Publish at November 19 2025 Updated November 19 2025
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.
Running time: 7min11
Learn more about this resource
You might also like:
When studies become a sideline
Having obtained several of his diplomas in parallel with his main job, the author offers a few pointers for people wishing to pursue their studies while working.
Lack of school infrastructure and pedagogical initiative
The educational context is not favorable in all regions of the world. There are still infrastructure problems, particularly in the Far North region of Cameroon. For the time being, teachers and educational players are taking initiatives to continue passing on knowledge...
Assessing the value of an expert
How can we assess know-how and the construction of expertise? What role can expert systems play in the future of knowledge mobilization for complex problems?
The phenomenon of collapsology is no longer as prevalent as it was in 2020. Nevertheless, there's a sense of the end of the world in people, in the news and so on. How can we teach in such a pessimistic context? What if we taught students to prepare for a tougher world?
Humans in continuity with their environment
A plea text that shows that knowledge passes through a human, its environment and transforms itself, and is not a cut-out of the living. On this condition, knowledge is alive and regenerating.
