Publish at November 19 2025Updated November 19 2025
The real issues facing metropolises
Are big cities doomed?
Are big cities doomed? It would appear not, as urban density worldwide continues to grow. But for Professor Guillaume Faburel, this relentless urbanization cannot continue. Cognitively, everything leads us to think positively about the densification of agglomerations, telling ourselves that bringing so many people together in the same place will be good for sociability, energy and resource savings, etc. But, according to the professor, current experience shows otherwise.
For a start, no studies have shown any reduction in energy and resource demands. In fact, large metropolises need to import more elements to be sustainable. This contributes to the current ecocide and global pollution. All the more so as the major centers have not evolved their practices to really lower their ecological footprint.
As for sociability, megacities contribute to the segregation and fragmentation of the population into social castes far more than they bring them together. What's more, the inordinate size of some cities contributes to the depersonalization of municipal power, even though it is normally closest to the citizen. Politics, even at this level, becomes impersonal, detached from the needs of the population, and so on.
Who is behind the words we use, and what influence does this have on our vision of language and language teaching? All too often, language and creativity appear to be incompatible, but there are now calls for them to be reconciled.
The guidance counsellor can offer a social perspective, whereas an A.I. is still a long way from this responsibility, relying for the most part only on the interests of individuals.
While many companies are revising their business models to be less polluting, it is important to realize that the marketplace of ideas also produces polluting and destructive ideas. This is why it becomes essential to review the way in which educational methods can generate ideas and behaviors that are beneficial or destructive for the planet. Co-development lends itself perfectly to pro-ecological adaptations