Cities around the world are rethinking their policies and standards, with issues of sustainability and mobility often taking center stage. Given the increasingly complex and dynamic world, cities must continually innovate to solve pressing social and environmental problems. Many cities worldwide are growing at an alarming pace; by 2050, it is estimated that 70 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas. This dramatic trend is significantly affecting natural resource availability (including access to clean drinking water) as well as waste management, transport, and countless other aspects of metropolitan life.

 

 

Climate change is exerting appreciable stress on urban environments. Increasingly extreme weather events, shifting resource availability, and rising sea levels are all testing the resilience of growing urban populations. What's more, climate change challenges every locality in a distinct way. In a small island nation, floods are the chief concern; in California, it’s drought.

 

 

The combination of climate change and an increasingly urbanizing global population requires that city officials, urban planners, and members of the private sector seek out innovative approaches to efficient resource management while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions and opening the door to new green technologies.