1. Megacities, megaproblems:
a contextual approach to environmental technology
Santiago Mejía Dugand
PhD Candidate
SymCity
Norrköping, October 13-14 2011
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2. What is a Megacity?
A city with more than 10 million inhabitants.
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3. There were 2 megacities in 1950
3 in 1975
9 in 1985
18 in 2000
20 in 2005
And there will be 22 in 2015 (17 in the developing world)
Source: UN
Some classical examples (metropolitan areas)
•Tokyo (34,300,000)
•Guangzhou (25,200,000)
•Seoul (25,100,000)
•Shanghai (24,800,000)
•Delhi (23,300,000)
•Mumbai (23,000,000)
•Mexico City (22,900,000)
Source:citypopulation.de
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4. The role of cities in today’s world
More than 50% of the Few countries left with less than
world’s population lives in cities 50% urban population
(around 7% in megacities)
Source: The Guardian
Source: UN
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5. Cities keep growing. 600 cities generate 60%
In particular in developing countries. Of the world’s GDP
An estimation of 200,000 people
Migrate everyday from rural to urban areas
Around the world
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6. Cities facilitate…
Jobs Health care Basic services Security attention
Education Entertainment
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7. But also face big challenges
Food shortage Air pollution Water provision Mobility
Fossil fuel Overcrowding
dependency Waste Gentrification
management
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8. Can technology ”save” these cities?
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9. Not by itself, isolated from deeper problems (context)
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10. When talking about sustainability, there has to be a conscious,
social and technical assessment of the roots of the problem(s)
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11. Technology implementation
has to go hand-to-hand with
the stakeholders' training.
A good solution can be meaningless
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12. Having a solution does not necessarily
mean commercial success
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13. The same solution might work differently
under different contexts...
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14. Each particular case deserves special attention!
To innovate is also to find innovative uses
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15. The case of transportation in LA
10:1 in costs (compared to a metro)
4:1 compared to a light train
Takes shorter time to implement
Uses most of the existing infrastructure
Dedicated lanes
Flexible (possibility to overtake)
Works "like a metro"
Big coverage
"Outside-the-bus" collection system
Centralized management
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16. In less than ten years
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17. The case of Cleaner Production dissemination
Concepts face several barriers:
"Rich owners, poor companies"
Non existing/poor regulation
Bribes
Informal economy (parallel production)
Poor communication of incentives (when
they exist)
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18. A disfunctional triple helix
Academia
Industry
Government
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19. The need and search
for competitiveness and
attraction of foreign investment
in transitional cities (over
environmental concerns)
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20. The discomfort (aversion) of getting
foreign-dependent,
because of the fear of a new
"technological colonialism".
Expensive spare parts and support.
Long waiting times (more costs)
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21. Utopian views and their incompatibility (e.g. “holistic
solutions")
"Beautiful, but it won't work here"
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22. Difference in concepts (and
realities) of what sustainability
is and means for each culture
or geographical area.
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23. The fear (and risk)
of losing local knowledge.
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24. Thank you!
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25. (By the way, during these 20 minutes,
cities around the world have 2800 more
inhabitants)
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