Urban Sprawl and Infrastructure

Cities themselves occupy a small percentage of land, but their footprint extends far beyond their borders. Urban demand drives deforestation for timber and food production. Road networks fragment habitats across entire continents. Mining operations for materials consumed by cities devastate ecosystems remotely.

The global road network is expected to grow by roughly twenty-five million kilometers by 2050 — a sixty percent increase. Most of that expansion will happen in developing countries that hold the richest remaining biodiversity.