The city - the ultimate symbol of human ingenuity - is where the battles of climate change, pandemics, inequality and loneliness must be faced.

From centres of antiquity like Athens or Rome to modern metropolises like New York or Shanghai, our cities have shaped our past and will define our future. Our greatest achievements have originated in cities – the birth of democracy in Athens, the renaissance in Florence, the industrial revolution in Manchester, the digital revolution in Palo Alto. Making sense of our world, and our future, requires that we understand where cities are heading.

Professor Ian Goldin and his co-author Tom Lee-Devlin identify the four main threats we face in order to build a sustainable future – the pandemics caused by our globalised world, the dizzying damage which will be done by climate change, the inequality which plagues future generations, and the loneliness which is symbolised by our retreat into the metaverse and online atomisation.

In this talk, Professor Goldin will show how cities, where we increasingly live, are at a crossroads. The choices they take will shape our destinies. For the first time in history, more than half the global population lives in cities. In the developing world, cities are growing at an extraordinary rate. More than ever, making our societies fairer, more cohesive, and sustainable starts with actions taken in the places where most of us live. He will show how cities started, the economic and human reasons they became so dominant, and how the megacities of the future must be used to tip the balance towards a sustainable and fulfilling future for us all.

Book talk: Age of the City: why our future will be won or lost together with Prof Ian Goldin