Modern trends that are changing global cities forever

Two’s company, three’s a crowd

Over four billion people, or 66% of the global population, are predicted to live in cities by 2050.

How many is too much for modern metropolises to bear? As with most things, it really depends.

We’d expect more people to gravitate towards global cities that are environmentally sound, fun to live in and more aesthetically appealing. In other words, cities like Singapore, Dubai, New York, Shanghai, London and other “mega-cities”.

In 1990, there were only ten “mega-cities” – those with 10 million inhabitants or more. These were home to 153 million people, slightly less than 7% of the global urban population at the time. In 2014, there were 28 mega-cities worldwide, home to 453 million people and about 12% of the world’s urban dwellers. By 2030, current projections suggest we’ll have 41 mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants or more, with the majority located in Asia.

On-trend or out of fashion?

There is something else that binds these modern megalopolises together: their increasingly mesmerizing skylines. Glass-clad, light-shaped landmarks and sky rises increasingly make brick and mortar buildings a thing of the past. Ten or 20-story smart buildings replace their older two-three story concrete predecessors. These cities are growing up…quite literally!

Changing consumer preferences are changing the nature of modern cities. We want to live in places that are “relevant”. We crave new experiences and urban dwellings that are pleasing to the eye. We pride ourselves on keeping healthy, eating organic, saving time, energy and the environment. We want to be on-trend Smart City dwellers, feeling physically and emotionally good about our surroundings. In addition, major technological, economic and environmental changes have generated interest in Smart Cities, including climate change, the move to online retail and entertainment and urban population growth. We’ve all seen multiple reports suggesting that modern office and residential space with more natural light enhances well-being and productivity, increasing the demand for this style of property.

Have ordinary buildings fallen out of fashion? Not really. However, when sunlight and urban heat meet old buildings in any big city, usually sporting a coating of dust and grime, the combination creates yet another source of air pollution, researchers say. Sunlight is also known to worsen transport-related air pollution, contributing to the higher levels of smog and nitrogen oxide into the air. While it can be argued whether smog creates beautiful sunsets, it is a certainty that air pollution decreases the quality of life, well-being and contributes to many dangerous health conditions. A brand new WHO air quality model confirms that 92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits* opining that air pollution causes 1 in 8 deaths making it the single biggest environmental health crisis we face.

Architects, to the rescue!

Modern urban architecture may yet again come to the rescue. Philosophy behind the so-called “Green buildings” looks at new ways of effectively reducing air pollution through reduced energy use, the use of appropriate refrigerants, the use of materials with low off-gassing, and other steps. There are currently a number of modern building materials, cleaning materials and aerosols that use the power of the sun to take nitrogen oxides and other pollutants out of the air, reducing both internal and external air pollution.

Let’s look at the Shard, one of London’s newest and most impressive skyscrapers. The building features 11,000 panes of glass, with a total surface area of 56,000 square meters (600,000 square feet). Theoretically, CristalACTiV™ treatment of the surface area of the Shard could neutralize up to 60% NO and 20% NO₂  in the atmosphere  in  the  immediate vicinity to the treated external surface, depending  on the strength and direction of the wind and the amount of ultraviolet light. That could translate into removing, on average, emissions of over 9,000 Euro 4 cars (diesel and petrol/gasoline) per day, assuming that an average car travels on average 12 miles/20km within the London urban area and emits on average 3.3g of NOx a day. That is 10% of the daily average number of vehicles entering the London Congestion Charge Zone in 2015. It won’t be a surprise if coating all new glass high-rises in central London with a range of CristalACTiV™ products could help significantly depollute the UK capital air.

Sound too good to be true? Actually, it’s a modern reality, based on decades of research, development and testing, finally available for modern urban dwellers to implement.

All that we ought to do is give it a try!