How big can cities get?

922,382
0
Published 2020-10-29
Watch over 2,400 documentaries with Curiosity Stream for free for a month by signing up at [CuriosityStream.com/citybeautiful](curiositystream.com/citybeautiful) and using the code, "citybeautiful" at checkout.

I'm on Patreon! Consider supporting this channel: [www.patreon.com/citybeautiful](www.patreon.com/citybeautiful)

Resources:

A. Taubenböck, H., Esch, T., Felbier, A., Wiesner, M., Roth, A., & Dech, S. (2012). Monitoring urbanization in mega cities from space. Remote Sensing of Environment, 117, 162–176. [doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.015](doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.015)

[www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/urbanization/wh…](www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/urbanization/wh…)

B. [www.businessinsider.com/worlds-largest-cities-mega…](www.businessinsider.com/worlds-largest-cities-mega…)

C. [www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3040281/b…](www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3040281/b…)

D. [www.thoughtco.com/most-populous-countries-in-2100-…](www.thoughtco.com/most-populous-countries-in-2100-…)

E. [www.nbcnews.com/news/world/jing-jin-ji-china-plann…](www.nbcnews.com/news/world/jing-jin-ji-china-plann…)

F. [www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/24/WS5ce74d9aa31048…](www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/24/WS5ce74d9aa31048…)

Produced by Dave Amos in sunny San Luis Obispo, California.
Edited by Eric Schneider in cloudy Cleveland, Ohio.

Black Lives Matter.

All Comments (21)
  • @CityBeautiful
    Sorry to those who were looking for this video on Nebula but couldn't find it. It's there now! It was actually on Nebula, but not linked on my channel page.
  • @samdekker90
    Me, a small town New Zealand kid when moving to an Australian city of 2 million: "I'm finally living in a big city!" YouTube: cities of 200,000,000... 🤯
  • @mylim4020
    looking at the example of china, you can also consider the Netherlands, Belgium, North Rhine and Nord--Pas de Calais as a single urban area
  • @DaniMrtini
    Well I believe according to Civilization 6, you can expand 3-5 tiles from your city and reach maybe a total population of somewhere between 60 and 100 (which would require you to focus on nothing but food production.) But what do I know, I barely have 3k hours of gameplay
  • @binyu2374
    I live in Tianjin,and the city actually functions more like six cities ,each of the six boroughs have their own public amenities,personalities,and you’ll almost never have to travel into another borough to get something done,I live just inside the city’s expressway ring,and going into the square mile of old downtown feels like going to another city every time.
  • @reinerjung1613
    The traffic issue is a problem when you build cities following the modernistic model separating living, working, culture etc. We made our cities like this after WW2 with the success of the automobile. However, today city planners want to make city quarters more localized so that you can reach most daily location that you visit reachable in 10-20 minutes by foot or bike or public transport. This would remove to commute issue as a limit.
  • @LucasDimoveo
    The speed of public transportation really would make or break mega or gigacities. Living in Queens felt like a different planet from the Bronx or Manhattan, for example.
  • @TheLiamster
    It’s crazy to think that there might be cites in the future with a larger population than my entire country, I live in the UK btw.
  • @fernbedek6302
    If I remember correctly, some of China’s planned super cities had a lower population density than Java. Considering Java’s ongoing rapid growth, and the fact it already has such high densities, I suspect it might stumble into being one of the largest urban areas on earth soon.
  • @TomKellyXY
    I live in Greater Tokyo and its great. Most of what is discussed here is already a reality but infrastructure is essential to make it work. I’m from small town New Zealand is so did not expect to feel so at home here. Tokyo is great, it’s clean and efficient. There are parks and malls everywhere. I can use dozens of train networks with the same card and even use it in other cities nationwide. It costs only a few dollars to get from Yokohama to the airport in Chiba or our other campus in Saitama. Essentially if there’s a conference anywhere in Kanto I don’t need to pay for a hotel because I get there in a little over an hour. It’s around the same distance to the beach our hot springs in the mountains. Mass transit means that anyone can get around cheaply and efficiently. The city feels smaller than Auckland or LA because the transport infrastructure is so much more developed.
  • @shmeckle666
    Oh, the return of the city-state. Hm, what's old is new.
  • @apadgettski
    I've said it before and I'll say it again: the midsize city is the future. They're efficient, they have the necessary work opportunities and amenities, and they're cheaper to live in or around. I live in Minneapolis and I think cities like it will become more desirable in the future. The transportation is robust, there's a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and the airport has lots of international destinations. I just don't see the benefit of moving a city any larger when the cost is usually so much higher
  • @Xergecuz
    My city absorbed some small towns while growing, and those towns still function as independent cities, even thou they still are inside the metropolitan area, and the citizens travel from one side to the other, for school and work.
  • @Martin-cw1up
    This channel is part of the reason I'm now studying to become a urban planner
  • @TheAustrian101
    When they become too big they begin to experience mysterious bugs like Night City.