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Urbanisation; Definition and History

An urban area contains a settled population not directly involved in the primary production of
food and other raw materials (Fogarty, 1995). Urbanisation is the process by which urban
areas increase in size and population density. A city is the biggest and most populated urban
area. A large city is one with at least 2 million people, a megacity is one with 10 million
people or more , of which there are currently twenty-four in the world. A city has various
specialised land uses, and many institutions to control resource use.

G. Hurd et al (1973) in Human societies an Introduction to Sociology suggested that

urbanization historically had three main stages:

1. Extends from the time when people first began to live in towns up until the 18th century
when urban areas had 100,000 people.

2. Rapid growth in size and number of cities contingent upon the process of industrialization.

3. Metropolitanisation which involves the centralization of people and the societys political,
economic and cultural institutions.

4. De-urbanization-The growth of sub-urbs, migration to rural areas, alternative communities

and planned new trowns.

Throughout the vast majority of our 4.5 million year existence, humans have not lived in
settled areas. Cities first arose 10, 000 years ago, and were found mainly in Southeast Asia
and the Mediterranean region. Since the Industrial Revolution 300 years ago, large cities
grew in Europe and the United States. Today the largest and fastest-growing cities are in socalled developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Currently about
half of the world's population is urbanised, and this is expected to increase to 80-90% in the
future (Cunningham and Saigo, 1990).

Suburbanisation

A suburb is a section of the city whose main role is residency for workers of the (Hutchinson
and Hirsch, 1996). Suburbanisation is the process whereby residential sections of the city
expand. Three factors which encourage suburbanisation are population growth, lifestyle
values which promote large houses with gardens, and car-dependent transport.

Counter-urbanisation

Counter-urbanisation is the process by which people and employment move out of large
settled areas to smaller ones - a process of decentralisation (Cunningham and Saigo, 1990).
Counter-urbanisation may have begun in European cities with the industrial revolution, in
protest against the pollution and overcrowding of the cities. In the 1970s there was a marked
movement of Western populations out of major cities to small settlements and rural areas,
and the establishment of "alternative lifestyles" (Fogarty, 1995).

Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl is the expansion of urban areas into surrounding non-urban areas. In
"developing" countries it occurs largely as a result of rapid growth of cities, which is often
due to socially inequitable economic policies. In "developed" countries car-dependence is a
major factor in urban sprawl, particularly in America and Australia, and increasingly so in
European countries.

Urban Consolidation

Urban consolidation is being attempted in some Western cities, in order to contain urban
sprawl, and to increase the population density of a city (Cunningham and Saigo, 1990). Such
consolidation could make public transport and services more efficient and affordable, provide
a stronger sense of community, reduce the wastage of agricultural land, and avoid
environmental damage.

Forces Affecting Urbanization

A range of economic, political, social, cultural, and environmental factors affect urbanization.
Government policies in many developing countries promote industrialization and
international capitalist economies and transnational corporations benefit from such policies.
Urbanization is encouraged socially and culturally through the media, and environmental
factors such as the seasonality of agricultural work, may encourage urbanization during the
agricultural off-season. However, often such environmental factors are interlinked with other
political and economic factors (http://www.es.mq.edu.au/hsc/Lcity1/lecoh.htm)

Socio-cultural Impacts

Cities have strong socio-cultural impacts on their surrounding rural areas. The mass media
depicts city life as superior to rural life, the "standard" language is deemed that of the
national capital, and better services are received in the city due to its wealth (Fogarty, 1995).
National symbols and values are generally more evident in urban than rural areas, since they
attempt to bind otherwise isolated city dwellers. The fertility rate in cities is often lower than
in rural areas due to the absence of agriculture, the cost of children, food and living space in
cities, and family planning.

Socio-economic Impacts

As a city grows, the cost of housing and infrastructure also grows, since there are less water,
land and building material available, and greater congestion problems (Cunningham and
Saigo, 1990). As a city decays in this way, governments often do not meet the service needs
of residents and urban development is dominated by private capital. Unemployment grows,
as do drug abuse, crime, and homelessness. Wealthier citizens move out of the city to reside
in the suburbs, leaving behind a concentration of social minorities. Where the government
does not meet the service needs of the people, the "informal" sector is very important in
providing, food, transport, cleaning, and other services, despite the government trying to ban
them (Cunningham and Saigo, 1990).

Environmental Impacts

Wastes are a major problem in large cities (Cunningham and Saigo, 1990). Air pollution
results from over-dependence on motorised transport, and from the burning of coal to supply
energy. Water pollution results from poor sewerage facilities and disposal of industrial heavy
metals into waterways. Vast quantities of solid waste are produced as a result of packaging
and consumption patterns, with very little landfill space available for disposal. Traffic
congestion, and noise pollution are also major environmental impacts of large cities.

Regional Impacts

Urban sprawl decreases the amount of open space, agricultural land, and natural habitats in
regions surrounding cities. These regions are affected by the waste and pollution produced
by the city, and has also depleted natural resources used by the city. As people move out of
the city into surrounding regions, the cities expands, and further pollution and resource
depletion occurs as people travel longer distances from home to work.

Rural-urban migration also has a strong impact on the demography of rural areas. There is
often a pattern in such migration with respect to age and gender, and this migration can act

as a sort of "brain drain", whereby rural areas are left with the least educated people, placing
them in a position of even lower social and political power (Hutchinson and Hirsch, 1996).

Tourism

Tourism is the biggest industry in the Caribbean. Generally this industry is thought to have
the power to increase a countrys economic growth and development. The industry has
contributed to the Caribbean through increased employment, increased GNP (Gross National
Product) and through the improvement of infrastructure and utilities).

Because of the present organization of Tourism in the region however, it seems that tourism
hinders rather than helps economic development. But how is this possible? The industry is
heavily controlled by foreign financiers and investors who own and control the majority of
hotels and the cruise ship companies. Most of the profits are repatriated to the countries from
which these investors come. Thus even though the money made from this industry in many
countries far outweighs that received from any other industry, that repatriation of capital
retards the development potential of the Caribbean countries. Some argue that if means for
keeping this capital were formulated then, tourism could become an avenue for economic
development.

The growth of tourism was accidental and even today has been improperly developed. This it
can be argued in the main reason for the problems which are associated with the product.
These include the marginalization of the population and its culture, environmental damage
(such as damage to the reefs), inflation (especially in tourist areas), the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases and the destruction of family life, etc. The industry has also fostered a
dependency on foreign institutions and foreign goods (Mohammed 2007). With this in mind
the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in 2004 sought to promote sustainable tourism which
advocates tourism policies, activities and programmes that are economically,
environmentally and socio-culturally sustainable. This means that the product can be
developed but in accord with the economy the environment and the culture so as to prevent
harm to any of the components. This would be beneficial to the Caribbean region since it
favours human development over economic development, which would be translated into
greater empowerment, productivity and equity among the members of the society.