi4es
to
mould
their
neighbourhoods.

20. Pop-­‐up
Economies
Crowd-­‐sourcing
will
enable
‘pop-­‐up
economies’
where
communi4es
pool
resources
and
so
reduce
the
need
for
government
involvement.
The
downside
is
that
communi4es
create
their
own
iden4ty
making
“them
and
us”
obvious.

21. Infrastructure
Responsibility
What
happens
when
the
city
becomes
so
transient
that
no
one
takes
overall
responsibility
for
its
infrastructure?
How
can
we
get
the
same
quality
of
infrastructure
in
rural
communi4es
as
there
is
in
ci4es?

22. Hub-­‐hop
For
some,
na4onal
iden4ty
is
on
the
decline.
Look
out
for
the
rise
of
‘Hub-­‐hops’
–
city
areas
where
cultures
have
merged
and
technology
has
advanced.
These
urban
districts
are
the
homes
from
home
for
the
nomadic
global
ci4zen.

23. Public
Spaces
Governments
are
pressured
to
ensure
that
public
spaces
are
created
and
retained
–
Places
where
people
can
meet,
congregate,
relax,
even
where
land
is
valuable
and
constrained,
are
prized
focal
points
for
society.

24. Satellite
Ci-es
The
growth
of
satellite
ci4es
and
networks
of
midi-­‐ci4es
in
many
regions
is
seen
as
a
preferred
route
to
more
mega-­‐city
development.
Connected
by
fast
infrastructure,
these
act
collec4vely
economically
but
in
a
sustainable
manner.

25. Waste
Management
As
ci4es
become
ever
more
densely
populated,
new
approaches
to
waste
management
will
be
introduced.
Especially
in
fast-­‐growing
mega-­‐ci4es,
waste
is
seen
as
a
resource
and
a
source
of
energy.

26. Rural
Upgrade
Rather
than
focus
so
much
on
ci4es
we
will
see
some
regions
place
more
emphasis
on
upgrading
rural
infrastructure
and
connec4vity.
This
will
help
stem
the
drive
of
migra4on
and
urbanisa4on
and
rejuvenate
village
life.

27. Future
Agenda
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