By 2050, the world's population is predicted to reach nine billion, with over two thirds of people living in cities. While urban centers occupy less than two percent of the planet's surface, they nonetheless provide homes to half the global population and generate 70 percent of GDP worldwide. According to the World Bank, roughly 80 percent of growth forecast in newly industrialized and developing countries will be produced in cities. In the future, the number of "megacities" (cities with a population over 10 million) will also dramatically increase.
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