Quick study: Ricky Burdett on changing cities: man v city

Are cities getting bigger? At the moment 54% of the world’s population live in cities. By 2050 it could be 75%. Five generations ago, in 1900, that figure was 10%. Not only have cities become bigger, the speed at which cities are growing is something we’ve never experienced before. In Lagos, Mumbai and Dhaka, for example, there are roughly 35-45 people per hour being born or moving into those cities. That's over 300,000 a year. The impact of that is enormous—sewers, lighting, electricity provision, housing, hospitals. These urgent issues are not necessarily addressed by the cities that are growing the most.