Mapping global urban land for the 21st century with data-driven simulations and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

Abstract

Here the authors develop a set of global, long-term, spatial projections of urban land expansion for understanding the planet’s potential urban futures. The global total amount of urban land increases by a factor of 1.8-5.9 over the 21st century, and the developed world experiences as much new urban development as the developing world.