Better City, Better Life - A Quick Tour of Expo 2010

Recently I spent four amazing, rainy hours at Shanghai’s Expo 2010. The Expo, which is built around the theme, "Better City, Better Life," is focused on the future of the urban environment and the ways in which future policies and urban strategies will influence sustainable development in large urban areas such as Shanghai.

Like many things in China, the Expo is absolutely astounding. It covers over 92 acres and expects approximately 70 million visitors during its six month run. It was reported during my time there that about 450,000 people visited the Expo each day, and indeed, it seemed like I was standing in line with all of them. Any visitor to Shanghai will immediately recognize the influence of large cities on China’s future and the myriad challenges of planning that future.

It is worth noting that in 1800, only 2% of the global population lived in cities. In 1950, the figure rose to 29%. In 2010, as estimated by the United Nations, the urban population will account for 55% of the total human population. The U.S. has nine cities with a population of 1 million people or more, while China alone has over 160 cities with populations that size or larger.

So what does the Expo teach us about sustainable development? It is impossible for me to offer a completely informed answer after my brief time at the park, but even a short visit and seeing all the spectators gathered at this event begs the question: how can we sustain such large urban development in the near future and over the long term?

Over 60 million Chinese are going to be exposed to everything the Expo has to offer, which includes ample displays of technology, cultural exhibits and souvenirs. I cannot say whether the many exhibits that focus on conservation, the prolific recycling areas and the intelligent planning of the Expo, will leave a more lasting impression on its visitors than the wild architecture or all the other wonders on display, but regardless of whether the message is evident in the Expo displays or not – simply witnessing the huge number of visitors gathered for the festival clearly demonstrates the need for our industry and others to accelerate the pace of delivering clean energy and products that are more energy efficient and that are designed with the environment in mind.

At the rate that our global – and especially urban – population is growing, the promise of a Better City, Better Life is not going to be realized without such a trend, at least in my opinion.

Take a look at the Expo’s official website for a little flavor of its scope.

It is also interesting to note that of the six official forums being hosted in conjunction with the Expo, three have themes that revolve around the environment.

In a related vein, a provocative new report titled “Vision 2050: the new agenda for business,” from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development speculates about three enormous questions: What does a sustainable world look like in 2050? How can we realize it? What are the roles business can play in ensuring more rapid progress toward that world?