2016 07: History of Urbanization

How were cities distributed globally in the past? How many people lived in these cities? How did cities influence their local and regional environments? This month's map seeks to answer these questions by illustrating the worlds population growth within cities over a span of 6,000 years. According to the map authors, By 2030, 75 percent of of the world's population is expected to be living in cities. Today, about 54 percent of us do. In 1960, only 34 percent of the world lived in cities. The dots on the map represent the approximate location and size of urban populations worldwide. An animated version showing the development of cities over time is available at https://mtc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=fb8666425e0c44a2a77c5bb84ceec6ef Source: Metrocosm, June 2016 - Watch as the world’s cities appear one-by-one over 6,000 years