What Is Urbanization?

Urbanization is the process of increasing population growth in cities and suburbs; it also
includes the increase of industrialization. There is more involvement in government,
industry and trade in urban areas. The word urbanization derives from "urb," which is
the Latin word for city. The United States and Europe had the majority of urbanization
occur during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. There is no universal
standard of how urbanized areas are classified. In America, an urbanized area has a
population of at least 50,000.

2Underlying Causes
Living in a rural area provides less job opportunities. Farming is one of the major forms
of income in rural areas. The unpredictable nature of environmental factors, such as
rain and drought, leads to a fluctuating income. The standard of living is difficult to
improve; therefore, families opt to move to urban areas. There is a greater variety of
jobs in cities. Lack of space in rural areas due to a growing population also leads to
urbanization.

3Benefits and Conveniences

The convenience of goods and services is one of the benefits of urbanization. There is
access to more educational and medical services, which allows increased literacy and
better health. There is also less use of personal vehicles and more availability of public
transportation. There is more social integration in urbanized areas. People of different
religions, ethnic backgrounds, social classes and races reside in the same area. This
leads to more understanding and acceptance of differences. Another benefit of
urbanization is the possibility of greater earning potential because of the availability of
more jobs.

4Challenges of Rapid Growth

The rapidity of growth in urbanized areas is a challenge. Although there are more
opportunities, the constantly increasing population leads to more competition. This
leads to large amounts of people that are out of work and extremely poor. Pollution is an
issue that plagues many urbanized areas. Factories and vehicles emit fumes into the
air, which may lead to respiratory issues. The development of more area to build
houses and businesses negatively affects the environment. The destruction of habitats
displaces many animals. It may also be difficult to finance the increase of an urbanized
area due to its rapid growth.