By 2100, all of the world's 20 largest megacities will be located in the developing world, with the majority in Africa. What implications will this shift have for the future of the global economy, climate, and the welfare of these urban populations?

With over one million people moving to cities every week globally, the world is currently undergoing the biggest wave of urbanisation in human history . As urban populations increase, future cities will also face an array of new challenges.

In our new article series, we zoom in on some specific areas and industries in the world that will emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic. This first instalment focuses on deglobalisation and the self-sufficient city post COVID-19.

Do we start to see cities becoming more independent from the national states? Self-reliant cities could potentially produce up to 30% of the energy, food, water and good it consumes. Can cities provide for itself and become less dependent on the states?

Cities allowed for the creation, storage, and passing of information throughout millennia. Without them, we wouldn't have had many of the political, scientific, artistic, and technological revolutions we've had over the years. Indeed, the city of the future will quite certainly look different from the city of today. What are the phenomena changing the nature of today's cities?