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Image by Matthew Niederhauser. India, 2015.

This century already belongs to the city, especially the megacity, where populations eclipse 10 million inhabitants. The United Nations anticipates an additional 2.7 billion people, seeking out new social and economic opportunities, will live in metropolitan regions around the world by 2050. This tremendous population shift is well underway.

The Megacity Initiative is a new media venture that seeks to illuminate this process through video, photography, and immersive virtual reality technologies. The ecological fate of the planet is bound in a myriad of ways to the prudent integration of these future city dwellers, especially with regards to how they live, work, travel, and consume.

With trips to India and South Africa already completed, the Megacity Initiative turns its focus on megacities in Brazil, Indonesia, and China. Journalists Matthew Niederhauser and John Fitzgerald look at sustainable development, social equity, land rights, and freedom of expression in these burgeoning metropolitan regions.

The primary aim of the Megacity Initiative is to exploit all available media channels in order to empower and inspire critical thinking among urban constituents. The city lies at the heart of this century, and now is the time to bring it new shape and form.

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