Chris Luebkeman: Futurist

Chris Luebkeman is a Director and leader of Arup’s global ‘Foresight and Innovation Initiative’. Known internationally as a futurist, Chris leads workshops for companies and organisations worldwide.

Chris is currently working with some of the world’s largest companies to develop scenarios to understand the opportunities that change is creating for them in the built environment. Educated as a geologist, structural engineer, and architect, Chris has a background in research. Before joining Arup, he studied in Switzerland then became a faculty member of the Departments of Architecture at the University of Oregon, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Future Fundamentals - Urbanisation

“Sustainable urbanisation is the creation and maintenance of systems which allow us not just to survive, but to thrive in an urban area.”

The world’s population has doubled in the past fifty years to six billion and there are now more people living in urban areas than in rural areas. The definition of an urban area is quite different, depending on where you are in the world. For example, Tokyo is the largest, with multiple millions of individuals while in the Sudan, an urban area would be three hundred people.

Urbanisation is probably one of the most important drivers of change on the planet today. Having more people living in one space affects all aspects of life. There will be greater emphasis on the interdependence of communities in sharing resources and decisions. There will also be a mutual leveraging of community and business as we move forward to a sustainable future.

It will be important to consider systems that allow us to survive in our cities such as water, healthcare, and mobility. Opportunities will open up for everyone – in fact, they’ve already started: Even now, the wealthiest man in China is a solar engineer and the richest woman has made her fortune in recycling. New energy sources and new transportation methods will also be available within the next 20 years.

All of these opportunities will have an impact on our lives that we cannot even yet imagine.

Chris Luebkeman provided expert insight on Urbanisation for a print advertorial, TV commercial and podcast.

Future Fundamentals - Demographics

"On one single planet, we have a number of different types of urban situations. The way our overall population will evolve will affect how our societies will work."

By 2050 or so, the world population is expected to reach nine billion, essentially adding two Chinas to the number of people alive today. We will experience dramatically different population movements on each continent. Undeveloped countries will see the biggest growth, such as Africa and Latin America, while some countries in the industrialised world - Russia, Germany and Japan - will see their populations actually decline.

Population changes present challenges and opportunities for schools, healthcare, work, the environment, government and business. In a city in which most people are below the age of forty, the needs, goods and the services will be quite different to one where the majority are older than forty.

Right now, around the world, a set of new forces is emerging. By the mid-century, there will be two billion teenagers in the developing world. A growing youth, such as that in India, presents a wealth of opportunities, with more people to sell to and service.

Chris Luebkeman is providing expert insight on Demographics through a print advertorial, TV commercial and podcast.