Tomorrows cities - the global opportunity

'Mills Simon'
23 June 2014

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Sustainability

Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, explains why thriving cities lie at the heart of a thriving society.

This year I have devoted my Mayoralty to the theme of Tomorrow’s Cities, focussing on the vast challenges an increasingly urbanised society faces as we travel further into the twenty first century. 

During my punishing overseas visits programme, as well as countless seminars, breakfasts and dinners with financiers, bishops, lawyers, prime ministers and city leaders I have confirmed what I already suspected- an interest in Cities, infrastructure and sustainability is very pragmatic, as it is linked to an issue that all cities face- dynamic change.

Fiona Woolf will be a keynote speaker at the Base London event on 26 June 2014 at the Guildhall, London. The one day event explores how we deliver the housing, transport and energy infrastructure needed to deal with unprecedented population growth at a time of increased awareness of resource scarcity and climate risk. Details here

The last 50 years has seen little less than a revolution in the way we live, the way we work and the way we communicate, and the rate and pace of change is accelerating. Cities are at the very heart of this maelstrom as they are machines that suck in talent and energy and pour out economic activity, innovation and information.

However, if a city wants to continue to attract business, if it wants to continue to be a mecca for the brightest and best, it needs to think beyond tax law and think about what makes the city a place that people want to live work and do business in. 

In London we realise that in order to maintain the City’s competitiveness we not only need to ensure the quality of the physical environment- in terms of high quality buildings, infrastructure, and resilience to climate change impacts, we also need to think about the arts offering, about education, about green spaces and about transport systems

The latest estimates are that by 2050 there will be over 9 billion people on the planet and the majority of these will live in cities. As world cities expand housing, energy, sanitation, water, transport,  health and education services will all require substantial investment. Cities which do not rise to rise to this challenge will fail.

Even before the economic crisis of 2008, about one third of all the world’s city dwellers lived in favelas and shanty towns, slums which will grow in size by one billion people over the next twenty years. This growth is not restricted to the booming cities of China, India or South America as right here, in London, we will face a population rise of 3M by 2030.

"Even before the economic crisis of 2008, about one third of all the world’s city dwellers lived in favelas and shanty towns, slums which will grow in size by one billion people over the next twenty years. This growth is not restricted to the booming cities of China, India or South America as right here, in London, we will face a population rise of 3 million by 2030."

But if the scale of the challenge is immense, so is the scale of the opportunity, particularly for London. 

• We are blessed with 4 of the world top universities- Kings College, UCL, LSE and Imperial College- all of whom can offer bespoke advice and guidance to help cities create a vision for the future.
• We boast the engineering and architectural talent which can make these visions a reality- firms such as Arup and the Richard Rogers partnership are already building the next  generation of smart, sustainable cities in China and the Middle East.
• We have the financial muscle to pay for the construction of infrastructure and buildings, the legal services to design the contracts, and the insurance sector who can make sure resilience is built in.

Make no mistake, the three titans of scarcity, supply and demand indicate that this market will be the biggest the world has ever seen. I believe we are in the throes of a revolution.  A revolution in how we make profits, and a revolution in how we secure the future of planet and people, and London is in the perfect position to take full advantage of these opportunities as they arise.  

Fiona Woolf is the Lord Mayor of London