Overview

Urbanisation is one of the defining trends of this century and a key driver of development. By 2050, around 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities and towns. Asia and Africa will collectively account for a significant majority of the urban growth rate, a development that reflects the growth of both ‘megacities’ and smaller urban settlements in both regions over the past three decades. Today, cities produce around 80% of the global GDP and this importance is likely to continue. Cities also use 75% of global energy and are responsible for 70% of global carbon emissions. Accompanying the pace and extent of urbanisation are a number of positive and negative trends – from increased economic opportunities and improvements in lives and livelihoods, through to the potential for greater urban–rural disparity, lower quality of life, and conflict.

Rapid urbanisation has been shown to be often unsustainable and causing unnecessary risks and costs to urban populations and the environment. Cases such as urban sprawls and the proliferation of informal settlements are increasing, and the communities who reside in such areas often suffer from the poor provision of public services (or lack of) such as healthcare or waste management systems. As their population grows, cities also become more complex, making long-term planning and city management a challenge. Amongst the numerous challenges that policymakers must tackle include those that are environmental, those pertaining to resource allocation, and even social challenges such as reducing intra-city inequalities.

Cities are providing a wide range of opportunities and possibilities for its citizens – and in order for them to be fully harnessed – cities should be built for and together with its citizens to fully unlock their potential. This includes taking into account the various needs and aspirations of people, making sure that everyone can have equal and inclusive access to services and create urban spaces and environments to enhance livability.

At the same time, there is a lack of sufficient, accurate and timely urban data. SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – has the highest proportion of insufficient data at 60% to assess progress related to the SDG targets, double or more than any other SDG with significant gaps in geographic coverage, timeliness, and disaggregation by income, gender, age, ethnicity, disability or other. This further hinders policymakers and urban innovators from focusing their efforts where they are needed most.

The Smart Cities and Urbanisation workstream of the Global Centre is working towards shaping liveable, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban areas, with digitalisation and innovation as key drivers in improving lives and livelihoods. This includes focusing in particular on shaping policies to drive inclusive and sustainable development, supporting local ecosystem development, building skills and abilities to leverage digital, and identifying and implementing the most appropriate solutions.