Urbanization: Earth Institute - For the first time in history, over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Many people now live apart from where their food is grown and are dependent on vast and complex infrastructures for their livelihoods. Urban areas provide economic opportunity, the potential for increased efficiency and improvements in standard of living, but they are also under acute stress as their populations expand. This in turn puts pressure on the areas that support their resource needs, creating social, infrastructural and health challenges to the sustainability of cities. The Earth Institute is studying the links between urban areas and their surrounding regions and finding ways to create healthy urban settings in both the developed and the developing world.
