Will large cities become obsolete?

[garbon]

I would also disagree about the social aspects of living in a city.  IMO, big cities are a perfect example of a crowd being the loneliest place.  I imagine that in fact small towns are the more sociable places, precisely because everyone knows everyone, and thus you have to support the human connections with strangers you run into every day.

Unless, of course, you don't fit into the mold of what the small town wants its populace to be like. That'd be pretty isolating.

[MadImmortalMan]

Where's your evidence?  Most cities in the world have kept on growing.

Well the whole population kept growing. Suburbs/exurbs grew faster, I think. By most definitions, suburbs count as urban, but that's not what I mean when I say cities.

[11B4V]

I think they might.

God I hope not. All you monkeys need to stay in your cities..

[Sheilbh]

The opposite.  Large numbers of people have bid up the most desirable real estate in the world: compact, walkable urban centers.

Yep. London's bigger than it's been since the 1930s and growing at an enormous rate. There was a decline in urban areas in the 20th century, but so far in the developed world the trend at the minute is that people want to live in cities more than ever.

In the developing world urbanisations always been going on.

No, that limitation is gone. As are others I mentioned. And then people started leaving.

But I think that happened once in the 20th century when there was a movement to the suburbs. In the UK certainly that was tied to slum clearance and war, there'll be other factors elsewhere. Right now the trend in London but also in other cities - Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield - is for people to want to move there.

In addition I think Yi's right. There's a move against urban sprawl, not urban living.

Also are we on course to see majority of humanity living in cities during this centre, perhaps within the lifetime of some of us ?

Happened in 2009.

[DGuller]

I would also disagree about the social aspects of living in a city.  IMO, big cities are a perfect example of a crowd being the loneliest place.  I imagine that in fact small towns are the more sociable places, precisely because everyone knows everyone, and thus you have to support the human connections with strangers you run into every day.

Unless, of course, you don't fit into the mold of what the small town wants its populace to be like. That'd be pretty isolating.

That's a good point, there is a much greater pressure to conform in small population centers (though one may argue that it's part of socializing).  That's also why there is a consistent pattern throughout the world of more liberal political parties being supported by the urban areas, and more autocratic parties being supported by the suburban and rural areas.

[PDH]

If there are no cities we will be uncivilized.

[mongers]

If there are no cities we will be uncivilized.

Hey man, but what about our virtual cities like this place ? 

[PDH]

google gave me "rectum civitatem" for virtual city.  Anus-city they shall be known as.

[Ed Anger]

google gave me "rectum civitatem" for virtual city.  Anus-city they shall be known as.

I like to drive the Hershey Highway.

[mongers]

google gave me "rectum civitatem" for virtual city.  Anus-city they shall be known as.

I've seen little here or elsewhere to contradict that.

[MadImmortalMan]

google gave me "rectum civitatem" for virtual city.  Anus-city they shall be known as.

I've seen little here or elsewhere to contradict that.

And yet some here get most of their social interaction this way. 

[jimmy olsen]

When gas was cheap there was definitely a move in that direction in the US, but with the increasing cost of fuel the trend has reversed and mirrors the development of the rest of the world.

[mongers]

google gave me "rectum civitatem" for virtual city.  Anus-city they shall be known as.

I've seen little here or elsewhere to contradict that.

And yet some here get most of their social interaction this way. 

I get plenty of that in the real world, it's just others appreciate it's 'quality' 

[Eddie Teach]

Nah.

Economic pressure to live outside the city center dissipates as prices decrease inside the city center. "Nobody goes there, it's too crowded" is a problem that fixes itself. Also, cities attract people who wish to have close proximity to various social & cultural activities that don't thrive unless there's a large local population.

The population itself can be a draw. There's a lot more diversity for people who want to meet lots of people and there's a lot less chance of running into people you've known before for people who want to avoid people.

Metropoli that only exist because of industry pressures may fade once those pressures do(this is probably happening in Detroit), but cultural pressures to bunch together as well as generally high population density in certain desirable regions mean large cities remain inevitable.

[dps]

Isn't the growth in city size and urban occupancy one of the more consistent trends in history ?

Also are we on course to see majority of humanity living in cities during this centre, perhaps within the lifetime of some of us ?

Which maybe the first time this has occurred in human history ?

According to the UN, we passed the point where half of the world's population lives in urban areas in 2008.