Lalalalala

URBANIZATION – IMPACTS
1. THE CONCEPT OF URBANIZATION Urbanization refers to general increase in population and the amount of industrialization of a settlement. It includes increase in the number and extent of cities. It symbolizes the movement of people from rural to urban areas.

Urbanization happens because of the increase in the extent and density of urban areas. The density of populationin urban areas increases because of the migration of people from less industrialized regions to more industrialized areas.

Urban sprawl The concept “Urban Sprawl” means increase in spatial scale or increase in the peripheral area of cities. “Urban Sprawl” has its own drawbacks. • The city and its infrastructure may not be adequately planned. • Traffic is high with increased time needed forcommuting. • Essential services are not reachable within time. • City administration becomes extremely difficult. An excellent example of urban sprawl within our country is that of the city of Bangalore. After the establishment of IT industry in Bangalore, the population exploded from 24,76,355 in 1980 to 42,92,223 in 2001 with influx of 18 lakh immigrants within two decades. The growing populationhas increased pressure on several resources including civic amenities, residential availability, cost of living, local infrastructure, transport, traffic and administration. Bangalore has lost many if its water bodies (lakes) and consequently the fragile ecosystem has been disturbed due to the ever-increasing need for space, to cater to residences and business establishments.

2. HISTORY OFURBANIZATION The beginning of urbanization can be traced back to Renaissance times in 16th century. Turkish assaults resulted in movement of Christians from the east to western European countries. As a result, trade grew and European cities along the coasts developed greatly. A further boost for urbanization was created with the arrival of the “Industrial Revolution”. Populations of cities in Europe andUSA started to increase significantly in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, urbanization started in Asia only in the first half of the 20th century and in the second half of the 20th century in Africa, when the countries obtained independence from colonial rule.

An example for a dramatic increase in extent and population of cities is Chicago in USA. The population increased from 15 peopleto about 20 million, within a span of 78 years.

. This photograph shows the 15 European settlers settling in Chicago in 1820

This photograph is a birds-eye-view of urbanized Chicago in 1854

This is a view of the business district in 1898.

3. URBANIZATION IN THE WORLD TODAY 1950 30% 53% 17% 1990 51% 74% 34%

World MEDCs LEDCs

This table presents the increase in urbanization in theWorld. MEDC refers to Most Economically Developed Countries and LEDC to Least Economically Developed Countries.

Today as compared to Asian and African countries, countries such as USA and UK have a higher urbanization level. Economic forces helped to locate factories and workers in cities. In USA 5% of the population lived in cities in 1800. By 1920 50% of the population lived in cities. Incomparison only 17.8% of population of Third world societies lived in cities in 1950. But by 2000, the percentage had increased to 40%. By 2030, the percentage is predicted to increase to 60%.

Australia is the most urbanized country in the world. Both the rate and level of urbanization in Australia are high. 2. CAUSES OF URBANIZATION

Urbanization usually occurs when people move from villagesto cities to settle, in hope of a higher standard of living. This usually takes place in developing countries. In rural areas, people become victims of unpredictable weather conditions such as drought and floods, which can adversely affect their livelihood. Consequently many farmers move to cities in search of a better life. This can be seen in Karnataka as well where farmers from Raichur,...