What is urbanization one might
ask? Urbanization refers to the concentration of human populations into
discrete areas, leading to transformation of land for residential, commercial; industrial
and transportation purposes. The word
urbanization is becoming more like a word associated with a city. Urbanization
is when populations of people grow; the population of a play may become too big
and spill over from cities to nearby areas. “Urbanization in America saw the emergence
of many new towns and cities which became even larger as more and more people, attracted
by employment possibilities, begin living and working in towns and cities”
What are the factors of
urbanization? One factor of urbanization
is population growth which contains three components natural growth of urban population,
rural urban migration and the reclassification of areas that are considered
rural. Natural increase provides a base for urban population growth rates and
rural urban migration reclassification supplement this growth. Another factor is poverty is another factor;
in this case the needs of humanity are not being met. Poverty is happening everywhere both in
developed and developing countries. These individuals do not have the money to
take care of their basic needs such as their physical self, their diet,
housing, water and sanitation.
Why do we care? “Urbanization
has the potential to usher in a new era of well-being, resources efficiency and
economic growth.” We care because urban developments have increased
dramatically in recent decades, and this increase is projected to continue. The
United States developed land is projected to increase from 5.2% to 9.2% of the
total land base within the next 25 years. On a national scale, urbanization
affects relatively little land cover, but it has a significant ecological
footprint. This means that even small amounts of urban development can have
large effects on stream ecosystems. Another reason we care is because cities
generate economic growth and cultural development and can offer many benefits
to the citizens. Cities economic growth is rapidly higher than rural areas. Urban
growth has the opportunity to connect more people to water and electricity,
making the citizens healthier and therefore more productive. If urbanization is
poorly managed will only add on to existing challenges, risks can include fast
spreading diseases, gang violence and possible terrorism.
Where is urbanization happening
in the world today?
More than one half of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and
virtually all countries of the world are becoming increasingly urbanized.
Urbanization is a global phenomenon that has nonetheless very different
expressions across regions and development levels. This includes wealthier
countries and those of Latin America and the Caribbean they have already a
large proportion of their population residing in urban areas. Whereas countries
such as, Africa and Asia are still mostly rural, they will urbanize faster than
other regions over the coming decades. These trends are changing the landscape
of human settlement, with significant implications for living conditions, the
environment and development in different parts of the world. Daniel Rundue
contributor to the Forbes article Urbanization
Will Change the (Developing) World states that “96 percent of all
urbanization by 2030 will occur in the developing world.” With everyone looking to urbanize and move to
the surrounding cities we need to consider a few things. The major issue rising
concerns is do these areas have enough food, water and energy consumption to
support the capacity or soon to be capacity of the cities.
No comments:
Post a Comment