- List the projected numbers of people that will be living in each of the ten cities listed for 2030, and comment on at least five of them. Do you find any of this surprising? I want you to comment on Tokyo, which is an unusual case in that, as the speaker indicated, Japan’s total population actually likely to shrink as the greater Tokyo region continues to absorb people from throughout rural Japan. Keep in mind Japan’s vulnerability to earthquake and tsunami.
Much of the countryside, presumably, is becoming depopulated even as the population ages. Is there something about Japan’s economy and culture that results this degree of urbanization? Young people are naturally attracted to cities; country life can be boring and lack work opportunities. Even elderly Japanese be attracted to cities after a lifetime of rural living for the social interaction, well-developed service industries, and quality health care?
2. By 2100, environmental change might make urbanization the only choice for vast numbers of people (e.g., rising sea levels in Bangladesh and drought in Niger).
List for me the projected numbers of people that will be living in each of the ten cities listed for 2100, and keep in mind that a growing number of unmentioned megacities, many larger than today’s largest, will be also grow to enormous size. How have things changed since 2030?
Do you think that these cities of the future will be like today’s cities? For example, could they sustain the sort of automotive transportation we find in the largest cities today?
What sort of planning do you think will be necessary for such cities to be sustainable? Should they grow ‘organically’ as many now do, or should they be fully or partially planned?
Do you think the relevant governmental bodies are up to the task? Do you think places like Afghanistan, Niger, and Pakistan will be more or less governable as the possible result of continuing political instability, social conflict, and high birth rates, despite their urbanization?
https://youtu.be/9OulEjWI-bE