Half the world’s population now live in cities – a dramatic change that is still relatively recent. At the start of the nineteenth century, London was the only city that housed one million people. In human history, there is no precedent for vast numbers of people to be housed in urban concentrations – is it any wonder that we are finding it difficult to plan and manage our cities?

Assoc Professor Trevor Budge is head of City Planning at La Trobe University.

Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.