EcoHouse Research

Prof Sir David King

 

In his presentation, Professor Sir David King takes us on a journey into the future. How will the world look in 2020, 2050, or 2100? The wealth of scientific knowledge gives an unprecedented opportunity to look into the future and see what challenges but also opportunities lie ahead. To survive and do well, Sir David encourages us to be holistic, considering economy, quality of life and environment together as basic elements for development.

 

It is predicted that in 2020 more than 70% of the world population will be living in urban areas; resources are limited; the planet has 60% of the ecosystems already degraded and 80% of the world population already live in areas with high threat to water security. Whilst being concerned about these challenges, Sir David draws us to the economic opportunities that come with cities, and sees these as the starting point of major development in the past and future. 

Sea level and temperature measurements demonstrate clearly that climate change is real, accompanied by a proliferation of extreme climatic events. In this, Britain is at high risk of flooding in the near and mid-term future. Therefore, it is crucial to design cities which are resilient to climate impacts. Based on information from different sources it is possible to develop solutions for the future. In the front line of the struggle to reduce the impacts of climate change, the international focus should be on the reduction of carbon emissions, designing carbon free cities, energy efficient, and resistant to future hazards, including resource constraints. The UK government is going in the right direction by introducing policies such as an 80% CO2 reduction by 2050, de-fossilising the grid by 2050, and transferring the transport sector onto the grid. It needs to engage the international audience with these objectives.

 

The 21st century challenges can be categorised into different classes: minerals, climate change, ecosystems, health and development, energy security and supply, water resource, conflict and terrorism, and food production. Here, the urban population is the driver of these challenges, which need to be faced in conjunction and not separately due to their inter-dependency. As an example, a poor urban layout affects the transport systems and the health of the people, who spend long hours exposed to transport-related pollution. The inter-correlation is not only related to efficiency but to quality of life, how people live and experience the urban setting. Technology can have a real impact in these challenges. Examples, such as rechargeable electric vehicles, are viable alternative options to carbon emissions that can positively change our future.

 

In response to these challenges the global hub Future Cities Catapult was formed. This Catapult, funded by the British Government, is a technology and innovation centre based in the UK, in London, for doing research and development to generate economic growth. The Future Cities centre is focused on urban development in OECD countries and in the rapid emergent economies in the developing world. Its aim is to be an urban innovation centre, cities lab, working for the opportunity of an inclusive urban growth in developing countries.