The process of increasing the number of people living in cities is known as urbanization. In other words, population growth is what allows cities to expand. The concept of better cities has an impact on urbanization. It can happen naturally, but it is more often the result of massive outside influxes. As a result, city populations are rapidly increasing. While this process has a variety of effects, it generally has an impact on one's quality of life.
While urbanization has a number of negative consequences, it has also had some positive consequences. The increased population density in cities creates job opportunities in all sectors of the economy. It also results in better medical and educational services. Furthermore, urbanization can boost a country's GDP, which measures the total value of goods and services produced. As a result, urbanization has the potential to make cities more efficient and prosperous. The economic consequences of urbanization cannot be overlooked.
There are three types of urbanization: traditional, planned, and organic. Human activity has traditionally been concentrated in the downtown core of developed cities. New roads and parcels of land are frequently created and cordoned off for specific purposes. Immigrants and newcomers frequently settle in the heart of impoverished cities, transforming them into epicenters of urbanization. The second type of urbanization, known as peripheralization, describes the process by which people from the city's outskirts live in the city center.
Another major cause of urbanization is the Industrial Revolution. It enabled new factories to draw from a large pool of labor, allowing factories to specialize in specific products. Unfortunately, the nineteenth-century industrialization resulted in deplorable living conditions for thousands of workers. As a result, many people from rural areas moved to cities in search of paid work. These migrants lived in overcrowded slums riddled with disease and filth.
Countries' rates of urbanization vary. Some countries are more urban than others, and some have a high rate of urbanization. The United States, for example, has a high rate of urbanization, with large cities housing more than half of the population. Other countries, on the other hand, have low rates, with less than 10% of the population living in large cities. Many definitions exist, but the common goal should be to develop an accurate concept of urbanization.
While urbanization has many benefits, it also has drawbacks. Income is strongly correlated with the rate of urbanization. Higher incomes are frequently associated with better living conditions such as sanitation, water, and nutrition. However, the reality is that a large proportion of the population lives in urban slums, with limited access to basic resources. That is, urbanization increases both the number of people living in cities and the cost of living in these areas.
The first villages are established, and thus the process of urbanization begins. During the Uruk Period in ancient Mesopotamia, this process began (4300-3100 BCE). Although the reasons for the initial urbanization process are unknown, scholars believe that the presence of a prosperous village drew tribes to settle there. Permanent villages date back to the Neolithic period, and the practice of performing magical ceremonies in caves is a much older phenomenon. Yoruba towns in Nigeria were major commercial centers by the nineteenth century.
The process of counterurbanization has emerged as urbanization continues to grow. Because of the outflow of people from large settlement areas, the size of the settlement area shrinks in counterurbanization. This process enables people to pursue their educational and career goals without regard for geography. However, it exacerbates the problem of urban overcrowding. Despite these challenges, the counterurbanization process is a positive factor in urbanization and is frequently a good example of urbanization's positive effects.
Cities housed less than 5% of the world's population at the turn of the nineteenth century. The majority of people in the region have chosen to live in rural areas and work on farms or in other traditional jobs. By the end of the twentieth century, the proportion of urban residents had risen to nearly 40%, and it is expected to reach 50% in 2015.
Conflict over land rights has accompanied urbanization in developing countries. Slums have grown rapidly in many places as a result of urbanization. Rapid urbanization has also resulted in violence against peasants who oppose the process in other places. As a result, urban unemployment is among the highest in the country. Furthermore, increased population strains transportation systems, resulting in traffic congestion and vehicular pollution.