EPRC-SPS Seminar with Lewis Dijkstra on 28 May at 12:30 - 14:00 on Zoom (link and password to be provided later to registered participants by email). By filling in the form, you register for the event. Thanks.

Abstract: The UN Statistical Commission endorsed the first ever global definition of cities, towns and rural areas earlier this year. This presentation will show why this new definition is sorely needed and what we can learn from it. Most analysis of global urbanisation relies on data collected by the UN based on national definitions. This new global definition reveals which national definitions produce similar urban and rural population shares and which lead to radically different ones. This new definition goes beyond the traditional urban-rural dichotomy and captures the urban-rural continuum. Comparisons with national definitions show that it is the middle category, i.e. towns and semi-dense areas, is the most contested. Some countries consider it as entirely urban, while others insist it is fully rural. Also the past and future changes in urbanisation are radically different when using this new definition. The UN figures show a rapidly urbanising world with a shrinking rural population. In contrast, the new definition shows a world that already has a large share of its population in cities, towns and semi-dense areas and shows much more moderate changes with cities growing, but more slowly and rural areas continuing to grow instead of declining. The presentation concludes with an overview of the broader implications of this new definition and the next steps to take this forward.

Lewis Dijkstra is the Head of the Economic Analysis Sector of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy in the European Commission. He is the editor the Cohesion Report, which analyses economic, social and environmental issues in EU regions and cities. He is also a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He works closely with the OECD, the UN, the World Bank, the European Environmental Agency, the Joint Research Centre and Eurostat. His recent work covers topics such as a global definition of cities and rural areas, measuring transport performance, the geography of EU discontent, quality of government and gender equality. He holds a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, New Jersey, an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Science from the University of Ghent, Belgium.

Discussants :
Dr. Alexander Wandl is an Urbanist and Senior Researcher of Environmental Technology and Design,
at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment.

Dr. Martin Ferry (EPRC, University of Strathclyde). Martin is a Senior Research Fellow at EPRC.

More info, poster, etc.: http://www.spatialplanningtudelft.org/seminar/online-eprc-sps-seminar-lewis-dijkstra-everything-you-heard-about-global-urbanisation-is-wrong-28-may-1230/