Patterns of city growth

Planning and preparing for the growth of cities of various sizes is essential to maximize the benefits of urbanization and promote sustainable development. Numerous factors can affect the size and growth of cities and the drivers of city growth can vary tremendously both within and across countries as well as over time. Thus, patterns of city size and growth themselves show great variation over space and time. The estimates and projections of the populations of close to 1,900 urban settlements with 300,000 inhabitants or more in 2018 that are published in the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects and presented in this chapter, illustrate the wide diversity in city growth patterns and size around the world.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Sustainable Cities and Communities