|
Sponsored Links
Urbanization (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of rural or natural land into urban areas as a result of population in-migration to an existing urban area. Effects include change in density and administration services. While the exact definition and population size of urbanized areas varies among different countries, urbanization is attributed to growth of cities.[2] Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration. The UN projects half the world population will live in urban areas at the end of 2008.[3] More and more people leave villages and farms and move to cities. When cities grow rapidly, like Chicago in the late 18th century or Shanghai a century later, the movement of people from rural communities into cities is considered to be the main cause. This kind of growth is especially commonplace in developing countries. The rapid urbanization of the world’s population over the twentieth century is described in the 2005 Revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects report. The global proportion of urban population rose dramatically from 13% (220 million) in 1900, to 29% (732 million) in 1950, to 49% (3.2 billion) in 2005. The same report projected that the figure is likely to rise to 60% (4.9 billion) by 2030.[4]. According to the UN-HABITAT 2008 Annual Report, sometime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide will be living in towns or cities, for the first time in history; this is referred to as the arrival of the "Urban Millennium". In regard to future trends, it is estimated 93% of urban growth will occur in Asia and Africa, and to a lesser extent in Latin America and the Caribbean. By 2050 over 6 billion people, two thirds of humanity, will be living in towns and cities.
|
Urbanization Subcategories
Urbanization Articles
|
| 
