Globale Urbanisierungstrends und Zukunft des Wohnens

The 21st century is the century of cities. Migratory movements and natural population growth have led to a worldwide increase in the number of people living in cities, both in proportion and in absolute terms. Cities are today established networks of global trade, they are economic engines and mirrors of societal changes. The study „Global urbanization trends and the future of habitation“ examines current developments in the densified urban housing construction against the background of international trends in urbanization. It tracks global development lines and patterns of the recent past, presents a description of the state, and gives an outlook on possible future trends. The study understands „housing“ as a holistic term that integrates various sectors of urban development into an overall image. It is already noticeable today that, next to mega-cities, the big and medium-sized cities have the strongest development dynamics. Therefore, the study focuses not only on the megacities, but also on the first, second and third tier cities as well as on the city and metropolitan regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. We recognize, that there is also a clear increase in urbanized total area and a growth of the urban population in Europe and North America. Due to the large differences in their dynamics, these developments will only be subordinated and serve as a referential part of this study. Nevertheless, the examples out of the developed countries allow a better global classification of trends. The aim of the study is to develop a basis for assessing future development scenarios of cities and to identify potential fields of action.