Making the move from rural to urban - the genius of city planners

It is estimated that by 2050, seven out of 10 people will live in cities. Planners recognise something clever is required, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

THE mayor of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is a guy called Arturas Zuokas. He’s a cycling enthusiast and hates it when cars get in his way when he’s biking around his city. In August 2011, he decided to take some corrective action.

He wanted to send out a message to the city’s errant motorcar drivers, particularly those ones who park on cycling lanes, so he got in a tank, took it down one of the city’s streets and drove over an illegally parked Mercedes car.