Urbanization and its problems

Urbanization is pervasive and recent phenomenon. In present global atmosphere, all nations undergo with the challenges of environment, social, transportation, economy in their respective cities. These issues are commonly occurred in developing countries due to the difference of development in cities and villages (Latif Fauzi, 2007). Most of countries focus on development of cities instead of rural areas. Consequently, the urban areas are equipped with infrastructure, public facilities as well as provide employment opportunities compared to the rural areas. Therefore inhabitants are more attracted to migrate in cities to avail hi tech facilities, enhance their lifestyles and ultimately these activities raise numerous urbanization issues. Cities have major role to enhance economic growth and prosperity. The sustainable development of cities largely depends upon their physical, social and institutional infrastructure. An urban area is spatial concentration of people who are working in non-agricultural activities. The essential characteristic is that urban means non-agricultural. Urban can also be explained as a fairly multifaceted concept. Criteria used to define urban can include population size, space, density, and economic organization. Typically, urban is simply defined by some base line size, like 20 000 people (Long 1998). Buy These Notes in PDF Format Concept of urbanization: The term Urbanization is well explained by Nsiah-Gyabaah as the change from a rural to an urban society which involves an augment in the number of people in urban regions during a particular year. Likewise, Gooden argued urbanization as the immigration of people in huge numbers from rural to urban areas and this process happen due to the concentration of resources and facilities in towns and cities. Other theorists like, Reynolds (1989) characterized urbanization as the development of the population and cities, so that higher proportion of population lives in urban areas. Normally, urbanization is directly associated with innovation, industrialization, and the sociological process of good reason. Urbanization process had been started during the industrial revolution, when workforce moved towards manufacturing hubs in cities to get jobs in factories as agricultural jobs became less common. Theoretical studies have demonstrated that Urbanization is the result of social, economic and political developments that lead to urban concentration and expansion of big cities, changes in land use and revolution from rural to urban pattern of organization and governance. Urbanization is a process in which an increased proportion of society lives in cities and the suburbs of the cities. Historically, it has been strongly related with industrialization. Industrialization is processes that widely utilize inanimate sources of energy to improve human productivity. Global urban population is growing at rapid rate from 17% in 1951 to 20% in 2001 and expected to increase 41% in 2020. It is observed that developing countries urbanize faster than industrialized nations because they have more issues of urbanizations. It has been documented in studies that Cities and towns operate as mechanisms for growth, often driving much of people's cultural, intellectual, educational and technological accomplishment and modernization. Though, in contemporary living style of people of new, low-density approaches to urban development results in better consumption of energy, resources, transport and land, in this manner raising greenhouse gas emissions and air and noise pollution to levels that often surpass the legal or suggested human protection limits. Overall consumption, energy use, water use and waste generation go along with an increasing number of urban families. Urban environmental management, is also the big business of local governments, play major role to offer services; civil society, and promotes citizens health and its rights to provide hygienic, liveable environment. The private sector can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. Currently, cities are taking on roles that expand far beyond the conventional provision of infrastructure and services. A theoretical move may be perceived (European Environment Agency, 1996). The most remarkable immediate change accompanying urbanization is the fast change in the existing character of local livelihoods as agriculture or more traditional local services and small-scale industry give way to contemporary industry and urban and related commerce, with the city drawing on the resources of an ever-widening area for its own nourishment and goods to be traded or processed into manufactures (Dear, 2000). When referring to the pre-industrial city, Wheatley (Wheatley, 1971) described urbanism as "that particular set of functionally integrated institutions which were first devised some 5, 000 years ago to mediate the transformation of relatively egalitarian, inscriptive, kin-structured groups into socially stratified politically organized, territorially based societies". The stress on institutional change relates the growth of cities to a major socio-political reorganization of society, which he considers as a main constituent in the development of society. Correspondingly, Childe offers a listing of ten characteristics of an urban civilization. These may be separated into five primary characteristics referring to primary changes in the organization of society and five secondary features indicative of the presence of the primary factors (Childe, 1951). Table: Childe's ten characteristics of an urban civilization (Source: Pacione, 2004) Urban Civilization Major causes of urbanization: Following are the main causes of urbanization: Industrial revolution: Industrial employment catches the attention of people from rural to urban areas. In the urban areas, people work in modern sector in the occupations that assist national economic development. This represents that the old agricultural economics is changing to a new non-agricultural economy. This is the trend, which will build a new modern society (Gugler 1997). Emergence of large manufacturing centres. Job opportunities: There are ample job opportunities in mega cities therefore village people or individuals from town frequently migrate to these areas. Availability of transportation: Due to easy transport, people prefer to stay in big cities. Migration: Migration is main cause for rapid growth of mega-cities. Migration has been going on over centuries and it is normal phenomenon. When considering urbanization rural-urban and urban-rural and rural-rural migrations are very important. Urban-urban migration means that people move from one city to another. People may move to the city because they are forced by poverty from rural community or they may be pulled by the magnetism of city lives. Combination of these push and pull factors can force people to migrate to cities (Gugler 1997). . Infrastructure facilities in the urban areas: Infrastructure has vital role in the process of urbanization in the development of countries. As agriculture becomes more fruitful, cities grow by absorbing workforce from rural areas. Industry and services increase and generate higher value-added jobs, and this led to economic growth. The geographic concentration of productive activities in cities creates agglomeration economies, which further raises productivity and growth. The augments income and demand for agricultural products in cities. Growth of private sector. Factors lead to urbanization: There are several aspects that lead to urbanization. According to Gooden (u. d. ), the factors can be categorized into three categories that include, economic opportunities, proper infrastructure and utilities and availability of public facilities. Economic opportunities: It is general perception that living standard of urban area is superior as compared to village areas. People consider that more job opportunities and more jobs are offered in the city instead of rural area. Besides, the income also will be higher.