Is there any hope for the future? Experts in many fields are working on
the problems of overpopulation and overcrowded cities. The two problems
are closely tied. Education of women and access to birth control can lead
to fewer and healthier children. City planners and architects can devise
cities that make optimal use of the finite land of the earth. Engineers can
work on ways to develop new water sources and improve the infrastructure
of cities and the public transportation. Scientists are finding new types of
clean energy and ways to reduce carbon emissions. Agricultural expertise
can help grow the food to feed the masses. All of this will take international
cooperation and vast sums of money.
And how does all of this relate to megacities? Joel Cohen, a professor
of population studies at Columbia University in New York, suggests that
well-designed smaller cities of about 1 million could provide a better future
for urban life. But at the rate the population is growing now, Cohen said,
“We are going to need to construct a city of a million people every five days
for the next 40 years.”
Source: “Overpopulation Fuels Mega