Most of us on earth now live in cities. By 2050, more than two-thirds of us will. And by the end of this century, demographers predict, 85% of the world’s population will live in cities. By then, demographers estimate, cities like Lagos in Nigeria and Mumbai in India will have 60 million or more inhabitants, and much of the world's urban growth will be in Africa.

What will this mean for climate change, and how will climate change affect growing urban populations? Much depends on whether smart decisions are made now about how expanding cities develop, and how existing cities -- especially in energy-intensive countries like the United States -- adjust to be more climate friendly.

With guests:

Ping Huang, a post-doctoral research associate at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield, UK, and a native of Shenzhen, China, working on urban energy transition and climate governance.

Basirat Oyalowo, a researcher at the department of Estate Management, University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she also manages the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development. Her research in housing studies and sustainability broadly focuses on issues around informality, resilience, housing finance, regeneration and real estate sustainability.

Linda Westman, a post-doctoral research associate at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield, UK, whose work focuses on urban sustainability transformation and the governance of sustainability and climate change, including a focus on China.

Siqi Zheng: is an MIT professor focusing on urban and real estate sustainability. She directs MIT's Center for Real Estate, and creator and director of its Sustainable Urbanization Lab.