Financial Times
Today, more than half of the world’s 7 billion population lives in cities. By 2030, the number of people who are city dwellers will have risen to more than 5 billion, according to the United Nations. The explosive growth of cities not only marks one of the most significant demographic trends of the 21st century, it also raises
exponentially the pressure on urban areas in every continent to provide the necessary services and amenities to make modern communities work.
These economic, social and political challenges provide the background to the decision by the Financial Times to publish a series of three magazines on urban ingenuity to accompany a global awards scheme run jointly by the Financial Times and CITI, the US financial services giant. The FT/CITI Ingenuity Awards: Urban Ideas in Action programme will recognise ingenious individuals or organisations that have developed solutions to urban challenges in the fields of education, healthcare, energy and infrastructure.
The first Urban Ingenuity magazine focuses on energy and infrastructure and features profiles of some of the strongest candidates for the awards. READ MORE (page 20) about how Houston Mayor Annise Parker's "sustainability strategy" is putting Houston in the running.
