Special Edition: Big Cities After COVID: Boom or Bust?

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

International Relations, Government, Foreign Policy, Gzero World, News Commentary, Trump, News, Global Economy, Geopolitics, Politics, Ian Bremmer

4.6 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2020

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What will the cities of the future look like? Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the answer to that question was clearer: Urban areas around the world were on a trajectory of exponential growth, with 68% of the world's population expected to live in cities by 2050. It's unlikely the pandemic can dramatically alter that unstoppable trend, particularly in developing nations. But it will no doubt be impacted by the economic and lifestyle changes this global crisis has brought, from New York to London to Tokyo and beyond. In this episode we examine the short and longer-term implications of a shift toward urbanization, how the pandemic will alter city life, and what it all means for the global economy, geopolitics, and your wallet. Moderated by Caitlin Dean, Head of the Financial and Professional Services Practice at Eurasia Group, the conversation pairs Citi Private Bank's Head of North America, Ida Liu, with Senior Editor Alexander Kliment of GZERO Media's Signal newsletter.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Living Beyond Borders, the podcast from City Private Bank and G0 Media that examines the risks and opportunities in our rapidly changing world, from global politics to economics and what it all means for you.
0:21.6	I'm Caitlin Dean, head of the financial and professional services practice at Eurasia Group.
0:26.6	When you hear the phrase city of the future, you might immediately envision a scene from Blade Runner,
0:32.6	or Minority Report, or of course the old standby, the Jetsons, where George, Jane, Judy,
0:38.8	Elroy, and Astro cruise around Orbit City in their flying car in the middle of the 21st century.
0:45.5	Uh-oh, that must be Judy's ride.
0:49.5	Hey, Judy, let's blast out. We'll be late for school.
0:57.0	Hi, Mom. Bye, Mom! But Judy, hey, where are you going with that spaceboard?
1:02.0	Ricky Rocket is taking me to school! Well, I know, dear, but on a spaceboard, sure!
1:08.0	When the Jetsons first premiered on television in 1962, the 21st century seemed as far away as Mars,
1:14.0	and the thought of flying cars and robotic house cleaners was a reach.
1:18.1	Today, many of those fantasies have become, or are starting to become, a reality.
1:23.4	In 2020, more than half the world's population currently lives in cities.
1:29.8	By 2050, that percentage will climb to 68%, adding more than 2 billion people to places that might already be bursting
1:35.9	at the seams. Some predictions about the future have panned out, and cities of today are huge
1:41.4	centers of innovation and industry. But with that growth has come some challenges, and today's global hubs are under strain.
1:49.0	Just as they have created some issues we couldn't have foreseen,
1:52.0	these megacities might also be the key to finding solutions to problems
1:56.0	as diverse as climate change and income inequality.
2:00.0	So what will the city of the future look like, and how will it be sustainable for people, as diverse as climate change and income inequality.
2:05.6	So what will the city of the future look like, and how will it be sustainable for people and the planet?
2:06.9	I'm joined now by Ida Liu, head of City Private Bank, North America.
	...

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