View source for Urbanization

{{short description|Process of population movement to cities}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2013}}
[[File:CityPop PercUrban-2018.png|alt=Global urbanization map|thumb|upright=1.35|Global urbanization map showing the percentage of urbanization and the biggest global population centres per country in 2018, based on UN estimates.]]
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| image1            = Guangzhou dusk panorama.jpg
| caption1          = [[Guangzhou]], a city of 14.5 million people, is one of the 8 adjacent metropolises located in the largest single agglomeration on Earth, ringing the [[Pearl River Delta]] of China.
| image2            = Mumbai skyline.jpg
| caption2          = [[Mumbai]] is the [[List of most populous cities in India|most populous city in India]], and the eighth [[List of cities proper by population|most populous city in the world]], with a total [[metropolitan area]] population of approximately 18.5&nbsp;million and with the smallest area under the metropolitan of comparable cities in the world.
| image3            = Business Centre of Moscow 2.jpg
| caption3          = [[Moscow]], the capital and [[List of cities and towns in Russia by population|largest city]] of [[Russia]], is the [[List of metropolitan areas in Europe|largest metropolitan area]] in [[Europe]]; with over 20 million residents in its [[Moscow metropolitan area|metropolitan area]].
| image4            = Ho Chi Minh City Skyline (night).jpg
| caption4          = [[Ho Chi Minh City]] is the largest city in Vietnam with a population in the [[Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area|Ho Chi Minh metropolitan area]] of over 21.2 million people.
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'''Urbanization''' (or '''urbanisation''' in [[British English]]) is the population shift from [[Rural area|rural]] to [[urban area]]s, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also mean population growth in urban areas instead of rural ones.<ref>{{cite web|title=Urbanization|url=https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/#/record/ui?name=Urbanization|website=MeSH browser|publisher=National Library of Medicine|quote=The process whereby a society changes from a rural to an urban way of life. It refers also to the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.|access-date=5 November 2014|archive-date=16 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316100546/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2014/MB_cgi?term=Urbanization|url-status=live}}</ref> It is predominantly the process by which [[town]]s and [[City|cities]] are formed and become larger as more people begin to live and work in central areas.<ref>{{cite web|title=Urbanization in|url=http://demographicpartitions.org/urbanization-2013/|website=demographic partitions|access-date=8 July 2015|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022011821/http://demographicpartitions.org/urbanization-2013/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although the two concepts are sometimes used interchangeably, urbanization should be distinguished from [[Urban sprawl|urban growth]]. Urbanization refers to the ''proportion'' of the total national population living in areas classified as urban, whereas urban growth strictly refers to the ''absolute'' number of people living in those areas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Urbanisation, rural-urban migration and urban poverty|last=Tacoli|first=Cecilia|date=2015|publisher=International Institute for Environment and Development|others=McGranahan, Gordon, Satterthwaite, David|isbn=978-1-78431-137-7|location=London|oclc=942419887}}</ref> It is predicted that by 2050, about 64% of the [[developing world]] and 86% of the [[developed world]] will be urbanized. This is predicted to generate artificial scarcities of land, lack of drinking water, playgrounds and other essential resources for most urban dwellers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21564998-cities-are-turning-vast-data-factories-open-air-computers |title=Urban life: Open-air computers |newspaper=The Economist |date=27 October 2012 |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905002945/https://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21564998-cities-are-turning-vast-data-factories-open-air-computers |url-status=live }}</ref> The predicted urban population growth is equivalent to approximately 3 billion urbanites by 2050, much of which will occur in [[Africa]] and [[Asia]].<ref name="unfpa.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/urbanization|title=Urbanization|work=UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund|access-date=11 May 2015|archive-date=26 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526235019/https://www.unfpa.org/urbanization|url-status=live}}</ref> Notably, the United Nations has also recently projected that nearly all global population growth from 2017 to 2030 will take place in cities, with about 1.1 billion new urbanites over the next 10 years.<ref>{{cite news| title = Urbanization, City Growth, and the New United Nations Development Agenda| author = Barney Cohen| publisher = Cornerstone, The Official Journal of the World Coal Industry| volume = 3| issue = 2| pages = 4–7| date = 2015| url = http://cornerstonemag.net/urbanization-city-growth/| access-date = 26 June 2015| archive-date = 27 June 2015| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150627045821/http://cornerstonemag.net/urbanization-city-growth/}}</ref> In the long term, urbanization is expected to significantly impact the quality of life in negative ways.<ref name="Dutt Noble Venugopal Subbiah 2006 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Dutt | first1=A.K. | last2=Noble | first2=A.G. | last3=Venugopal | first3=G. | last4=Subbiah | first4=S. | title=Challenges to Asian Urbanization in the 21st Century | publisher=Springer Netherlands | series=GeoJournal Library | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-4020-2531-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sezdBgAAQBAJ | access-date=2023-03-22 | page=}}</ref><ref name="Sridhar Mavrotas 2021 p. ">{{cite book | last1=Sridhar | first1=K.S. | last2=Mavrotas | first2=G. | title=Urbanization in the Global South: Perspectives and Challenges | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-000-42636-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wE85EAAAQBAJ | access-date=2023-03-22 | page=}}</ref>

Urbanization is relevant to a range of disciplines, including [[urban planning]], [[geography]], [[sociology]], [[architecture]], [[economics]], [[education]], [[statistics]], and [[public health]]. The phenomenon has been closely linked to [[globalization]], [[modernization]], [[industrialization]], [[marketization]], [[Institution|administrative/institutional power]], and the [[Sociology|sociological]] process of [[rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schroeder |first1=Ralph |title=The Oxford Handbook of Max Weber |date=2020 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-067954-5 |pages=150–166 |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34236/chapter-abstract/290271822 |chapter=Weberian Social Theory: Rationalization in a Globalized World |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190679545.013.9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gries |first1=T. |last2=Grundmann |first2=R. |year=2018 |title=Fertility and modernization: the role of urbanization in developing countries |journal=[[Journal of International Development]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=493–506 |doi=10.1002/jid.3104}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gu |first1=Chaolin |title=Urbanization: Processes and driving forces |journal=[[Science China Earth Sciences]] |date=2019 |volume=62 |issue=9 |pages=1351–1360 |doi=10.1007/s11430-018-9359-y |bibcode=2019ScChD..62.1351G |doi-access=free}}</ref> Urbanization can be seen as a specific condition at a set time (e.g. the proportion of total population or area in cities or towns), or as an increase in that condition over time. Therefore, urbanization can be quantified either in terms of the level of urban development relative to the overall population, or as the [[Rate (mathematics)|rate]] at which the urban proportion of the population is increasing. Urbanization creates enormous social, economic and environmental challenges, which provide an opportunity for [[sustainability]] with the "potential to use resources much less or more efficiently, to create more sustainable land use and to protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems." However, current urbanization trends have shown that massive urbanization has led to unsustainable ways of living.<ref name="unfpa.org"/> Developing [[urban resilience]] and [[Sustainable urbanism|urban sustainability]] in the face of increased urbanization is at the centre of international policy in [[Sustainable Development Goal 11]] "Sustainable cities and communities."

Urbanization is not merely a modern phenomenon, but a rapid and historic transformation of human [[Social network|social roots]] on a global scale, whereby predominantly [[rural culture]] is being rapidly replaced by predominantly [[urban culture]]. The first major change in settlement patterns was the accumulation of [[hunter-gatherers]] into villages many thousands of years ago. Village culture is characterized by common bloodlines, intimate relationships, and communal behaviour, whereas urban culture is characterized by distant bloodlines, unfamiliar relations, and competitive behaviour. This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades, mushrooming cities to sizes unthinkable only a century ago. As a result, the world urban population growth curve has up till recently followed a quadratic-hyperbolic pattern.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/22215616/Introduction_to_Social_Macrodynamics_Secular_Cycles_and_Millennial_Trends ''Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Secular Cycles and Millennial Trends.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918112553/http://www.academia.edu/22215616/Introduction_to_Social_Macrodynamics_Secular_Cycles_and_Millennial_Trends |date=18 September 2018 }} Moscow: URSS, 2006; Korotayev A. [https://www.academia.edu/17729205/The_World_System_urbanization_dynamics_a_quantitative_analysis The World System urbanization dynamics. ''History & Mathematics: Historical Dynamics and Development of Complex Societies''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229135115/https://www.academia.edu/17729205/The_World_System_urbanization_dynamics_a_quantitative_analysis |date=29 February 2020 }}. Edited by [[Peter Turchin]], [[Leonid Grinin]], Andrey Korotayev, and Victor C. de Munck. Moscow: KomKniga, 2006. [https://www.academia.edu/17729205/The_World_System_urbanization_dynamics_a_quantitative_analysis The World System urbanization dynamics. ''History & Mathematics: Historical Dynamics and Development of Complex Societies''] . Edited by [[Peter Turchin]], [[Leonid Grinin]], Andrey Korotayev, and Victor C. de Munck. Moscow: KomKniga, 2006. {{ISBN|5-484-01002-0}}. P. 44-62</ref>

==History==
[[File:Urbanization over the past 500 years (Historical sources and UN (1500 to 2016)), OWID.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Urbanization over the past 500 years<ref>{{cite web |title=Urbanization over the past 500 years |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/urbanization-last-500-years |website=Our World in Data |access-date=6 March 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314182748/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/urbanization-last-500-years |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
[[File:ArchaeoGLOBE URBAN.gif|thumb|upright=1.35|A global map illustrating the first onset and spread of urban centres around the world, based on.<ref name="Stephens 897–902"/>]]
From the development of the earliest cities in [[Indus valley civilization]], [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] until the 18th century, an equilibrium existed between the vast majority of the population who were engaged in [[subsistence agriculture]] in a rural context, and small centres of populations in the towns where economic activity consisted only of trade at [[Market (place)|market]]s and manufactures on a small scale. Due to the primitive and relatively stagnant state of agriculture throughout this period, the ratio of rural to urban population remained at a fixed equilibrium. However, a significant increase in the percentage of the global urban population can be traced in the 1st millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Andrey Korotayev |author2=Leonid Grini |name-list-style=and |year=2006 |chapter=The Urbanization and Political Development of the World System: A comparative quantitative analysis |pages=115–153 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/26447633 |editor1=Peter Turchin |editor2=Leonid Grinin |editor3=Victor C. de Munck |editor4=Andrey Korotayev |title=History & Mathematics: Historical Dynamics and Development of Complex Societies |volume=2 |access-date=23 June 2016 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816052605/https://www.academia.edu/26447633 |url-status=live }}</ref>

With the onset of the [[British Agricultural Revolution]] and [[Industrial Revolution]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Industrial Revolution {{!}} Definition, History, Dates, Summary, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031203246/https://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution|url-status=live}}</ref> in the late 18th century, this relationship was finally broken and an unprecedented growth in urban population took place over the course of the 19th century, both through continued migration from the countryside and due to the tremendous [[Demographic transition|demographic expansion]] that occurred at that time. In [[England]] and [[Wales]], the proportion of the population living in cities with more than 20,000 people jumped from 17% in 1801 to 54% in 1891. Moreover, and adopting a broader definition of urbanization, while the urbanized population in England and Wales represented 72% of the total in 1891, for other countries the figure was 37% in [[France]], 41% in [[Prussia]] and 28% in the [[United States]].<ref name="urbanization">{{Cite conference |title=Trends in urbanisation |year=1993|author=Christopher Watson|editor1=K.B. Wildey |editor2=Wm H. Robinson |conference=Proceedings of the First International Conference on Urban Pests |citeseerx=10.1.1.522.7409}}</ref>

As labourers were freed up from working the land due to higher [[agricultural productivity]] they converged on the new [[industrial cities]] like [[Manchester]] and [[Birmingham]] which were experiencing a boom in commerce, trade, and industry. Growing trade around the world also allowed cereals to be imported from [[North America]] and [[Dunedin (ship)|refrigerated meat]] from [[Australasia]] and [[South America]]. Spatially, [[urban sprawl|cities also expanded]] due to the development of [[public transport|public transport systems]], which facilitated commutes of longer distances to the [[city centre]] for the [[working class]].

Urbanization rapidly spread across the [[Western world]] and, since the 1950s, it has begun to take hold in the [[developing world]] as well. At the turn of the 20th century, just 15% of the world population lived in cities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Annez |first1=Patricia Clarke |last2=Buckley |first2=Robert M. |chapter=Urbanization and Growth: Setting the Context |chapter-url=http://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/finklerm/chapter1urban.pdf |title=Urbanization and Growth |editor1-last=Spence |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Annez |editor2-first=Patricia Clarke |editor3-last=Buckley |editor3-first=Robert M. |isbn=978-0-8213-7573-0|year=2009 |publisher=Commission on Growth and Development |access-date=9 November 2013 |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525012907/http://www2.lawrence.edu/fast/finklerm/chapter1urban.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations|UN]], the year 2007 witnessed the turning point when more than 50% of the world population were living in cities, for the first time in [[human history]].<ref name="urbanization"/>

[[Yale University]] in June 2016 published urbanization data from the time period 3700 BC to 2000 AD, the data was used to make a [[video]] showing the development of cities on the [[world]] during the time period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reba |first1=Meredith |last2=Reitsma |first2=Femke |last3=Seto |first3=Karen C. |author3-link=Karen Seto |date=2016-06-07 |title=Spatializing 6,000 years of global urbanization from 3700 BC to AD 2000 |journal=Scientific Data |volume=3 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2016.34 |issn=2052-4463 |pmc=4896125 |pmid=27271481 |article-number=160034 |bibcode=2016NatSD...360034R}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.urban.yale.edu/data|title=Research Data–Seto Lab |website=urban.yale.edu |access-date=2016-07-09 |archive-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518122843/https://urban.yale.edu/data |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKJYXujJ7sU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/yKJYXujJ7sU |archive-date=2021-10-30 |title=The History of Urbanization, 3700 BC – 2000 AD |website=YouTube |date=15 June 2016 |access-date=2018-09-24}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The origins and spread of urban centres around the world were also mapped by [[archaeologists]].<ref name="Stephens 897–902">{{Cite journal |last1=Stephens |first1=Lucas |last2=Fuller |first2=Dorian |last3=Boivin |first3=Nicole |last4=Rick |first4=Torben |last5=Gauthier |first5=Nicolas |last6=Kay|first6=Andrea |last7=Marwick |first7=Ben |last8=Armstrong |first8=Chelsey Geralda |last9=Barton |first9=C. Michael |date=2019-08-30 |title=Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |language=en |volume=365 |issue=6456 |pages=897–902 |doi=10.1126/science.aax1192 |pmid=31467217 |issn=0036-8075 |hdl=10150/634688 |hdl-access=free |bibcode=2019Sci...365..897S |s2cid=201674203}}</ref>

==Causes==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Rural flight.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|Population age comparison between rural [[Pocahontas County, Iowa]] and urban [[Johnson County, Iowa]], illustrating the flight of young adults (red) to urban centres in [[Iowa]].<ref>based on 2000 U.S. Census Data</ref>]]
[[File:Chicago Downtown Aerial View.jpg|thumb|right|[[Chicago]], Illinois, is an example of the early American grid system of development. The grid is enforced even on uneven topography.]]

Urbanization occurs either organically or planned as a result of individual, collective and state action. Living in a city can be culturally and economically beneficial since it can provide greater opportunities for access to the labour market, better education, housing, and safety conditions, and reduce the time and expense of commuting and transportation. Conditions like density, proximity, diversity, and marketplace competition are elements of an urban environment that deemed beneficial. However, there are also harmful social phenomena that arise: alienation, stress, increased cost of living, and mass marginalization that are connected to an urban way of living.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} [[Suburbanization]], which is happening in the cities of the largest developing countries, may be regarded as an attempt to balance these harmful aspects of urban life while still allowing access to the large extent of shared resources.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

In cities, money, services, wealth and opportunities are centralized. Many rural inhabitants come to the city to seek their fortune and alter their social position. Businesses, which provide jobs and exchange capital, are more concentrated in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the ports or banking systems, commonly located in cities, that foreign money flows into a country.

Many people move into cities for economic opportunities, but this does not fully explain the very high recent urbanization rates in places like China and India. [[Rural flight]] is a contributing factor to urbanization. In rural areas, often on small family farms or collective farms in villages, it has historically been difficult to access manufactured goods, though the relative overall [[quality of life]] is very subjective, and may certainly surpass that of the city. Farm living has always been susceptible to unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times of [[drought]], [[flood]] or pestilence, survival may become extremely problematic.

{{quote box | width=25em| bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=left|qalign=left |quote=<div style="text-align:left;">Thai farmers are seen as poor, stupid, and unhealthy. As young people flee the farms, the values and knowledge of rice farming and the countryside are fading, including the tradition of long kek, helping neighbours plant, harvest, or build a house. We are losing what we call Thai-ness, the values of being kind, helping each other, having mercy and gratefulness.</div> |source=– Iam Thongdee, Professor of Humanities, Mahidol University in Bangkok<ref name="NYT Thai Farm">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/world/asia/thai-youth-seek-a-fortune-off-the-farm.html |title=Thai Youth Seek a Fortune Away From the Farm |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 June 2012 |access-date=5 June 2012 |first=Thomas |last=Fuller |archive-date=5 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605030102/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/world/asia/thai-youth-seek-a-fortune-off-the-farm.html |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In a New York Times article concerning the acute migration away from farming in Thailand, life as a farmer was described as "hot and exhausting". "Everyone says the farmer works the hardest but gets the least amount of money". In an effort to counter this impression, the Agriculture Department of Thailand is seeking to promote the impression that farming is "honorable and secure".<ref name="NYT Thai Farm"/>

However, in Thailand, urbanization has also resulted in massive increases in problems such as obesity. Shifting from a rural environment to an urbanized community also caused a transition to a diet that was mainly carbohydrate-based to a diet higher in fat and sugar, consequently causing a rise in obesity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jitnarin|first1=Nattinee|last2=Kosulwat|first2=Vongsvat|last3=Rojroongwasinkul|first3=Nipa|last4=Boonpraderm|first4=Atitada|last5=Haddock|first5=Christopher K.|last6=Poston|first6=Walker S. C.|last7=Jitnarin|first7=Nattinee|last8=Kosulwat|first8=Vongsvat|last9=Rojroongwasinkul|first9=Nipa|date=2010-01-21|title=Risk Factors for Overweight and Obesity among Thai Adults: Results of the National Thai Food Consumption Survey|journal=Nutrients|volume=2|issue=1|pages=60–74|doi=10.3390/nu2010060|pmid=22253992|pmc=3257614|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{bsn|date=October 2025}} City life, especially in modern urban slums of the developing world, is not immune to pestilence or climatic disturbances such as floods, yet continues to strongly attract migrants. Examples of this were the [[2011 Thailand floods]] and [[2007 Jakarta flood]]. Urban areas are also far more prone to [[violence]], [[drugs]], and other urban social problems. In the United States, [[Factory farming|industrialization]] of [[agriculture]] has negatively affected the economy of small and middle-sized farms and strongly reduced the size of the rural labor market.

{{quote box | width=25em| bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=right|qalign=right|quote=<div style="text-align:left;">These are the costs of participating in the urban economy. Your increased income is canceled out by increased expenditure. In the end, you have even less left for food. </div>|source=– Madhura Swaminathan, economist at Kolkata's Indian Statistical Institute<ref name="Bloomberg 900 Million">{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/early-death-assured-in-india-where-900-million-go-hungry.html |title=Early Death Assured in India Where 900 Million Go Hungry |publisher=Bloomberg |date=13 June 2012 |access-date=13 June 2012 |archive-date=14 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614160919/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/early-death-assured-in-india-where-900-million-go-hungry.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Particularly in the developing world, conflict over land rights due to the effects of [[globalization]] has led to less politically powerful groups, such as farmers, losing or forfeiting their land, resulting in obligatory migration into cities. In China, where land acquisition measures are forceful, there has been far more extensive and rapid urbanization (54%) than in India (36%), where peasants form militant groups (e.g. [[Naxalites]]) to oppose such efforts. Obligatory and unplanned migration often results in the rapid growth of slums.
This is also similar to areas of violent conflict, where people are driven off their land due to violence.

Cities offer a larger variety of services, including specialist services not found in rural areas. These services require workers, resulting in more numerous and varied job opportunities. Elderly people may be forced to move to cities where there are doctors and hospitals that can cater to their health needs. Varied and high-quality educational opportunities are another factor in urban migration, as well as the opportunity to join, develop, and seek out social communities.

Urbanization also creates opportunities for women that are not available in rural areas. This creates a gender-related transformation where women are engaged in paid employment and have access to education. This may cause fertility to decline. However, women are sometimes still at a disadvantage due to their unequal position in the labour market, their inability to secure assets independently from male relatives and exposure to violence.<ref name="UNFPA">{{cite web |url=http://www.unfpa.org/resources/urbanization-gender-and-urban-poverty |title=Urbanization, gender and urban poverty:Paid work and unpaid carework in the city |year=2012 |publisher=UNFPA |access-date=11 May 2015 |archive-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722015749/http://www.unfpa.org/resources/urbanization-gender-and-urban-poverty |url-status=live }}</ref>

People in cities are more productive than in rural areas. An important question is whether this is due to [[Economies of agglomeration|agglomeration effects]] or whether cities simply attract those who are more productive. Urban geographers have shown that there exists a large productivity gain due to locating in dense agglomerations. It is thus possible that agents locate in cities in order to benefit from these agglomeration effects.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Di Clemente |first1=Riccardo |last2=Strano |first2=Emanuele |last3=Batty |first3=Michael |title=Urbanization and economic complexity |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |date=2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=3952 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-83238-5 |pmid=33597604 |pmc=7889875 |arxiv=2009.11966 |bibcode=2021NatSR..11.3952D |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Dominant conurbation==
{{see also|List of largest cities throughout history|Primate city}}
The dominant [[conurbation]](s) of a country can get more benefits from the same things cities offer, attracting the rural population and urban and suburban populations from other cities. Dominant conurbations are quite often [[primate city|disproportionately large cities]], but do not have to be. For instance [[Greater Manila]] is a conurbation instead of a city. Its total population of 20 million (over 20% national population) make it a primate city, but Quezon City (2.7 million), the largest municipality in Greater Manila, and Manila (1.6 million), the capital, are normal cities instead. A conurbation's dominance can be measured by output, wealth, and especially population, each expressed as a percentage of the entire country's. Greater Seoul is one conurbation that dominates South Korea. It is home to 50% of the entire national population.<ref>[http://kosis.kr/abroad/abroad_01List.jsp?parentId=A KOSIS, Korean Statistical Information Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826055149/http://kosis.kr/abroad/abroad_01List.jsp?parentId=A |date=26 August 2013 }}.{{in lang|ko}}</ref>

Though Greater Busan-Ulsan (15%, 8 million) and Greater Osaka (14%, 18 million) dominate their respective countries, their populations are moving to their even more dominant rivals, Seoul and Tokyo respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jacobs|first=A.J|date=2011|title=Ulsan, South Korea: A Global and Nested 'Great' Industrial City|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51179815.pdf|journal=The Open Urban Studies Journal|volume=4|issue=8–20|pages=8–20|doi=10.2174/1874942901104010008|via=core.ac.uk|doi-access=free|access-date=27 May 2020|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624102759/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/51179815.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economic effects==
[[File:Crowded BTS Asok Station.jpg|thumb|A crowded [[BTS Skytrain|BTS Station]] during the rush hour in [[Bangkok]], [[Thailand]]]]
[[File:Gross domestic product per capita and level of urbanization.svg|thumb|Gross domestic product per capita and level of urbanization]]
As cities develop, costs will skyrocket. This often takes the [[working class]] out of the market, including officials and employees of the local districts. For example, [[Eric Hobsbawm]]'s book ''The age of revolution: 1789–1848'' (published 1962 and 2005) chapter 11, stated "Urban development in our period was a gigantic process of class segregation, which pushed the new labouring poor into great morasses of misery outside the centres of government, business, and the newly specialized residential areas of the bourgeoisie. The almost universal European division into a 'good' west end and a 'poor' east end of large cities developed in this period." This is probably caused by the south-west wind which carries coal smoke and other pollutants down, making the western edges of towns better than the eastern ones.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends|title=Blowing in the wind: why do so many cities have poor east ends?|first=Leo|last=Benedictus|date=12 May 2017|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=12 May 2017|archive-date=12 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512081628/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends|url-status=live}}</ref>

Similar problems now affect less developed countries, as rapid development of cities makes inequality worse. The drive to grow quickly and be efficient can lead to less fair urban development. Think tanks such as the [[Overseas Development Institute]] have proposed policies that encourage labour-intensive to make use of the migration of less skilled workers.<ref>Grant, Ursula (2008) [http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1969&title=opportunity-exploitation-urban-labour-markets Opportunity and exploitation in urban labour markets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918135852/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1969&title=opportunity-exploitation-urban-labour-markets |date=18 September 2012 }} London: [[Overseas Development Institute]]</ref> One problem these migrant workers are involved with is the growth of [[slums]]. In many cases, the rural-urban unskilled migrant workers are attracted by economic opportunities in cities. Unfortunately, they cannot find a job and or pay for houses in urban areas and have to live in slums.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Todaro |first=Michael P. |title=A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries |journal=The American Economic Review |year=1969 |volume=59 |issue=1 |page=148}}</ref>

Urban problems, along with developments in their facilities, are also fuelling suburb development trends in less developed nations, though the trend for core cities in said nations tends to continue to become ever denser. Development of cities is often viewed negatively, but there are positives in cutting down on transport costs, creating new job opportunities, providing education and housing, and transportation. Living in cities permits individuals and families to make use of their closeness to workplaces and diversity.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Glaeser, Edward|title=Are Cities Dying? |journal=The Journal of Economic Perspectives |volume=12 |issue=2 |date=Spring 1998 |pages=139–60 |doi=10.1257/jep.12.2.139|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="brand">{{cite web |url=http://web.me.com/stewartbrand/DISCIPLINE_footnotes/2_-_City_Planet.html |title=Whole Earth Discipline – annotated extract |author=Brand, Stewart |access-date=29 November 2009 |archive-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115003006/http://web.me.com/stewartbrand/DISCIPLINE_footnotes/2_-_City_Planet.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1177/089124249701100101 |title=Neighborhood Initiative and the Regional Economy| journal = Economic Development Quarterly| volume = 11| pages = 3–10| year = 1997| last1 = Nowak | first1 = J.|s2cid=154678238}}</ref><ref>Using the Gall-Peters Projection it is estimated that come 2015 the worlds urban population is set to exceed 4 billion, most of this growth is expected in Africa and Asia and China to be 50% urbanized.</ref> While cities have more varied markets and goods than rural areas, facility congestion, domination of one group, high overhead and rental costs, and the inconvenience of trips across them frequently combine to make marketplace competition harsher in cities than in rural areas.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

In many developing countries where economies are growing, the growth is often random and based on a small number of industries. Youths in these nations lack access to financial services and business advisory services, cannot get credit to start a business, and have no entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, they cannot seize opportunities in these industries. Making sure adolescents have access to excellent schools and infrastructure to work in such industries and improve schools is compulsory to promote a fair society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unfpa.org/swop |title=State of the World Population 2014 |year=2014 |publisher=UNFPA |access-date=11 May 2015 |archive-date=12 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912062715/https://www.unfpa.org/swop |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Environmental effects==
{{Pollution sidebar|Noise}}
Furthermore, urbanization improves environmental eminence through superior facilities and standards in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Lastly, urbanization curbs pollution emissions by increasing innovations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yasin|first1=Iftikhar|last2=Ahmad|first2=Nawaz|last3=Chaudhary|first3=M. Aslam|date=2019-07-22|title=Catechizing the Environmental-Impression of Urbanization, Financial Development, and Political Institutions: A Circumstance of Ecological Footprints in 110 Developed and Less-Developed Countries|journal=Social Indicators Research|language=en|volume=147|issue=2|pages=621–649|doi=10.1007/s11205-019-02163-3|issn=0303-8300|s2cid=199855869}}</ref> In his 2009 book ''[[Whole Earth Discipline]]'', Stewart Brand argues that the effects of urbanization are primarily positive for the environment. First, the birth rate of new urban dwellers falls immediately to replacement rate and keeps falling, reducing environmental stresses caused by population growth.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.prb.org/urbanization-an-environmental-force-to-be-reckoned-with/ |title=Urbanization: An Environmental Force to Be Reckoned With |access-date=19 July 2019 |archive-date=3 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203161352/https://www.prb.org/urbanization-an-environmental-force-to-be-reckoned-with/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Secondly, emigration from rural areas reduces destructive [[subsistence farming]] techniques, such as improperly implemented [[slash and burn]] agriculture. [[Alex Steffen]] also speaks of the environmental benefits of increasing the urbanization level in "Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities that can save the planet".<ref>Carbon Zero: Imagining Cities that can save the planet by Alex Steffen</ref>

However, existing infrastructure and city planning practices are not sustainable.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Luqman |first1=Muhammad |last2=Rayner |first2=Peter J. |last3=Gurney |first3=Kevin R. |title=On the impact of urbanisation on CO2 emissions |journal=[[npj Urban Sustainability]] |date=2023 |volume=3 |issue=1 |page=6 |doi=10.1038/s42949-023-00084-2 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023npjUS...3....6L }}</ref> In July 2013 a report issued by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs<ref>[http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf "World Economic and Social Survey (WESS) 2013"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407104105/http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2843WESS2013.pdf |date=7 April 2014 }} World Economic and Social Affairs. July 2013.</ref> warned that with 2.4 billion more people by 2050, the amount of food produced will have to increase by 70%, straining food resources, especially in countries already facing food insecurity due to changing environmental conditions. The mix of changing environmental conditions and the growing population of urban regions, according to UN experts, will strain basic sanitation systems and health care, and potentially cause a humanitarian and environmental disaster.<ref>Auber, Tamar (17 July 2013) [http://unearthnews.org/2013/07/17/climate-change-and-rapid-urban-expansion-in-africa-threaten-childrens-lives/ "Climate change and rapid urban expansion in Africa threaten children's lives."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113014025/http://unearthnews.org/2013/07/17/climate-change-and-rapid-urban-expansion-in-africa-threaten-childrens-lives/ |date=13 November 2014 }} UNEARTH News. Retrieved 10 August 2013.</ref>

=== Urban heat island ===
[[Urban heat island]]s have become a growing concern over the years. An urban heat island is formed when industrial areas absorb and retain heat. Much of the solar energy reaching rural areas is used to evaporate water from plants and soil. In cities, there are less vegetation and exposed soil. Most of the sun's energy is instead absorbed by buildings and asphalt; leading to higher surface temperatures. Vehicles, factories, and heating and cooling units in factories and homes release even more heat.<ref>Park, H.-S. (1987). [[hdl:2241/4711|Variations in the urban heat island intensity affected by geographical environments]]. Environmental Research Center papers, no. 11. Ibaraki, Japan: Environmental Research Center, The University of Tsukuba.</ref> As a result, cities are often {{convert|1 to 3|C-change}} warmer than other areas near them.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/ "Heat Island Effect"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814070412/http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/ |date=14 August 2015 }}. Epa.gov (17 November 2010). Retrieved on 7 April 2014.</ref> Urban heat islands also make the soil drier and absorb less carbon dioxide from emissions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Heating Up: Study Shows Rapid Urbanization in China Warming the Regional Climate Faster than Other Urban Areas|url=http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/china-climate.htm|access-date=31 July 2008|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020041109/http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/newsrelease/china-climate.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A Qatar University study found that land-surface temperatures in Doha increased annually by 0.65&nbsp;°C from 2002 to 2013 and 2023.<ref>Patel, S., Indraganti, M., & Jawarneh, R. N. (2024). Urban planning impact on summer human thermal comfort in Doha, Qatar. ''Building and Environment'', ''254''. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111374</nowiki></ref>

=== Water quality ===
[[Urban runoff]], polluted water created by rainfall on impervious surfaces, is a common effect of urbanization. Precipitation from rooftops, roads, parking lots and sidewalks flows to [[storm drain]]s, instead of [[Infiltration (hydrology)|percolating]] into [[groundwater]]. The contaminated [[stormwater]] in the drains is typically untreated and flows to nearby streams, rivers or coastal bays.<ref name="USGS-runoff">{{cite web |url=https://water.usgs.gov/edu/runoff.html |title=Runoff (surface water runoff) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2018-06-06 |website=USGS Water Science School |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) |location=Reston, VA}}</ref>

[[Eutrophication]] in water bodies is another effect large populations in cities have on the environment. When rain occurs in these large cities, it filters CO<sub>2</sub> and other pollutants in the air onto the ground. These chemicals are washed directly into rivers, streams, and oceans, making water worse and damaging ecosystems in them.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Jiang|first1=Leiwen|last2=Hoepf Young|first2=Malea|last3=Hardee|first3=Karen|year=2008|title=Population, Urbanization, And The Environment|journal=World Watch|volume=21|issue=5|pages=34–39}}</ref>

Eutrophication is a process which causes low levels of oxygen in water and algal blooms that may harm aquatic life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/eutrophication-and-hypoxia/about-eutrophication|title=About Eutrophication {{!}} World Resources Institute|website=wri.org|date=12 September 2013|access-date=2018-11-18|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119010905/https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/eutrophication-and-hypoxia/about-eutrophication|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Harmful algal bloom]]s make dangerous toxins. They live best in nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich places which include the oceans contaminated by the aforementioned chemicals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms|title=Harmful Algal Blooms|website=US Environmental Protection Administration|date=3 June 2013|access-date=2018-11-18|archive-date=4 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204072812/https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms}}</ref> In these ideal conditions, they choke surface water, blocking sunlight and nutrients from other life forms. Overgrowth of algal blooms makes water worse overall and disrupts the natural balance of aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, as algal blooms die, CO<sub>2</sub> is produced. This makes the ocean more acidic, a process called acidification.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nutrientchallenge.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/FINAL%20Ocean%20Acidification%20policy%20brief%20spread_press%20quality_print.pdf|title=Eutrophication and Ocean Acidification|last1=Ramesh|first1=R|last2=Lakshmi|first2=A|date=2013|last3=Purvaja|first3=R|last4=Costanzo|first4=S.D|last5=Kelsey|first5=R.H|last6=Hawkey|first6=J|last7=Datta|first7=A|last8=Dennison|first8=W.C|access-date=18 November 2018|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421212836/http://www.nutrientchallenge.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/FINAL%20Ocean%20Acidification%20policy%20brief%20spread_press%20quality_print.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The ocean's surface can absorb CO<sub>2</sub> from the Earth's atmosphere as emissions increase with the rise in urban development. In fact, the ocean absorbs a quarter of the CO<sub>2</sub> produced by humans.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web|url=https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/ocean-acidification|title=National Climate Assessment|website=National Climate Assessment|access-date=2018-11-18|archive-date=18 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118145133/https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/ocean-acidification}}</ref> This helps to lessen the harmful effects of greenhouse gases, but it also makes the ocean more acidic.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Feely|first1=Richard A.|last2=Alin|first2=Simone R.|last3=Newton|first3=Jan|last4=Sabine|first4=Christopher L.|last5=Warner|first5=Mark|last6=Devol|first6=Allan|last7=Krembs|first7=Christopher|last8=Maloy|first8=Carol|date=August 2010|title=The combined effects of ocean acidification, mixing, and respiration on pH and carbonate saturation in an urbanized estuary|journal=Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science|volume=88|issue=4|pages=442–449|doi=10.1016/j.ecss.2010.05.004|issn=0272-7714|bibcode=2010ECSS...88..442F}}</ref> A drop in pH the prevents the proper formation of calcium carbonate, which sea creatures need to build or keep shells or skeletons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-ocean-acidification|title=Understanding Ocean Acidification {{!}} NOAA Fisheries|last=Fisheries|first=NOAA|date=2018-09-09|website=fisheries.noaa.gov|access-date=2018-11-18|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119053040/https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/understanding-ocean-acidification|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":03" /> This is especially true for many species of molluscs and coral. However, some species have been able to thrive in a more acidic environment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification|title=Ocean Acidification|website=Smithsonian Ocean|date=30 April 2018 |access-date=2018-11-18|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109050311/https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Food waste ===
Rapid growth of communities creates new challenges in the developed world and one such challenge is an increase in [[food waste]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Thyberg|first1=Krista L.|last2=Tonjes|first2=David J.|date=2016|title=Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development|url=https://www.tib.eu/en/search/id/tema:TEMA20151218325/Drivers-of-food-waste-and-their-implications-for/|journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling|volume=106|pages=110–123|doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.11.016|bibcode=2016RCR...106..110T |s2cid=30784882 |issn=0921-3449|access-date=31 October 2018|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227062136/https://www.tib.eu/en/search/id/tema:TEMA20151218325/Drivers-of-food-waste-and-their-implications-for/|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> also known as urban food waste.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=24696|title=Article: "Urban Food Waste generation: challenges and opportunities" Journal: Int. J. of Environment and Waste Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.1/2 pp.4 - 21 Abstract: Greater economic activity and a wider economic gap between rural and urban areas is leading to accelerated urbanisation and the generation of 35% more Urban Food Waste (UFW) from 2007 to 2025. Besides landfilling, this paper examines the advantages of introducing onsite composting and anaerobic digestion for the environmental recycling of UFW and the lowering of handling cost. For Asia and Africa, these solutions for UFW could reduce the mass of MSW by 43% and 55%, respectively, thus help there cities manage almost all of their MSW. For North America and Europe, such practice could reduce earth warming trends. - Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research|website=inderscience.com|access-date=2018-10-07|archive-date=1 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015658/https://www.inderscience.com/info/inarticle.php?artid=24696|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Adhikari|first1=Bijaya K.|last2=Barrington|first2=Suzelle|last3=Martinez|first3=José|date=October 2006|title=Predicted growth of world urban food waste and methane production|journal=Waste Management & Research|volume=24|issue=5|pages=421–433|doi=10.1177/0734242X06067767|issn=0734-242X|pmid=17121114|bibcode=2006WMR....24..421A |s2cid=34299202}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adhikari|first1=Bijaya K.|last2=Barrington|first2=Suzelle F.|last3=Martinez|first3=Jose|date=2009|title=Urban Food Waste generation: challenges and opportunities|journal=International Journal of Environment and Waste Management|volume=3|issue=1/2|page=4|doi=10.1504/ijewm.2009.024696|bibcode=2009IJEWM...3....4A |s2cid=96476310 |issn=1478-9876|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00615443/file/RE2009-PUB00026234.pdf|access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=26 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726174058/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00615443/file/RE2009-PUB00026234.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Food waste is the disposal of food products that can no longer be used due to unused products, expiration, or spoilage. The increase of food waste can raise environmental concerns such as increase production of [[methane]] gases and attraction of [[Vector (epidemiology)|disease vectors]].<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases|title=Vector-borne diseases|website=World Health Organization|access-date=2018-10-19|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104001515/https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases|url-status=live}}</ref> Landfills are the third leading cause of the release of methane,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases#methane|title=Overview of Greenhouse Gases {{!}} US EPA|last=EPA, OA|first=US|website=US EPA|access-date=2018-10-16|date=2015-12-23|archive-date=12 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812082641/https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases#methane|url-status=live}}</ref> causing a concern on its impact to our ozone and on the health of individuals. Accumulation of food waste causes increased fermentation, which increases the risk of rodent and bug migration. An increase in migration of disease vectors creates greater potential of disease spreading to humans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Venkateswaran|first=Sandhya|date=1994|title=Managing Waste: Ecological, Economic and Social Dimensions|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=29|issue=45/46|pages=2907–2911|jstor=4401996}}</ref>

Waste management systems vary on all scales from global to local and can also be influenced by lifestyle. Waste management was not a primary concern until after the Industrial Revolution. As urban areas continued to grow along with the human population, proper management of solid waste became an apparent concern. To address these concerns, local governments sought solutions with the lowest economic impacts which meant implementing technical solutions at the very last stage of the process.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last1=Bai|first1=Xuemei|last2=McPhearson|first2=Timon|last3=Cleugh|first3=Helen|last4=Nagendra|first4=Harini|last5=Tong|first5=Xin|last6=Zhu|first6=Tong|last7=Zhu|first7=Yong-Guan|date=2017-10-17|title=Linking Urbanization and the Environment: Conceptual and Empirical Advances|journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources|language=en|volume=42|issue=1|pages=215–240|doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-102016-061128|issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free}}</ref> Current waste management reflects these economically motivated solutions, such as incineration or unregulated landfills. Yet, a growing increase for addressing other areas of life cycle consumption has occurred from initial stage reduction to heat recovery and recycling of materials.<ref name=":9" /> For example, concerns for mass consumption and [[fast fashion]] have moved to the forefront of the urban consumers' priorities. Aside from environmental concerns (e.g. climate change effects), other urban concerns for waste management are public health and land access.

=== Habitat fragmentation ===
Urbanization can have a large effect on biodiversity by causing a division of habitats and thereby alienation of species, a process known as [[habitat fragmentation]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Urbanization, habitat loss, biodiversity decline: solution pathways to break the cycle |last1=Elmqvist |first1=Thomas |last2=Zipperer |first2=Wayne |last3=Güneralp |first3=Burak|year=2016|pages=139–151|chapter=10}}</ref> Habitat fragmentation does not destroy the habitat, as seen in [[habitat loss]], but rather breaks it apart with things like roads and railways.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Liu Z, He C, Wu J | title = The Relationship between Habitat Loss and Fragmentation during Urbanization: An Empirical Evaluation from 16 World Cities | journal = PLOS ONE| volume = 11 | issue = 4 | article-number = e0154613 | date = 2016 | pmid = 27124180 | pmc = 4849762 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0154613 | bibcode = 2016PLoSO..1154613L | doi-access = free }}</ref> This change may affect a species ability to sustain life by separating it from the environment in which it is able to easily access food, and find areas that they may hide from predation.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1676/04-038|title = Nest Survival Relative to Patch Size in a Highly Fragmented Shortgrass Prairie Landscape|journal = The Wilson Bulletin|volume = 117|pages = 23–34|year = 2005|last1 = Skagen|first1 = Susan K.|last2 = Yackel Adams|first2 = Amy A.|last3 = Adams|first3 = Rod D.| issue=1 | bibcode=2005TWBu..117...23S |s2cid = 85173365|url = https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/210478|access-date = 25 December 2020|archive-date = 27 February 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210227094952/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/210478|url-status = live}}</ref> With proper planning and management, fragmentation can be avoided by adding corridors that aid in the connection of areas and allow for easier movement around urbanized regions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://conservationcorridor.org/wp-content/uploads/Connectivity_lesson_plan_habitat_fragmentation.pdf |title=Habitat Fragmentation and Wildlife Corridors |access-date=11 July 2022 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925215417/https://conservationcorridor.org/wp-content/uploads/Connectivity_lesson_plan_habitat_fragmentation.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/urban-regeneration-and-greenspace-partnership/greenspace-in-practice/practical-considerations-and-challenges-to-greenspace/habitat-fragmentation-practical-considerations/|title=Habitat fragmentation – Practical considerations|work=Forest Research |access-date=2022-08-04|quote="Features such as footpaths, rivers and canals already offer green corridors in many urban areas. Greenspace that is not suitable breeding habitat for many species may still serve to improve permeability, and therefore movement, between breeding sites."|archive-date=24 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924185410/https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/urban-regeneration-and-greenspace-partnership/greenspace-in-practice/practical-considerations-and-challenges-to-greenspace/habitat-fragmentation-practical-considerations/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Depending on the various factors, such as level of urbanization, both increases or decreases in "species richness" can be seen.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McKinney|first=Michael L.|date=2008-01-29|title=Effects of urbanization on species richness: A review of plants and animals|journal=Urban Ecosystems|volume=11|issue=2|pages=161–176|doi=10.1007/s11252-007-0045-4|bibcode=2008UrbEc..11..161M |s2cid=23353943|issn=1083-8155}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sidemo-Holm|first1=William|last2=Ekroos|first2=Johan|last3=Reina García|first3=Santiago|last4=Söderström|first4=Bo|last5=Hedblom|first5=Marcus|title=Urbanization causes biotic homogenization of woodland bird communities at multiple spatial scales|journal=Global Change Biology|year=2022|volume=28 |issue=21 |doi=10.1111/gcb.16350|doi-access=free|pages=6152–6164|pmid=35983686 |pmc=9804485 |bibcode=2022GCBio..28.6152S }}</ref> This means that urbanization may be detrimental to one species but also help facilitate the growth of others. In instances of housing and building development, many times vegetation is completely removed immediately in order to make it easier and less expensive for construction to occur, thereby obliterating any native species in that area. Habitat fragmentation can filter species with limited dispersal capacity. For example, aquatic insects are found to have lower species richness in urban landscapes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lundkvist|first1=E.|last2=Landin|first2=J.|last3=Karlsson|first3=F.|title= Dispersing diving beetles (Dytiscidae) in agricultural and urban landscapes in south-eastern Sweden |journal= Annales Zoologici Fennici |year=2002 }}</ref> The more urbanized the surrounding of habitat is, the fewer species can reach the habitat.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Liao|first1=W.|last2=Venn|first2=S.|last3=Niemelä|first3=J.|title=Environmental determinants of diving beetle assemblages (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in an urban landscape|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|year=2020|doi=10.1007/s10531-020-01977-9|doi-access=free|volume=29|issue=7|pages=2343–2359|bibcode=2020BiCon..29.2343L |hdl=10138/315037|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The negative effects of urbanisation on aquatic insects can be long-lasting from the temporal perspective.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Liao|first1=W.|last2=Soininen|first2=J.|title=Temporal alpha and beta diversity of diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) reveals biotic heterogenisation in urban ponds|journal=Freshwater Biology|year=2025|volume=70 |issue=1 |article-number=e14374 |doi=10.1111/fwb.14374|doi-access=free|bibcode=2025FrBio..70E4374L }}</ref> Other times, such as with birds, urbanization may allow for an increase in richness when organisms are able to adapt to the new environment. This can be seen in species that may find food while scavenging developed areas or vegetation that has been added after urbanization has occurred i.e. planted trees in city areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=McKinney|first=Michael|date=October 2002|title=Urbanization, Biodiversity, and Conservation|journal=BioScience|volume=52|issue=10|page=883|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0883:UBAC]2.0.CO;2|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Health and social effects==
{{quote box | width=25em| bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=left|qalign=left |quote=<div style="text-align:left;">When cities don't plan for increases in population it drives up house and land prices, creating rich (ghettos) and poor ghettos. "You get a very unequal society and that inequality is manifested where people live, in our neighbourhoods, and it means there can be less capacity for empathy and less development for all society."</div> |source=– Jack Finegan, Urban Programme Specialist at [[UN-Habitat]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://yangon.coconuts.co/2016/02/22/crowded-hlaing-tharyar-township-slums-sit-next-gated-communites| title=In crowded Hlaing Tharyar township, slums sit next to gated communites (sic) &#124; Coconuts Yangon| date=2016-02-22| access-date=27 May 2016| archive-date=10 June 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610024532/http://yangon.coconuts.co/2016/02/22/crowded-hlaing-tharyar-township-slums-sit-next-gated-communites| url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In the developing world, urbanization does not translate into a significant increase in [[life expectancy]].<ref name="Eckert-2014" /> Rapid urbanization has led to increased mortality from [[non-communicable disease]]s associated with lifestyle, including [[cancer]] and [[heart disease]].<ref name="Allender-2008" /> Differences in mortality from [[contagious disease]]s vary depending on the particular disease and location.<ref name="Eckert-2014" />

Urban health levels are on average better in comparison to rural areas. However, residents in poor urban areas such as slums and [[informal settlement]]s suffer "disproportionately from disease, injury, premature death, and the combination of ill-health and poverty entrenches disadvantage over time."<ref name="UNFPA" /> Many of the urban poor have difficulty accessing health services due to their inability to pay for them; so they resort to less qualified and unregulated providers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

While urbanization is associated with improvements in [[public hygiene]], [[sanitation]] and access to [[health care]], it also entails changes in occupational, [[dietary]], and [[exercise]] patterns.<ref name="Allender-2008">{{cite journal |vauthors=Allender S, Foster C, Hutchinson L, Arambepola C |title=Quantification of urbanization in relation to chronic diseases in developing countries: a systematic review |journal=Journal of Urban Health |volume=85 |issue=6 |pages=938–51 | date=November 2008 |pmid=18931915 |pmc=2587653 |doi=10.1007/s11524-008-9325-4 }}</ref> It can have mixed effects on health patterns, alleviating some problems, and accentuating others.<ref name="Eckert-2014">{{cite journal |vauthors=Eckert S, Kohler S |title=Urbanization and health in developing countries: a systematic review |journal=World Health & Population |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=7–20 |year=2014 |pmid=24702762 |doi=10.12927/whp.2014.23722 |url=http://www.longwoods.com/product/download/code/23722 |doi-access=free |access-date=20 September 2019 |archive-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207134403/https://www.longwoods.com/product/download/code/23722 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Nutrition===
Traditionally, rural populations have tended to eat plant-based diets rich in grains, fruits and vegetables, and with low fat content. However, rural people migrating to urban areas often shift towards diets that rely more on processed foods characterized by a higher content of meat, sugars, refined grains and fats. Urban residents typically have reduced time available for at-home food preparation combined with increased disposable income, facilitating access to convenience foods and ready-to-eat meals.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd0683en |title=The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 |date=2024-06-07 |publisher=FAO |isbn=978-92-5-138763-4 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cd0683en}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}</ref>

One such effect is the formation of [[food desert]]s. Nearly 23.5 million people in the United States lack access to supermarkets within one mile of their home.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Block|first1=Jason P.|last2=Subramanian|first2=S. V.|date=2015-12-08
|title=Moving Beyond "Food Deserts": Reorienting United States Policies to Reduce Disparities in Diet Quality|journal=PLOS Medicine|volume=12|issue=12|article-number=e1001914|doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001914|pmid=26645285|pmc=4672916|issn=1549-1676 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Several studies suggest that long distances to a grocery store are associated with higher rates of obesity and other health disparities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Ghosh-Dastidar|first1=Bonnie|author1-link=Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar|last2=Cohen|first2=Deborah|last3=Hunter|first3=Gerald|last4=Zenk|first4=Shannon N.|last5=Huang|first5=Christina|last6=Beckman|first6=Robin|last7=Dubowitz|first7=Tamara|date=2014|title=Distance to Store, Food Prices, and Obesity in Urban Food Deserts | journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine|volume=47|issue=5|pages=587–595 | doi = 10.1016/j.amepre.2014.07.005 | pmc = 4205193 | pmid = 25217097 }}</ref>

Food deserts in developed countries often correspond to areas with a high density of fast food chains and convenience stores that offer little to no fresh food.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cooksey-Stowers|first1=Kristen|last2=Schwartz|first2=Marlene B.|last3=Brownell|first3=Kelly D.|date=2017-11-14|title=Food Swamps Predict Obesity Rates Better Than Food Deserts in the United States | journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|volume=14|issue=11|page=1366|doi=10.3390/ijerph14111366|pmc=5708005|pmid=29135909|doi-access=free}}</ref> Urbanization has been shown to be associated with the consumption of less fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and a higher consumption of processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.<ref name=":3" /> Poor access to healthy food and high intakes of fat, sugar and salt are associated with a greater risk for obesity, diabetes and related chronic disease. Overall, [[body mass index]] and [[cholesterol]] levels increase sharply with national income and the degree of urbanization.[[Urbanization#cite note-Allender-2008-40|[40]]]

Food deserts in the United States are most commonly found in low-income and predominately African American neighbourhoods.<ref name=":3" /> One study on food deserts in [[Denver]], Colorado found that, in addition to minorities, the affected neighbourhoods also had a high proportion of children and new births.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Stilley |first=Megan |institution=The University of Colorado at Denver |title=Urban food deserts: An exploration of northern neighbourhoods in Denver |date=2012 |number=1509386 |id={{ProQuest|1013635534}}}}</ref> In children, urbanization is associated with a lower risk of [[Undernutrition|under-nutrition]] but a higher risk of being [[overweight]].<ref name="Eckert-2014" />

=== Infections ===
Urbanization has also been linked to the spread of communicable diseases, which can spread more rapidly in the favourable environment with more people living in a smaller area. Such diseases can be respiratory infections and gastrointestinal infections. Other infections could be infections, which need a vector to spread to humans. An example of this could be dengue fever.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Neiderud |first=Carl-Johan |date=January 2015 |title=How urbanization affects the epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases |journal=Infection Ecology & Epidemiology |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |article-number=27060 |doi=10.3402/iee.v5.27060 |issn=2000-8686 |pmc=4481042 |pmid=26112265|bibcode=2015InfEE...527060N }}</ref>

===Asthma===
Urbanization has also been associated with an increased risk of asthma as well. Throughout the world, as communities transition from rural to more urban societies, the number of people affected by asthma increases. The odds of reduced rates of hospitalization and death from asthmas has decreased for children and young adults in urbanized municipalities in Brazil. This finding indicates that urbanization may have a negative impact on population health particularly affecting people's susceptibility to asthma.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Ponte|first1=Eduardo Vieira|last2=Cruz|first2=Alvaro A.|last3=Athanazio|first3=Rodrigo|last4=Carvalho-Pinto|first4=Regina|last5=Fernandes|first5=Frederico L. A.|last6=Barreto|first6=Mauricio L.|last7=Stelmach|first7=Rafael|date=2018-02-01|title=Urbanization is associated with increased asthma morbidity and mortality in Brazil|journal=The Clinical Respiratory Journal|volume=12|issue=2|pages=410–417|doi=10.1111/crj.12530|pmid=27400674|s2cid=46804746|issn=1752-699X|url=https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/18781 }}</ref>

In low and middle income countries many factors contribute to the high numbers of people with asthma. Similar to areas in the United States with increasing urbanization, people living in growing cities in low income countries experience high exposure to air pollution, which increases the prevalence and severity of asthma among these populations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cruz|first1=Álvaro A.|last2=Stelmach|first2=Rafael|last3=Ponte|first3=Eduardo V.|date=2017-06-01|title=Asthma prevalence and severity in low-resource communities|journal=Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology|language=en|volume=17|issue=3|pages=188–193|doi=10.1097/aci.0000000000000360|pmid=28333691|s2cid=6018699|issn=1528-4050}}</ref> Links have been found between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and allergic diseases.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Carlsten|first1=Christopher|last2=Rider|first2=Christopher F.|date=2017-04-01|title=Traffic-related air pollution and allergic disease|journal=Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology|language=en|volume=17|issue=2|pages=85–89|doi=10.1097/aci.0000000000000351|pmid=28141628|s2cid=38066984|issn=1528-4050}}</ref> Children living in poor, urban areas in the United States now have an increased risk of morbidity due to asthma in comparison to other low-income children in the United States.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Keet|first1=Corinne A.|last2=Matsui|first2=Elizabeth C.|last3=McCormack|first3=Meredith C.|last4=Peng|first4=Roger D.|title=Urban residence, neighborhood poverty, race/ethnicity, and asthma morbidity among children on Medicaid|journal=Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology|volume=140|issue=3|pages=822–827|doi=10.1016/j.jaci.2017.01.036|pmid=28283418|date=September 2017|pmc=8050806|doi-access=free}}</ref> In addition, children with croup living in urban areas have higher hazard ratios for asthma than similar children living in rural areas. Researchers suggest that this difference in hazard ratios is due to the higher levels of air pollution and exposure to environmental allergens found in urban areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=Sheng-Chieh|last2=Lin|first2=Hui-Wen|last3=Chiang|first3=Bor-Luen|date=2017-09-01|title=Association of croup with asthma in children|journal=Medicine|language=en|volume=96|issue=35|article-number=e7667|doi=10.1097/md.0000000000007667|pmid=28858086|pmc=5585480|issn=0025-7974}}</ref>

Exposure to elevated levels of ambient air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO<sub>2</sub>), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres (PM<sub>2.5</sub>), can cause DNA methylation of CpG sites in immune cells, which increases children's risk of developing asthma. Studies have shown a positive correlation between ''Foxp3'' methylation and children's exposure to NO<sub>2</sub>, CO, and PM<sub>2.5</sub>. Furthermore, any amount of exposure to high levels of air pollution have shown long term effects on the ''Foxp3'' region.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Prunicki|first1=Mary|last2=Stell|first2=Laurel|last3=Dinakarpandian|first3=Deendayal|last4=de Planell-Saguer|first4=Mariangels|last5=Lucas|first5=Richard W.|last6=Hammond|first6=S. Katharine|author-link6=S Katharine Hammond|last7=Balmes|first7=John R.|last8=Zhou|first8=Xiaoying|last9=Paglino|first9=Tara|date=2018-01-05|title=Exposure to NO2, CO, and PM2.5 is linked to regional DNA methylation differences in asthma|journal=Clinical Epigenetics|volume=10|article-number=2|doi=10.1186/s13148-017-0433-4|pmid=29317916|pmc=5756438|issn=1868-7083 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Despite the increase in access to health services that usually accompanies urbanization, the rise in population density negatively affects air quality ultimately mitigating the positive value of health resources as more children and young adults develop asthma due to high pollution rates.<ref name=":1" /> However, urban planning, as well as emission control, can lessen the effects of traffic-related air pollution on allergic diseases such as asthma.<ref name=":2" />

===Crime===
Historically, crime and urbanization have gone hand in hand. The simplest explanation is that areas with a higher population density are surrounded by greater availability of goods. Committing crimes in urbanized areas is also more feasible. Modernization has led to more crime as well, as the modern media has raised greater awareness of the income gap between the rich and the poor. This leads to feelings of deprivation, which in turn can lead to crime. In some regions where urbanization happens in wealthier areas, a rise in property crime and a decrease in violent crime is seen.<ref>Shelley, L. I. (1981). Crime and modernization: The impact of industrialization and urbanization on crime. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.</ref>

Data shows that there is an increase in crime in urbanized areas. Some factors include per capita income, income inequality, and overall population size. There is also a smaller association between unemployment rate, police expenditures and crime.<ref>Gumus, E. (2004). Crime in urban areas: An empirical investigation.</ref> The presence of crime also has the ability to produce more crime. These areas have less social cohesion and therefore less social control. This is evident in the geographical regions that crime occurs in. As most crime tends to cluster in city centres, the further the distance from the centre of the city, the lower the occurrence of crimes are.<ref>Bruinsma, G. J. (2007). Urbanization and urban crime: Dutch geographical and environmental research. Crime and Justice, 35(1), 453-502.</ref>

Migration is also a factor that can increase crime in urbanized areas. People from one area are displaced and forced to move into an urbanized society. Here they are in a new environment with new norms and social values. This can lead to less social cohesion and more crime.<ref>Malik, A. A. (2016). Urbanization and Crime: A Relational Analysis. J. HUMAN. & Soc. Scl., 21, 68-69.</ref>

===Physical activity===
Although urbanization tends to produce more negative effects, one positive effect that urbanization has impacted is an increase in physical activity in comparison to rural areas. Residents of rural areas and communities in the United States have higher rates of obesity and engage in less physical activity than urban residents.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Umstattd Meyer|first1=M. Renée|last2=Moore|first2=Justin B.|last3=Abildso|first3=Christiaan|last4=Edwards|first4=Michael B.|last5=Gamble|first5=Abigail|last6=Baskin|first6=Monica L.|author-link6=Monica Baskin |title=Rural Active Living|journal=Journal of Public Health Management and Practice|volume=22|issue=5|pages=E11–E20|doi=10.1097/phh.0000000000000333|pmid=26327514|pmc=4775461|year=2016}}</ref> Rural residents consume a higher percent of fat calories and are less likely to meet the guidelines for physical activity and more likely to be physically inactive.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Befort|first1=Christie A.|last2=Nazir|first2=Niaman|last3=Perri|first3=Michael G.|date=2012-09-01|title=Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults From Rural and Urban Areas of the United States: Findings From NHANES (2005-2008)|journal=The Journal of Rural Health|volume=28|issue=4|pages=392–397|doi=10.1111/j.1748-0361.2012.00411.x|pmid=23083085|issn=1748-0361|pmc=3481194}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=REIS|first1=JARED P.|last2=BOWLES|first2=HEATHER R.|last3=AINSWORTH|first3=BARBARA E.|last4=DUBOSE|first4=KATRINA D.|last5=SMITH|first5=SHARON|last6=LADITKA|first6=JAMES N.|date=2004-12-01|title=Nonoccupational Physical Activity by Degree of Urbanization and U.S. Geographic Region|journal=Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise|language=en|volume=36|issue=12|pages=2093–2098|doi=10.1249/01.mss.0000147589.98744.85|pmid=15570145|issn=0195-9131|doi-access=free}}</ref> In comparison to regions within the United States, the west has the lowest prevalence of physical ''inactivity'' and the south has the highest prevalence of physical ''inactivity''.<ref name=":6" /> Metropolitan and large urban areas across all regions have the highest prevalence of physical activity among residents.<ref name=":6" />

Barriers such as geographic isolation, busy and unsafe roads, and social stigmas lead to decreased physical activity in rural environments.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Seguin|first1=Rebecca|last2=Connor|first2=Leah|last3=Nelson|first3=Miriam|last4=LaCroix|first4=Andrea|last5=Eldridge|first5=Galen|date=2014|title=Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Eating and Active Living in Rural Communities|journal=Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism|volume=2014|article-number=146502|doi=10.1155/2014/146502|pmid=25574386|pmc=4276670|issn=2090-0724|doi-access=free}}</ref> Faster speed limits on rural roads prohibits the ability to have bike lanes, sidewalks, footpaths, and shoulders along the side of the roads.<ref name=":4" /> Less developed open spaces in rural areas, like parks and trails, suggest that there is lower walkability in these areas in comparison to urban areas.<ref name=":4" /> Many residents in rural settings have to travel long distances to utilize exercise facilities, taking up too much time in the day and deterring residents from using recreational facilities to obtain physical activity.<ref name=":7" /> Additionally, residents of rural communities are traveling further for work, decreasing the amount of time that can be spent on leisure physical activity and significantly decreases the opportunity to partake in active transportation to work.<ref name=":4" />

Neighbourhoods and communities with nearby fitness venues, a common feature of urbanization, have residents that partake in increased amounts of physical activity.<ref name=":7" /> Communities with sidewalks, street lights, and traffic signals have residents participating in more physical activity than communities without those features.<ref name=":4" /> Having a variety of destinations close to where people live, increases the use of active transportation, such as walking and biking.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Sallis|first1=James F.|last2=Floyd|first2=Myron F.|last3=Rodríguez|first3=Daniel A.|last4=Saelens|first4=Brian E.|date=2012-02-07|title=Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Obesity, and Cardiovascular Disease|journal=Circulation|volume=125|issue=5|pages=729–737|doi=10.1161/circulationaha.110.969022|issn=0009-7322|pmid=22311885|pmc=3315587}}</ref> Active transportation is also enhanced in urban communities where there is easy access to public transportation due to residents walking or biking to transportation stops.<ref name=":8" />

In a study comparing different regions in the United States, opinions across all areas were shared that environmental characteristics like access to sidewalks, safe roads, recreational facilities, and enjoyable scenery are positively associated with participation in leisure physical activity.<ref name=":6" /> Perceiving that resources are nearby for physical activity increases the likelihood that residents of all communities will meet the guidelines and recommendations for appropriate physical activity.<ref name=":8" /> Specific to rural residents, the safety of outdoor developed spaces and convenient availability to recreational facilities matters most when making decisions on increasing physical activity.<ref name=":5" /> In order to combat the levels of inactivity in rural residents, more convenient recreational features, such as the ones discussed in this paragraph, need to be implemented into rural communities and societies.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

=== Mental health ===
Urbanization factors that contribute to [[mental health]] can be thought of as factors that affect the individual and factors that affect the larger social group. At the macro, social group level, changes related to urbanization are thought to contribute to social disintegration and disorganization. These macro factors contribute to social disparities which affect individuals by creating perceived insecurity.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Luciano|title=Perceived insecurity, mental health and urbanization: Results from a multicentric study|journal=International Journal of Social Psychiatry|volume=62|issue=6|pages=252–61|doi=10.1177/0020764016629694|pmid=26896027|year=2016|s2cid=37122169|hdl=11380/1101303|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Perceived insecurity can be due problems with the physical environment, such as issues with personal safety, or problems with the social environment, such as a loss of positive self-concepts from negative events.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Berry|first1=Helen|date=6 December 2007|title='Crowded suburbs' and 'killer cities': a brief review of the relationship between urban environments and mental health|journal=NSW Public Health Bulletin|volume=18|issue=12|pages=222–7|pmid=18093463|doi=10.1071/NB07024|doi-access=free}}</ref> Increased stress is a common individual psychological stressor that accompanies urbanization and is thought to be due to perceived insecurity. Changes in social organization, a consequence of urbanization, are thought to lead to reduced social support, increased violence, and overcrowding. It is these factors that are thought to contribute to increased stress.<ref name="Srivastava IPJ">{{cite journal|last1=Srivastava|first1=Kalpana|date=July 2009|title=Urbanization and mental health|pmc=2996208|journal=Industrial Psychiatry Journal|volume=18|issue=2|pages=75–6|doi=10.4103/0972-6748.64028|pmid=21180479 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

A 2004 study of 4.4 million Swedish residents found that {{Request quotation span|people who live in cities have a 20% increased chance of developing depression|date=December 2023}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rautio |first1=Nina |last2=Filatova |first2=Svetlana |last3=Lehtiniemi |first3=Heli |last4=Miettunen |first4=Jouko |date=February 2018 |title=Living environment and its relationship to depressive mood: A systematic review |journal=International Journal of Social Psychiatry |language=en |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=92–103 |doi=10.1177/0020764017744582 |issn=0020-7640|doi-access=free |pmid=29212385 }}</ref>

==Changing forms==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Patterns of urbanization.svg|thumb|Patterns of urbanization]]
Different forms of urbanization can be classified depending on the style of architecture and planning methods as well as the historic growth of areas.

[[File:2020 1million cities.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|Map showing urban areas with at least one million inhabitants in 2020.]]
In cities of the [[Developed country|developed world]] urbanization traditionally exhibited a concentration of human activities and settlements around the downtown area, the so-called ''in-migration''. In-migration refers to migration from former colonies and similar places. The fact that many immigrants settle in impoverished city centres led to the notion of the "peripheralization of the core", which simply describes that people who used to be at the periphery of the former empires now live right in the centre.

Recent developments, such as [[inner-city]] redevelopment schemes, mean that new arrivals in cities no longer necessarily settle in the centre. In some developed regions, the reverse effect, originally called [[counter urbanization]] has occurred, with cities losing population to rural areas, and is particularly common for richer families. This has been possible because of improved communications and has been caused by factors such as the fear of crime and poor urban environments. It has contributed to the phenomenon of [[shrinking cities]] experienced by some parts of the industrialized world.

Rural migrants are attracted by the possibilities that cities can offer, but often settle in [[Slum|shanty towns]] and experience extreme poverty. The inability of countries to provide adequate housing for these rural migrants is related to [[overurbanization]], a phenomenon in which the rate of urbanization grows more rapidly than the rate of economic development, leading to high unemployment and high demand for resources.<ref name="Davis">{{cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Kingsley|last2=Hertz Golden|first2=Hilda|year=1954|title=Urbanization and the Development of Pre-Industrial Areas|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_economic-development-and-cultural-change_1954-10_3_1/page/6|journal=Economic Development and Cultural Change|volume=3|issue=1|pages=6–26|doi=10.1086/449673|s2cid=155010637}}</ref> In the 1980s, this was attempted to be tackled with the '''urban bias theory''' which was promoted by [[Michael Lipton]].

Most of the urban poor in developing countries unable to find work can spend their lives in insecure, poorly paid jobs. According to research by the [[Overseas Development Institute]] pro-poor urbanization will require labour-intensive growth, supported by labour protection, flexible land use regulation and investments in basic services.'<ref>{{cite web|date=November 2008|title=Opportunity and exploitation in urban labour markets|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/odi-publications/briefing-papers/44-urban-labour-markets-exploitation.pdf|publisher=Overseas Development Institute|access-date=12 January 2009|archive-date=27 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327183722/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/odi-publications/briefing-papers/44-urban-labour-markets-exploitation.pdf}}</ref>

=== Suburbanization ===
{{Main|Suburbanization}}
When the residential area shifts outward, this is called suburbanization. A number of researchers and writers suggest that suburbanization has gone so far to form new points of concentration outside the downtown both in developed and developing countries such as India.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2006.11.001| title = Density gradients and their determinants: Evidence from India| journal = Regional Science and Urban Economics| volume = 37| issue = 3| pages = 314–44| year = 2007| last1 = Sridhar | first1 = K. S. | bibcode = 2007RSUE...37..314S}}</ref> This networked, poly-centric form of concentration is considered by some emerging pattern of urbanization. It is called variously [[edge city]] (Garreau, 1991), network city (Batten, 1995), postmodern city (Dear, 2000), or [[exurb]], though the latter term now refers to a less dense area beyond the suburbs. Los Angeles is the best-known example of this type of urbanization. In the United States, this process has reversed as of 2011, with "re-urbanization" occurring as ''suburban flight'' due to chronically high transport costs.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bora |first=Madhusmita |url=http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/shifts-in-u-s-housing-demand-will-likely-lead-to/article_06860ab0-ef92-5c44-a05a-ef5aafef0143.html |title=Shifts in U.S. housing demand will likely lead to the re-urbanization of America |publisher=Nwitimes.com |date=1 July 2012 |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=26 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926041845/http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/shifts-in-u-s-housing-demand-will-likely-lead-to/article_06860ab0-ef92-5c44-a05a-ef5aafef0143.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{quote box | width=25em| bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=left|qalign=left |quote=<div style="text-align:left;">...the most important class conflict in the poor countries of the world today is not between labour and capital. Nor is it between foreign and national interests. It is between rural classes and urban classes. The rural sector contains most of the poverty and most of the low-cost sources of potential advance; but the urban sector contains most of the articulateness, organization, and power. So the urban classes have been able to win most of the rounds of the struggle with the countryside... </div> |source=– Michael Lipton, author of urban bias theory<ref>Varshney, A. (ed.) 1993. "Beyond Urban Bias", p. 5. London: Frank Cass.</ref>
|}}

=== Planned urbanization ===
Urbanization can be planned urbanization or organic. Planned urbanization, i.e.: [[planned community]] or the [[garden city movement]], is based on an advance plan, which can be prepared for military, aesthetic, economic or [[urban design]] reasons. Examples can be seen in many ancient cities; although with exploration came the collision of nations, which meant that many invaded cities took on the desired planned characteristics of their occupiers. Many ancient organic cities experienced redevelopment for military and economic purposes, new roads carved through the cities, and new parcels of land were cordoned off serving various planned purposes giving cities distinctive geometric designs. UN agencies prefer to see [[infrastructure|urban infrastructure]] installed before urbanization occurs. [[Landscape planning|Landscape planners]] are responsible for landscape infrastructure ([[public park]]s, [[sustainable urban drainage systems]], [[Greenway (landscape)|greenways]] etc.) which can be planned before urbanization takes place, or afterwards to revitalize an area and create greater [[livability]] within a region. Concepts of control of the urban expansion are considered in the [[American Institute of Planners]].

As population continues to grow and urbanize at unprecedented rates, [[new urbanism]] and [[smart growth]] techniques are implemented to create a transition into developing environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable cities. Additionally, a more well-rounded approach articulates the importance to promote participation of non-state actors, which could include businesses, research and non-profit organizations and, most importantly, local citizens.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lwasa, Seto |first=Shauib, Karen |date=27 November 2021 |title=Chapter 8 Urban Systems and other Settlements |url=https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FinalDraft_Chapter08.pdf |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404150708/https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FinalDraft_Chapter08.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Smart Growth and New Urbanism's principles include [[walkability]], mixed-use development, comfortable high-density design, land conservation, [[social equity]], and economic diversity. Mixed-use communities work to fight [[gentrification]] with [[affordable housing]] to promote social equity, decrease [[automobile dependency]] to lower use of [[fossil fuel]]s, and promote a [[localized economy]]. Walkable communities have a 38% higher average GDP per capita than less walkable urban metros (Leinberger, Lynch). By combining economic, environmental, and social sustainability, cities will become equitable, resilient, and more appealing than [[urban sprawl]] that [[overexploitation|overuse]]s [[land use|land]], promotes [[automobile]] use, and segregates the population economically.<ref>{{Cite report |author1=Christopher B. Leinberger |author2=Patrick Lynch |year=2014 |title=Foot Traffic ''Ahead'': Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America's Largest Metros |publisher=The George Washington University School of Business |url=http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/foot-traffic-ahead.pdf |access-date=11 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102837/http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/foot-traffic-ahead.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 }}</ref><ref name="control">{{cite journal |author=Lovelace, E.H.|title=Control of urban expansion: the Lincoln, Nebraska experience|journal=[[Journal of the American Institute of Planners]]|year=1965|volume=31|issue=4|pages=348–52|author-link=Eldridge Lovelace |doi=10.1080/01944366508978191}}</ref>

===Water scarcity===
{{excerpt|Water stress and urbanization}}

==Urbanization throughout the world==
{{main|Urbanization by sovereign state}}
[[File:The African and Asian belts of least urbanized countries.png|thumb|Map with circled African and Asian belts of non-urbanized countries]]
Presently, most countries in the world are urbanized, with the global urbanization average numbering 56.2% in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN: How has the world's urban population changed from 1950 to 2020? |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/global-continent-urban-population-urbanisation-percent/ |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=World Economic Forum |date=4 November 2020 |language=en |archive-date=31 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031214232/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/global-continent-urban-population-urbanisation-percent/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, there are great differences between some regions; the nations of [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], the [[Americas]] and [[East Asia]] are predominantly urbanized. Meanwhile, two large belts (from [[Central Africa|central]] to [[East Africa|eastern]] [[Africa]], and from [[Central Asia|central]] to [[Southeast Asia|southeast]] [[Asia]]) of very lowly urbanized countries exist, as seen on the map here. These labeled countries are among the least urbanized.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

As of 2022, urbanization rates are over 80% in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Brazil]], [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], [[Japan]], [[Australia]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Finland]], [[Denmark]], [[Israel]], [[Spain]] and [[South Korea]]. [[South America]] is the most urbanized continent in the world, accounting for more than 80% of its total population living in urban areas. It is also the only continent where the urbanization rate is over 80%.

==See also==
{{portal|Cities|World}}
{{Columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* [[Back to the land]]
* [[City-state]]
* [[Counterurbanization]]
* [[Division of labour]]
* [[Exurb]]
* [[Ghetto]]
* [[Human population planning#Increasing population growth|Human population planning]]
* [[Human migration]]
* [[Megalopolis (city type)]]
* [[Political demography]]
* [[Pseudo-urbanization]]
* [[Push and pull factors in migration]]
* [[Synurbization]]
* [[Urban ecology]]
* [[Urban exploration]]
* [[Urban history]]
* [[Urban metabolism]]
* [[Urban morphology]]
* [[Urban studies]]
* [[Urbanization by country]]
* [[White flight]]
}}

===Historical===
* [[Neolithic Revolution]]
* [[Oppidum]]
* [[Polis]]
* [[Urban revolution]]

===Regional===
* [[Urbanization in Africa]]
* [[Urbanization in China]]
* [[Urbanization in India]]
* [[Urbanization in Pakistan]]
* [[Urbanization in the United States]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Free-content attribution
| title = The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024
| publisher = FAO
| documentURL = https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/06690fd0-d133-424c-9673-1849e414543d
| license statement URL = https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/f985caed-cc7a-457e-8107-7ce16c6ef209/content
| license = CC BY 4.0
}}

==Further reading==
{{Main|Urban history#Further reading}}

* {{cite journal | last1 = Armus | first1 = Diego | last2 = Lear | first2 = John | year = 1998 | title = The trajectory of Latin American urban history | journal = Journal of Urban History | volume = 24 | issue = 3| pages = 291–301 | doi = 10.1177/009614429802400301 | s2cid = 144282123 }}
* Bairoch, Paul. ''Cities and economic development: from the dawn of history to the present'' (U of Chicago Press, 1991). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3105665 online review]
* Goldfield, David. ed. ''Encyclopedia of American Urban History'' (2 vol 2006); 1056pp; [https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-American-Urban-History-Volume/dp/0761928847/ Excerpt and text search]
* {{cite journal | last1 = Hays | first1 = Samuel P | year = 1993 | title = From the History of the City to the History of the Urbanized Society | journal = Journal of Urban History | volume = 19 | issue = 1| pages = 3–25 | doi = 10.1177/009614429301900401 | s2cid = 144479930 }}
* Hoffmann, Ellen M., et al. "Is the push-pull paradigm useful to explain rural-urban migration? A case study in Uttarakhand, India." ''PloS one'' 14.4 (2019): e0214511. [https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0214511 online]
* Lees, Andrew. ''The city: A world history'' (New Oxford World History, 2015), 160pp.
* McShane, Clay. "The State of the Art in North American Urban History," ''Journal of Urban History'' (2006) 32#4 pp 582–597, identifies a loss of influence by such writers as Lewis Mumford, Robert Caro, and Sam Warner, a continuation of the emphasis on narrow, modern time periods, and a general decline in the importance of the field. Comments by Timothy Gilfoyle and Carl Abbott contest the latter conclusion.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Urbanization}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|wikititle=urbanization}}
* [http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.htm World Urbanization Prospects, the 2014 Revision], Website of the United Nations Population Division
* [https://www.academia.edu/41133251/P_Peykovska_Migration_and_Urbanization_in_Industrializing_Bulgaria_1910_1946 Urbanization in Bulgaria]
* [http://academo.org/demos/night-time-satellite-imagery/ NASA Night Satellite Imagery] – City lights can provide a simple, visual measure of urbanization
* [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20091012202651/http://www.e-geopolis.eu/ Geopolis]: research group, University of Paris-Diderot, France
* [http://habitat.aq.upm.es/boletin/n21/almum.en.html The Natural History of Urbanization], by [[Lewis Mumford]]
* [http://ssrn.com/abstract=1703534 The World System urbanization dynamics], by [[Andrey Korotayev]]
* [http://gsociology.icaap.org/report/socsum.html Brief review of world socio-demographic trends] includes a review of global urbanization trends
* [https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wess_current/wess2013/WESS2013.pdf World Economic and Social Survey 2013], United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

{{Cities}}
{{Land use}}
{{Human impact on the environment}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Urbanization| ]]
[[Category:Human migration]]
[[Category:Industrial Revolution]]
[[Category:Land use]]
[[Category:Urban planning]]