Fragile cities, 2005

01/12/2005

Cities, wars and natural disasters have intimately linked their histories since the beginning of civilization. The city, the place of all power and wealth, has always been a strong driving force for progress: Babylon, Carthage, Rome, Florence... then Paris, Vienna, New York, Shanghai... Two characteristics of urban dynamics (see box p.72), population densification and wealth accumulation, have historically induced or reinforced risk factors. The collective memory of humanity is full of images of devastated cities. As the planet's growing urbanization and the multiplication of megacities increase the concentration of human population in and around cities, there is an urgent need to address these "fragile cities", which will soon be home to more than 80% of the world's population.