A cool look at crowded cities

If you travel to work on the metro each morning, it's probably no real shock to learn that over half of the world's population now live in cities, equating to an incredible 3.3 billion people living on just 3 percent of the earth's surface. The trend is set to continue with urban landscapes growing ever outwards and up.

Massimo Mastrorillo, Dubai, from the series 'City Models' (2009)

For it's annual International Photofestival, the Nooderlicht museum in the Netherlands has taken the notion of the ever expanding metropolis as its inspiration, hosting Metropolis: City life in the urban age (until October 9), which explores the many different faces of the city by 80 photographers from all over the globe.

Christoph Gielen, Untitled III, from the series 'Ciphers' (Arizona, 2010)

The exhibition includes claustrophobic scenes on steamy Tokyo subways, perfectly planned desert developments in Arizona and poverty stricken areas of inner city India. As new cities spring up and others engulf the surrounding land, this exhibition looks at the different forms urban landscapes take and the people who've carved out a space for themselves within them.