Launched in 2011, the Canadian site Visual Capitalist publishes many infographics on topics related to the economy, but not only. This one, published on April 20, is based on the report “The weight of cities” of the Program of the UNO for the environment. It makes it possible to visualize the material effects of global urbanization, but also to report on its evolution between now and 2050 by comparing it to 2010.
The African continent, led by Nigeria, is expected to see the largest population increase in its cities, which will be accompanied by a jump in the demand for building materials. Currently, the report notes, “cities account for about 60% of total inland material consumption (IMC) worldwide”.
And it is Asia, particularly China, that dominates the world’s consumption of building materials. The country alone uses more than half of the aluminum and concrete in the world, and is not expected to stop there. The CIM is expected to grow further across Asia, as the continent will continue to host the majority of cities with more than 10 million people.
Sobriety to rethink the cities of tomorrow
The report “The weight of cities” indicates that “DMC is projected to be between 8 and 17 tonnes per capita per year by 2050, assuming per capita material consumption stabilizes in developing countries and remains at levels below those seen today in developed countries”. For DMC to be considered sustainable consumption, the report sets the target at 6 to 8 tonnes per capita per year.
While rampant urbanization risks exacerbating existing problems, such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, it could also be an opportunity to rethink the cities of the future, designing them resource-efficient and with a reduced environmental footprint per capita. The report’s summary for policymakers states:
“According to a first-order estimate, if cities became resource-sparse to the point of achieving this 50% reduction [de la CIM par habitant et par an]that would save nearly 44 billion tons of materials every year by 2050.”