Edinburgh: one of our expanding cities. © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons

As the global population swells, more people than ever are living in the world’s cities. It is therefore crucial that those cities are able to accommodate those new inhabitants and do so in a way that is not only comfortable, so that people have a decent standard of living, but also sustainable. The challenge for policymakers and academics alike is to identify and the innovations that can make cities both pleasant to inhabit and less polluted.

This was the issue under discussion at a recent discussion held by the British Academy, in association with Prospect, at the Surgeon’s Hall, in Edinburgh, chaired by Vicki Bruce, a Vice President of the British Academy.

Alan Wilson, of University College London, a fellow of the Royal Society, and an advisor to the Home Office, spoke first. The UK population will increase by 10 million in the next 25 years, he said. Many of them will move into cities. How can they be provided with work? It will require a combination of state and private funding, which makes economic growth crucial to generate good lives in cities, he said. An especially acute challenge for Cities would be what is known as the “hollowing out” of the labour market, where middle-range jobs are automated.

Gordon Walker, of Lancaster University, discussed the sustainability of energy provision in cities. He took New York City as a surprise example of how an urban conurbation can be large and thriving but still relatively energy efficient. He noted that 82 per cent of the inhabitants of Manhattan travel to work by public transport or by foot every day. Despite its reputation, New York City’s energy consumption is therefore very low, in relative terms; much lower than other comparable American cities.

Jan Webb, at the University of Edinburgh, an adviser to the Scottish Government on energy policy, said that the most fundamental question is whether liberal democracy has the means to develop more sustainable ways of living. Routes to change are contentious both politically and economically, especially in more affluent cities. Case studies show rising expectations for City governments—but these organisations still have very weak powers, despite the devolution of powers to local governments. When it comes to energy, it is important for people to have at least a part ownership of their city, especially energy infrastructure.

Peter Madden OBE, Chairman of Future Cities Catapult remarked that the sharing economy is very attractive, but that platforms such as Uber suggest that people may make choices that are not the ones we expect. It shows that there are profound questions about harnessing the digital world to improve the physical one, especially for cities, where the need to make use of new technologies for the greater good is of the utmost importance.