Since 2007, more than half of the world’s population has
lived in cities. By 2050, that number will reach 70%, say United Nations
statisticians. Corbis’s latest trends report offers a stock-industry
perspective on how this rapid, unplanned upsurge in the numbers of city
dwellers has influenced today’s visual culture.
According to Corbis research,
25 of the world’s megacities account for half of the world’s wealth. New York
is the top American contender, preceded by Mumbai, Delhi, Mexico City,
Guangzhou, Seoul and the world’s urban giant Tokyo.
Corbis’ researchers try to isolate the concepts and moods
that represent city living, from culture, heritage and entertainment to
convenience, time and cost savings, and close-knit communities. The influx of
people has resulted in an urban real-estate boom, an uptick in socialization
and an increasingly socially aware urban culture.
The trends report, available as a free download, includes
numerous images that illustrate the trend. The beautifully edited selection is
highly commercial. While certainly representative of the type of creative stock
sought by Madison Avenue clients who still use it, photographers interested in
popular subject matter may be interested to see a photographic counterpoint.
This month, the World Health Organization and the UN Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, put on a
forum on urbanization and health in Kobe, Japan. In preparation for the event, the two
organizations published Hidden cities: unmasking and
overcoming health inequities in urban settings. The volume offers a mix
of original commissioned photography by documentary shooter Anna Kari, archival imagery shot by
similarly specialized photographers on behalf of various aid agencies, and
stock.
While the percentage of stock images
used in the book it is not inconsequential, their dollar value is—barely
several hundred dollars, if that, via iStockphoto, Fotolia and wholly free Stock.XCHNG. It is difficult to know how representative this particular
report is of buyer habits, but the popularity of microstock is inescapable, and
the absence of traditional stock is glaring.
Equally interesting is the subject
matter. Corbis researchers touch on a few of the consequences of continuing
urban shift, and this report and numerous others round out the picture with
images that depict the effects of environmental, demographic and technological
changes on the wellbeing of city dwellers.