Sei sulla pagina 1di 32

URBANIZATION :

Meaning, Causes, Impacts


and Patterns.
Lecture Notes : BRE 213 & BQS 215

2015

OBJECTIVES OF THE
SESSION:
By the end of the session, the
students will have increased
understanding of:
Definition of Key Relevant Terms
Major Causes of Urbanization.
Effects/Impacts of Urbanization
Patterns of Urbanization

Definition of Key Relevant Terms


Means
the
removal
of
the
rural
characteristics of a town or area, a process
usually associated with the development of
civilization.
Demographically, the term
denotes the distribution of populations from
rural to urban settlements.
Seen as a phenomenon whereby rural areas
are converted to urban areas. The forms of
such conversion includes:
Where urban areas extend their boundaries to engulf
rural surroundings
Where rural areas are upgraded to urban status , say
through the provision of services and infrastructure
Where lifestyles of individuals or social groups are
transformed to those of urban dwellers.
Often defined as the concentration of people and
their dwellings in relatively small and organized
spaces.

Urbanization Definition contd


Urbanization refers to the concentration of the population
in cities; where a city is seen as a permanent concentration
of relatively large numbers of people who are engaged
mainly in non-agricultural activities/pursuits.
It refers to the process where rural areas take on urban
characteristics
Also seen as the growth of towns. In Kenya, for instance,
the growth of towns is largely attributed to several factors:
Rapid rural urban migration, e.g. 50 % &70 % for Nairobi
and Lagos respectively.
Natural population growth within the towns
Extension of the towns boundaries
Governments deliberate role in designating certain areas
as urban.
Urbanization is usually measured by an increase in the
percentage of urban dwellers given by the following
formula:
Number of people in towns and cities x 100
Total population

Definition of Key relevant Terms


contd

Urbanization: A process whereby a population


becomes concentrated in urban areas or
increase proportion of people residing in
urban areas due to movement of populations
from rural to urban areas or to an increase in
land area occupied by urban settlements. A
social, demographic, economic and physical
phenomenon
characterized
by
the
concentration and convergence of a countrys
population into its major cities and towns.
Urban Growth: Increase in population size
and physical development of urban centre.
Urban Fabric: All buildings and structures of
every kind and their connections contained
within the agglomerated part of a town or an
urban area. Name is analogy to the woven
aspect of a fabric.

Figure 1: Urban and rural population in developing


countries (millions)

Figure 2: Urban population in Less Developed Countries


(LDCs) and More Developed Countries (MDCs) (millions)

Figure

3: Average
populations

annual

additions

of

urban

and rural
(millions)

Urban Design: Part of the physical planning process


concerned with the architectural composition of
buildings and space, with special attention to visual
qualities and to the interrelationship between
physical
elements
and
socio-psychological
considerations.
Urban Hierarchy: Ranking of human settlement

by social and economic importance and degree


of urbanization, ranging from the megalopolis to
the hamlet
Urban Management: Range of activities aimed
at increased efficiency of a citys service
delivery and equitable access to services by all
segments of the population. Comprise functions
of
governance,
development
policy,
and
investment decisions carried out by public,
private and community sector.
Urban Planning:Technique of shaping and
guiding
through
preparation
and
implementation of long-range goals and shortterm organized schemes, the physical growth of
urban areas, in harmony with their social
economic requirements.

Urban Agglomeration: Populated areas falling


within the contours of a cluster of dense
continuous
settlement,
with
boundaries
extending beyond the administrative city
limits. Smaller than a metropolitan area.
Over- urbanization: Is the situation in which
more people live in the city than the city can
support in terms of jobs and facilities. As a
result, people in these over urbanized cities
do not have adequate housing, food, sewage
disposal, or medical services. The crowded
and unsanitary living conditions contribute to
high rates of illness and death. In Calcutta,
Indias largest city, more than half a million
people live on the streets. High rates of
migration to urbanized areas combined with
the high birth rates common in less developed
nations have led to similar conditions in many
areas of Latin America, Asia and Africa.

Urban Blight: Deteriorating conditions of a


building or an area for lack of maintenance
or due to external factors such as industrial
use, pollution or heavy traffic, which reduce
the productivity of real estate. Absence of
growth and persistence of depreciation.
Urban sprawl: Is growth through scattered
development followed by a gradual filling in
of space without any plan. Spread of urban
growth in a disorganized manner without
advance planning or regard for subsequent
needs for transport, employment, services.
Suburban Sprawl: Is the irregular and
scattered residential development of a
settlement in the outer border of a town.

Suburb: Residential area surrounding a town


or city and dependent on it for employment,
goods and services.
Suburban area: Outlying residential districts
of a city.
Suburban Expansion Zone: Area of future
development in the outskirts of an urban
settlement.
Uncontrolled Urban Settlement: Physical
development in violation of building codes,
zoning regulations, etc, often characterized
by low, stagnant or negative economic
growth and a low level of resource
development utilization.

Urban Renewal: Also referred to


redevelopment
or
rehabilitation
regeneration.

Is

as
or

a process through which deteriorated


buildings or whole neighbourhoods are
ameliorated through upgrading of existing
buildings,
infrastructure
and
public
amenities.

Planned
renewal
of
deteriorated
and
underutilized
areas
of
a
city,
and
improvement of urban environment through
public and private initiative.
Urban Consolidation: Is a process that
reuses older structures, helps distribute
building densities more evenly, reclaims
underused land and, by appropriate infill,
gradually intensifies the urban fabric.

Causes of Urbanization
1. Rural- Urban Migration:
The push and pull factors

Push Factors
What motivates people to
Pull
Factors
migrate
to urban
areas)

(What discourages people to live in


rural areas)

Employment and incomegenerating opportunities

Pressure on land

Better /prestigious standards


of living: better houses, , cars
etc.

Low incomes

Landlessness

Overpopulation

Increased mechanization and


modernization of the agricultural
sector (machines replace people)

Starvation famine

Natural and man-made disasters


such as drought, floods, ethnic
clashes

Insecurity: war and civil unrest

Effect of overburdening external


debts and adopted development
policies.

Access to new and better


technologies (ICT), markets,
facilities, services and ideas
e.g. schools, hospitals and
entertainment
Reliable water and food supply
Freedom of participating in
religious and political issues
Freedom from prohibitive
socio-cultural beliefs and
conservative lifestyles
Adapted from Waugh 1994

Causes of urbanization contd


2. Most towns esp. in Africa are a creation of the
colonization process which usually built such
towns according to their own ideals and
purposes, for instance:

There were ports which were originally devoted for the


dispatch of slaves, agricultural products and crude oil
from the colonies/hinterlands to the respective mother
countries. Such include: Dakar, Abidjan, Lagos,
Kinshasa, Mombasa and Accra

Others were important railway terminus e.g. Nairobi,


Bamako and Niamey.

In other areas new cities were placed in already


existing settlements or at completely new strategic
sites such as those for mining. The latter include those
found in the copper zone of Zambia (Ndola & Kitwe) and
in South Africa (Johannesburg and Kimberley),
and
Lubumbashi in DRC

Before the colonial time, Africa did have urban centres


e.g. Alexandria in Egypt, Meroe in Sudan, Axum in
Ethiopia

Causes contd
In West Africa others emerged from the transSaharan trade e.g.Timbuktu and Gao. Others
developed among the Yoruba, Hausa and the
Ashanti people, being commercial, political and
spiritual centres.
In central Africa cities were also found in
present day Congo, DRC, Angola, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Burundi.

In Kenya there was Machakos and Mumias in


the interior. At the coast we had Malindi, Gedi
and Mombasa. Other coastal East Africa towns
include Mogadishu, Zanzibar and Kilwa.

Important technologies included: mining(gold


& iron), coin minting, copper works, building
craftsmanship, boat building, pottery and
basketry making, and textile production

Causes contd
3.During the post colonial period, new cities have been
established for various reasons e.g.

Tema, a seaport in Ghana was built to await the


expected industrial growth.
New capital cities were built to give the new
liberated nations a fresh start such as Lilongwe
in Malawi, Yamoussoukro in Cote dIvoire, Abuja
in Nigeria and Dodoma in Tanzania
Today some, e.g. Tema, are a great success while
others have had little influence on the growth of
the established cities and their surrounding
hinterlands, their population has hardly reached
half a million inhabitants (The World Bank Group,
2001; UN, 2003b)

Causes contd
4. The

weakening of influxcontrol
regulations by the newly liberated
nations except for South Africa
where
these
were
intensified
(Rakodi, 1997).

This move led to rapid urban growth due


to increased rural-urban migration
A stable decline in urban growth
especially in south Africa, until these
controls were lifted in 1986 leading to
the cities such as Bloemfontein growing
by 51% (btw 1988 and 1996).

Causes contd
5.Globalization:

Across large parts of Africa


and Asia, urbanization is taking place in response
to economic developments on a global scale.
Indeed globalization is greatly contributing to the
growth of some cities esp. in India where
knowledge intensive industries, supported by
the power of Internet and communication is
transforming cities into high- tech havens. Mike
Porter stresses that respective Governments
play a major role in promoting technological
advances
and
innovations
thro
proactive
encouragement
of
technology
partnerships
between universities & industry,

Globalization is broadly seen as the process of


integration of countries and people; politically,
economically and culturally, into global communities. It
is largely attributed to McLuhans (1962) concept of a
global village where advances in electronic mass
media had collapsed space and time barriers to enable
people to communicate on a global or worldwide scale.

Globalization contd
It is also attributed to the historical,
social, political and technological changes
which have enabled the free flow of:
People
Investment
Products/services
Information and
Knowledge across the globe.

Governments role is crucial in promoting


the needed strong operational
environment.

Major characteristics of Urbanization


(esp. Africa)
The 20th century has been described as one that has
witnessed the rapid urbanization of the worlds
population. The table below shows the dramatic rise
of the global proportion of urban population and the
future estimate:
(UN World Urbanization Prospects 2005). The rapid increase in urban population is expected to continue.

Year

Total Urban Percentage


Population of Total
Pop

1900

220 million

13 %

1930

732 million

29%

2005

3.2 billion

49%

(5%)

2030

4.9 billion

60%

*2050

6.0 billion

About 70 %

Major CCCs
In Africa urbanization is also said to be a
recent phenomenon A look at the HDI rank of 2001
also reveals that life in urban areas could be better than in
rural areas (UNDP,2003)
Country

Botswana

1960 as %of
total
population
2 %

Burundi
Djibouti

2
80

1990

2000

42%

1960-90
Annual
Growth
13.5%

1990-2000
Annual
Growth
7.9 %

29 %

5.5

6.1

81

84

7.3

3.5

Ethiopia

13

17

4.8

5.8

Kenya

24

32

7.7

7.0

Lesotho

20

28

8.6

6.3

Malawi

12

16

6.5

6.5

33

48

42

2.3

1.3

Mozambiqu
e

27

41

9.5

7.0

Rwanda

11

7.4

7.6

Mauritius

South
Africa

47

60

66

3.2

3.2

Sudan

10

22

27

5.4

4.8

33

47

10.3

7.5

Tanzania
Zimbabwe

13

28

35

5.9

5.4

Uganda

10

14

6.1

6.6

Major CCCs Contd


A look at the HDI rank of 2001 also reveals
that life in urban areas could be better than in
rural areas (UNDP,2003)
The HDI value is calculated from each
countrys education level, life expectancy at
birth and GDP per capita
The 21st century now referred to as the Urban
millennium as from 2007 more people were
living in cities than in rural areas.
Though the urbanization rates are high in
Africa and Asia, the urbanization levels are
very low as compared to the developed

Major CCCs contd


All the towns were characterized by the sharp
contrast between the central well planned
modern parts (formerly occupied by
the
Europeans) and the peripheral suburbs where
anarchy and dirt were common.
The towns were also developed internally on
differential lines across social and racial
backgrounds hence access to the available
infrastructure and services favoured the
minority. This was so pronounced in South
Africa.
and
in
Kenya
where
colonial
governments separated Europeans, Asians
and Africans from each other and established
strong influx control laws.
The colonial residential policy also viewed
native populations as temporary urban
dwellers and so no effort was made to provide
them with appropriate shelter and basic
facilities

Effects / Consequences of Urbanization


Uneven spread of urban development
in turn leading to imbalanced
regional development and their
associated problems.
Rapid expansion in urban labour
force yet the overall economic
growth in some countries especially
in Africa are very low, translating
into large numbers of unemployed
and dependent people, with their
related problems.
An increase in Urban poverty which
has a gender bias, and the
implication is the growth of urban
informal settlements. (Discuss).

Effects contd
The dependence ratios are very high
in Africa implying that more
resources have to be diverted to
consumption than to savings and
investments
Some of the towns that have emerged
are parasitic in nature largely using
their privileged positions to extract
resources from their hinterlands.
Some can hardly sustain themselves
esp. when central government and
donor support is withdrawn. Public
Utility services suffer most

Effects contd
Due to poor governance and funding
related issues, many cities such as
Nairobi are experiencing a multitude of
management related problems including:
Proliferation of shanty /slum settlements
Urban sprawl- a chaotic growth of the cities in all
direction putting enormous strain on municipal services
and other land related problems, such as poor
subdivision of land parcels in small parcels for
speculative reasons with little or no consideration of
infrastructural services. High land prices that
discourage potential investors.
Outdated municipal management and administrative
styles
Poor coordination, rampant corruption, weak
maintenance culture

Kenya's first major transport


corridor is the Mombasa port and
Mombasa - Uganda transport corridor
that passes through Nairobi and much of
the Northern Rift. Urban centres in this
corridor still offer great investment
opportunities but the land values are
often very high for the low income
category to afford at an individual level

Lodwar
Marsabi
t
Wajir

Eldoret

The Lamu corridor is a transport


and infrastructure facility in Kenya that
when completed will be the country's
second major transport corridor. Human
settlements along these corridor will be
ripe for investments.

Maralal

Isiolo
Nakur
u

Garissa

Lamu

Development
corridor

Other supportive corridors and interlinked corridors and county headquarters


will be coming up and these will offer
ideal locations for investments.
Wise managers buy land early when it
is affordable.

References
1.

Rakodi, C. (1997), The Urban Challenge in Africa: Growth


and management of its Large Cities, New York, United
Nations
University
,
Tokyo.
(http://www.unu.edu/unupress/)

2.

Todaro, Michael P. 1997: Urbanization, Unemployment ,


and
Migration
:
Theory
and
Policy.
(http://www.popcouncil.org)

3.

The World Bank Group 2001: Upgrading the Low income


settlements
Country
Assessment
Report:
Ghana.
http://www.worldbank.org/urban/upgrading/ghana.html

4.

UNDP 2003: Human Development indicators (


http://www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/indic _8_1_1.html )

5.

United Nations (UN), Population Division : World


Population Prospects, the 2005 Revision, New York.

6.

United Nations (UN), Statistics Division 2003b:Population


of capital cities and cities of 100,000 and more
inhabitants.
New
York.
[11]
(
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/citydata/ )

Th end.
Thank you & God Bless You All

Potrebbero piacerti anche