Alain Bertaud: 'In the future, cities will compete for people, not jobs,' says world-renowned urbanist
oglobo27 August 2026 at 03:01
Alain Bertaud, one of the world's leading experts in urban planning and urban economics, is in Brazil for the 4th Responsive Cities Encounter, in Porto Alegre. With more than 50 years of experience and former chief urbanist at the World Bank, he states that, in the future, cities will compete for people, not jobs. Population aging and the reduction in the number of inhabitants are already beginning to reshape cities around the world, including Brazil, where, according to IBGE projections, the population aged 60 or over is expected to more than double in 45 years, going from 35.4 million to 75.3 million.
The European Commission announced the mobilization of one million euros to provide urgent health care, food and shelter to victims of the floods that affected northern Nepal, in the region along the border with China. This funding aims to support the necessary humanitarian operations to respond to the emergency caused by the floods in the Asian country.
Russia threatened to attack targets in the United Kingdom in retaliation for supplying missiles to Ukraine. The announcement was made after Andy Burnham revealed that defense company MBDA will share technology so that Kyiv can manufacture its own Storm Shadow long-range missiles, significantly increasing Ukrainian military capability against Russian targets.
A recent report identified 21 private schools in Portugal that consistently achieve very high grades (19 or 20 out of 20) for eight consecutive years. In 2024/2025, more than one-third of students from 38 schools obtained these maximum grades in at least one subject, raising questions about the consistency and transparency of assessment criteria.
A glacier calving in the border region between Nepal and Tibet, caused by climate change, led to a humanitarian catastrophe with hundreds of dead and approximately 1500 missing. Major-General Isidro de Morais Pereira explained that the impact of the calving generated a seismic tremor of magnitude 5.2, describing the images of destruction as "overwhelming".
