The term urbanization became an apparent talking point in the field of city planning in

the late 1800s where the term is used when talking about the expansion of American cities as

well as making them more civil in terms of structural transformation. Today, urbanization has

become an umbrella term that covers more than the advent of cityscape expansion and

transformation, but also a process by which a society or population becomes increasingly

concentrated in urban areas, which are typically defined as densely populated, built-up areas

with a high concentration of economic, social, and cultural activity. This process is often

accompanied by the growth of cities, the expansion of infrastructure, and the transformation

of rural and suburban areas into urban landscapes. Ildefons Cerda defined urbanization as the

process of expansion and redevelopment of cities, while H. Tisdale suggested that

urbanization is defined as a process of population concentration in which the concentration

started in smaller areas and expanded, forming cities.

The rapid growth of mega-cities is one of the current trends in urbanization. Mega-

cities, defined as cities with a population of over 10 million, are growing rapidly, particularly

in developing countries. This coincides with the steady increase in the rate of urbanization in

developing countries such as in East Asia and Africa. According to the United Nations, there

were 33 mega-cities in the world in 2018, and this number is expected to reach 43 by 2030.

However, in many developed countries, the rate of urbanization is now declining, it

dropped to 3.4% in 2000 in comparison to 5.2% in the 1950s. At one point, urbanization will

slow down once most previously rural populations are in cities. In developed countries such

as Europe, North America, and Australia, the urban population is at 75-80%. This decline in

urbanization growth brings us to the second trend in contemporary urbanization which is

suburbanization.

Suburbanization is the exodus of city dwellers from living in the city, to owning

properties and residing adjacent to the urban areas. Suburbanization can be attributed to
various driving factors such as rising housing costs in the city, improved transportation

infrastructure, and a desire for more space and a quieter lifestyle. Suburbanization can also be

linked to urban sprawl, which can lead to an unnecessary expansion of cities to their

immediate surroundings. Suburbanization is one of the major factors in the increase in carbon

footprint as suburban life promotes more motor vehicle travel and continues the dependency

on private vehicle usage, the need for bigger connective roads and highways and the

transformation of natural landscapes into more housing areas.

The next trend in urbanization is sustainable development, which focuses on

sustainable efforts with cities implementing policies and practices to reduce their

environmental impact and promote social equity. This includes initiatives such as mixed

development, green infrastructure, empowering public transportation, a focus on active

mobility, and affordable housing. Mixed development places multiple types of development

that occupy a city area, which reduces land usage waste, such as portions of the city that has

no night use will be rejuvenated by placing residential elements that will keep the need for

sprawl to a minimum. Mixed development is the answer to sprawl, while also being a

countermeasure to strict zoning urban policy which was practiced during the early decades of

urbanization, primarily in the west. Green infrastructure deals with finding a solution to the

climate and urban challenges by including more natural components in the development of a

city. Green and blue elements help with climate adaptation, reducing the heat concentration

in urban areas, increasing biodiversity, improving air quality and improving the quality of life

for the city dwellers through more access to more shades as well as natural recreational

elements within the city. Empowering public transportation is another part of sustainable

development where a robust system of public transportation will reduce the dependency on

fossil fuel usage. It can also help in reducing the emissions related to suburbanization by

reducing the need to use private vehicles to get in and out of a city. With a robust public
transportation system, more focus on promoting active mobility is also included in

sustainable development, with the goal to reduce inner-city traffic congestion as well as

inner-city emissions. Parallel to this, active mobility will also contribute to the well-being and

quality of life of city inhabitants. Both empowering public transportation and promoting more

active mobility is the answer to the early 19th-century urbanization where the urban design is

more car-centric in terms of road design and making highways to accommodate the

automotive industry explosion during that period. Finally, we have the effort to provide more

affordable housing within the city. With mixed development, a portion of the city can be

allocated to create more affordable housing for city dwellers, also in an effort to reduce

sprawl and further suburbanization.

Urban decay is addressed with urban renewal and rejuvenation. A current

urbanization trend sees city administration, stakeholders as well as city dwellers themselves

revitalizing old and decrepit parts of the city to create new urban spaces to attract more

activities, encourage more economic opportunities and attract external and internal

investment. Prominent urban decay has been associated with western cities in north America,

Europe as well as various parts or Russia, although not exclusively to these locations. With

urban renewal and rejuvenation, no longer a city’s development is shifted elsewhere when

there’s decay happening, but the decay is being addressed head-on. Urban renewal also

combats the forming of urban decay caused by suburbanization.

Finally, we have smart cities: using technology and data to improve urban services,

infrastructure, and the quality of life through information access for the city’s inhabitants.

This includes initiatives such as smart transportation systems, energy-efficient buildings, and

digital public services.

As a conclusion, urbanization is an umbrella term that encompasses the entirety of

what makes a city grow, and what makes the people grow with the city. The term itself
 should not be viewed from just the perspective of the growing demographics, but should also

be viewed from the perspective of structural transformation.

References:-

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https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/josf20&div=53&id=&page=

2. Urbanization (2023)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urbanization#:~:text=The%20word

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prospects.html

4. Urbanization, https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization

5. Urbanization, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities A Global

Assessment https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-007-7088-1

6. Straw effects of new highway construction on local population and employment growth

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397515002489

7. Urban Sprawl https://www.britannica.com/topic/urban-sprawl

8. Envisaging the future of cities, World Cities Report 2022

https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/06/wcr_2022.pdf

9. UNITED NATIONS E-Government Survey 2022

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building better cities | TED Talk