Tomorrow's Cities

More than half of the global population lives in cities. Global population growth is projected to reach around 9 billion by 2050, with 70% to 80% living in cities by then.

Sustainable urban planning and development, alongside technology, transport, natural resources, education and other services all contribute to the quality of life and the economic development potential of a city. Decision-makers in cities around the world face significant challenges in delivering the required goods and services they require in a resource-constrained world. These challenges are compounded by the state of public finances following the financial crisis.

If cities are to ensure that the right infrastructure and service provision is in place by 2050, new financing mechanisms need to emerge. Given the long lead-time for major infrastructure development (sometimes spanning 20 to 50 years), there is a degree of urgency in finding solutions.

Created by the City of London Corporation with support from Z/Yen Group in 2013, Financing Tomorrow’s Cities aims to discuss and encourage innovative financing mechanisms for tomorrow’s sustainable cities through online community discussions, a series of events and shared research on finance & cities.

The project engaged a community of experts, organisations and initiatives from financial and professional services, risk management, construction, engineering, transportation, energy, waste, health, education and any other relevant sector.

Published by the City of London Corporation, Long Finance and Z/Yen Group, this meta-analysis reviews the key topics and issues that emerged throughout this project:

For more information, see the resources available below. For any question or if you would like to share relevant research, please contact Chiara von Gunten.

Shared Research

• Bank of America Merrill Lynch - Green Urbanization
• Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP - Resilient Cities: the Key to the Future
• EIB - Private Infrastructure Finance and Investment in Europe
• Lloyd's - Tornadoes: A Rising Risk?

Related Events

• Financing Tomorrow's Cities - Launch event - London, 19^th November 2013
• Long Finance Symposium "Measuring Up Cities" - London, 30^th January 2014
• Long Finance Roundtable "Financing Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities" - London, 12^th March 2014
• BASE London "Tomorrow's Cities" - London, 25^th & 26^th June 2014