"Our cities are our greatest invention. They are places where human diversity and talent cluster to foster unrivaled creativity, innovation and prosperity," says Richard Florida. "Home to half of the  world's population, housing more than 3 billion people globally, too many of our cities are disconnected from the global economy and even many of the most advanced cities have pockets of disadvantage and poverty.  We need simple solutions that can be replicated in any community to make our cities more prosperous and livable.  I'm honored to be part of this incredible opportunity which can serve as a model to improve the economic prosperity and livability of our cities across the globe."

Modern cities are thriving as increasing numbers of people recognize them as stimulating and rewarding environments in which to live, work and play. The latest statistics from the UN-Habitat Global Report on Human Settlements show that more than half of the world's population currently lives in a city, and this proportion is projected to increase to more than two thirds of the world's population by 2050. Also, with increasing urbanization, a greater proportion of people living in cities are older “ today, the proportion of the older adult population residing in cities in developed countries matches that of younger age groups. Rapid urbanization has also led to health-related issues such as a dramatic increase in obesity, particularly in developing countries, caused by decreased physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work and changing modes of transportation.

SOURCE Royal Philips Electronics