The objective of this paper is to study urbanization in the context of the developing world. This would include studying examples of the emergence of urbanization and the rapid increase of the phenomenon especially in Southeast Asia and Parts of Africa. Urbanization is defined as “increase in the proportion of a population living in urban area”2. Studies have shown that, “around 3 billion people “which is a little less than half the population of the world “-now live in urban settlements” (Cohen, 2006). Todaro and Smith predict that, “by 2050, world population is expected to exceed 9 billion people, and nowhere will population growth be more dramatic than in the cities of the developing world”3(Todaro and Smith). The urbanization phenomenon has seen a great increase since the industrial revolution and the various advancements in technology have not only become a reason for it but a means of support as well. However, with such a movement come the consequences of it. “Many international agencies have yet to adequately recognize either the anticipated rapid growth of small and medium cities or the deteriorating living conditions of the urban poor”1.
The increasing population means decreasing resources and their lack of ability to sustain those living in the areas. This has led to the rise of a group of people known as the “urban poor”. “An estimated 72 percent of the urban population of Africa now live in slums1. The proportion is 43 percent for Asia and the Pacific, 32 percent for Latin America, and 30 percent for the Middle East and Northern Africa”1. While there is not one defining moment that can be accredited for the rise of this trend, several factors contribute to it, some of which we will look into later in the paper. P.C Bhattacharya states that “although it is difficult to establish with complete accuracy the time when humans first began to settle in urban environments, many scholars agree that humans have probably lived in settlement clusters of sufficient size to deserve the label ‘urban’ for at least 5,000 years” and that “within only two and a half centuries, the population would have changed from predominantly rural to a predominantly urban one”3. What I find interesting is the prospect of rural-urban migration and the resulting ramifications such as urban bias.
Literature review
To gather material for the paper, I went through several published academic articles and resources from reputable organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank. As the focus of the paper, I will be using two articles in particular. The first is called “Urbanization in developing countries: Current trends, future projections, and key challenges for sustainability” by Barney Cohen, which was published in Technology in Society in early 20061. The second is an article titled, “Urbanisation in Developing Countries” by Prabhir C. Bhattacharya, which was published in Economic and Political Weekly in October of 20024. Barney Cohen’s article “provides a broad overview of the recent patterns and trends of urban growth in developing countries” and an overview of “The challenges of achieving sustainable urban development will be particularly formidable in Africa”1. Prabhir C. Bhattacharya’s article on the other hand discusses “some of the major issues surrounding the process of urbanisation in developing countries”4. While Cohen’s article focuses on urbanization patterns in African nations, Bhattacharya’s article looks closely at Latin American and Asian countries. Several references will be made to the 11th edition of Michael P. Todaro and Stephen C. Smith’s book, “Economic Development” as well as to economic theories such as that of Thomas Malthus.
Methodology
Since the objective of the paper is to examine the phenomenon called urbanization and its causes as well as consequences, the above mentioned resources are used as a guide to formulate the paper. The paper will start with defining urbanisation before going on to examine the various causes of it. The other associated phenomenon such as urban bias and the ramifications of rural-urban migration will then be looked into. Finally, I will look into the economic implications and possible solutions or suggestions to help with the problem. Particularly, economic initiatives such as rural development that can help deal with the problem of urbanization will be focused upon. Both qualitative and quantitative data regarding population statistics of various cities as well as countries will be employed in order to aid to the investigation. Cohen reports that he has used, “the United Nations’ report of world urbanization prospects” and Bhattacharya uses statistical tables containing data regarding the share of national urban population1. Bhattacharya also uses graphs to show the availability of sanitation and water as well as housing in areas of low level income. Cohen too uses graphs, but for the purpose of showing the growth projection of the rise in urban population. Finally, economic theories that are related such as the Malthusian theory of population will also be referenced. The information used in the paper will all be sourced from secondary resources due to the lack of resources necessary to undertake such a large investigation. Furthermore, it is neither efficient nor smart to do so simply because the scale of research would require the devotion of an entire organisation and a very long period of time to collect the data necessary, let alone organize it in a methodical manner. The Analysis will follow the following format:
• Definition and, explanation of urbanization
• The reasons behind its rise
• Examination of the consequences
• Inclusion of economic theories and models as and when applicable
ANALYSIS
Urbanization refers to “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.5 P.C. Bhattachrya states that over the next few years, “developing countries must absorb nearly a billion additional urban residents”4 He also implies that it was industrialization that brought people to towns, which earlier were not as well populated as the countryside. From the 3 percent of the world population living in urban areas to about half the population of the world or 50 percent living in urban areas, we have come a long way4. The challenges of urbanization start with accurately being able to define it. Cohen says that, “urban communities can be defined in any number of ways including by population size, population density, administrative or political boundaries, or economic function. Some countries define their urban population as those people living within certain administrative boundaries—such as in administrative centers or municipios (as in El Salvador), municipality councils (as in Iraq), or in places having a municipality or a municipal corporation, a town committee, or a cantonment board (as in Bangladesh or Pakistan). Other countries prefer to classify their urban population using either population size or population density as the primary consideration”1.
The differences are not limited to just the classification of it. Bhattacharya also points out the differences in urbanization trends between developing countries in different parts of the world. “At one end, nearly three-quarters of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean live in urban areas, just about the same level of urbanisation as in developed countries. At the other end, two-thirds or more of the population remain rural in China, India, Indonesia and sub-Saharan Africa”4. He also points out that among these regions, Africa “has been the most rapidly urbanising region during the past four decades”4. Todaro and Smith can also affirm this fact and state that, “the projected 2030 urban population of Africa of 748 million will be larger than the entire projected 685 million total population of Europe”3. The figure below shows “the proportion of urban population by region”3.
Figure 1: Todaro and Smith, 2012
There are several reasons that could have sparked the whole trend of urbanization. Cohen speculates that, “especially over the last two decades, globalization driven by advances in transportation and telecommunications, and a positive political climate has created a global economy characterized by unprecedented levels of urbanization and more and bigger cities than ever before”1. One of the most obvious reasons would be migration in search of employment. Several young people from rural areas who have been able to go through necessary education and move to urban areas in search of better opportunities no just to advance themselves but also to provide for their families. Although rare, in some countries like India, people move upon marriage in order to settle with their new families. Entire families may also move to provide their children with better education and opportunities.
The problem with urbanization is that one of its main consequences is the creation of urban slums. “Each year cities attract new migrants who, together with the increasing native population, expand the number of squatter settlements and shanty towns”1. Todaro and Smith give examples of such settlements when describing the growth of slums and shanty town such as “the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and the pueblos jovenes of Lima to the bustees of Kolkata and the bidonvilles of Daka. Today, slum settlements represent over one-third of the urban population in all developing countries.”3 The rise of slums is caused by lack of amenities to sustain the population or in economic terms this means that the carrying capacity has been excited. Thomas Malthus put forth an economic theory that states that, “human populations grow exponentially (i.e., doubling with each cycle) while food production grows at an arithmetic rate (i.e. by the repeated addition of a uniform increment in each uniform interval of time). Thus, while food output was likely to increase in a series of twenty-five year intervals in the arithmetic progression 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and so on, population was capable of increasing in the geometric progression 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, and so forth. This scenario of arithmetic food growth with simultaneous geometric human population growth predicted a future when humans would have no resources to survive on”6.
Another consequence is rural-urban migration which is the essence of what urbanization is and is self-explanatory in that it refers to migration of people from rural areas to urban areas. Another consequence is the rise of urban bias, which is defined as, “the notion that most governments in developing countries favour the urban sector in their development policies, thereby creating a widening gap between the urban and rural economies”3.
Conclusion
It seems nearly impossible to put a stop to all the problems that arise with such a huge movement of migration, the least of which are lack of appropriate health and sanitation practices due to the arise of slums as well as lack of housing among various other problems. Malthus suggested marrying later in life as a possible suggestion, while Bhattacharya suggests looking into employing a “partnership-based model for service provision that incorporates the dynamism of the private sector and community groups into public planning”6,4. Cohen suggests better planning by being better armed with current happenings and says, “to begin to deal with these challenges will, at a minimum, require accurate projections of future urban growth, which in turn must be based on both a solid foundation of high-quality statistics and a good understanding of the likely patterns and trends of urban change”1. While these suggestions have their merits, the reality of them carried out has yet to be tested and seen. The result and the future lie in the future of collaboration between well thought and accurately implemented economic policies and a good understanding of the cultural and lifestyles in each region tailored to fit the specific requirements.