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Demographics and Urbanisation to June 2012

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London in figures - an interactive guide: The knowledge. Demography: China’s Achilles heel. London to test 'smart city' operating system. 3 May 2012Last updated at 19:01 ET By Jane Wakefield Technology reporter, BBC News One of Greenwich peninsula's biggest landmarks is the O2 building An operating system designed to power the smart cities of the future will be put through its paces in London. Living Plan IT has developed its Urban OS to provide a platform to connect services and citizens. With partners including Hitachi, Phillips and Greenwich council, it aims to use the Greenwich peninsula as a testbed for new technologies running on the system. The OS aims to connect key services such as water, transport, and energy. Urbanisation David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, was among the signatories to the partnership. "The development of smart cities in future is a crucial commercial opportunity for Britain, and London is the right place to be doing it," he said.

"London was the largest city in the world by the end of the 18th Century. The Greenwich peninsula is an area of London earmarked for regeneration. Untryside planning revolution: 'new city' proposed for Midlands. Most of the growth is predicted to take place outside major cities and will see England’s population rise by 4.4 million — the equivalent of more than half the population of London.

London itself would have a “second Docklands” development in the west of the city, said Prof McNaughton. Last week David Cameron said he wanted to see a series of new “garden cities”, together with increased airport capacity. He warned: “We urgently need to find places where we’re prepared to allow significant new growth to happen.” A senior Downing Street source said last night that while the new planning framework will give “assurances” to people concerned about the future of the countryside, it was “wrong to talk of any concessions”.

The plan has faced a wave of protest from organisations including the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, but the source said: “This remains an unashamedly pro-growth document. It is still the most radical business deregulation there has ever been.” Estonian capital to offer free public transport. 26 March 2012Last updated at 12:31 ET Ticket sales cover only a third of the cost of running a public transit network in the capital The mayor of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, has said that the city will offer free public transport across its bus and tram network from 2013. Officials say that three-quarters of those who voted in a referendum backed the idea, part of an attempt to make the city one of the greenest in Europe. But critics have said the move is politically motivated and a poor use of public funds.

Ticket sales cover only 33% of the costs of running the transit network. Mayor Edgar Savisaar said that Tallinn was the first city in Europe to take such a step, which would make it "the flagship of green movement in Europe". Tallinn officials said some 68,000 people supported the move, in a week-long vote that involved polling stations being set up in the city's shopping centres and community halls.