essay for urbanization

Essay on Urbanization for Students and Children

500 words essay on urbanization.

Urbanization refers to the movement of the population from rural areas to urban areas. It is essentially the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. Furthermore, urbanization is quite a popular trend in the contemporary world. Moreover, people mostly undertake urbanization due to more work opportunities and a better standard of living. According to the expert prediction, by 2050, 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized.

Causes of Urbanization

First of all, political causes play a big role in urbanization. Many people get forced to leave rural areas for urban areas due to political unrest. Therefore, many families go to urban areas in search of food, shelter, and employment .

Another important cause of urbanization is an economic cause. Furthermore, poverty is a widespread phenomenon in rural areas. Moreover, farmers are finding it very hard to earn enough money and make a living. Consequently, rural people move to urban areas in search of better job opportunities.

Education is a strong cause of urbanization. Urban areas offer opportunities for seeking high-quality education. Moreover, urbanization offers opportunities for studying at universities and technical colleges. Such handsome education opportunities attract many young people in rural areas to move to urban areas.

Environmental degradation also plays a part in contributing to urbanization. Deforestation destroys the natural habitat of many farming families. Furthermore, mining and industrial expansion also harm the natural habitat of farming families.

The social cause is another notable reason for urbanization. Many young rural people migrate to urban areas in order to seek a better lifestyle. Moreover, many young people want to escape the conservative culture of rural areas. Most noteworthy, urban areas offer a more easy-going liberal lifestyle. Furthermore, cities have clubs to attract youth.

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Benefits of Urbanization

First of all, urban areas are much more efficient in providing resources than rural areas. Important and basic amenities like housing, clean water, and electricity are easily available in urban areas.

People in urban areas find it quite easy to access to various important services. Most noteworthy, these services are high-quality education, expert health care, convenient transportation, entertainment, etc. Furthermore, some or all of the services are unavailable in rural areas.

Urban areas offer better employment opportunities. Furthermore, these employment opportunities are the result of industrialization and commercialization.

Urban areas play a critical role as creators and disseminators of knowledge. This is because of the highly connected urbanized world. Most noteworthy, the geographical proximity of people in urban areas helps in the propagation of ideas.

Urban areas enjoy the benefits of technological development. Furthermore, many types of technologies get implemented in urban areas. Moreover, urban people quickly get in touch with the latest technology. In contrast, many rural individuals remain ignorant of many types of technologies.

To sum it up, urbanization is a process which is on a continuous rise. Furthermore, urbanization ensures the transformation of rural culture into urban culture. Moreover, the government must be vigilant to the rapidly increasing urbanization. A fully urbanized world looks like the ultimate destiny of our world.

FAQs on Urbanization

Q1 State any two causes for urbanization?

A1 Any two causes for urbanization are high-quality education and good job opportunities in urban areas.

Q2 Why urban areas offer better employment opportunities?

A2 Urban areas offer better employment opportunities due to high industrialization and commercialization.

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Urbanisation Essay

500+ words urbanisation essay.

Urbanisation is an integral part of development. It is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial ones. The process of urbanisation started with the industrial revolution and resulted in economic development. Urban areas are an integral part of India’s development and growth. It accounts for two-thirds of India’s GDP. India’s urban population has increased rapidly over the past decade and this rapid urbanisation is set to continue in the future. This urbanisation essay discusses the opportunities that urban areas have and the major challenges faced by them. So, students must go through this essay to gather the information and then try to write the essay in their own words. They can also get the list of CBSE Essays on different topics to practise essays on various topics.

Meaning of Urbanisation

When people move from village or rural areas to towns/cities or urban areas for better job opportunities where they can get involved in non-agricultural occupations such as manufacturing industry, trade, management etc. is known as urbanisation. People mainly migrate to cities in search of jobs, new opportunities and to have a better lifestyle.

Urbanisation in India – History and Present Situation

Urbanisation in India is said to have begun somewhere around 600 B.C. culminating in the formation of early historical cities. During ancient and medieval periods of Indian history, the kings established various capital regions, which developed into towns. For example, Pataliputra (now Patna) and Vaishali developed as towns during the Magadh rule. Kanauj was the capital town of Harshavardhana in Uttar Pradesh. The establishment of the East India Company and the onset of British colonial control of India from the seventeenth century led to the growth of the urban centres of Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. These cities (except Delhi) developed along the seacoast in the respective regions where the British had established administrative systems in various provinces.

In the present scenario, the urban population is growing rapidly. Because of this, opportunities are also increasing. Urbanisation in India is mainly due to the expansion of cities and the migration of people. Investments are made in housing, urban transport, road network, water supply, smart cities, power-related infrastructure and other forms of urban management.

Consequences of Rapid Urbanisation

Rapid urbanisation often leads to both healthy and unhealthy consequences and aspects.

Positive Aspect of Urbanisation

Urbanisation resulted in the development and setting up of many industries in the cities. Manufacturing units and the service sector started to grow in the urban areas. This has created employment opportunities for the people. This has resulted in rural-urban migration and caused the “industrialisation urbanisation process” to set in. The growth of cities has given rise to external economies. Urbanisation results in changes in the attitudes and mindset of the urban people resulting in modernisation in behaviour. This indirectly helped the country to attain faster economic development.

Negative Aspect of Urbanisation

Growing urbanisation has increased the congestion in urban areas, which has resulted in problems like traffic jams and too much concentration of population. Too much population is another unhealthy aspect of urbanisation. It has created urban chaos related to housing, education, sanitation, pollution, medical facilities, growth of slums, unemployment, violence, inadequate water supply, overcrowding etc. All these resulted in deteriorating the quality of human life.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Urbanization.

Urbanization is the process through which cities grow, and higher and higher percentages of the population come to live in the city.

Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies

Crowded Tokyo Street

With more than 40 million residents, Tokyo, Japan, is a megacity. Another effect of urbanization is urban sprawl.

Photograph by Pola Damonte via Getty Images

Human populations have tended to increase over time. As more people were born, small groups of individuals found reasons to come together to form groups and, with the advent of agriculture , small sedentary communities. A small number of these settlements grew into what we now call cities. This kind of growth often corresponds with a shift from one way of organizing labor to another.

The world population has grown significantly and our economies have become more industrialized over the past few hundred years. As a result, many more people have moved into cities. This process is known as urbanization . Even after cities emerged, however, a large majority of people lived and worked in rural areas. It was not until large-scale industrialization began in the eighteenth century that cities really began to boom. Nearly half of all people now live in urban areas. They are attracted by jobs in manufacturing and the professions, as well as by increased opportunities for education and entertainment.

Urbanization is often discussed in reference to countries that are currently in the process of industrializing and urbanizing, but all industrialized nations have experienced urbanization at some point in their history. Moreover, urbanization is on the rise all over the globe.

One effect of this huge increase in people living in urban areas is the rise of the megacity , which is a city that has more than 10 million inhabitants. There are now cities with even more than that. Tokyo, Japan, for example, has nearly 40 million residents. Another effect of urbanization is urban sprawl . Urban sprawl is when the population of a city becomes dispersed over an increasingly large geographical area. This movement from higher density urban cores to lower density suburbs means that as cities expand, they often begin to take up significant tracts of land formerly used for agriculture . Sprawl also increases the need for travel infrastructure, such as roads, because people’s homes are likely to be farther away from where they work and the amenities they enjoy.

As we move forward in the 21st century, the global population is likely to continue growing. Urban areas will continue to grow with the population. This continual growth presents complex challenges as we prepare for the cities of the future. How we choose to manage urbanization will have consequences for our world for many years to come.

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Related Resources

Urbanization

The world population is moving to cities. Why is urbanization happening and what are the consequences?

By Hannah Ritchie, Veronika Samborska and Max Roser

This article was first published in September 2018, and last revised in February 2024. We'd like to thank Diana Beltekian for great research assistance.

More than half of the world's population now live in urban areas — increasingly in highly dense cities. However, urban settings are a relatively new phenomenon in human history. This transition has transformed the way we live, work, travel, and build networks.

This topic page presents an overview of urbanization across the world, extending from the distant past to the present, and projections of future trends.

See all charts on urbanization ↓

Urbanization across the world today

Number of people living in urban areas, more than 4 billion people – more than half of the world – live in urban areas.

For most of human history, most people across the world lived in small communities. Over the past few centuries – and particularly in recent decades – this has shifted dramatically. There has been a mass migration of populations from rural to urban areas.

How many people live in urban areas today?

In the visualization, we see estimates of the number of people globally who live in urban and rural areas. More than 4 billion people now live in urban areas.

This means over half of the world lives in urban settings. The UN estimates this milestone event – when the number of people in urban areas overtook the number in rural settings – occurred in 2007.

You can explore the data on urban and rural populations for any country or region using the "Change country or region" toggle on the interactive chart.

Share of population living in urban areas

How does the share of people living in urban areas vary between countries?

In the chart shown below, we see the share of the population that is urbanized across the world.

Across most high-income countries – across Western Europe, the Americas, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East – more than 80% of the population lives in urban areas. Across most upper-middle-income countries – in Eastern Europe, East Asia, North and Southern Africa, and South America – between 50% to 80% of people do. In many low to lower-middle-income countries, the majority still live in rural areas.

But this is changing quickly. You can see how urbanization rates are changing with time using the "Edit countries and regions" toggle on the interactive chart. For many countries, you see a rapid migration of populations into towns and cities.

How urban is the world?

What we know about urban populations and why it matters.

Before looking in more detail at the differences in estimates of urban populations, we should first clarify what we  do know:

• Globally more people live in urbanized settings than not (disputes in these figures are all above the 50% urban mark);
• The broad distribution and density of where people live across the world (sometimes at very high resolution);
• Although it can seem like our expanding cities take up a lot of land, only a bit more than 1% of global land is defined as built-up area; 1
• rates of urbanization have been increasing rapidly across all regions (in 1800, less than 10% of people across all regions lived in urban areas );
• urbanization is expected to continue to increase with rising incomes and shifts away from employment in agriculture ; 2
• disagreements in urban population numbers arise from definition or boundary differences in what makes a population 'urban'.

Whilst disagreement on the numbers can seem irrelevant, understanding cities, urbanization rates, the distribution, and the density of people matters. The allocation and distribution of resources — ranging from housing and transport access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities — should all be dependent on where people live. Understanding the distribution of people in a given country is essential to make sure the appropriate resources and services are available where they're needed.

The UN's 11th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is to " make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable ". If our aim is to develop resource-efficient, inclusive cities, understanding how many people they must provide for is essential for urban planning.

Let's, therefore, look at the conflicting estimates of how urban our world is, and where these differences come from.

UN estimates: More than half of the world’s population live in urban areas

At first glance, this seems like a simple question to answer. Figures reported by the United Nations (UN) deliver a straightforward answer. 3

In the chart here we see the share of the world's population living in urban and rural areas, extending from 1960. 4 This is based on nationally-collated census figures, combined with UN estimates where census data is unavailable. As of 1960, the rural segment constituted more than 60% of the population. By the year 2007, the distribution between urban and rural residents had equalized, representing a balanced share of the population. However, since then, the share of individuals residing in urban areas has escalated, exceeding 50% of the total population.

The UN figures are the most widely referenced and cited on global urbanization. However, they're not without their critics: some researchers suggest that far more people live in urban areas than these figures suggest. Why are they so contested?

How is an urban area defined?

'What defines an urban area?' lies at the center of these debates.

There is currently no universal definition of what 'urban' means. The UN reports figures based on nationally defined urban shares. The problem, however, is that countries adopt very different definitions of urbanization. Not only do the thresholds of urban versus rural vary, but the types of metrics used also differ. Some countries use minimum population thresholds, others use population density, infrastructure development, employment type, or simply the population of pre-defined cities.

In the table, we highlight the varied definitions across a selection of countries. The UN World Urbanization Prospects database also provides a full  downloadable list of statistical definitions for each country.

National definitions of 'urban area' as used for a custom selection of countries 5

The table illustrates the broad range of definitions between countries which compromises cross-country comparisons. And since the reported global figure is simply the sum of nationally reported shares, the lack of a universal definition is also problematic for these aggregated figures.

Even if we could define a single metric to use — such as a minimum population threshold in a settlement — countries adopt very different thresholds.

In the chart here we have mapped the minimum population threshold for countries that adopt this within their definition of 'urban'. 2000 and 5000 inhabitants were the most frequently adopted threshold. However, the variation across countries was vast. Sweden and Denmark set this threshold at only 200 inhabitants; Japan at 50,000 (a 250-fold difference).

European Commission estimates: More than 8 in 10 people live in urban areas

Critics of current UN figures, therefore, say that such varied definitions of 'urban' lead to a significant underestimation of the world's urban population. Researchers from the European Commission, for example, reported that 85% of people live in urban areas. 6

Its project, Atlas of the Human Planet , combines high-resolution satellite imagery with national census data to derive its estimates of urban and rural settlements.

The European Commission applied a universal definition of settlements across all countries:

• Urban centers (cities) : must have a minimum of 50,000 inhabitants plus a population density of at least 1500 people per square kilometer (km 2 ) or density of build-up area greater than 50%.
• Urban clusters (towns and suburbs) : must have a minimum of 5,000 inhabitants plus a population density of at least 300 people per square kilometer (km 2 ).
• Rural areas : fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.

Using these definitions, it reports that around 44% of the world lived in cities, 43% in towns and suburbs, and 13% in rural areas in 2020 . This makes the total urban share 87% in 2020 ( more than 6.8 billion people ). The reported urban share by continent is shown in the chart below.

The European Commission's estimates are also not without its critics. Researchers at the Marron Institute of Urban Management (New York University) challenged these figures as a gross overestimation. 7

The authors suggest multiple reasons why such figures are too high: based on agricultural employment figures, they estimate urban populations cannot exceed 60%; the low urban-density threshold adopted by the European Commission means entire cropland regions are classified as urban; and that this low-density threshold is inconsistent with observed population densities on the fringes of cities.

Will we ever reach a consensus on urban population?

Clearly how we define an urban area has a significant impact on its estimated population. The UN figures report one-third fewer people residing in urban areas compared to the figures reported by the European Commission.

While there are clear differences in estimates at the global level, the overall trend in urbanization at national levels (regardless of their definition) is still important. It's vital for India, for example, to know that since 1990, its urban population has more than doubled . The rate of this change is important for its evaluation of progress, demographic change, and national planning. The lack of consensus on figures at the global level therefore shouldn't overshadow what they represent at national levels.

But would the world adopt a standardized definition? The UN Statistics Division has convened multiple expert groups in recent years to try to work towards a common definition, but none have been successful.

With such a wide array of national definitions, achieving this would be a difficult task. Countries have the right to define what they consider to be urban and rural settlements. One proposed option is to maintain individual definitions for national figures but to adopt a new universal definition for estimating the global and/or regional share.

This may, at least, bring us one step closer to an agreement on how urban the world really is.

Urban slum populations

Share of people living in slums, just under 1-in-4 urban dwellers live in slum households.

Quality of living standards in urban centers is of course an important measure of wellbeing. One metric of living standards is the share of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, and durability of housing.

The most recent global estimates suggest just under 1-in-4 people in urban areas live in slum households.

The share of the urban population living in slums by country is shown in the chart. This data is available from the year 2000. Here we see that in the latest data, most countries across Asia and Latin America had between 10 to 50% of urban populations living in slum households. Slum households are most prevalent across Sub-Saharan Africa; in most countries, more than half of the urban populations live in slum households, and in some (such as Chad) around 8 in 10 people live in slum households.

We see that over time, for most countries, the share of the urban population living in slums has been falling. For example, in Vietnam, almost half of the population lived in slums in 2000. This figure has dramatically reduced to approximately 5% in recent years.

Number of people living in urban slums

This map shows the total number of people living in urban slum households in each country.

Urban density

Urban agglomerations.

Although the definition of 'urban' gives us some indication of population densities, it does not differentiate between those who live in small versus large urban settings. In the chart, we show the percentage of the total population that lives in agglomerations greater than one million people (i.e. large urban agglomerations). These figures are available in absolute terms (the total number of people living in large urban settings), found here .

Here we see large differences across the world. Smaller city-based nations such as Kuwait, UAE, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Israel tend to have high rates of large urban agglomeration: more than half live in large cities. Across much of the Americas, 40 to 50% live in large urban agglomerations. Most other countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa lie somewhere in the range of 10 to 40%.

There are a few countries that have a very low prevalence of large cities — in Germany and Poland, for example, less than 10% of the population live in cities over 1 million despite having large urbanization rates .

Population in largest city

We can also look at this centralization effect through the share of the urban population that lives in the single largest city. This is shown in this chart.

Here we have a handful of countries — such as Mongolia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Liberia, and Armenia — where more than half of the country's urban population live in its largest city. Overall, this share tends to be higher in countries across Africa and Latin America; a share of 30 to 50% is common. Rates across Europe, Asia, and North America are highly variable, ranging from over 40% to less than 10%.

City populations

Population of the capital city.

In the chart below we see the world mapped based on the population of each country's capital city. In 2018, Japan's capital — Tokyo — had the largest population of the world's capital cities at over 37 million people. This was followed by Delhi (India) at over 28 million; Mexico City (Mexico) at 21 million; and Cairo (Egypt) at 20 million.

Across the world, the most common capital size was in the range of 1 to 5 million people.

Population of cities

Many cities across the world have grown rapidly over the past 50 years in terms of their total population. The chart shows the estimated population of the world's 30 largest cities (by 2015 population) from 1950 to 2015, with projections through to 2035. 8

Beijing in 1950, for example, had a population of around 1.7 million. By 2015 this was more than 10 times higher, at more than 18 million. By 2035 it's expected this will increase further to more than 25 million. Dhaka (the capital of Bangladesh) increased from less than half a million in 1950 to almost 18 million in 2015 (and is projected to reach more than 30 million by 2035). Using the "Edit cities" in the top-right of the chart, you can browse trends for the largest 30 cities.

Related chart – population density of cities. This chart shows the population density of cities across the world

Long-run history of urbanization

Urbanization over the past 500 years, migration to towns and cities is very recent – mostly limited to the past 200 years.

How has urbanization changed over longer timescales – over the past 500 years?

In the map below we see how the share of populations living in urban areas has changed in recent centuries. Data on urbanization dating back to 1500 is available only for select countries, with an estimated share at the global level. Using the timeline on the map (or by clicking on a country) you can see how this share has changed over time.

Here we see clearly again that urbanization has largely been confined to the past 200 years. By 1800, still, over 90% of the global (and country-level) population lived in rural areas. Urbanization in the United States began to increase rapidly through the 19th century, reaching around 40% by 1900. 9 By 1950 this almost reached 65% and by 2000 1 in 8 people lived in urban areas.

China and India had similar rates of urbanization until the late 1980s. 10 By then, both had around 1-in-4 living in urban areas. However, China's rate of urbanization increased rapidly over the 1990s and 2000s. Over this 30-year period, its urban share more than doubled to more than half. India's rise has continued to steadily rise to around 1-in-3 today.

Urbanization over the past 12,000 years

The recency of urbanization becomes even more pronounced when we look at trends for countries and regions over even longer timescales – the past 10,000 years. This is shown in the visualization here, derived from the work of the History Database of the Global Environment . 11

As we see, urban living is a very recent development. For most of our history, humans lived in low-density, rural settings. Prior to 1000, it's estimated that the share of the world population living in urban settings did not reach 5%. By 1800, this share reached around 8%; and by 1900 had increased to around 16%.

Related chart – urban land area over the past 10,000 years. This chart shows the change in urban land area dating back to 10,000 BC.

Future urbanization

What share of people will live in urban areas in the future, by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world will live in urban areas.

The past 50 years in particular have seen a rapid increase in rates of urbanization across the world. Are these trends likely to continue?

The UN World Urbanization Prospects provide estimates of urban shares across the world through 2050. These projections are shown in the chart — using the timeline you can watch this change over time.

Across all countries, urban shares are projected to increase in the coming decades, although at varied rates. By 2050, it's projected that 1 in 7 people globally will live in urban areas. In fact, by 2050 there are very few countries where rural shares are expected to be higher than urban. These include several across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Pacific Island States, and Guyana in Latin America.

Why, when most countries are expected to be mostly urban , is the global total just over two-thirds? This seems low but results from the fact that many of the world's most populated countries have comparably low urban shares (either just over half or less). For instance, India, which is anticipated to become the world's most populous nation, is estimated to have slightly over half of its population living in urban areas by the year 2050.

The other map shown here provides a snapshot overview of how the world is expected to continue to become more urbanized. It shows, for any given country, whether more people (the majority) live in urban or rural areas. Using the timeline feature and "play" button in the bottom-left of the chart, you can explore how this has changed over time. In 1950, it was predominantly high-income countries across Europe, the Americas, Australasia, and Japan that were largely urban. A century later — in 2050 — it's projected that most countries will have more people living in urban areas than not.

How many people will live in urban areas in the future?

By 2050, close to 7 billion people are projected to live in urban areas.

In the chart, we see estimates of urban and rural populations in absolute terms, projected through to 2050. Projected population growth based on the UN's medium fertility scenario. By 2050, the global population is projected to increase to around 9.8 billion. It's estimated that more than twice as many people in the world will be living in urban than in rural settings.

These trends can be explored by country or region using the "Change country or region" function in the top-right of the chart.

Using our timeline map of urbanization you can explore how countries are expected to transition from predominantly rural to urban in the coming decades. There we see that by 2050 it's projected that the majority of countries will have a majority (greater than 50%) of people living in urban areas.

How do living standards change as people move to urban areas?

Populations urbanize as they get richer.

In the chart, we show the relationship between the share of the population living in urban areas on the y-axis, and average income (gross domestic product per capita) on the x-axis. Here we see a strong relationship between urbanization and income: as countries get richer, they tend to become more urbanized.

The link between urbanization and economic growth has been well documented. 12

Urbanization is complex, however: there are many recognized benefits of urban settings (when developed successfully) including high density of economic activity, shorter trade links, utilization of human capital, shared infrastructure, and division of labor. 13

Is there causal feedback by which urbanization is also a predictor of future economic growth? The evidence for this is relatively weak  — assessments of this effect suggest that countries with a higher initial urban population share do not achieve faster or slower economic growth than countries with a low initial urban population share. 14

Urban populations tend to have higher living standards

There are many examples —  across broad areas of development —  that suggest that, on average, living standards are higher in urban populations than in rural ones. Some examples include:

• in nearly all countries electricity access is higher in urban  areas than in rural areas;
• access to improved sanitation is higher in urban areas;
• access to improved drinking water is higher in urban areas;
• access to clean fuels for cooking and heating is higher in urban areas;
• child malnutrition is lower in urban settings.

Note, however, that it is difficult to infer causality between urbanization and these examples. Since urbanization shows a strong correlation with income, such relationships may instead simply show the effect of higher incomes on electricity access, sanitation, drinking water, and nutrition. Furthermore, there can also be significant inequalities within urban areas; this is evidenced by the fact that across many low-to-middle-income countries, a high share of the urban population lives in slum households (which lack access to all of the basic resources).

Agricultural employment falls with urbanization

It would be expected that changing where populations live will have an impact on types of employment. Rural-urban migration has been empirically linked with the structural transformation process: as urban population shares increase, employment tends to shift from agriculture towards industry/manufacturing, or services. 15

In the chart, we see the share of people employed who are in agriculture (y-axis) versus the share of the population living in urban areas (x-axis). Here, in general, we see that agricultural employment tends to decline with urbanization. In our blog post 'Structural transformation: how did today's rich countries become deindustrialized?' we discuss and look at the data on this agriculture-industry-services shift in more detail.

Although this agriculture-urbanization link tends to hold true for most countries, there are a couple of clear outliers. Sri Lanka, Samoa, and Barbados, for example, appear to show relatively low levels of agricultural employment despite being predominantly rural. For Sri Lanka, this anomaly is explained by low urbanization rates, rather than relatively low levels of agricultural employment  — a labor share of just under 30% in agriculture is similar to neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In the case of Barbados and Saint Lucia, low agricultural production and employment are common for many small island states .

Definitions and measurement

How is an urban population defined.

There is no universal definition of what constitutes an 'urban area'. Definitions of an urban settlement vary widely across countries, both in terms of the metrics used to define them, and their threshold level. The UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018) database provides a downloadable list of underlying data sources and the statistical concepts used to define 'urban' by country. 5

In the chart, we have mapped the minimum threshold level of the number of inhabitants in a settlement needed for it to be classified as an 'urban area'. The data shown for a given country is its nationally-defined minimum threshold. When we look at the frequency at which a given threshold level is used by a country, we see that 2000 and 5000 inhabitants are the most frequently adopted (by 23 countries each). However, these ranges vary widely: Sweden and Denmark, for example, use a threshold of only 200 inhabitants whereas Japan adopts a very high threshold of 50,000 inhabitants.

Note that 133 countries do not use a minimum settlement population threshold in their 'urban' definition. Some use a variation of population density, infrastructure development, pre-assigned city populations, or in some cases no clear definition.

The UN adopts national definitions in its reporting of urban versus rural populations. This means urban populations are often not comparable across countries. Global urbanization trends also encounter this issue: world urban population is reported as the sum of nationally defined urban populations (therefore summing metrics/thresholds that are not directly comparable).

How is a slum household defined?

UN-HABITAT defines a slum household as a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who lack one or more of the following 16 :

• Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions.
• Sufficient living space which means no more than three people sharing the same room.
• Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price.
• 4. Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of people.

Sometimes a fifth criterion is included:

• Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions.

It should be noted that although a single categorization of a 'slum household' is given, the conditions and level of deprivation can vary significantly between slum households. Some households may lack only one of the above criteria, whereas others may lack several.

How is urban density defined?

The density of a geographic area is measured on the basis of the average number of people per unit of area (for example, the number of people per square kilometer, km 2 ). It's therefore calculated as the population divided by the land area for that given population.

But what does urban density mean? Here, again, we encounter difficulty in agreeing on the standard boundary definition of what constitutes an urban area. The standard metric adopted (and encouraged) by the UN for urban density is the so-called "urban agglomeration population density".

An urban agglomeration is defined by the UN as:

The term “urban agglomeration” refers to the population contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard to administrative boundaries. It usually incorporates the population in a city or town plus that in the suburban areas lying outside of, but being adjacent to, the city boundaries. Whenever possible, data classified according to the concept of urban agglomeration are used. However, some countries do not produce data according to the concept of urban agglomeration but use instead that of ‘metropolitan area’ or ‘city proper’. If possible, such data are adjusted to conform to the concept of ‘urban’ agglomeration. When sufficient information is not available to permit such an adjustment, data based on the concept of city proper or metropolitan area are used.

This figure, which shows the urban definition boundaries for Toronto, is used by the UN to demonstrate these differences. 17

Here we see that the most commonly used definition of "urban agglomeration" is based on the population and area size of the central city or town plus its close suburban sprawls.

Interactive charts on urbanization

Built-up area is defined as cities, towns, villages, and human infrastructure.

In 1800 when urbanization rates were low, agricultural employment was very high — including in today's rich countries. For example, around 60% of the workforce in France was employed in agriculture in 1800. Today this figure is only a few percent.

UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018). Available at:  https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Download/ .

Note that this data can be viewed for any country or region using the "Change country or region" function in the top-right of the chart.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition. Available at:  https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/ .

Pesaresi, M., Melchiorri, M., Siragusa, A., & Kemper, T. (2016). Atlas of the Human Planet - Mapping Human Presence on Earth with the Global Human Settlement Layer.  JRC103150. Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg (Luxembourg): European Commission, DG JRC . Available at:  https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/atlas-human-planet-mapping-human-presence-earth-global-human-settlement-layer .

Angel et al. (2018). Our Not-So-Urban World. The Marron Institute of Urban Management, New York University. Available at:  https://marroninstitute.nyu.edu/uploads/content/Angel_et_al_Our_Not-So-Urban_World,_revised_on_22_Aug_2018_v2.pdf

Projections through to 2035 are published by the UN World Urbanization Prospects (2018) based on its medium fertility scenario of population growth and urbanization rates.

US Census Bureau. Population: 1790-1990. Available at:  https://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/table-4.pdf .

Bairoch (1988). Cities and Economic Development. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Klein Goldewijk, K. , A. Beusen, and P. Janssen (2010). Long-term dynamic modeling of the global population and the built-up area in a spatially explicit way, HYDE 3 .1. The Holocene20(4):565-573. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0

Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Fink, G. (2008). Urbanization and the wealth of nations.  Science ,  319 (5864), 772-775. Available at:  http://science.sciencemag.org/content/319/5864/772.short

C. M. Becker, in International Handbook of Development Economics, A. Dutt, J. Ros, Eds. (Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton, MA, 2008).

Henderson, V. (2003). The urbanization process and economic growth: The so-what question.  Journal of Economic Growth ,  8 (1), 47-71. Available at:  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022860800744 .

Ciccone, A., & Hall, R. E. (1993).  Productivity and the density of economic activity  (No. w4313). National Bureau of Economic Research. Available at:  http://www.nber.org/papers/w4313 .

Montgomery, M. R., Stren, R., Cohen, B., & Reed, H. E. (2013).  Cities transformed: demographic change and its implications in the developing world . Routledge. Available at:  https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781134031665 .

Black, D., & Henderson, V. (1999). A theory of urban growth.  Journal of Political Economy ,  107 (2), 252-284. Available at:  https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/250060 .

Michaels, G., Rauch, F., & Redding, S. J. (2012). Urbanization and structural transformation.  The Quarterly Journal of Economics ,  127 (2), 535-586. Available at:  https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/127/2/535/1824278 .

UN-HABITAT (2007). State of the World's Cities. Available at:  http://mirror.unhabitat.org/documents/media_centre/sowcr2006/SOWCR%205.pdf

United Nations (2017). The World's Cities in 2016. United Nations Population Division. Available at:  http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/urbanization/the_worlds_cities_in_2016_data_booklet.pdf .

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14.2 Sociological Perspectives on Urbanization

Learning objective.

• List the assumptions of the three major sociological perspectives concerning urbanization.

Once again the three major sociological perspectives offer important but varying insights to help us understand urbanization. Table 14.1 “Theory Snapshot” summarizes their assumptions.

Table 14.1 Theory Snapshot

Functionalism

A basic debate within the functionalist perspective centers on the relative merits of cities and urbanization: In what ways and to what extent are cities useful (functional) for society, and in what ways and to what extent are cities disadvantageous and even harmful (dysfunctional) for society? Put more simply, are cities good or bad?

In essence, there is no one answer to this question, because cities are too complex for a simple answer. Cities are both good and bad. They are sites of creativity, high culture, population diversity, and excitement, but they are also sites of crime, impersonality, and other problems.

Since sociologists began studying urbanization in the early years of the discipline, an important question has been the degree to which cities are impersonal and alienating for their residents. In 1887, German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies (1887/1963) raised this question when he wrote about the changes that occurred as societies changed from small, rural, and traditional cultures to larger, urban, and industrial settings. He said that a sense of community, or Gemeinschaft , characterizes traditional societies. In these societies, family, kin, and community ties are quite strong, with people caring for each other and looking out for one another. As societies grew and industrialized and as people moved to cities, he wrote, social ties weakened and became more impersonal. Tönnies called this type of society a Gesellschaft , and he was quite critical of this development. He lamented the loss in urban societies of close social bonds and of a strong sense of community, and he feared that a sense of rootlessness in these societies begins to replace the feeling of stability and steadiness characteristic of small, rural societies.

One of the key founders of sociology, French scholar Émile Durkheim, was more positive than Tönnies about the nature of cities and urbanized societies. He certainly appreciated the social bonds and community feeling, which he called mechanical solidarity , characteristic of small, rural societies. However, he also thought that these societies stifled individual freedom and that social ties still exist in larger, urban societies. He called these latter ties organic solidarity , which he said stems from the division of labor. When there is a division of labor, he wrote, everyone has to depend on everyone else to perform their jobs. This interdependence of roles creases a solidarity that retains much of the bonding and sense of community found in small, rural societies (Durkheim, 1893/1933).

Contemporary research tends to emphasize that strong social bonds do exist in cities (Guest, Cover, Matsueda, & Kubrin, 2006). Although cities can be anonymous (think of the mass of people walking by each other on a busy street in the downtown area of a large city), many city residents live in neighborhoods where people do know each other, associate with each other, and look out for each other. In these neighborhoods, a sense of community and strong social bonds do, in fact, exist.

In many urban neighborhoods, people are friendly with each other and feel a strong sense of community.

Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 3.0.

In 1938, University of Chicago sociologist Louis Wirth wrote a very influential essay, “Urbanism as a Way of Life,” in which he took both a positive and a negative view of cities (Wirth, 1938). He agreed with Tönnies that cities have a weaker sense of community and weaker social bonds than do rural areas. But he also agreed with Durkheim that cities generate more creativity and greater tolerance for new ways of thinking. In particular, he said that urban residents are more tolerant than rural residents of nontraditional attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles, in part because they are much more exposed than rural residents to these nontraditional ways. Supporting Wirth’s hypothesis, contemporary research finds that urban residents indeed hold more tolerant views on several kinds of issues (Moore & Ovadia, 2006).

An example of the greater tolerance of urban residents (and thus the lower tolerance of rural residents) appears in Figure 14.5 “Urban/Rural Residence and Belief That Premarital Sex Is “Always Wrong” (%)” , which depicts the percentage of Americans in the nation’s twelve largest metropolitan areas and in its rural areas who say that premarital sex is “always wrong.” Rural residents are twice as likely as urban residents to feel this way.

Figure 14.5 Urban/Rural Residence and Belief That Premarital Sex Is “Always Wrong” (%)

Source: Data from General Social Survey. (2010). Retrieved from http://sda.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/hsda?harcsda+gss10 .

Conflict Theory

We just saw that functionalism has mixed views about the benefits and disadvantages of cities and urban life and thus of urbanization. In contrast to this ambivalence, conflict theory’s views are uniformly critical. In this regard, recall from Chapter 1 “Understanding Social Problems” that conflict theory assumes a basic conflict between society’s “haves” and “have-nots,” or between the economic and political elites and the poor and people of color. This type of conflict, says conflict theory, manifests itself especially in the nation’s cities, in which the “haves” and “have-nots” live very different lives. On the one hand, the rich in American cities live in luxurious apartments and work in high-rise corporate buildings, and they dine at the finest restaurants and shop at the most expensive stores. On the other hand, the poor and people of color live in dilapidated housing and can often barely make ends meet.

Beyond this basic disparity of city life, conflict theorists add that the diverse backgrounds and interests of city residents often lead to conflict because some residents’ beliefs and practices clash with those of other residents. In one of the earliest statements of this position, sociologist Thorsten Sellin (1938), who was writing during an era of mass immigration into American cities of people from other nations, said that crime is the result of “culture conflict.” In particular, he wrote that crime by immigrants often results from the clash of their traditional ways of thinking and acting with the norms of American society. As one example, he wrote that a father in New Jersey who had emigrated from Sicily killed a teenage boy who had slept with his daughter. The father was surprised when he was arrested by local police, because in the traditional Sicilian culture a man was permitted and even expected to defend his family’s honor by acting as the father did!

More recent applications of conflict theory to urbanization emphasize the importance of political economy , or the interaction of political and economic institutions and processes. In this way of thinking, political and economic elites in a city (bankers, real estate investors, politicians, and others) collaborate to advance their respective interests. Thus urban development often takes the form of displacing poor urban residents from their homes so that condominiums, high-rise banks and other corporate buildings, posh shopping malls, or other buildings favoring the rich can be built. More generally, these elites treat cities as settings for the growth of their wealth and power, rather than as settings where real people live, go to school, work at a job, and have friends and acquaintances. Sociologists John Logan and Harvey Molotch use the term growth machine ideology to characterize the view of the city that guides these elites’ policies and practices (Logan & Molotch, 2007).

Symbolic Interactionism

Consistent with the overall approach of symbolic interactionism, scholars of the city who take this approach focus on the nature of urban residents’ interaction with each other, the reasons for their patterns of interaction, and their perceptions of various aspects of urban life. Their work has yielded many rich, vivid descriptions of the urban life. Many and probably most of these accounts have concerned the lives of the poor and of people of color. The late Elliott Liebow wrote two of the most famous accounts. The first of these two was his majestic Tally’s Corner (Liebow, 1967), which depicted the lives of African American men who “hung around” a particular street corner in a large city. His second account was Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women (Liebow, 1993), which, as its title implies, depicted the lives of urban homeless women. Yet another classic account is William Foote Whyte’s (1943) Street Corner Society , which examined leadership in a street gang in Chicago, Illinois.

These and other accounts all depict cities as places where various norms and values prevail, in contrast to views of cities that depict them as wild, chaotic places. Building on these more positive accounts, recent work by sociologist Elijah Anderson emphasizes that most poor urban residents are “decent” (as they call themselves), law-abiding people who strongly disapprove of the crime and drug use in their neighborhoods (Anderson, 2000). He also emphasizes that cities are filled with parks and other public settings in which people from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds gather every day and interact in various ways that help foster interracial understanding. Anderson calls these settings “cosmopolitan canopies,” and says they “offer a respite from the lingering tensions of urban life and an opportunity for diverse peoples to come together…Through personal observation, they may come casually to appreciate one another’s differences and empathize with the other in a spirit of humanity” (Anderson, 2011, pp. xiv–xv). In this manner, writes Anderson, people from different races can at least partly overcome the racial tensions that afflict many American cities.

Types of Urban Residents

Other work in the symbolic interactionist tradition seeks to understand the different lifestyles of city residents. Sociologist Herbert Gans (1982) authored a classic typology of urban residents based on their differing lifestyles and experiences. Gans identified five types of city residents.

Herbert Gans identified several types of city residents. One of these types is the cosmopolites, who include students, writers, musicians, and intellectuals, all of whom live in a city because of its cultural attractions and other amenities.

Brian Evans – Street Musician – CC BY-ND 2.0.

The first type is cosmopolites . These are people who live in a city because of its cultural attractions, restaurants, and other features of the best that a city has to offer. Cosmopolites include students, writers, musicians, and intellectuals. Unmarried and childless individuals and couples are the second type; they live in a city to be near their jobs and to enjoy the various kinds of entertainment found in most cities. If and when they marry or have children, respectively, many migrate to the suburbs to raise their families. The third type is ethnic villagers , who are recent immigrants and members of various ethnic groups who live among each other in certain neighborhoods. These neighborhoods tend to have strong social bonds and more generally a strong sense of community. Gans wrote that all these three types generally find the city inviting rather than alienating and have positive experiences far more often than negative ones.

In contrast, two final types of residents find the city alienating and experience a low quality of life. The first of these two types, and the fourth overall, is the deprived . These are people with low levels of formal education who live in poverty or near poverty and are unemployed, are underemployed, or work at low wages. They live in neighborhoods filled with trash, broken windows, and other signs of disorder. They commit high rates of crime and also have high rates of victimization by crime. The final type is the trapped . These are residents who, as their name implies, might wish to leave their neighborhoods but are unable to do so for several reasons: they may be alcoholics or drug addicts, they may be elderly and disabled, or they may be jobless and cannot afford to move to a better area.

In thinking about this typology, it is important to keep in mind that city residents’ social backgrounds—their social class, race/ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation—all influence the kind of lifestyle they tend to adopt and thus the type of resident they are according to the typology. As earlier chapters documented, these dimensions of our social backgrounds often yield many kinds of social inequalities, and the quality of life that city residents enjoy depends heavily on these dimensions. For example, residents who are white and wealthy have the money and access to enjoy the best that cities have to offer, while those who are poor and of color typically experience the worst aspects of city life. Because of fear of rape and sexual assault, women often feel more constrained than men from traveling freely throughout a city and being out late at night; older people also often feel more constrained because of physical limitations and fear of muggings; and gays and lesbians are still subject to physical assaults stemming from homophobia. The type of resident we are, then, in terms of our sociodemographic profile affects what we experience in the city and whether that experience is positive or negative.

Key Takeaways

• Functionalism offers both a positive and a negative view of urbanization. Functionalist sociologists differ on the degree of social solidarity that exists in cities.
• According to conflict theory, economic and political elites use their resources to develop cities in a way that benefits them. The diverse social backgrounds of urban residents also contribute to certain types of conflict.
• According to symbolic interactionism, social inequality based on social class, race/ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation affects the quality of urban experiences. In addition to differences in their sociodemographic profiles, city residents differ in other ways. Herbert Gans identified several types of urban dwellers: cosmopolites, unmarried and childless, ethnic villagers, deprived, and trapped.

For Your Review

• Write an essay that summarizes the assumptions of any two of the major sociological perspectives on urbanization.
• Which of the three perspectives makes the most sense to you? Why?

Anderson, E. (2000). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city . New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Anderson, E. (2011). The cosmopolitan canopy: Race and civility in everyday life . New York, NY: W. W. Norton.

Durkheim, É. (1933). The division of labor in society . London, United Kingdom: Free Press. (Original work published 1893).

Gans, H. J. (1982). The urban villagers: Group and class in the life of Italian-Americans (Updated and expanded ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

Guest, A. M., Cover, J. K., Matsueda, R. L., & Kubrin, C. E. (2006). Neighborhood context and neighboring ties. City & Community, 5 (4), 363–385.

Liebow, E. (1993). Tell them who I am: The lives of homeless women . New York, NY: Free Press.

Logan, J. R., & Molotch, H. L. (2007). Urban fortunes: The political economy of place (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Moore, L. M., & Ovadia, S. (2006). Accounting for spatial variation in tolerance: The effects of education and religion. Social Forces, 84 (4), 2205–2222.

Sellin, T. (1938). Culture conflict and crime (No. Bulletin 41): New York, NY: Social Science Research Council.

Tönnies, F. (1963). Community and society . New York, NY: Harper and Row. (Original work published 1887).

Whyte, W. F. (1943). Street corner society: The social structure of an Italian slum . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a way of life. American Journal of Sociology, 44 , 3–24.

Social Problems Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Letter to the Editor
• Open access
• Published: 02 January 2020

Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?

• Md Abdul Kuddus 1 , 2 , 4 ,
• Elizabeth Tynan 3 &
• Emma McBryde 1 , 2  

Public Health Reviews volume  41 , Article number:  1 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Urbanization has long been associated with human development and progress, but recent studies have shown that urban settings can also lead to significant inequalities and health problems. This paper is concerned with the adverse impact of urbanization on both developed and developing nations and both wealthy and poor populations within those nations, addressing issues associated with public health problems in urban areas. The discussion in this paper will be of interest to policy makers. The paper advocates policies that improve the socio-economic conditions of the urban poor and promote their better health. Further, this discussion encourages wealthy people and nations to become better informed about the challenges that may arise when urbanization occurs in their regions without the required social supports and infrastructure.

Urbanization refers to the mass movement of populations from rural to urban settings and the consequent physical changes to urban settings. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that more than half the world’s population (4.2 billion people) now live in urban area and by 2041, this figure will increase to 6 billion people [ 1 ].

Cities are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies. They are the heart of technological development and economic growth of many nations, while at the same time serving as a breeding ground for poverty, inequality, environmental hazards, and communicable diseases [ 2 ]. When large numbers of people congregate in cities, many problems result, particularly for the poor. For example, many rural migrants who settle in an urban slum area bring their families and their domesticated animals—both pets and livestock—with them. This influx of humans and animals leads to vulnerability of all migrants to circulating communicable diseases and the potential to establish an urban transmission cycle. Further, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks, and water basins subject to landslides, flooding, or industrial hazards. All of these factors lead to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pollution, poor nutrition, road traffic, and so on [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The problems faced by the poor spill over to other city dwellers. As the trend to urbanization continues, this spillover effect increases and takes on a global dimension as more and more of the world’s populations are affected [ 3 ].

Some of the major health problems resulting from urbanization include poor nutrition, pollution-related health conditions and communicable diseases, poor sanitation and housing conditions, and related health conditions. These have direct impacts on individual quality of life, while straining public health systems and resources [ 6 ].

Urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations. Because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities, the urban poor lack nutritious diets and this leads to illness, which contributes to loss of appetite and poor absorption of nutrients among those affected. Furthermore, environmental contamination also contributes to undernutrition; street food is often prepared in unhygienic conditions, leading to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses (e.g., botulism, salmonellosis, and shigellosis) [ 6 ]. Urban dwellers also suffer from overnutrition and obesity, a growing global public health problem. Obesity and other lifestyle conditions contribute to chronic diseases (such as cancers, diabetes, and heart diseases). Although obesity is most common among the wealthy, international agencies have noted the emergence of increased weight among the middle class and poor in recent years [ 7 ].

Populations in poor nations that suffer from protein-energy malnutrition [ 8 ] have increased susceptibility to infection [ 9 ] through the impact of micronutrient deficiency on immune system development and function [ 10 ]. Around 168 million children under 5 are estimated to be malnourished and 76% of these children live in Asia [ 11 ]. At the same time, the World Health Organization is concerned that there is an emerging pandemic of obesity in poor countries that leads to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and stroke [ 12 ].

Obesity is caused by increased caloric intake and decreased physical activity [ 13 ], something historically associated with wealth. However, people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure. In these areas, infrastructure is often lacking, including sufficient space for recreational activities. Further, in developing countries, as in developed countries, large employers frequently place head offices in urban capitals and work is increasingly sedentary in nature [ 14 ]. Another culprit associated with the risk of developing obesity is the change in food intake that has led to the so-called nutrition transition (increased the consumption of animal-source foods, sugar, fats and oils, refined grains, and processed foods) in urban areas. For instance, in China, dietary patterns have changed concomitantly with urbanization in the past 30 years, leading to increased obesity [ 15 ]. In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 300 million adults were affected, the majority in developed and highly urbanized countries [ 16 ]. Since then, the prevalence of obesity has increased. For example, in Australia, around 28% of adults were obese in 2014–2015 [ 17 ].

Pollution is another major contributor to poor health in urban environments. For instance, the World Health Organization estimated that 6.5 million people died (11.6% of all global deaths) as a consequence of indoor and outdoor air pollution and nearly 90% of air-pollution-related deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries [ 18 ]. Poor nutrition and pollution both contribute to a third major challenge for urban populations: communicable diseases. The poor live in congested conditions, near open sewers and stagnant water, and are therefore constantly exposed to unhealthy waste [ 6 ]. Inadequate sanitation can lead to the transmission of helminths and other intestinal parasites. Pollution (e.g., from CO 2 emission) from congested urban areas contributes to localized and global climate change and direct health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer for both the rich and the poor.

In addition to human-to-human transmission, animals and insects serve as efficient vectors for diseases within urban settings and do not discriminate between the rich and poor. The prevalence and impact of communicable diseases in urban settings, such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, cholera, dengue, and others, is well established and of global concern.

National and international researchers and policy makers have explored various strategies to address such problems, yet the problems remain. For example, research on solutions for megacities has been ongoing since the early 1990s [ 19 , 20 ]. These studies have concluded that pollution, unreliable electricity, and non-functioning infrastructure are priority initiatives; nevertheless, air pollution, quality of water in cities, congestion, disaster management issues, and infrastructure are not being systematically addressed [ 19 , 20 ].

The impact of inner city transportation on health, such as road traffic, is emerging as a serious problem. Statistics show that a minimum of 10 people die every day on the railways in the city of Mumbai, India [ 21 ]. Vietnam is another example of a country that has seen a remarkable increase in road traffic accidents [ 22 ]. Improvements to the country’s infrastructure have not been able to meet the increasing growth of vehicular and human traffic on the street. Vietnam reportedly has a population of 95 million and more than 18 million motorbikes on its roads. A deliberate policy is needed to reduce accidents [ 21 ].

Although urbanization has become an irreversible phenomenon, some have argued that to resolve the problems of the city, we must tackle the root causes of the problem, such as improving the socio-economic situation of the urban poor.

Until the conditions in rural areas improve, populations will continue to migrate to urban settings. Given the challenges that rural development poses, the root causes are unlikely to be addressed in the near future. Therefore, governments and development agencies should concentrate on adapting to the challenges of urbanization, while seeking to reduce unplanned urbanization.

Some examples of policies and practices that should be considered include (i) policies that consider whole-of-life journeys, incorporating accessible employment, community participation, mobility/migration and social transition, to break generational poverty cycles; (ii) policies addressing urban environmental issues, such as planned urban space and taxes on the use of vehicles to reduce use or to encourage vehicles that use less fuel as well as encourage bicycle use, walking, and other forms of human transportation; (iii) greater cooperative planning between rural and urban regions to improve food security (e.g., subsidies for farmers providing locally produced, unprocessed and low cost food to urban centers); (iv) social protection and universal health coverage to reduce wealth disparity among urban dwellers; including introduction of programs and services for health, for example by establishing primary healthcare clinics accessible and affordable for all including those living in urban slums [ 23 ].

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable

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Abebe T. Young people: Participation and sustainable development in an urbanizing world: Un-Habitat; 2012.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor for his/her thoughtful comments and efforts towards improving the manuscript.

This work was conducted as a part of a PhD programme of the first authors and funded by the College of Medicine and Dentistry at the James Cook University, Australia (JCU-QLD-933347).

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Elizabeth Tynan

Department of Mathematics, University of Rajshahi, -6205, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Md Abdul Kuddus

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MAK planned the study, analyzed, and prepared the manuscript. ET and EM helped in the preparation of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Kuddus, M.A., Tynan, E. & McBryde, E. Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?. Public Health Rev 41 , 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-019-0116-0

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Essay on Urbanization for Students & Children in English

January 6, 2021 by Sandeep

Essay on Urbanization: People movement from rural lands to city spaces is called urbanization. Apart from the village population’s physical relocation, urbanization also refers to an alteration in mindsets, thinking, beliefs, values, practices and lifestyle patterns to suit city life. It is a manifestation to grow and develop with urban parameters. People migrate to cities primarily for employment and to make a better living.

Essay on Urbanisation 500 Words in English

We have provided Urbanization Essay in English, suitable for class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10.

Demographically urbanization means shifting a larger proportion of people from rural areas to urban areas or cities. It is also referred to as a process in which a rural area is transformed into urban areas. Any place with a minimum population of 5000, density not less than 400 persons per square kilometre & 75% or more of the working population engaged in non-agricultural activities is said to be urban areas. Urbanization is not only the movement of the population but also the migration of attitudes, beliefs, values & behaviour. It is a continuous process which has been observed all over the world. It is also considered as one of the characteristics of a developing economy.

Causes of Urbanisation

A rapid trend in urbanization is observed mainly in developing countries like India, which is reflected in the growing population in cities. In the last couple of decades, the number of cities has also increased all over the country.

• Increase in Population:  As the birth rate of urban areas is comparatively way higher than the death rate, results in a natural increase in population which ultimately supports the tremendous growth of urbanisation.
• Migration:  Migration of people during the partition of India has added for this cause significantly. After partition, rural uprooted people started settling down in urban areas for better survival options.
• Economic Opportunities:  With the growth in the industrial sector, business & trade for better & stable job opportunities people who were struggling with poverty are moving to urban areas.
• Connectivity:  The accessibility to different parts of the country as well as worlds gets way more comfortable due to its ultra-fast mobility & transportation facilities like metro, aeroplanes, etc.
• Lifestyle:  Few people prefer urban areas for better lifestyle skipping the conventional way of living. It includes easy access to recreational activities like movies, clubs, live concerts, shopping at malls etc.
• Standard of Living & Facilities:  A far more developed infrastructure with all the modern facilities which adds to the comfort of living has attracted more people to choose urban areas. Better medical & educational facilities are vital to the movement of population to cities.
• Political Causes:  Many people get forced to leave rural areas in political unrest & end up in urban areas in search of food & shelter.
• Extension of boundary:  With an extension of boundaries of cities & towns, more & more rural areas are gradually getting included in urban areas.

Urbanization in India

The measurement of the degree of urbanization is quite essential for India. Urbanization has taken the first seat post-independence & is at its paramount now. According to 1901 census, the headcount of the population residing in urban areas of India was 11.4%, which increased to 28.53% according to 2001 census and crossing 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%.

According to the World Bank in 2017, the numbers increased to 34%. As per a survey by the UN State of the World Population report in 2007, by 2030, 40.76% of country’s population is expected to reside in urban areas. The world has analysed that, India, along with China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States, will lead the world’s urban population surge by 2050.

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Essay on Urbanization for Children and Students

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Urbanization is the process in which people migrate from backward and rural areas to urban areas often attributed to modernization and industrialization. Industrial revolution has given rise to Urbanization by creating job opportunities that induces people from rural areas to migrate to urban areas. With economic and social reforms demand for man power has increased in urban areas.

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Long and Short Essay on Urbanization in English

Here are essays on urbanization of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any Urbanization essay as per your need:

Urbanization Essay 1 (200 Words)

Urbanization refers to movement of mankind from rural areas to urban areas and how society adapts the changes. India is facing serious problem of rise in urban population presently. With Urbanization there is increase in social, economic and political progress but on the other hand it also leads to socio-economic problems due to unplanned growth in urban population and lack of infrastructural facilities.

The natural growth in population combined with the growth due to migration puts heavy load on public utilities like housing, water, health, education, transport and other commodities and services.

People from rural areas migrate to urban areas for better employment opportunities, better education, health and medical facilities, commercialization, better standard of living, social status and so on. Modern-day farming involves new technology lessening the need of manpower leading to Urbanization.

There are several problems that upsurge due to Urbanization that need serious attention. Some of the chief problems in India due to Urbanization are overpopulation, poverty, environmental degradation, unemployment, transport, sanitation, pollution and so on.

Planning and investment is required for infrastructural development. Developing clean cities and green cities is essential. Provisions of essential services such as health, education, clean water, food and electricity among the masses should be the goal. Spreading awareness and educating people about family planning and population control should be emphasized.

Urbanization Essay 2 (300 Words)

Introduction

Urbanization is the rise in growth of people living in cities and towns. Urbanization also means the transformation of society whereby rural economy is being transformed to advanced industrial economy. It is highly accepted notion that urban areas as compared to rural areas have achieved better social, economic and political development. People from the rural areas are induced to urban areas to take advantage of its advanced economic and social benefits.

Urbanization in India

Urbanization began to stimulate in India after independence due to rise in the development of the private sector. Population living in urban areas in India according to census 2001 was 28.53%, standing at 31.16% as per census 2011. A survey conducted by UN state of the world population report in 2007, predicts 40.76% population in India is expected to live in urban areas by 2030 and will lead to world’s urban population surge by 2050.

Main causes of Urbanization in India are Industrial revolution, Urbanization for economic development, economic opportunities and infrastructure facilities, development of private sectors, employment opportunities, land fragmentations and better standard of living.

Like every coin has two sides, Urbanization has several positive as well as negative effects. The positive factors of Urbanization are generation of employment opportunities, better and higher education, healthcare and medical facilities, housing, transport, new technology, social integration, electricity and better standard of living. The negative effects of Urbanization are unemployment, overcrowding, global warming, traffic congestions and air pollution, poverty, shortage in supply of water, urban crime, trash disposal issues and so on. With the passing time negative impacts of Urbanization are increasing immensely.

Due to growth in population, industrialization and infrastructural development has become a necessity in rural areas. This will also raise employment opportunities in rural areas. Better education, healthcare, transport, sanitation facilities should be provided in rural areas.

Urbanization Essay 3 (400 Words)

Urbanization is the process in which people leave rural areas and shift to urban areas either due to push or pull factors. Urbanization turns out to have positive effects when happens to the certain extent. The positive effects of the Urbanization include employment to the unemployed, better education, health care and medical facilities, infrastructural development and access to new and advanced technologies. Urbanization is the process of development. However, over Urbanization in cities especially metro cities is resulting in adverse effects.

Positive Effects of Urbanization

Here is a detailed look at the positive effects of Urbanization:

• Efficiency: Urban areas are more efficient in providing resources than rural areas. Basic amenities such as clean water, housing and electricity are easily provided.
• Accessibility: Apart from the basic resources people in urban areas get easy access to health care and medical facilities, higher and better education, transport, entertainment etc.
• Better Employment: People from rural areas often migrate to urban areas in search of better employment opportunities. Due to industrialization and commercialization there are several job and business opportunities available in cities.
• Education: There are more schools, universities and colleges in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Students migrate to urban areas for higher or better education with or without their families. Students can choose from a variety of career options available in cities for their bright future.
• Health care: There are several health care and medical facilities available in urban areas as compared to rural areas.
• Better social amalgamation: Urbanization promotes cultural and social fusion. People of various religions, castes and gender work and socialize together breaking down the norms of social and cultural barriers.

Push and Pull Factors of Urbanization

There are various push factors and pull factors of Urbanization in India. Push factors are the factors due to which people have to leave rural areas and move to urban areas for instance, unemployment, poverty, lack of infrastructure and limited resources. Pull factors are the factors that induced people to move to urban areas e.g. employment opportunities, better education, infrastructure development, commercialization, health and medical care.

Urbanization also means the transformation of society whereby rural culture is being transformed to modern urban culture. It is alteration from traditional rural economies to industrial economies. Urbanization allows the overall urban population to enjoy the fruits of economic and social development. However, due to increase in global warming due to Urbanization serious measures need to be taken for clean and green cities.

Urbanization Essay 4 (500 Words)

The mass movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, i.e., cities and towns is called Urbanization, the process in which population in cities and towns increases. Higher the population, higher is the demand of public utilities like housing, sanitation water, health, education and so on. Urbanization is subjected to range of elements such as urban planning, economics, sociology and health care.

The concept of Urbanization is increase in developing and developed society as people want to move to cities and towns to enjoy the benefits of social and economic development that include better education, health care, housing, better work opportunities and sanitation.

Main Causes of Urbanization

Here are some of the main causes of Urbanization:

• Industrialization
• Commercialization
• Social benefits
• Employment opportunities
• Modernization
• Better Education

Here is a look at these factors in brief:

Industrialization is the concept of moving from agricultural sector to industrial sector. Industrialization creates economic growth and employment opportunities. With industrial revolution in developing and developed countries, more and more people are moving from rural areas to urban areas for better employment opportunities.

Modern-day trade and commerce also result in Urbanization. In modern times, development of marketing institutions and methods of trade have significantly contributed to Urbanization. There are better commercial opportunities and returns in urban areas than in rural areas. As a result, people are tempted to urban areas.

• Social Benefits

There are several social benefits in urban areas compared to rural areas like better education, better health care, transport, sanitation and social status. Better recreational facilities are available such as play grounds, theatres, parks and clubs. Thus, people move to urban areas for enjoying the benefits of modern lifestyle.

• Employment Opportunities

In rural areas people mainly have to depend on agricultural sector for their living whereas in the urban areas there are several employment opportunities in various sectors such as education, health care, transport, banking, media, television and sports to name a few.

Agricultural sector mainly depends on monsoon. In times of natural calamities and drought, people have to migrate to urban areas in search of employment. With modern farming technology manpower needed in farming sector is decreased leading to Urbanization.

Urban areas are characterized by new technology, infrastructural development, better health care and medical facilities, liberalization and better standard of living. This induces people from backward and rural areas to move to urban areas.

The management of administration is also responsible for Urbanization. The government has not maintained the rapidity with city growth in terms of infrastructure management or spatial.

As compared to rural areas there are better education facilities available in urban areas. The schools and colleges providing professional education are all located in urban areas. Thus young girls and boys either alone or with their families shift to urban areas to seek quality education.

Poverty and economic degradation are the major problems rising with Urbanization that need serious attention. Planning and investment in sustainable industries, eco-friendly infrastructure and eco-friendly technology is essential. Encouraging the use of eco-friendly products and technology among the masses is vital. Creating more and more job opportunities and equality will help fight poverty.

Urbanization Essay 5 (600 Words)

Increase in the volume of total population in urban areas is called Urbanization. Rising population in urban areas creates rise in the demand of basic amenities such as food, health, transport and shelter in such areas. This contributes to the development of land for housing, economic support institutions, commercialization, transport and so on.

Problems Due to Urbanization

Given below are the problems that we face due to Urbanization:

• Overcrowding

Overcrowding means over population in the urban areas due to migration. Cities where the population is rising every single day are getting overcrowded. This is the current situation in all the big cities in India. Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi are some of the examples of overcrowded cities.

When the population increases, the demand for housing also increases. The factors that are mainly responsible for the lack of housing facilities are lack of financial resources, poverty and unemployment.

• Unemployment

The chief cause of unemployment is over population in the urban areas due to migration of people from rural locations to these areas. The growth in economic opportunities fails to keep pace with growth in urban population.

The unplanned growth in the urban areas is growing the spread of slums. Rise in slum settlements in India is a striking feature. Urbanization, poverty and overpopulation, has increased the growth of slums as high rate of land and property in urban areas is beyond the reach of rural migrants and urban poor.

Large use of vehicles for transport has increased traffic congestion making the movement slow and difficult.

• Urban Crime

With the rise in urban population there is rise in poverty and unemployment. Due to poverty there is rise in crimes like theft, pick pocketing, cheating and murders.

• Air Pollution

Urbanization is a major cause of air pollution and global warming. Industries release greenhouse gases causing rise in the temperature of the earth and creating air pollution. Larger use of vehicles release gases by fuel combustion. Large amount of garbage from the landfills is burnt causing air pollution.

Water is the most important element of nature to sustain life. Due to overcrowding in the cities the supply of water is falling short compared to the demand.

• Trash Disposal

As the number of citizens grow in urban areas the problem of trash disposal rises. The large quantity of garbage in the cities increases severe health issues. In most of the areas in cities there is no garbage disposal facility. When the landfills get full innumerable poisons leak around its surroundings, inviting diseases, like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc. Air travel also carries bacteria from one person to another spreading disease even more.

Ways to Keep Urbanization in Check

Here are some ways to keep Urbanization in check:

The chief reason of Urbanization is the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment opportunities. Developing agricultural and rural industries will provide employment opportunities in rural areas.

• Infrastructural Development in Rural Areas

Construction of roads, buildings, hospitals, parks, educational centres, etc. is vital for rural development. This will help rural people get better education and health care locally and also provide more job opportunities. Government should develop transport networks and related infrastructure.

• Overall Development

Industrial and private sector development in rural areas is necessary. The focus of government should be nationwide Urbanization. Planning and investment in Urbanization of rural areas is essential.

• Population Control

Over population is also a chief cause for Urbanization. Educating people about family planning and creating awareness among the rural communities is crucial.

• Global Warming

One of the major problems of Urbanization rapidly rising is global warming. Use of renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, hydropower should be encouraged. Investments in energy efficient industries and technologies will lead to clean economy. Reforestation instead of deforestation should be promoted.

Urbanization is on a rapid increase in our country. While it is good that our country is progressing and that more and more people want to lead a modern life, get better education and good employment opportunities, Urbanization can have negative repercussions as well. It is thus essential to control Urbanization.

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Urbanization Essay

Urbanization is the process in which people migrate from backward and rural areas to urban areas often attributed to modernization and industrialization. Industrial revolution has given rise to Urbanization by creating job opportunities that induces people from rural areas to migrate to urban areas. With economic and social reforms demand for man power has increased in urban areas.

Long and Short Essay on Urbanization in English

Here are essays on urbanization of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can select any Urbanization essay as per your need:

Urbanization Essay 1 (200 Words)

Urbanization refers to movement of mankind from rural areas to urban areas and how society adapts the changes. India is facing serious problem of rise in urban population presently. With Urbanization there is increase in social, economic and political progress but on the other hand it also leads to socio-economic problems due to unplanned growth in urban population and lack of infrastructural facilities.

The natural growth in population combined with the growth due to migration puts heavy load on public utilities like housing, water, health, education, transport and other commodities and services.

People from rural areas migrate to urban areas for better employment opportunities, better education, health and medical facilities, commercialization, better standard of living, social status and so on. Modern-day farming involves new technology lessening the need of manpower leading to Urbanization.

There are several problems that upsurge due to Urbanization that need serious attention. Some of the chief problems in India due to Urbanization are overpopulation, poverty, environmental degradation, unemployment, transport, sanitation, pollution and so on.

Planning and investment is required for infrastructural development. Developing clean cities and green cities is essential. Provisions of essential services such as health, education, clean water, food and electricity among the masses should be the goal. Spreading awareness and educating people about family planning and population control should be emphasized.

Urbanization Essay 2 (300 Words)

Introduction

Urbanization is the rise in growth of people living in cities and towns. Urbanization also means the transformation of society whereby rural economy is being transformed to advanced industrial economy. It is highly accepted notion that urban areas as compared to rural areas have achieved better social, economic and political development. People from the rural areas are induced to urban areas to take advantage of its advanced economic and social benefits.

Urbanization in India

Urbanization began to stimulate in India after independence due to rise in the development of the private sector. Population living in urban areas in India according to census 2001 was 28.53%, standing at 31.16% as per census 2011. A survey conducted by UN state of the world population report in 2007, predicts 40.76% population in India is expected to live in urban areas by 2030 and will lead to world’s urban population surge by 2050.

Main causes of Urbanization in India are Industrial revolution, Urbanization for economic development, economic opportunities and infrastructure facilities, development of private sectors, employment opportunities, land fragmentations and better standard of living.

Like every coin has two sides, Urbanization has several positive as well as negative effects. The positive factors of Urbanization are generation of employment opportunities, better and higher education, healthcare and medical facilities, housing, transport, new technology, social integration, electricity and better standard of living. The negative effects of Urbanization are unemployment, overcrowding, global warming, traffic congestions and air pollution, poverty, shortage in supply of water, urban crime, trash disposal issues and so on. With the passing time negative impacts of Urbanization are increasing immensely.

Due to growth in population, industrialization and infrastructural development has become a necessity in rural areas. This will also raise employment opportunities in rural areas. Better education, healthcare, transport, sanitation facilities should be provided in rural areas.

Urbanization Essay 3 (400 Words)

Urbanization is the process in which people leave rural areas and shift to urban areas either due to push or pull factors. Urbanization turns out to have positive effects when happens to the certain extent. The positive effects of the Urbanization include employment to the unemployed, better education, health care and medical facilities, infrastructural development and access to new and advanced technologies. Urbanization is the process of development. However, over Urbanization in cities especially metro cities is resulting in adverse effects.

Positive Effects of Urbanization

Here is a detailed look at the positive effects of Urbanization:

• Efficiency: Urban areas are more efficient in providing resources than rural areas. Basic amenities such as clean water, housing and electricity are easily provided.
• Accessibility: Apart from the basic resources people in urban areas get easy access to health care and medical facilities, higher and better education, transport, entertainment etc.
• Better Employment: People from rural areas often migrate to urban areas in search of better employment opportunities. Due to industrialization and commercialization there are several job and business opportunities available in cities.
• Education: There are more schools, universities and colleges in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Students migrate to urban areas for higher or better education with or without their families. Students can choose from a variety of career options available in cities for their bright future.
• Health care: There are several health care and medical facilities available in urban areas as compared to rural areas.
• Better social amalgamation: Urbanization promotes cultural and social fusion. People of various religions, castes and gender work and socialize together breaking down the norms of social and cultural barriers.

Push and Pull Factors of Urbanization

There are various push factors and pull factors of Urbanization in India. Push factors are the factors due to which people have to leave rural areas and move to urban areas for instance, unemployment, poverty, lack of infrastructure and limited resources. Pull factors are the factors that induced people to move to urban areas e.g. employment opportunities, better education, infrastructure development, commercialization, health and medical care.

Urbanization also means the transformation of society whereby rural culture is being transformed to modern urban culture. It is alteration from traditional rural economies to industrial economies. Urbanization allows the overall urban population to enjoy the fruits of economic and social development. However, due to increase in global warming due to Urbanization serious measures need to be taken for clean and green cities.

Urbanization Essay 4 (500 Words)

The mass movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, i.e., cities and towns is called Urbanization, the process in which population in cities and towns increases. Higher the population, higher is the demand of public utilities like housing, sanitation water, health, education and so on. Urbanization is subjected to range of elements such as urban planning, economics, sociology and health care.

The concept of Urbanization is increase in developing and developed society as people want to move to cities and towns to enjoy the benefits of social and economic development that include better education, health care, housing, better work opportunities and sanitation.

Main Causes of Urbanization

Here are some of the main causes of Urbanization:

• Industrialization
• Commercialization
• Social benefits
• Employment opportunities
• Modernization
• Better Education

Here is a look at these factors in brief:

Industrialization is the concept of moving from agricultural sector to industrial sector. Industrialization creates economic growth and employment opportunities. With industrial revolution in developing and developed countries, more and more people are moving from rural areas to urban areas for better employment opportunities.

Modern-day trade and commerce also result in Urbanization. In modern times, development of marketing institutions and methods of trade have significantly contributed to Urbanization. There are better commercial opportunities and returns in urban areas than in rural areas. As a result, people are tempted to urban areas.

• Social Benefits

There are several social benefits in urban areas compared to rural areas like better education, better health care, transport, sanitation and social status. Better recreational facilities are available such as play grounds, theatres, parks and clubs. Thus, people move to urban areas for enjoying the benefits of modern lifestyle.

• Employment Opportunities

In rural areas people mainly have to depend on agricultural sector for their living whereas in the urban areas there are several employment opportunities in various sectors such as education, health care, transport, banking, media, television and sports to name a few.

Agricultural sector mainly depends on monsoon. In times of natural calamities and drought, people have to migrate to urban areas in search of employment. With modern farming technology manpower needed in farming sector is decreased leading to Urbanization.

Urban areas are characterized by new technology, infrastructural development, better health care and medical facilities, liberalization and better standard of living. This induces people from backward and rural areas to move to urban areas.

The management of administration is also responsible for Urbanization. The government has not maintained the rapidity with city growth in terms of infrastructure management or spatial.

As compared to rural areas there are better education facilities available in urban areas. The schools and colleges providing professional education are all located in urban areas. Thus young girls and boys either alone or with their families shift to urban areas to seek quality education.

Poverty and economic degradation are the major problems rising with Urbanization that need serious attention. Planning and investment in sustainable industries, eco-friendly infrastructure and eco-friendly technology is essential. Encouraging the use of eco-friendly products and technology among the masses is vital. Creating more and more job opportunities and equality will help fight poverty.

Urbanization Essay 5 (600 Words)

Increase in the volume of total population in urban areas is called Urbanization. Rising population in urban areas creates rise in the demand of basic amenities such as food, health, transport and shelter in such areas. This contributes to the development of land for housing, economic support institutions, commercialization, transport and so on.

Problems Due to Urbanization

Given below are the problems that we face due to Urbanization:

• Overcrowding

Overcrowding means over population in the urban areas due to migration. Cities where the population is rising every single day are getting overcrowded. This is the current situation in all the big cities in India. Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi are some of the examples of overcrowded cities.

When the population increases, the demand for housing also increases. The factors that are mainly responsible for the lack of housing facilities are lack of financial resources, poverty and unemployment.

• Unemployment

The chief cause of unemployment is over population in the urban areas due to migration of people from rural locations to these areas. The growth in economic opportunities fails to keep pace with growth in urban population.

The unplanned growth in the urban areas is growing the spread of slums. Rise in slum settlements in India is a striking feature. Urbanization, poverty and overpopulation, has increased the growth of slums as high rate of land and property in urban areas is beyond the reach of rural migrants and urban poor.

Large use of vehicles for transport has increased traffic congestion making the movement slow and difficult.

• Urban Crime

With the rise in urban population there is rise in poverty and unemployment. Due to poverty there is rise in crimes like theft, pick pocketing, cheating and murders.

• Air Pollution

Urbanization is a major cause of air pollution and global warming. Industries release greenhouse gases causing rise in the temperature of the earth and creating air pollution. Larger use of vehicles release gases by fuel combustion. Large amount of garbage from the landfills is burnt causing air pollution.

Water is the most important element of nature to sustain life. Due to overcrowding in the cities the supply of water is falling short compared to the demand.

• Trash Disposal

As the number of citizens grow in urban areas the problem of trash disposal rises. The large quantity of garbage in the cities increases severe health issues. In most of the areas in cities there is no garbage disposal facility. When the landfills get full innumerable poisons leak around its surroundings, inviting diseases, like malaria, diarrhoea, typhoid, etc. Air travel also carries bacteria from one person to another spreading disease even more.

Ways to Keep Urbanization in Check

Here are some ways to keep Urbanization in check:

The chief reason of Urbanization is the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment opportunities. Developing agricultural and rural industries will provide employment opportunities in rural areas.

• Infrastructural Development in Rural Areas

Construction of roads, buildings, hospitals, parks, educational centres, etc. is vital for rural development. This will help rural people get better education and health care locally and also provide more job opportunities. Government should develop transport networks and related infrastructure.

• Overall Development

Industrial and private sector development in rural areas is necessary. The focus of government should be nationwide Urbanization. Planning and investment in Urbanization of rural areas is essential.

• Population Control

Over population is also a chief cause for Urbanization. Educating people about family planning and creating awareness among the rural communities is crucial.

• Global Warming

One of the major problems of Urbanization rapidly rising is global warming. Use of renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, hydropower should be encouraged. Investments in energy efficient industries and technologies will lead to clean economy. Reforestation instead of deforestation should be promoted.

Urbanization is on a rapid increase in our country. While it is good that our country is progressing and that more and more people want to lead a modern life, get better education and good employment opportunities, Urbanization can have negative repercussions as well. It is thus essential to control Urbanization.

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Human Geography: Urbanization Essay

Urbanization refers to the development of urban areas. It involves population growth as well as physical development in such areas. Many global south countries like India, Brazil and Nigeria have high rates of urbanization than northern countries like England, Canada and Japan.

This can be attributed to the natural increase in population of these areas through birth or migration of people from rural areas to urban areas. Most of these countries are developing countries. They have potential for industrialization and people migrate from rural areas to urban areas to offer labor to the growing industries.

There is also rapid development of rural areas in these areas that transforms them into urban centers. On the other hand, in developed countries, there is little migration to urban areas due to decentralization of the countries’ economies. This gives the rural people favorable conditions to stay there. There is also reduced natural population increase through birth than in most of the southern countries.

People move to cities for various reasons. Cities provide employment opportunities to people because of the growth of industries that takes place in them. Most cities also offer people better social facilities and services like entertainment and health care. There are also better economic and market opportunities in cities than can be found in most rural areas of most countries.

People therefore migrate to cities so as to come closer to these opportunities and exploit them for improving their economic status and living standards (Knox, Marston & Nash, 2007). Most rural family farms also produce hardly enough to support their family members with the required food and other basic needs. As a result, some members of such families move to cities and work hard to earn extra income which they send back home to support the needs of their family members.

Most of the rural population in most countries depends on agricultural production in order to survive. Therefore, the importation of similar low priced food materials as those produced in these countries lead to general reduction in the crops’ prices. This leads to low benefit for the farmers. Such farmers in most cases abandon their farms and move to urban areas where they look for jobs mostly in the industrial areas. Population increase in rural areas is another factor that leads to rural- urban migrations.

Increasing population in most cities of the world comes with many problems associated with settlement, infrastructure, environmental issues and service delivery. The urban poor stay in slums where there are poor infrastructure especially housing and other associated services like electricity, running water, sewage system, and roads. To make these cities livable, some of these situations and services have to be improved. The cities of the world should address issues of urban planning, urban development and urban governance.

If these three aspects are well addressed in the cities, then they will be comfortable places to stay in. Urban planning should involve proper laying out of water distribution patterns and networks in the cities, planning sanitation systems and methods of waste management, transport network as well as health systems. Each city should also develop urban development strategies that adequately address the circumstances surrounding its regions.

Urban governance is also important as it directs the way the city is administered and directs the service delivery within the city. The city governance is responsible for urban development and planning and ensures that the residents live in a sound environment by providing them with essential services like rubbish collection and disposal. The city governance should be able to transform the city slums into legitimate residential areas and improve the living standards of its urban poor.

There is lack of food security in most countries of the world. Despite enough production of foodstuffs in many parts of the world, still there are high levels of food insecurity even in countries that produce more than they need. According to UN’s FAO and USDA, a country is food secure when all its citizens have physical and economic access to enough, safe and nutritious food at all times to meet their needs and provide them with a healthy life.

Through this, we understand that in order for a country or a region to be food secure, there must be enough quantity of food, high quality of food, food access for all people and food use by the people. Over 920 million in the world are starving while a good percentage of people in some countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Australia are facing obesity epidemics.

Various stakeholders in food issues react differently and contribute to this problem either positively or negatively. These stakeholders include food producers, markets and trade unions and blocks, governments, non-governmental organizations, various policy makers and food users.

Food producers ensure that there is enough production of food to feed the population of a country and there is surplus for export. Agricultural mechanization in many countries has made it possible to produce large volumes of food substances with little labor requirements. However, cheap foreign imports of food lead to low prices of food products in the local markets making farmers in some countries to put their land to other uses like cash crop production.

This leads to reduction in local production, which can lead to high levels of starvation in these countries. The low farm produce prices discourage some people; consequently, they abandon their farms and move to urban areas to look for other jobs. Even though this is the case, there is generally high food production in the world enough to feed its population.

Individual consumers also play an important role in this scenario. The economic status of individuals determines whether they access food when it is available. Those individuals with enough money are able to buy food in the quantity and quality they desire while those who are limited financially are unable to buy what they need and end up depending on relief food. The high prices of food in some regions of the world make most of the people to starve.

Most of the people in developed countries like in US, UK, Canada and Australia are well endowed financially and get access to food in high quantities. Their high consumption rate leads to many cases of obesity. High rates of food wastage by individuals also contribute to food scarcity, which in the end lead to starvation of some people.

Individual countries’ governments also play an important role in distributing food to their citizens. They also set important policies that govern imports and exports of food. Importation of low price food commodities may lead to reduction of local food production. The governments are also responsible for food distribution to its citizens. If there is poor food distribution, then there is a likelihood of increased starvation in the country.

The governments also offer services of educating its people on the appropriate use of food so as to avoid wastage and disorders associated with food misuse. Various Non-governmental organizations and international organizations such as the UN, FAO, World Bank, and WHO also help in educating people on appropriate food use as well as aiding in their distribution to the needy. In addition, they give financial assistance to other organizations to distribute food to people.

In conclusion, people generally move to urban centers where they seek for better living conditions and increased economic and social gain. This migration may constrain the infrastructure and facilities available in the towns. The migration also deprives the rural areas of farm labor, which is important for food production. Low food productivity and distribution to all parts of the world lead to starvation of a number of people. Food wastage and misuse also aggravates this problem and creates other problems such as the rising cases of obesity in the world.

Reference List

Knox, P. L., Marston, S. A. & Nash, A. E. (2007). Human Geography: places and regions in global context . Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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• Chicago (N-B)

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Essay on Urbanization Boon Or Bane

Students are often asked to write an essay on Urbanization Boon Or Bane in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Urbanization Boon Or Bane

What is urbanization.

Urbanization means more people living in cities than in rural areas. It happens because people think cities offer better jobs, education, and healthcare. This movement can make cities very crowded.

Good Sides of Urbanization

Cities can make life easier. People find more jobs, schools, and hospitals. Public transport means less need for cars, which is good for our planet.

Problems with Urbanization

But, cities can get too crowded. This leads to traffic jams, pollution, and not enough houses. Sometimes, it’s also harder for everyone to get good jobs or go to good schools.

Urbanization: Good or Bad?

So, is urbanization good or bad? It brings opportunities but also challenges. Making cities better places for everyone is important.

250 Words Essay on Urbanization Boon Or Bane

Urbanization: boon or bane.

Urbanization is the process of people moving from rural areas to cities. It has been happening for centuries, and it is accelerating in many parts of the world today.

Pros of Urbanization

There are many benefits to urbanization. Cities offer more opportunities for jobs, education, and healthcare. They also have a wider range of cultural and entertainment options. Urbanization can also lead to economic growth and innovation.

Cons of Urbanization

However, urbanization also has some drawbacks. Cities can be more expensive to live in than rural areas. They can also be more crowded, polluted, and noisy. Urbanization can also lead to social problems, such as crime, poverty, and inequality.

So, is urbanization a boon or a bane? The answer is not simple. Urbanization has both positive and negative effects. It is important to weigh the pros and cons carefully before making a decision about whether or not to move to a city.

500 Words Essay on Urbanization Boon Or Bane

Urbanization: a mixed bag of blessings and challenges.

Urbanization is the process by which people move from rural areas to cities and towns. It is a global trend that has been happening for centuries, and it is continuing today at a rapid pace.

The Boons of Urbanization

There are many benefits to urbanization. Cities offer more opportunities for jobs, education, and healthcare than rural areas. They also have more cultural and recreational activities. As a result, people who move to cities often find that their quality of life improves.

In addition, cities are often more efficient than rural areas. They can provide services such as water and electricity to more people with less money. They can also reduce pollution by using public transportation and other green technologies.

The Banes of Urbanization

However, urbanization also has some negative consequences. One of the biggest problems is that cities are often crowded and noisy. This can make it difficult to find affordable housing and can lead to health problems such as stress and anxiety. Cities are also often more polluted than rural areas, which can lead to respiratory problems and other health issues.

Another problem with urbanization is that it can lead to the loss of farmland. As cities expand, they often take over land that was once used for agriculture. This can make it more difficult to produce food and can lead to higher food prices.

Urbanization is a complex phenomenon with both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, cities offer more opportunities and a higher quality of life for many people. On the other hand, they can also be crowded, noisy, and polluted. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to move to a city is a personal one that depends on each individual’s needs and preferences.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Urban Development
• Essay on Unity And Diversity
• Essay on Unhealthy Food

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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