Megalopolis maps the future of cities against the most consequential demographic shift in human history — the movement of the world's population from rural to urban life, a transformation that has taken us from 10% city-dwellers in 1900 to nearly two-thirds today.
About This Book
Urbanisation is no longer a background condition — it is the central fact of contemporary life, and the arena in which the defining problems of our era will be won or lost. Megalopolis takes this seriously. Peter Butenschøn's journey through urban futures refuses easy optimism: cities can be engines of positive change, but uncontrolled growth carries its own logic of ruin. The book asks what it will take to make cities work — for the people in them, and for the planet sustaining them. Now available in English translation, this is essential reading for architects, urban designers, and planners grappling with the scale and stakes of contemporary city-making.
Key Features
- 260 pages of critical urban analysis and cross-cultural investigation into city futures
- Edited by Peter Butenschøn
- Published by The Danish Architectural Press
What You'll Discover
- How the shift from 10% to nearly two-thirds of the global population living in cities has fundamentally reshaped human existence
- The contradictory nature of urban growth — its capacity to drive positive change alongside the very real risks of uncontrolled expansion
- Why cities are the only viable scale at which the world's most pressing global problems can be meaningfully addressed
- A critical framework for thinking about urban futures that moves beyond planning optimism toward honest reckoning with what is at stake
About the Author
Peter Butenschøn is a Norwegian architect, landscape architect, and critic with a long-standing presence in architectural discourse. His work engages the intersections of urban theory, design culture, and the built environment at a global scale.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 260
- Dimensions: 220 x 150 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9788774075752
- Publisher: The Danish Architectural Press
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, urban designers, planners, and policy thinkers concerned with the future of cities and the design response to rapid global urbanisation.