Cities will be home to 70% of global population by 2050, says Bengaluru Airport City CEO
‘Smart Cities’ are the future and one should get ready for that in all aspects, remarked Bengaluru Airport City CEO Rao Munukutla.
“It’s hard to separate the future of the world from the future of cities. Cities account for more than half of the world’s population and about 80% of the global GDP,” said Mr. Rao while delivering an expert talk on ‘Smart Cities – Engineering and Business Applications’, with special reference to Bengaluru Airport City, at GITAM deemed to be University, on the occasion of Teachers’ Day on Monday. The department of Civil Engineering, School of Technology, had organised the event.
While sharing his expertise in the field of smart cities, Mr. Rao said that by 2050, the cities will be home to 70% of the global population and more than 90% of all economic activity. Citing UN projections, he said there will be a 35% increase in the number of people living in megacities by 2030, with a vast majority in developing economies. Traffic-related congestion costs exceeded $300 billion in the US alone in 2017, he added.
By quoting Boston Consulting Group, Mr. Rao said that 90% of the urban population worldwide lives in conditions that do not meet WHO health standards. Urbanisation demands smart technology initiatives driving market growth, with rapid urbanisation primarily taking place in developing countries, the growth of cities and economic development are inextricably linked, he explained.
Mr. Rao made it clear that the world is moving towards urbanisation and the need to manage infrastructure and assets is prompting countries across the world towards creating smart cities. He explained the smart city pillars, layers of smart architecture, sustainable development goals and the citizens’ perspective. He briefed the audience about Bengaluru Airport City project, the opportunities for startups and the research areas.
He also emphasised the need for interdisciplinary project development and related activities among the students in the education institutions as the outside world is moving in that direction.
Head of Civil Engineering department Sivarama Krishna Prasad Bellam, head of CSE department S. Phani Kumar, and other professors P. Eshwaraiah and P. Trinatha Rao and G.Jyothi Kumari were present.
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Quelle/Source: The Hindu, 05.09.2022
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