Translation of Le Dessous des Cartes for SP services related to city development

1. Cities of the future
Selim Stahl, 8th September 2014
This is a translation of Arte Geopolitical Show ”Le dessous des cartes”

2. Today, 50% of the world population lives in cities. In 2020, it will be
60%. The city is synonymous with economic development, openness,
and innovation, as well as pollution, exclusion and inequality. Maps can
give answers to questions like where the megacities of tomorrow will
be, and will they be different from those we know

3. These figures illustrate the evolution of the global population and the percentage of people living in the
cities. In 1700, the world population was about 650 million people, of which 7% urban. Today, there are
about 7 billion people in the world, 53% urban. In 2050, the world population will be about 9.5 billion
people, of whom 65% will live in cities. The share of people living in cities is increasing
The growth of the world's urban population

4. Here is a map which shows the country's urban population which was the largest in absolute terms in
1950. It is found that it is unevenly distributed across the planet and is mostly found in countries known
as "Northern countries. "
The distribution of the urban population in the world in 1950

5. Here is the same map of the world but for the year 2050. It is found that the distribution of the urban
population is more homogeneous and that the growth of this population mainly concerns the so-called
"South" as well as emerging markets countries, in yellow on the map .
The distribution of the urban population in the world in 2050

6. Megacities are cities with over 10 million inhabitants. In 1950, there were two, New York and Tokyo. In
2011, they were twenty three, of which only five in "North." In 2025, they will be 37, and the vast
majority of them will be in the "South." It is observed that most of the growth of megacities takes place
in Latin America and Asia.
Megacities in the world

7. These megacities are all both machines that exchange, brew or innovate. They give better access to
knowledge, they expand employment opportunities and are ideal places to install the HQ of
multinationals. Their productivity is higher on average than in the rest of the country and some even have
an equivalent to that of a state GDP. Thus, the GUP, that is to say, the annual GDP of the city for Shanghai
in 2010 was 250 billion dollars, which is higher than the GDP of Finland.
GUP (gross urban product) of Shanghai

8. You see on this map the 75 most dynamic cities in terms of GUP growth between 2010 and 2025. Cities in
yellow are those that have so far produced the most wealth, but whose growth will be low enough to
future: Tokyo, New York, London, Paris ... Cities in orange saw an increase up to 250% of their GUP. This
figure could rise to 400% for cities in red, most of which are in China.
GUP growth of the fastest growing cities

9. On the previous map, we superimposed Internet streams (in white) and the current network of submarine
cables (red), which allow the transfer of data and communication. Here we can see that cities are at the
heart of these networks and these flows, and that the cities are at the heart of globalization
The network of submarine cables and Internet streams

10. You see on this map the location of thirty world's largest airports in terms of passengers - domestic or
international passengers. The United States put twelve of their airports among the world's top thirty, and
first place went to the Atlanta airport, which is primarily a national hub airport, unavoidable in the United
States. The second largest airport in terms of attendance, is now Beijing. But as Atlanta for Americans,
Beijing is primarily used by Chinese passengers.
The thirty world's largest airports

11. But the attractiveness of cities has a price: pollution. On the world map, the color of cities is the
concentration of fine particles in the air. Cities in green have a lower or equal to the standard set by the
WHO (World Health Organization) level, so these are mostly clean cities. Cities in yellow, orange and red
are those that exceed these standards. We see that it is the cities from the so called "South" that are the
most polluted cities
Pollution in cities

12. Some SP Services for Energy-efficient buildings and
sustainable societies
 Energy efficiency improvements and environmental impact
 Life cycle analyses of buildings
 The environmental performance of buildings-
 Passive buildings, plus-buildings and plus-zone areas
 Municipal and regional strategies for reduced CO2 emissions.
 Municipal and regional planning and approval structures for
renewal and upgrading of the physical environment
 The environmental impact of the service sector