15 Jun 2012

Urban World: Cities and the Rise of Consuming Class

By McKinsey Global Institute

The urbanization of the world continues apace and is one bright spot in an otherwise challenging global economic environment. The shift in economic balance toward the East and South is happening with unprecedented speed and scale. We are quite simply witnessing the biggest economic transformation the world has ever seen as the populations of cities in emerging markets expand and enjoy rising incomes - producing a game-changing new wave of consumers with considerable spending power. Meeting demand from these new consumers will necessitate an investment boom in buildings and infrastructure that will account for the lion's share of global investment in the years to 2025. It is important that cities make the investment they need in an efficient and productive way to ensure healthy returns and lock in high levels of resource productivity for decades to come...

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