Back in 1950, close to 30% of the global population lived in cities.
That since has shifted dramatically. By 2050, a whopping 70% of people will live in urban areas – some of which will be megacities housing tens of millions of people.
This trend of urbanization has been a boon to global growth and the economy. In fact, it is estimated today by McKinsey that the 600 top urban centers contribute a whopping 60% to the world’s total GDP.
Seven Types of Global Cities
With so many people moving to urban metropolitan areas, the complexion of cities and their economies change each day.
The Brookings Institute has a new way of classifying these megacities, using various economic indicators.
According to their analysis, here’s what differentiates the seven types of global cities:
Important note: This isn’t intended to be a “ranking” of cities. However, on the infographic, cities are sorted by GDP per capita within each typology, and given a number based on where they stand in terms of this metric. This is just intended to show how wealthy the average citizen is per city, and is not a broader indicator relating to the success or overall ranking of a city.
Source: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/megacity-economy-7-types-global-cities/
