Tjeerd Deelstra and Herbert Girardet: Urbanisation-Report Writing Assignment

Internal Code: MAS120

Reflective Writing Assignment:

Description: “At the end of the 20th century, humanity is involved in an unprecedented experiment: we are turning ourselves into an urban species. Large cities, not villages and towns, are becoming our main habitat. Urban growth is changing the face of the earth and the condition of humanity...?Urban agglomerations and their resource uses are becoming the dominant feature of the human presence on earth, profoundly changing humanity’s relationship to its host planet and its ecosystems. The cities of the 21st century are where human destiny will be played out, and where the future of the biosphere will be determined...The challenge faced is whether cities can transform themselves into self- regulating, sustainable systems... Is it possible to make a world of cities viable in the long term – socially, economically, as well as environmentally? The answer to this question is critical to the future well-being of the planet, as well as of humanity. There can be no sustainable world without sustainable cities.” Question: Briefly explain how urbanisation is currently transforming the pattern of human settlement on our planet and discuss some of the key challenges associated with this urbanisation (including the challenges associated with automobile use). In your answer, try to draw on ideas, arguments and examples from the lectures.