The Promise of Urban Science

For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; by mid-century, 70 percent of the world’s more than 9 billion people will live in cities.  Enabling cities to deliver services effectively, efficiently, and sustainably while keeping citizens safe, healthy, prosperous, and well-informed is one of the most important undertakings in this century.  Success will require that we understand the physical, environmental, and human dimensions of cities in a synthetic and synoptic manner.  These are driving a new, interdisciplinary science approach to understanding cities.