World. Friday, 08 November 2024.
The Atlas of the Human Planet 2024, a publication by the Joint Research Centre, in its 6th edition brings relevant of information on the global population and human settlements for addressing a wide range of societal issues, through the use of science and data.
The Joint Research Centre is the European Commission’s science and knowledge service.
According to the Atlas’ abstract, many people’s lives, livelihoods and opportunities are being transformed, as human societies adapt to technological and environmental changes. Understanding these changes through the use of data generated by scientific analysis, as described in this Atlas, can guide policy-makers and empower everyone, in making better choices for our common future.
The mais source of information is the free, open data and geo-information offered by the European Union through the Copernicus Space Programme.
As you will see, it is designed for a general, non-technical readership, and makes extensive use of graphics and images. See below how the Atlas is structured.
Introduction
Why an Atlas of the Human Planet?
Global Human Settlement Layer products
A world of human settlements
Human settlements around the world (and the explosive growth of the last 45 years)
What is a city and where does it end? (and a new definition for cities, towns and semi-dense areas, and rural areas)
Eight key facts about urbanisation (after global statistics on population and built-up surface)
Human settlements and sustainability (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, SDGs, Paris Agreement, New Urban Agenda)
Built-up surface of settlements (through satellites)
Cities
Towns and semi-dense areas
Rural areas
The growth of cities
Megacities (a new feature of urbanisation in the 21st century)
Spatial patterns of cities
Washington (from planned to metropolitan area)
Mexico City (a megacity)
Dar es Salaam (fast-growing in Africa)
Hanoi (millions people by the coast)
Paris (a city more than 2000 years old)
Dubai (rapid growth in a challenging climate)
Geography matters! Settlements in
Coastal regions (and the vulnerability of deltas)
Agricultural regions (huge variety)
Mountainous regions (one billion people living in its slopes)
Arid environments (Las Vegas …)
Natural protected areas (the pressure on nature)
Living in hazardous areas. Settlements and
Floods
Earthquakes
Tsunamis
Volcanoes
A fantastic document.
Click at the image below to access the Atlas for download, which you can also read online here at Copernicus GHSL - Global Human Settlement Layer portal.
