Image: World map of urban areas.

Data courtesy ORNL LandScan 2004™ /UT-Battelle, LLC

Cities and Suburbs

Urban areas are cultural and technological epicenters ranging from quaint municipalities to sprawling megacities. They have existed for millennia. But over the last half century, their size and influence has been expanding rapidly, particularly in emerging nations like China and India.

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National Geographic Magazine

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The World's Water

Learn More About Freshwater »

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