In his book Building and Dwelling, the LSE professor and urbanist Richard Sennett writes: “the built environment is one thing, how people dwell in it another.” That’s doubly true when it comes to how we think about our cities in the fight against climate change. Many of Britain’s cities first appeared during the Industrial Revolution, when city life was dominated by the demands of mass production and the rapid expansion of heavy industry. The hallmarks of this heritage remain today: those attending COP26 at Glasgow’s exhibition centre will see the Finnieston Crane right beside them on the Clyde, a testament to the city’s proud history of shipbuilding.
On the one hand, the whole world is still living under the shadow of that era. The pull of city life and its promise of secure employment and a better life is as strong as ever. A 2018 report published by the United Nations estimates that half of the globe’s entire population now resides in cities; by 2050, that number is set to be closer to twothirds, with much of the increase in Asia and Africa. By 2030, the world is expected to have 43 “megacities”— that is, cities with 10m inhabitants or more.
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November 2021
 
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