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The turn of this century may well be remembered as the beginning of the "Urban Millennium" as most people will live in urban areas for the first time in human history starting in 2007. This phenomenon is driven by people seeking a better quality of life, but it is happening in two distinctly different ways. Urbanization in wealthy countries tends to sprawl outward into suburbs, whereas in poorer countries urban growth is concentrated around highly populated urban cores. As people flee the war and famine of rural areas, they are coming to the world's cities in search of better economic and social opportunities at a staggering rate.
The world's population is estimated to increase by over 2 billion people in the next 30 years. The United Nations projects that urban areas will absorb the majority of that growth, with urban populations jumping from 2.9 billion in 2000 to 5 billion in 2030. Mega-cities...urban areas of 10 million people or more...are a symbol of that growth. By 2015, the world will have 23 mega-cities; 19 of them will be in developing nations.
A History of Urbanization
The growth of cities is not necessarily a new phenomenon. Half of all Americans live in cities with over one million people, and three quarters choose to live in urban areas. Additionally, suburbs are growing at unprecedented rates. Once serving as "bedroom communities" for those working in city centers, many suburbs now exist as cities in their own rights, with their own downtown areas, jobs and entertainment outlets.
Like the United States, Europe has long been an urbanized continent, with sprawling outward growth rather than an influx of rural migration. Also similar to the United States, Europe's urbanization rate is expected to slow because of its relative wealth. Lacking the large cities of many less developed countries, one half of Europe's urban population is concentrated in towns of less than 50,000 residents, and only one quarter live in cities larger than 250,000. Even by 2015, no European city is expected to join the list of mega-cities.
Population trends in the developing world
Most of the world's population growth will occur in developing countries, and in those countries there is a growing trend toward urbanization. The percentage of Africans living in urban areas is expected to increase by 25% between 2000 and 2025. Lagos, Nigeria offers a classic example of the history and pattern of the urbanization phenomenon in the developing world. Lagos, Nigeria is Africa's largest city with more than 13 million inhabitants. After the influx of refugees from nearby nations at the end of their 1967-1970 civil war, Lagos is still experiencing a population boom nearly thirty-five years later. As a result, Lagos is not only Africa's largest city, but also one of the world's largest urban centers. While 90% of the residents have access to electricity (a figure unheard of in Nigeria's rural areas), other resources are scarce. Although the city lies on the Gulf of Guinea, and is intersected by canals and navigable waterways, children are seen selling plastic bags of water on street corners because of a water shortage. The city's roads are some of the world's most congested, leading to high levels of air pollution and noise. In an effort to slow Lagos' growth, the Nigerian government moved the nation's capital to the central Nigerian city of Abuja in 1991. Since many governmental offices stayed in Lagos, however, the move barely reduced the rate.
Although urbanization often means an increase in the quality of life for millions of people, it can come with a heavy environmental price. Much of the urban population influx in developing countries is a result of social disruption in rural areas, which brings in people starved of basic necessities like food and health care. Many city infrastructures are poorly equipped to handle the demands of this increased population, and conflicts over land, energy and water will continue. In developed countries, urbanization leads to increased energy consumption and global warming, as well low social investment in local communities. As population rises, urban growth is inevitable--the solutions cities create to deal with their rising populations will characterize how well our growing cities function at the end of this "Urban Millennium."
Sources: United Nations Population Division,
United Nations Human Settlement Program, United Nations Habitat, United
Nations Environmental Program, World Resources Institute Education Center:
Sustainable Communities |
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URBAN AREA: though there is no universal definition,
the UN Population Division defines an urban area as any settlement
with at least 2,000 residents
URBANIZATION RATE: The combination of (1) domestic rural-to-urban
migration, (2) immigration of foreigners directly to cities, and (3)
the natural rate of population growth in cities.
MEGA-CITY: A city of at least 10 million people.
In 2015, Tokyo is expected to be the largest city in the world,
with a population of 27.2 million.
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Which urban area was the world's first mega-city?
a. Tokyo
b. New York City
c. Mexico City
d. Shanghai
Check
the answer
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