ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING

December 23,
2016

Urbanization: causes and impacts

Urbanization
It is the growth of cities, brought about by a population shift from rural areas and
small communities to large ones, and the change from a largely agricultural economy
to an industrial one.
Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual
increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas", and the ways in which
each society adapts to the change. It is predominantly the process by which towns
and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in
central areas. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would
live in urban areas at the end of 2008. It is predicted that by 2050 about 64% of
the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized. That is
equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in
Africa and Asia.
Notably, the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global
population growth from 2016 to 2030 will be absorbed by cities, about 1.1 billion new
urbanites over the next 14 years. This results in the development of cities and towns
on formerly agricultural or natural lands.
This imbalanced development between the urban and rural areas is believed to
cause such issues and problems. Most countries have tendency to develop the city
as the centre of government and business, rather than developing rural areas. As a
result, the urban areas are equipped with infrastructure, public facilities as well as
offered more job opportunities compared to the rural areas. This situation has
attracted more people from rural areas to migrate and live in the city in order to get a
job to improve their lives and eventually leads to many urbanization issues.

MAZHAR YASIN

December 23,
2016

ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING

History of Urbanization
Through most of history, the human population has lived a rural lifestyle,
dependent on agriculture and hunting for survival.
In 1800, only 3 percent of the world's population lived in urban areas.
By 1900, almost 14 percent were urbanites, although only 12 cities had 1
million or more inhabitants.
In 1950, 30 percent of the world's population resided in urban centers. The
number of cities with over 1 million people had grown to 83.
The world has experienced unprecedented urban growth in recent decades.
In May 2007 for the first time in history over 50% of the world's population
lived in urban areas.
More developed nations are about 76 percent urban, while 40 percent of
residents of less developed countries live in urban areas.
It is expected that 60 percent of the world population will be urban by 2030,
and that most urban growth will occur in less developed countries
In Pakistan, urban population: 38.8% of total population (2015)
In Pakistan, rate of urbanization: 2.81% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Causes of Urbanization
There are several aspects which are believed to be the factors that lead to
urbanization.
Causes

Impacts
Socio-Economic

Environmental

Benefits of Urbanization
Improvement in economy
Growth of commercial activities
MAZHAR YASIN

December 23,
2016

ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING

Social & cultural integration

Efficient services
Resources of utilization

Adverse effects of Urbanization

There is increasing competition for facilities due to the high standard of living in
urban areas, which has triggered several negative effects:
Slums and its consequences of overcrowding.
Lack of sanitation,
Poverty,
Illiteracy,
Unemployment and
Crime is the worst impact of urbanization.
Global warming, air, pollution, water scarcity and pollution
Loss of forest cover, agricultural land and depletion of wildlife as a result of
urban sprawl, pose serious threats to the environment.

CONCLUSION
The challenge facing the world today is to Minimize the negative effects and build the
benefits.
Infrastructure needs to be improved.
Opportunities should be created within rural areas to prevent migration to
cities

MAZHAR YASIN