Urbanisation
Categories
Risk
Markets
Time
2000
Locations
ShanghaiCountries
United Arab Emirates
Urbanisation was a defining feature of the 20th century and remains so today. Between 1950 and 2010, the world's urban population grew nearly fivefold, with on average 47 million more urban residents every year. Migration came with the onset of industrialisation in all regions of the world as rural residents moved into towns and cities in search of better employment opportunities and lifestyle.
Today more than half the world's population lives in urban areas. The pace of urbanisation in advanced markets has stabilised since the 1970s, with the emerging markets becoming increasingly prominent as the driver of the global move into towns and cities.
In China for example, urbanisation is happening at a very rapid pace. The urbanisation rate increased from 16% in 1960 to 36% in 2000, while the same change took 120 years in Great Britain and 80 years in the US. Cities are getting bigger and the number of megacities is increasing substantially. Another development is the linking of towns and cities into urban or industrial 'clusters,' as seen in the Yangtze River Delta region. The urban population of China is expected to grow by about 276 million between 2011 and 2030. By 2050, China will have the world's largest urban population with 1 billion people living in an urban environment.
The speed of urbanisation makes it difficult to build essential infrastructure fast enough. It also brings fundamental socio-economic change, and a new risk landscape featuring higher population density and concentration of values. Recently more attention has also been given to environmental issues.
Risk transfer to the private sector should be an integral part of city risk management to help alleviate the financial and personal burden that can strike many in the wake of a catastrophic event. Urbanisation will continue to drive economic growth, and this presents opportunities for insurance and reinsurance companies. But they will have to face some challenges as well: larger cities are more vulnerable to health hazards and prone to large losses should they be hit by a major natural disaster event. Also, insurers will need to innovate and provide more customized solutions to cope with the diversity within different urban centres.
Today more than half the world's population lives in urban areas. The pace of urbanisation in advanced markets has stabilised since the 1970s, with the emerging markets becoming increasingly prominent as the driver of the global move into towns and cities.
In China for example, urbanisation is happening at a very rapid pace. The urbanisation rate increased from 16% in 1960 to 36% in 2000, while the same change took 120 years in Great Britain and 80 years in the US. Cities are getting bigger and the number of megacities is increasing substantially. Another development is the linking of towns and cities into urban or industrial 'clusters,' as seen in the Yangtze River Delta region. The urban population of China is expected to grow by about 276 million between 2011 and 2030. By 2050, China will have the world's largest urban population with 1 billion people living in an urban environment.
The speed of urbanisation makes it difficult to build essential infrastructure fast enough. It also brings fundamental socio-economic change, and a new risk landscape featuring higher population density and concentration of values. Recently more attention has also been given to environmental issues.
Risk transfer to the private sector should be an integral part of city risk management to help alleviate the financial and personal burden that can strike many in the wake of a catastrophic event. Urbanisation will continue to drive economic growth, and this presents opportunities for insurance and reinsurance companies. But they will have to face some challenges as well: larger cities are more vulnerable to health hazards and prone to large losses should they be hit by a major natural disaster event. Also, insurers will need to innovate and provide more customized solutions to cope with the diversity within different urban centres.
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Categories
Risk
Markets
Time
2000
Locations
ShanghaiCountries
China
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