For the first time in human history, half of the world’s population lives in cities. The UN predicts the number of urban dwellers will reach 5 billion by 2030, by which time urban populations in the less developed regions will be nearly four times as large as those in more developed regions. In China, 120 million people have moved into urban areas in the past 20 years. While this explosion of urban life could be greeted enthusiastically as a sign of progress and modernity, often rapid urbanisation is seen through the prism of other concerns: over-population, fears for ‘indigenous’ communities, and the dangers cities create for the environment.

These anxieties particularly colour Western debates about the metropolis. While China plans to build 20 new cities a year for 20 years, Western sustainability advocates flag up the potential dangers this poses. London mayor, Ken Livingstone cites climate change as the central issue for world cities at a time when China has 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. India’s level of urbanisation remains quite low, but its cities are home to 285 million people, equal to the total population of the United States. Commentators emphasise the negative side, pointing to the 21% of India’s urban population that live in slums. It is alleged that investment in world-class infrastructure to attract global capital comes at the cost of essential services like water, sanitation and public health for the many. Worse, to feed these ever-consuming cities, India is the world’s fifth largest consumer of energy and therefore, in many people’s eyes, a mega polluter. 

Consequently, Western architects, engineers and planners now advise on building ‘eco-cities’ to avoid the problems associated with urbanisation in the West. But are Westerners best placed to advise the developing world on how to urbanise?  Debates on city life in the West regularly focus on fears of inner-city decay – both materially and morally. Is there a danger of exporting social pessimism along with technical know-how, and stifling the ambitions of the developing world? Western urbanists seem more concerned with single iconic buildings, local brownfield regeneration packages and restrictions on private transport, than building on the scale required in the developing world. Can the new mega-cities be made to benefit the poor rather than being seen as a scourge?  Might these new cities of dreams even inspire the West? Or have we lost faith in the promise of progress embodied in urbanisation?