We are quickly becoming intensely urbanized - good or bad?

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ore than half the world’s population already lives in urban areas and in just 35 years that will be home for 75 per cent of people.

Several years ago the University of Melbourne Professor, Brendan Gleeson wrote about “LifeBoat Cities – Making a New World” and discussed the need for society to look to its cities to discover ways to endure a changing climate.

This Treehugger story by Michael Richard Graham about our burgeoning again emphasizes the need for us to get smart about the governance of our towns and cities.

Graham says, “Population density, when done right, is a great tool to make people happier, give them more opportunities (social, economic, cultural, etc) and reduce their environmental footprint.

“A big part of it is that you can reduce the amount of pollution caused by transportation and housing, the two biggest resource sinks, with walkable neighborhoods and mass transit, as well as smaller dwellings (but the city becomes your living room and playground, so the actual "living area" can be much larger than for those living in some exurb in a McMansion...).”

Read the Treehugger story - “By 2050 around 75% of all the world's population will be urban. Is this a good thing?”