Where the Rapid Rise of Megacities Is Unsustainable
The populations of Kinshasa, Nairobi and Lagos will grow at least 80% in the coming decades, according to a new report.
Motorcycle taxis ride through a busy street market in the Kangemi district of Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 1, 2022.
Photographer: Michele Spatari/BloombergWith 10 billion people expected to cram into urban areas by mid-century, the world will add at least 14 new megacities — many of which are at risk of threats including food and water insecurity, conflict and high crime rates, as well as climate-change related disasters like flooding and drought.
These growing cities, each with populations surpassing 10 million by 2050, add to 33 existing megacities. But ecological threats and lack of societal resilience make their rise — and the rapid pace of urban expansion more generally — unsustainable, warns a report published Wednesday by the global think tank Institute for Economics and Peace.