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Marlene Martinez
Geography 350
Assignment 2
Dr. Menary
5/6/13
Urbanization in North America
Urbanization is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and
even suburban concentration into cities, particularly the very large ones (Wikipedia).
Urbanization has increased over the years and is still predicted to keep increasing. Urbanization
occurs as individual, commercial, and governmental efforts to reduce time and expense in
commuting and transportation while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and
transportation (Wikipedia). There are many consequences due to Urbanization in North America.
There is an urban sprawl that has changed the way North America lives. Urban sprawl is
the change in urban spatial patterns. Since World War II, North Americas urban population has
increased by about 150 percent, but the amount of land they occupy has increased almost 300
percent (Pulsipher 86). Rural to urban migration is strong factor of urbanization, particularly
in the developing world where migration accounted between 40 and 60% of the urban growth
(Class notes). More people have moved into big cities that are surrounded by suburbs and towns.
They move in search for more opportunities for work, housing, and money. People Workers
were drawn by the opportunity to raise their families in single family homes with large lots in
secure and pleasant surroundings. Some continued to work in the city, traveling to and from on
streetcars (Pulsipher 86). Suburban growth has grown a lot and has been a big part of the
increase in urbanization we are seeing today.
Tourism is a big part of urbanization. Many people visit places like: Las Vegas, Nevada,
New York City, Washington D.C, and other places in North America. People who seek better

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employment opportunities come from rural areas and stay in the urbanized areas. Other people
try and look for business opportunities. Many rural inhabitants come to the city for reasons of
seeking fortunes and social mobility. Businesses, which provide jobs and exchange capital, are
more concentrated in urban areas. Whether the source is trade or tourism, it is also through the
ports or banking systems that foreign money flows into a country, commonly located in cities
(Wikipedia).
A consequence of Urbanization is the use of more automobiles. With the urban sprawl
happening in North America nearby cities turned into megalopolis. Megalopolis is an area
formed when several cities expand so that their edges meet and coalesce. The megalopolis
describes the 500 mile band of urbanization stretching from Boston through New York City,
Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to the south of Washington, D.C. (Pulsipher 86). There are also
other megalopolis areas in North America as well. This pattern has caused many people to have
to use cars a lot. They use cars in order to get to work or do other daily activities. The use of the
automobile is an advantage to many people, but there are negative consequences due to this.
Atlanta, Georgia is a city who is the most sprawling city that depends on cars the most for
transportation (Pulsipher 87). The use of more automobiles increases air pollution and emission
or greenhouse gases. Increasing the air pollution and emission of greenhouse gases contributes to
climate change. According to Pulsipher, on a per capita basis, North Americans contribute more
to climate change than any other people on the planet. With only 5 percent of the worlds
population, this region produces 26 percent of the greenhouse gases released globally by human
activity (Pulsipher 65). This shows how much peoples dependence on automobiles and their
consumption of fossil fuels contributes to the climate change, which is a factor caused by
urbanization.

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Habitat loss is another consequence due to urbanization. In North America each year, 2
million acres of agricultural and forestlands make way for urban sprawl (Pulsipher 86). The
urban sprawl has driven farmers out of their land, because it is close to urban areas. Since land is
cheap this attracts estate developers. They invade farmland, forestland and desert with suburban
development. Not only do farmers land their land but wildlife loses their habitats too. As
farmland is turned into suburban housing, property taxes go up: soon all surrounding farmers can
no longer afford to keep their land, so they sell it to housing developers. Advocates of farmland
preservation argue that beyond food and fiber, farms also provide economic diversity, soulsoothing scenery, and even habitat for some wildlife (Pulsipher 86). Urbanization has affected
farmlands and wildlife a lot which makes the farmers lose their job and home. Wildlife migrates
somewhere else or has less chances of surviving with the changes.
Although Urbanization has many negative consequences, there can be a solution. There is
a movement called: Smart Growth. The term smart growth has been coined for a range of
policies aimed at stopping sprawl by making existing urban areas more livable. Livability
relates to factors that lead to higher quality of life in urban settings, such as safety, good schools,
affordable housing, quality health care, numerous and well-maintained parks offering
recreational opportunities, and well-developed public transportation systems (Pulsipher 86).
Their goal is to have mass transit that will have buses, streetcars and subways. There would be
less automobile use and the open areas left can be used for other better things like: habitats,
schools, and other things. This movement also cares about the environmental side to stopping the
sprawl caused by urbanization. Air pollution and lower CO2 emissions could result from more
walking and greater use of mass transit, which is much more energy efficient than automobilebased transportation. More natural habitat could be preserved if dwellings were spaced close

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together (Pulsipher 88). Vancouver, Canada is consistently ranked the most livable city in
North America, among the top four in the world. It is a leader in controlling sprawl. Over the
past ten years, the use of public transportation has risen by 50 percent, while the use of cars has
fallen by 30 percent (Pulsipher 87).
The urban sprawl has also made a big impact on the livability in North America. This is
especially true in the United States, where many cities are dotted with large tracts of abandoned
former industrial land, and neighborhoods debilitated by persistent poverty. Old industrial sites
that once held factories or rail yards are called brown fields (Pulsipher 88). These brown fields
are usually contaminated with chemicals and that makes it expensive to reconstruct. Another part
is the people who are left in the inner cities. Pulsipher states, Also left behind in the inner cities
are the least skilled and least educated citizens, many of whom were drawn in generations ago by
the promise of jobs that have long since moved out to the suburbs, elsewhere in the region, or
overseas (Pulsipher 88). Urbanization is usually seen as the growth of population by people, but
they do not see that people who are stuck in the inner cities are affected by it too. They are
affected by the decrease of employment and the poor living conditions they are in. Some of the
people are really trying to renew old city centers. Others need services like: health care, schools,
and social support that are now in the suburbs (Pulsipher 88).
Smart Growth is also trying to reinforce gentrification. Gentrification is the renovation
of old urban districts by middle-class investment, a process that often displaces poorer residents.
As affluent people invest substantial sums of money in renovating old houses and apartments,
poor inner-city residents are often misplaced in the process (Pulsipher 88). There are some U.S.
cities like: Knoxville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; and Charlotte, North Carolina that have
initiated New Urbanism projects to re-house urban poor people in pleasant, newly built, walk

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able urban neighborhoods with conveniently located services (Pulsipher 88). Even though
Urbanization is having bad effects on people there is something that can be done to try and lessen
it. This movement is one that is trying to make it better and help people and cities affected by it.
Urbanization overall has positive and negative consequences on a global scale in North
America. It gives people advantages in getting jobs, better homes, and personal freedom.
Although there are economic advantages to urbanization, there are many negative consequences
as a result. There is pollution, habitat loss, and farmers who lose their land. People are also
struggling in inner cities where there is less work opportunity and public services. There are
things people can try and do to change the negative effects of urbanization. Trying to change
transportation methods and making different cities more livable is a start. Urbanization is
predicted to increase through the years, but some places have already started to decrease the
urban sprawl and make it more livable. We just have to become more aware of our surroundings
and try to make an impact in our world.

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Works Cited
Pulsipher, L. World Regional Geography Concepts. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Print.
Wikipedia. Urbanization. 5 May 2013.Web. <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization>