In Future - Habitat trends

This evolving Halcyon briefing covers habitat trends across the following areas: homelessness; housebuilding; intelligent cities; megacities, rural populations and urbanisation.

HOUSEBUILDING

A new idea for a $300 house held out the hope of applying the principles of frugal innovation to housebuilding. (The idea also created a lively response.)

HOMELESSNESS

Research suggested that the most efficient way to spend money on the homeless might be to give it to them.

INTELLIGENT CITIES

Time magazine analysed the rise of so-called intelligent cities.

MEGACITIES

Megacities in wealthier countries have much lower growth rates or even declining populations in future, while megacities in other regions of the world are expected to continue growing. This is how the megacities of 2015 are distributed on a normal map:

RURAL AREAS

Rural areas do not just have slower growth than cities - their populations are declining in absolute numbers.  Rural populations in developed countries reached their peak long ago, and in many developing countries too, rural populations are going down.  

URBANISATION

In this GapCast, Hans Rosling focuses on urbanisation.  In four minutes he gives a short overview of the urban challenge, showing the last 40 years of development in urbanisation and economic growth.