BMBF Megacities Research Program
Extract from the brochure "Megacities - Focal Point of Global Development", BMBF 2010
"Today, more than half of the world's population lives in cities. The number of urban inhabitants is expects to rise to about two thirds of the global population by 2030. The number of Megacities with ten million or more residents is increasing worldwide. In the year 2015, there will be a total of around 26 Megacities worldwide, 22 of which will exists in developing and newly industrialised countries. Furthermore, there are numerous large cities and metropolitan areas, which are on the cusp of becoming Megacities of tomorrow.
The rapid growth of these cities and the economic, social and ecological transformations they are undergoing are far from just local phenomena: they have global consequences. Never in history has there been such a high density of people and concentrated flows of resources, goods and capital in Megacities and 'mega-urban regions', which is all being accompanied by dynamic changes in the economy, society and environment [...]
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) introduced the focal funding area of "Future Megacities" (period 2005-2013) to research such growth spurts and transformation processes in Megacities through German research teams in co-operation with international partners and provide targeted funding for strategies aimed at settings a course towards energy and resource efficiency, climate protection and adaption [...] Ten bilateral research teams from eight developing and newly industrialising countries as well as from Germany are forging new alliances with city administrations, companies, the financial sector, civil society. They encompass rapidly developing urban agglomerations in Ethiopia, China, India, Iran, Morocco, Peru South Africa and Vietnam".
