1. Consequences and challenges of global change in urban environments

1.1 Urban densification: impact on housing and soil sealing

Urban centers are home to more and more people: 70% of Europeans now live in cities, and this figure is set to rise to over 80% by the middle of the 21st century. XXI ^e century. This corresponds to 36 million new inhabitants who will have to be accommodated in already highly constrained spaces, implying a change of development model. Until the early 2000s, urban growth was characterized by urban sprawl, with the consumption of space outstripping the rate of demographic growth. This pattern is now largely a thing of the past, and we now speak of "urban densification". More and more redevelopment projects are being carried out as part of a process of rebuilding...