The real issues facing metropolises

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

Image: Timo Volz from Pixabay