Record holders in terms of urbanization level. Levels and rates of urbanization

A global phenomenon has overtaken humanity in the 21st century. Rapid changes have not only led to positive consequences. Urbanization, although perceived by many as something modern and necessary, still carries with it a lot of negative consequences. It is possible to answer the question of what urbanization is only if you understand all the positive and negative aspects, how it affects society, geography, ecology, politics and many other aspects of human life.

The definition of this word is simple at first glance. Urbanization, its definition, is the increase in urban-type settlements. However, the concept is much broader; it includes not only an increase in the total number of citizens who live in cities.

This includes the spread of the urban lifestyle in villages, the penetration of mentality and aspects of social communication. The term is closely related to the social and territorial division of labor.

There is a definition in various sciences: sociology, geography, . The term implies the process of participation of large developing territorial points in the development of society. The definition also includes the aspect that population growth in cities determines changes in social, economic, and demographic nature. This process affects the lifestyle of not only those who moved, but also those who remained.

Urbanization of population

Urbanization in Wikipedia is defined as the process of increasing the role of cities and increasing their numbers. Wikipedia draws attention to the fact that urban culture begins to condition and displace rural culture, and a transformation of values ​​occurs through the prism of industrial development.

The phenomenon is accompanied by pendulum movement (temporary relocation to earn money, for everyday needs). It is noted that in 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in cities, but now this figure is almost 50%.

You need to understand what motivates people who move to cities for permanent residence. They are driven primarily by the financial factor, because even in our country there are significant differences between how much residents of villages receive and residents of large cities. At the same time, the cost of food and goods from the main group does not differ much.

It is clear that residents of villages who have the opportunity to work outside their locality will flock to cities, where they have the opportunity to earn two or three times more. A significant factor is the difficult economic situation. It encourages people to be unsure of the future.

The rapid flow, which is not accompanied by the provision of a sufficient number of jobs, leads to the fact that residents are forced to crowd into insufficient premises on the outskirts of cities. Such phenomena often occur in populated areas in Latin America and Africa, where today the greatest rate of population flow into cities is.

The process has positive and negative meanings. The main advantages are that the city is expanding, expanding, that residents can gain new knowledge, earn more money, improve their education, and achieve career heights. At the same time, employers are also happy, because more new hands are appearing, there is always a choice of candidates.

However, migrants who come in search of money accept any salary, which gives employers the opportunity to reduce minimum wages. The rapid flow also threatens to render the urban system unusable. Since it is not designed to serve such a number of people.

The negative factor of a large concentration of residents is constant traffic jams, environmental deterioration, the growth of anti-Semitic and racist sentiments, and an increase in the number of criminal acts.

Urbanization of population about countries

In geography

Urbanization is defined as the process of growth of the urban population in the world, the consolidation and increase of cities in their area, the emergence of new systems and networks of cities. Geography also notes the particular importance of the phenomenon in the modern world. The geography atlas shows that in underdeveloped areas the growth rate is high, but this is not progress.

In the 90s, the fastest pace of rural residents moving to cities was observed, but now the phenomenon has slowed down a bit. The more developed and economically rich a place becomes, the smaller the difference in the salaries of its residents. For those who live in villages, there is no point in moving to the metropolis, because the salaries are the same, and there are prospects for development in their native place.

Useful video: lecture for 10th grade on urbanization

Causes

The reasons for urbanization are varied; they are not determined solely by economic circumstances.

There are these main reasons:

• surplus of labor in rural areas;
• expansion in size as a result of the industrial revolution;
• industrial development in megacities;
• favorable cultural and living conditions of cities.

The fact that there are certain sentiments associated with people from rural areas cannot be overlooked. As a result of the fact that it is impossible to organize a full-fledged education system or medical network in the regions, city residents are accustomed to thinking that rural people are somewhat “below” them. Urbanization and re-urbanization (the development of urban sentiments outside of megacities) makes it possible to eradicate this opinion.

Migration from rural areas

Levels

All countries of the world are divided into three groups depending on the pace of the process.

Urbanization levels are as follows:

• high (the share of the urban population is more than half);
• average (urban 20-30%);
• low (less than 20%).

Countries with a high level of urbanization include Japan, Sweden, England, Australia, and Venezuela. Countries with an average level: Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, India. The rural population predominates in Mali, Zambia, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Note! Don't confuse level and tempo. The pace does not mean the current state of the country, but the rate at which the urban population is growing.

Economically developed countries with high rates of urban residents now report a small percentage of those who want to live in cities. Most residents gradually move to the outskirts, to villages, where they can enjoy clean air and run their own households. The number of urban residents is increasing in developing countries.

This is explained by the fact that social and economic development is directly related to the development of the person himself. People, wanting to get the most, flock to cities. There is also a so-called “slum” life.

The phenomenon occurs when rural residents, moving to a large city, discover that they have no housing and that not every employer is ready to hire them and pay them a lot of money. Not wanting to give up their dream, they settle on the outskirts of the city, where housing is inexpensive. Thus growth occurs, but this does not indicate progress.

Countries with high levels

These are those where the urban population exceeds 50%.

These include:

• South Korea;
• Canada;
• Monaco;
• St. Maarten;
• Singapore;
• Bermuda;
• Japan;
• Great Britain;
• Australia;
• Venezuela;
• Sweden;
• Kuwait and others.

Note! According to the UN, the pace of urbanization has slowed down a bit. The organization has been publishing research data for the past two years.

Countries with high levels of urban migration are located primarily in Latin America, South and East Asia, and Central Africa.

South Korea

World level

The main aspect of the modern process is not only rapid population growth. The concept of suburbanization appeared, meaning the creation of spatial forms on the basis of cities - megacities. There is a deconcentration of the population here. The term implies not only expansion in breadth, that is, the settlement becomes geographically larger, but also upward. The construction of tall skyscrapers and small apartments makes it possible to accommodate more people per square meter.

The global trend is also accompanied by a demographic boom. By increasing their economic profile, citizens of a certain country understand that by moving they can give more to their children. As a result of this, a problem arises: many children are born in cities, and extinction occurs in villages. However, in recent years the world has seen a decline in the rate of both urbanization and birth rates.

Note! As for Russia, there is another trend taking place - the transformation of villages into urban settlements.

Ratio of urban and rural population

Urbanization in Russia

In Russia, this phenomenon is widespread and is associated, first of all, with the economic situation in the country. In the capital of the Russian Federation, a person can earn 2-5 times more than in a village, doing the same work. The percentage of urbanization is now quite high - it is 73%.

This was influenced by the following negative factors:

• the lack of regulations in legislative acts that would adequately regulate migration issues within the country;
• difficulties in the economic situation of the country;
• large delays in wages;
• small selection of vacancies in rural areas;
• instability in the political sphere;
• low wages.

Useful video: Russian cities - urbanization

Conclusion

The pace of the process is increasing every year. Government services deal with migration issues within the country, but, as practice shows, this is not always effective.

The process of moving citizens of countries has both its pros and cons. It is not possible to say unambiguously what it will be like in the future, or whether it can stop altogether.

In contact with

In the modern world, one of the most important global phenomena is urbanization. This article describes what this term means and what level of urbanization in Foreign Europe.

General information

Before talking about the urbanization of Foreign Europe, it is necessary to understand what is meant by each of these two concepts. Urbanization refers to the increase in the number of cities. This process is accompanied by a high growth rate of the urban population in the region, country, and world, and, accordingly, an increase in the importance of cities in economic, political and cultural terms. Foreign Europe includes 40 countries located in the European part of the huge continent - Eurasia.

Common features

In modern society, the process of urbanization has the following features:

• Significant increase in the number of urban residents;
• Increasing number of urban residents in big cities;
• Expansion of the territory of large cities, their “sprawling”.

Rice. 1. Large and small cities on the map of Europe

Urban population growth

Throughout history, cities have always played a leading role in the life of society and its development. However, starting from the 19th century, the number of urban residents increased markedly. At the beginning of the last century, this trend intensified, and after the end of World War II, the era of a real “urban revolution” began. The number of residents in cities is increasing not only due to the migration of the rural population, but also as a result of the administrative transformation of rural settlements into urban ones.

Urbanization of the countries of Foreign Europe is at one of the highest levels in the world. On average, about 75% of the European population is urban. The following table shows statistical data on the share of urban residents in the total population of each individual country in Foreign Europe.

TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this

Western Europe has the highest rate of urbanization, while in Eastern Europe the picture is exactly the opposite: the level varies from 40% to 60%. This is due, first of all, to the socio-economic development of countries: Western European countries are classified as developed, and Eastern European countries are classified as states with low per capita income.

Rice. 2 Paris agglomeration on the map

Big cities and their "sprawl"

At the beginning of the 20th century there were not so many large cities in the world - only 360. But by the end their number had increased significantly - 2500. Today this number is close to 4 thousand. It is worth noting that if previously cities with over 100 thousand inhabitants were classified as large, today research revolves mainly around millionaire cities with a population of over one million. There are many such cities in Europe. Among them it is worth noting London (over 8 million), Berlin (over 3 million), Madrid (over 3 million), Rome (over 2 million) and others.

This trend became possible due to the development of scientific and technological progress, the increasing role of science in the development of production, the increase in the general level of education, and the development of the non-production sphere.

A distinctive feature of the modern urbanization process is the “sprawling” of large cities - the expansion of their already considerable territory. In other words, large industrial centers, port cities, capitals go beyond their borders, growing into something more - an urban agglomeration.

But this is not the limit: many agglomerations are united into megacities. In foreign Europe, the largest metropolitan agglomerations are Paris and London. In addition, there are such large industrial agglomerations as Gdansk-Gdynia (Poland), Rhine-Ruhr (France), South Yorkshire (England) and others.

European urbanization has its own distinctive features. Among them are suburbanization (the settlement of city residents in the suburbs), deurbanization (the outflow of city dwellers to rural settlements) and ruralization (the spread of urban norms and lifestyles in rural areas).

6. Urban and rural population of the world. Urbanization, problems of urbanization in the modern world

1. Cities and rural settlements as forms of settlement.

2. Dynamics of the ratio of urban and rural populations.

3. Urbanization as a worldwide process and its stages.

4. General features of urbanization and examples of their manifestation.

5. Levels and rates of urbanization in countries and regions.

6. Problems of urbanization.

tests for self-control on the topic “Urban and rural populations of the world. Urbanization."

1. According to the nature of settlement, the world population can be divided into urban and rural.

Rural settlement arose with the development of agriculture. Currently, more than half the world's population lives in rural areas. There are 15-20 million rural settlements. They vary in size, shape, and economic specialization.

There are two forms of rural settlement:

• group (village) - most typical for the countries of Central and Southern Europe, Russia, Japan, as well as for most developing countries;
• scattered (farm) - most common in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Northern European countries.

In areas of nomadic cattle breeding there are no permanent settlements at all.

Urban settlement . Cities arose in ancient times in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and then in the lower reaches and delta of the Nile as centers of administrative power, trade and craft. With the development of industry, industrial production was concentrated in them, infrastructure was formed, and transport connections were developed. Cities gradually became centers of attraction for the entire surrounding territory, and their role in the territorial organization of the economy increased. Today, the functions of large cities have expanded. They are industrial, cultural, scientific, administrative centers, and transport hubs. Most cities are multifunctional. However, there are cities that have a “specialization” - single-function ones. These include mining centers, resort cities, scientific centers, and some capitals.

The definition of a city varies from country to country. For example, in the USA, a city is considered to be a settlement of over 2.5 thousand people, in India - over 5 thousand, the Netherlands - 20 thousand, Japan - 30 thousand, and in Sweden, Denmark, Finland - only more than 200 people. In Russia, not only the number of residents is taken into account, but also the employment rate (industry, service sector).

Currently, the distribution of the population is increasingly determined by the geography of cities; they are gradually becoming the main form of human settlement.

2. This is confirmed by the change in the ratio of urban and rural populations. Thus, during the 20th century, the urban population increased from 220 million to 2276 million people, and the share of urban residents in the entire population increased from 14% to 45%. At the same time, the share of the rural population fell accordingly from 86% to 55%.

3. The process of growing urban population, increasing the number of cities and their consolidation, the emergence of networks and systems of cities, as well as the increasing role of cities in the modern world is called urbanization. Urbanization is the most important socio-economic process of our time. There are three stages in its development:

1. first half of the 20th century. This stage is characterized by accelerating urban population growth and the spread of urbanization to almost all regions of the world;
2. second half of the 20th century. This stage is characterized by an even greater acceleration of the growth rate of the urban population, the development of large cities, the transition from a pinpoint city to an agglomeration (territorial grouping of cities and rural settlements), as well as the formation of megalopolises (the merger of urban agglomerations), which leads to the spread of the urban lifestyle to the rural terrain.

4. Urbanization as a worldwide process has common features that are characteristic of most countries.

5. Although there are common features, the process of urbanization in different countries has its own characteristics, which are expressed in the level and pace of urbanization.

The level of urbanization varies in different regions of the world. It is highest in North America, Foreign Europe, Latin America and Australia (71-75%); low level - in Foreign Asia (especially in South and Southeast) and Africa (27-34%).

According to the rate of urbanization There are sharp differences between developed and developing countries. In developing countries, the urban population growth rate is 4.5 times higher than that of developed countries. They are highest in Africa and Western Asia, in countries where the level of urbanization today is the lowest. The high rate of growth in the number of city dwellers in developing countries is called the “urban explosion”. It is accompanied by an increase in the number of large cities and millionaire cities.

A feature of the urbanization process in developed countries has become the phenomenon suburbanization- relocation of part of the urban population to the suburbs. In the United States, 60% of metropolitan area residents live in the suburbs. This is due to the deterioration of environmental conditions in large cities and the rise in infrastructure costs.

6. Environmental problems of cities are the main problems of urbanization. Cities account for 80% of all emissions into the atmosphere and E/4 of the total volume of all environmental pollution.

All cities in the world annually “throw out” up to 3 billion tons of solid waste, over 500 m3 of industrial and domestic wastewater, and about 1 billion tons of aerosols into the environment.

Large cities and agglomerations have a particularly strong impact on the environment; their polluting and thermal effects can be traced at a distance of 50 km.

In addition, cities change natural landscapes. Urban anthropogenic landscapes are formed in them.

Another problem of urbanization is that this process is spontaneous and difficult to control. “Urban explosion” in developing countries leads to the so-called “slum urbanization” associated with the influx of poor rural people into large cities.

In developed countries, efforts are being made to regulate the process of urbanization. Various measures are being taken to protect and improve the urban environment. This is an interdisciplinary problem, and its solution requires the participation of various specialists.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. Why has the rate of urbanization slowed in developed countries?

The pace of urbanization is directly related to its level. In developed countries, the level of urbanization is high, the share of the urban population in many countries reaches 80% or more, so further growth in the share of the urban population is practically impossible. Moreover, in many developed countries there is a process of suburbanization (relocation to the suburbs).

2. Why have cities become the main form of human settlement in the modern world?

Cities have become the main form of human settlement, since it is in them that industrial production and infrastructure are concentrated, they are scientific, administrative and cultural centers, and the main transport routes intersect in them.

3. Explain the concept of “false urbanization”.

The concept of “false urbanization” is associated with a sharp increase in the share of the urban population in developing countries, in which the rural population is being “pushed” into cities from overpopulated agricultural areas. However, with this phenomenon, there is no development of urban functions that characterize the global process of urbanization

Distribution of population across the Earth's territory.

Demographic policy.

In the second half of the 20th century.

The world population growth rate has increased sharply due to advances in health care and a decline in mortality. By the end of the century, the world population is increasing annually by more than 90 million people. This sharp increase in population was called the “demographic explosion”. At the same time, the “demographic explosion” occurred mainly in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, which are characterized by the second type of population reproduction - they account for 90% of all world population growth.

The rapid population growth in these countries has created acute problems related to the critical importance of providing people with jobs, housing, medical care, etc. In countries with low population growth (for example, France, Germany), problems arise associated with the “aging of the nation” - an increase in the proportion of older people in the age structure of the population. For this reason, today many countries of the world are pursuing targeted demographic policies - a set of measures (economic, propaganda, etc.) aimed at regulating the birth rate in order to increase or reduce natural population growth.

The Earth's population is distributed very unevenly: 70% of the population is concentrated on 7% of the land area.

The population density in these areas is several hundred people per 1 km2. At the same time, on most of the inhabited land the population density does not exceed 5 people/km2, and 15% of the land is not inhabited at all. This uneven distribution of the population is caused by a number of interrelated factors: natural, historical, demographic and socio-economic. Even in ancient times, people settled in areas with favorable conditions for human life, but as the economy developed, its location began to have a decisive influence on the distribution of the population.

People settle in areas with developed industry, agriculture, and along transport routes. Also, high or low natural growth significantly affects the density of human settlement. Today, half of humanity lives in a 200-kilometer coastal strip. The largest densely populated areas of the world are currently South and Southeast Asia, Europe and the Northeast of the United States, as well as the West African region (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana).

At the same time, there are vast territories (in North America, northern Asia, Australia, northern Africa) where the average population density is less than 10 people/km2.

The process of urban population growth, an increase in the number of cities and their consolidation, the emergence of networks and systems of cities, as well as the increasing role of cities in the modern world is usually called urbanization. Urbanization is the most important socio-economic process of our time.

There are three stages in its development:

1. initial stage - XIX century. The process of urbanization began in Europe and North America;
2. first half of the 20th century. This stage is characterized by accelerated urban population growth and the spread of urbanization to almost all regions of the world;
3. second half of the 20th century.

   This stage is characterized by an even greater acceleration of the growth rate of the urban population, the development of large cities, the transition from a pinpoint city to an agglomeration (a territorial grouping of cities and rural settlements), as well as the formation of megalopolises (the merger of urban agglomerations), which leads to the spread of the urban lifestyle to the countryside.

Urbanization as a worldwide process has common features that are characteristic of most countries.

Read also

20 countries in the world with the highest level of urbanization

20 countries in the world with the highest level of urbanization Wikipedia
Site search:

Similar chapters from other works:

Types and descent of deserts on Earth

Chapter 2. Characteristics of the largest deserts in the world

Geography of industrial fishing

2.1.

Medium urbanized

Comparative characteristics of fishing fleets in the world

In most countries, commercial fisheries are currently under development. This sector of the economy employs more than 7 million fishermen, and there are more than 2 million vessels in the fleet, the total volume of which in 2000 exceeded 7 million gross regions. t...

Dynamics of urbanization abroad in 1950-2013.

2.1. Spatiotemporal analysis of the dynamics of the degree of urbanization in Asia

A city is a large settlement that carries out industrial, organizational, economic, administrative, cultural, transport and other (but not agricultural) functions...

Natural population movement in Russia

2.1. Comparative characteristics of the natural movement of the population of the Central and Central Black Earth Regions

Natural population growth depends on three factors: fertility, mortality, sexual and age structure.

Therefore, to perform comparative characteristics, it is necessary to first take into account data on these indicators...

Population as a factor at the production site

1. Comparative characteristics of the Eastern Bissari and Far Eastern economic regions

Economic and geographical features of the economic region of Eastern Bisser. The area is ~7.2 million km². Composition of the economic region of Eastern Bisser: Buryatia, Tuva (Tuva) and Khakassia.

Krasnoyarsk region, including...

Conventional Russian tanks

1.2. Tanks and their differences from other types of tanks

Of all the diversity of human transformational activities, both in scale and significance in the global ecological systems of the planet, two processes stand out: the development of new territories for agricultural production...

Features of the main forms of the regional economic complex of the country

fifths

SPZ "Nakhodka" and SEZ in Kaliningrad. Comparative characteristics

FEZ "Nakhodka" FEZ "Nakhodka", the first in Russia, was created in October 1990. The goals of the SEZ project, according to some documents, are the development of trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation with the rest of the world...

first

Comparative characteristics of two federal districts

According to the plan - composition, - development factors (transport and geographical location, assessment of natural conditions and resources, level of development of social and industrial infrastructure, research base) ...

Comparative economic and geographical characteristics of the forestry and chemical industries in Germany and China

third

Comparative characteristics of the forestry and chemical industries in Germany and China

Comparative economic and geographical characteristics of the populations of the United States and Italy

III. Comparative economic and geographical characteristics of the populations of Italy and the United States

Having studied the populations of Italy and the USA and taking into account the main economic, geographical and demographic indicators of these countries, we can also conclude...

Standard of living of the population: problems of definition and regional differentiation

fifths

Characteristics of the level of healthcare development

Medical institutions (at the end of the year) 1998 1999 2000 1 2 3 4 Number of hospital institutions thousand 12.1 10.9 10.7 Number of hospital beds,

1716.5 1672.4 1671.6 Of the total number of hospital beds for sick children...

Chapter 1.

Characteristics of temperate species in Asia

Asia takes up a lot of space. Its territory has very diverse physical and geographical conditions. Much of Asia causes large differences in the amount of solar radiation in some places...

Characteristics of natural zones in temperate Asia

Chapter 2. Characteristics of natural zones of temperate Asia

The diversity of Asia, its complex orography, determines the richness of the natural areas of the temperate region of Asia (Fig. 2.1).

On its territory there are landscape zones of Thai, mixed forest, forest-steppe, steppe, desert, desert. Figure 2...

Characteristics of natural zones in temperate Asia

Chapter 3. Characteristics of the main protected areas of temperate Asia

natural territory of moderately-specially protected natural areas (SPNA) - land, water surface and air space above them, where there are natural complexes and objects that have special natural protection, scientific ...

Economic geography of the Leningrad region

V.

COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LENINGRAD REGION WITH ADVANCED REGIONS

• GDP per capita in the Leningrad region is 10 times less than in southern Karelia, and approximately equal to GDP per capita in Ida-Virumaa.

This indicates that the economic development of the region lags behind South Karelia. I believe …

COMPARISON OF URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION

1. Urban population: increasing role.

From history courses, you know that cities arose in ancient times in the deltas of the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates as centers of administrative power, trade and craft, and as military fortifications. With the development of capitalism and the growth of large-scale machine industry, transport and the world market, industry became increasingly concentrated in them, many cities became transport hubs and trade and distribution centers.

Their role as administrative and cultural centers has also increased. In the second half of the 20th century. the functions of cities expanded even more, primarily due to non-production sectors. Typically, a modern city performs several functions. But there are also single-functional cities - mining, scientific, resort and even capital cities. Some cities were specifically built to become capitals.
Nowadays, the distribution of the population is increasingly determined by the geography of cities, the total number of which
on the globe there are tens of thousands.

Cities have an increasing impact on their entire surrounding environment - both the natural environment and rural settlements. It is no coincidence that N.N. Baransky called the cities the “command staff” of the territory of each country.

2. The concept of urbanization.

Urbanization is one of the most important socio-economic processes of our time.
Urbanization (from the Latin urbs - city) is the growth of cities, an increase in the share of the urban population in a country, region, world, the emergence and development of increasingly complex networks and systems of cities.

Consequently, urbanization represents a historical process of increasing the role of cities in the life of society, its gradual transformation into a predominantly urban one in terms of the nature of work, the lifestyle and culture of the population, and the characteristics of the location of production.

Urbanization is one of the most important components of socio-economic development.
Modern urbanization as a worldwide process has three common features that are characteristic of most countries.
The first feature is the rapid rate of urban population growth, especially in less developed countries.

Example. About 14% of the world's population lived in cities in V., 29% in V., and 45% in V. On average, the urban population increases by about 60 million people every year.

V., according to demographers’ forecasts, the share of city residents should be 47.5%.

The second feature is the concentration of population and economy mainly in large cities. This is explained primarily by the nature of production, the complexity of its connections with science and education.

In addition, large cities usually better satisfy people's spiritual needs, better provide an abundance and variety of goods and services, and access to information repositories. “Big cities,” wrote the famous French architect Le Corbusier, “are spiritual workshops where the best works of the Universe are created.”

At the beginning of the 20th century. there were 360 ​​large cities in the world (with a population of over 100 thousand inhabitants), in which only 5% of the total population lived. At the end of the 80s. there were already 2.5 thousand such cities, and their share in the world population exceeded 1/3.

Urbanization of Foreign Europe

By the beginning of the 21st century. the number of large cities will obviously reach 4 thousand.

Among large cities, it is customary to especially highlight the largest “millionaire” cities with a population of over 1 million inhabitants. Historically, the first such city was Rome during the time of Julius Caesar. At the beginning of the 20th century. there were only 10 of them at the beginning
80s - more than 200, century - 325, and by the end of the century their number will apparently exceed 400.

In Russia in. there are 13 such cities.

The third feature is the “sprawling” of cities, the expansion of their territory. Modern urbanization is especially characterized by the transition from a compact (“spot”) city to urban agglomerations—territorial groupings of urban and rural settlements. The cores of the largest urban agglomerations most often become capitals, the most important industrial and port centers.

V. in the world there were only three urban agglomerations with a population of over 10 million people - Tokyo, New York and Shanghai. There are already 12 such “super-cities”, and their number is expected to increase to 20.

At the same time, the largest agglomeration in the world was and remains Tokyo, but their subsequent order should change noticeably.

Many of these agglomerations are already being transformed into even larger formations - urbanized areas and zones.

Levels and rates of urbanization: how to regulate them?

Despite the presence of common features of urbanization as a worldwide process in different countries and regions, it has its own characteristics, which are primarily expressed in different levels and rates of urbanization.
Based on the level of urbanization, all countries of the world can be divided into three large groups.

But the main divide is still between more and less developed countries. At the end of the 90s. in developed countries the level of urbanization averaged 75%, and in developing countries -41%.
The pace of urbanization largely depends on its level. In most economically developed countries that have reached a high level of urbanization, the share of the urban population has recently been growing relatively slowly, and the number of residents in capitals and other largest cities, as a rule, is even decreasing.

Many city dwellers now prefer to live in suburbs and rural areas rather than in the centers of large cities.

This is explained by the rising cost of engineering equipment, dilapidated infrastructure, the extreme complication of transport problems, and environmental pollution.
But urbanization continues to develop “in depth”, acquiring new forms.
In developing countries, where the level of urbanization is much lower, it continues to grow in breadth, and the urban population is increasing rapidly.

Nowadays, they account for more than 4/5 of the total annual increase in the number of urban residents, and the absolute number of city dwellers has already far exceeded their number in economically developed countries.

Example. In terms of the total number of urban residents, developing countries became equal to economically developed ones back in the mid-70s. And by the end of the 90s. this preponderance has already become more than double: 2 billion and 900 million citizens.

In developing countries there are now also most
Most of the millionaire cities and “super-cities”. The share of foreign Asia is especially large (up to 1/2).

This phenomenon, scientifically called the “urban explosion,” has become one of the most important factors in the entire socio-economic development of developing countries. However, urban population growth in these regions far outpaces their actual development. It occurs largely due to the constant “pushing” of the excess rural population into cities, especially large ones.

At the same time, the poor population usually settles on the outskirts of large cities, where belts of poverty and slums arise. This kind of “slum urbanization,” as they sometimes say, has assumed very large proportions.
That is why a number of international documents talk about the crisis of urbanization in developing countries, where it continues to remain largely spontaneous and disorderly.
In economically developed countries, on the contrary, great efforts are being made to regulate and manage the urbanization process.

In this work, which is often carried out by trial and error, along with government agencies, architects, demographers, geographers, economists, sociologists, and representatives of many other sciences participate. According to one of the researchers, “everyone rushes into the same stream, only from different parts of the shore.”
As one of the ways to solve the problem of large cities, super-tall buildings are being built and designed.

Semi-fantastic projects are also being put forward for the construction of underground cities, floating cities, underwater cities, cone cities, tree cities, tower cities, funnel cities, bridge cities, etc.

4. Rural population: village and farm.

Despite the rapid growth of cities, 1/2 of the world's population still lives in rural areas, and the total number of rural settlements is 15-20 million.
There are two main forms of rural settlement: group and dispersed.

Their distribution depends on historical, economic development, and on the zonal characteristics of nature.
The group (village) form of settlement prevails in Russia, in foreign Europe, China, Japan, and in the vast majority of developing countries (see Figure 19). However, the layout of villages can be very different. Farms are most common in the USA, Canada, and Australia. There are also mixed forms of settlement, and in areas of nomadic cattle breeding there are no permanent settlements at all.

Population and environment: the impact of urbanization.

As you already know, urbanization has become one of the major factors in environmental change these days. It is with this that 3/4 of the total volume of pollution is associated. This is not surprising, considering that cities occupy only 2-3% of the earth's land area, but almost half of the world's population and the bulk of production are concentrated in them.

Large cities and agglomerations have a particularly strong impact on the environment, and act almost as the main source of pollution. Perhaps air pollution should be put first.
According to chemical studies, the plume of pollution and thermal effects of large cities can be traced at a distance of up to, covering an area of ​​800-1000 km2.

Moreover, the most active impact occurs on an area 1.5-2 times larger than the area of ​​the city itself. It is no coincidence that cities such as Los Angeles and Mexico City received the nickname “smogopolises”.

It is no coincidence that a comic piece of advice was given to townspeople: “Let everyone breathe less and only in case of emergency.”
Recently, authorities and the public in economically developed countries have been taking various measures to protect and improve the urban environment.
In developing countries the situation is much more complex. Given the extreme lack of funds, they cannot ensure not only the transition to low-waste technologies, but also the construction of treatment facilities and waste processing plants.

We are interested in population geography.

Population geography studies the size, structure and distribution of the population, considered in the process of social reproduction and interaction with the natural environment. Recently, two main trends have emerged in population geography.

The first direction is geodemographic. It studies the size and structure of the population, the main demographic indicators (mortality, fertility, natural increase, average life expectancy) and population reproduction, the demographic situation and demographic policy in the world, individual regions and countries.

The second direction is actually geographical.

It studies the general geographical picture of population distribution in the world, individual regions and countries, and in particular the geography of settlement and populated areas.

In this direction, geourbanism has received the greatest development.

It studies: 1) the main historical stages of urban development, 2) the main features of the modern urbanization process, 3) the geographical aspects of urbanization and the development of large urbanized areas of the world, 4) networks and systems of cities, 5) the fundamentals of city design and urban planning.
New areas of scientific research such as recreational geography, medical geography, cultural geography, geography of religions, geography of lifestyle, etc. are also closely related to population geography.
The main conclusion.

Modern processes of growth, composition and distribution of population raise many complex problems, some of them are worldwide and some are specific to different types of countries. The most important are the continued rapid growth of the world population, interethnic relations, and urbanization.

List of countries by urban population

Page 4 of 5

According to the level of urbanization, all countries of the world can be grouped:

a) highly urbanized countries (the share of the urban population is above 50%). These are the countries of North and South America (except Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Australia, countries of Western Europe (except Portugal), Japan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, the Baltic states, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, South Africa, Tunisia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, etc.;

b) medium-urbanized countries (the share of the urban population is below 20%).

These are states such as Afghanistan, Nepal, Laos, Bhutan, Bangladesh in Asia; Ethiopia, Somalia, Madagascar, Botswana, Uganda, Burundi, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tonga, Sierra Leone and Guinea in Africa.

In the early 90s. the level of urbanization in developed countries was approximately 72%, in developing countries 33%.

Despite the rapid growth of cities, half of the world's population still lives in rural areas.

Their total number on Earth is 12-20 million. They differ in size and the predominant occupations of their inhabitants. The difference between them is determined by the socio-economic development of the country, the level of development of its productive forces and the specialization of the economy.

Large rural settlements are emerging in developed countries around the world. To these are added holiday and resort villages and large villas. Most of the population of these countries is not employed in agriculture, but in manufacturing in large cities.

Therefore, they make daily constant trips to the city to work or study.

In developing countries, rural communities are very diverse. Their inhabitants are engaged in plantation farming.

In areas of nomadic pastoralism there is almost no population.

12 3 45 Next >To the end >>

According to the level of urbanization, all states of the modern world can be divided into 3 groups:

States with a high level of urbanization - more than 70% (56 of them). These are mainly economically developed countries of Western Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, as well as a number of “newly industrialized countries”: and oil-producing countries of South-West Asia. In some of them (Japan, Australia, Belgium, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar) the share of the urban population exceeded 80%;

States with an average level of urbanization (from 50 to 70%), there are 49 of them - Bulgaria, Algeria, Bolivia, Iran, Senegal, Turkey, etc.;

States with a low level of urbanization (less than 50%). These are underdeveloped countries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. *S 33 countries have an urbanization rate of less than 30%, and Burundi, Bhutan, Rwanda - less than 10%.

Factors contributing to the urbanization process:

Firstly, the rapid development of the economy, the construction of new plants and factories;

secondly, the development of mineral resources;

thirdly, the development of transport communications;

fourthly, natural conditions under which the population practically does not engage in agriculture.

Cities are assigned certain functions: there are cities - administrative centers, cities - resorts, cities - ports, cities - transport hubs, cities - science centers, etc.

Despite the high rate of urbanization, currently half of the world's population lives in rural areas. In addition, there are many countries where rural residents make up 80-90%. There are several forms of rural settlement: group (villages, auls, villages), scattered (farms, small hamlets) and mixed.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the world population reached 7 billion people World population. Stages and milestones: population and environmental change. United Nations Population Fund Report. New York, 2011.

This historical event occurred 12 years after it reached 6 billion people. Almost all of the world's population growth (93 percent) is occurring in developing countries. In addition, all future population growth is expected to occur in urban areas, predominantly in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Currently, out of every 10 urban residents in the world, more than 7 live in developing countries, which also account for up to 82% of the world's population. Of the 187,066 new urban residents who will join the world's cities every day between 2012 and 2015, 91.5%, or 171,213 people, will be born in developing countries.

However, contrary to popular belief, rural to urban migration is no longer the main determinant of urban population growth in developing countries. Currently, natural increase accounts for about 60 percent of urban population growth, and rural-to-urban conversion—a process known as “reclassification”—accounts for about 20 percent.

These data highlight the extent to which the world's population is increasingly moving into urban areas. To fully clarify these trends and benefits associated with urbanization, several governments have taken appropriate policy, legislative and regulatory measures to unlock the potential of this phenomenon. In 2009, slightly more than two-thirds (67%) of the world's countries reported that they had taken measures to reduce or even reverse flows of migrants from rural to urban areas.

In the modern world, the intensive process of formation of agglomerations, conurbations, megacities, and urbanized regions continues.

Agglomeration is a cluster of settlements united into one whole by intensive economic, labor and socio-cultural ties. Formed around large cities, as well as in densely populated industrial areas. In Russia at the beginning of the 21st century. About 140 large urban agglomerations have emerged. They are home to 2/3 of the country's population, 2/3 of Russia's industrial and 90% of its scientific potential are concentrated.

Conurbation includes several merging or closely developing agglomerations (usually 3-5) with highly developed major cities. In Japan, 13 conurbations have been identified, including Tokyo, consisting of 7 agglomerations (27.6 million people), Nagoya - of 5 agglomerations (7.3 million people), Osaka, etc. The term “standard consolidated area”, introduced in the USA in 1963, is similar. Stages and milestones: population and environmental change. United Nations Population Fund Report. New York, 2011.

A megalopolis is a hierarchical system of settlements in complexity and scale, consisting of a large number of conurbations and agglomerations. Megalopolises appeared in the middle of the 20th century. In UN terminology, a megalopolis is an entity with a population of at least 5 million inhabitants. At the same time, 2/3 of the territory of the megalopolis may not be built up. Thus, the Tokaido megalopolis consists of the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka conurbations with a length of about 800 km along the coast. The number of megalopolises includes interstate formations, for example, the megalopolis of the Great Lakes (USA-Canada) or the Donetsk-Rostov agglomeration system (Russia-Ukraine). In Russia, the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod settlement area can be called a megalopolis; The Ural megalopolis is born.

An urbanized region, which is formed by a network of megalopolises, is considered a more complex, large-scale and territorially extensive settlement system. The emerging urbanized regions include London-Paris-Ruhr, the Atlantic coast of North America, etc.

The basis for identifying such systems are cities with a population of over 100 thousand people or more. “Millionaire” cities occupy a special place among them. In 1900 there were only 10 of them, but now there are more than 400. It is cities with a million people that develop into agglomerations and contribute to the creation of more complex settlement and urban planning systems - conurbations, megalopolises and super-large formations - urbanized regions.

Currently, urbanization is due to the scientific and technological revolution, changes in the structure of productive forces and the nature of labor, deepening connections between types of activities, as well as information connections.

The common features of urbanization in the world are Tarletskaya L. International demographic statistics: estimates and forecasts. // World Economy and International Relations, - No. 3, - 2008:

Preservation of interclass social structures and population groups, division of labor that assigns the population to their place of residence;

Intensification of socio-spatial connections that determine the formation of complex settlement systems and their structures;

Integration of rural areas (as the settlement sphere of the village) with urban areas and narrowing of the functions of the village as a socio-economic subsystem;

High concentration of activities such as science, culture, information, management, and an increase in their role in the country’s economy;

Increased regional polarization of economic urban planning and, as a consequence, social development within countries.

Features of urbanization in developed countries are manifested in the following:

Slowdown of growth rates and stabilization of the share of the urban population in the total population of the country. A slowdown is observed when the share of the urban population exceeds 75%, and stabilization occurs when the share of the urban population exceeds 80%. This level of urbanization is observed in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany;

Stabilization and influx of population into certain regions of the countryside;

Cessation of demographic growth of metropolitan agglomerations, concentrating population, capital, socio-cultural and management functions. Moreover, in recent years, in the metropolitan agglomerations of the USA, Great Britain, Australia, France, Germany and Japan, a process of deconcentration of production and population has emerged, manifested in the outflow of the population from the cores of the agglomerations to their external zones and even outside the agglomerations;

Changing ethnic composition of cities due to ongoing migration from developing countries. The high birth rate in migrant families significantly influences the decrease in the share of the “titular” population of cities;

Placement of new jobs in the external zones of the agglomeration and even beyond them.

Modern urbanization has led to deepening socio-territorial differences. A kind of payment for the concentration and economic efficiency of production in the conditions of urbanization was the territorial and social polarization constantly reproduced in the most developed countries between backward and advanced areas, between central areas of cities and suburbs; the emergence of unfavorable environmental conditions and, as a result, a deterioration in the health of the urban population, especially the poor.

LEVELS AND RATES OF URBANIZATION

Despite the presence of common features of urbanization as a worldwide process in different countries and regions, it has its own characteristics, which, first of all, are expressed in different levels and rates of urbanization.

By level of urbanization all countries of the world can be subdivided into three large groups. But the main divide is still between more and less developed countries. At the end of the 90s. V developed countries The urbanization rate averaged 75%, while in developing countries it was 41%.

Rate of urbanization largely depend on its level.

In the majority economically developed countries that have achieved high levels of urbanization, the share of the urban population in recent times grows relatively slowly , and the number of residents in capitals and other largest cities, as a rule, even decreases. Many city dwellers now prefer to live not in the centers of large cities, but in the suburbs and rural areas. This is explained by the rising cost of engineering equipment, dilapidated infrastructure, the extreme complication of transport problems, and environmental pollution. But urbanization continues to develop in depth, acquiring new forms.

IN developing countries, where the level of urbanization is significantly higher short , it continues to grow in breadth, and the urban population increases rapidly. Nowadays, they account for more than 4/5 of the total annual increase in the number of urban residents, and the absolute number of city dwellers has already far exceeded their number in economically developed countries. This phenomenon is called in science 
 urban explosion, has become one of the most important factors in the entire socio-economic development of developing countries. However, urban population growth in these regions far outpaces their actual development. It occurs largely due to the constant “pushing” of the excess rural population into cities, especially large ones. At the same time, the poor population usually settles on the outskirts of large cities, where belts of poverty and slums arise. Complete, as they sometimes say, " slum urbanization " has taken on very large dimensions. It continues to remain mainly spontaneous and disordered.


In economically developed countries, on the contrary, great efforts are being made to regulate and manage the urbanization process. Let us note only some of the features of world urbanization on the threshold of the third millennium. Urbanization still continues at a rapid pace in different forms in countries at different levels of development, under different conditions in each country, both in breadth and depth, at varying speeds.
 The annual growth rate of urban residents is almost twice as high as the global population growth rate as a whole. In 1950, 28% of the world's population lived in cities, in 1997 - 45%. Cities of different ranks, significance and size with rapidly growing suburbs, agglomerations, and even more extensive urbanized areas practically cover the bulk of humanity with their influence. The most important role is played by large cities, especially millionaire cities. The latter numbered 116 in 1950, and in 1996 there were already 230. The urban lifestyle of the population, urban culture in the broadest sense of the word, is increasingly spreading in rural areas in most countries of the world

IN developing countries 
 urbanization is mostly underway "breadth" as a result of the massive influx of migrants from rural areas and small towns to big cities.

For economically developed countries are now characterized by urbanization "deep": intensive suburbanization, formation and spread of urban agglomerations and metropolises. 


The concentration of the transport industry has worsened the economic conditions of life in large cities. In many areas, the population is now growing faster in small towns on the outskirts than in metropolitan centers. Often the largest cities, especially cities with millionaires, lose population due to its migration to the suburbs, satellite cities, and in some places to the countryside, where it brings an urban lifestyle.