Global Challenges

In "Creating Sustainable Cities" we hear that 75 percent of the world's population will live in cities by 2050. If life in these cities is to be manageable, environmental conditions will need to be improved in cities.

The challenge in creating sustainable cities is to limit both urban population growth and sprawl, while turning cities the world into inhabitable, resource efficient places. This one-hour documentary will focus on the environmental needs of cities and the issue of resource wastage. It will feature places where governments and citizens are already restructuring their communities and lifestyles.

The documentary opens in London, where middle class families question whether or not their continued extravagant use of energy is feasible in the 21st century. That same issue hangs over the newly emerging middle class in Shanghai, where choices must now be made about automobile use and the pollution produced by industries. In other cities, planning has produced success stories. In Cairo, careful land management has mandated that city farms remain intact to secure the population's food supply, while in Curitiba, far-reaching city planning has created a model transportation system and recycling centres that benefit all economic levels of its citizens.

'Creating Sustainable Cities' emphasises that it is only through cooperation among citizens, governments and industries that cities can find ways to create more livable environments.