Factors Leading to Urbanization

Prof Jitendra Mohanty

School of Management
KIIT DU
Bhubaneswar
• Population Growth or Natural Increase in
Population: High birth rates and low death rates –
especially in South Asian countries – leads to
migration – growth of population in urban areas
• Modern Methods of Farming: Use of technology and
fertilisers – agricultural production has increased –
resulted in replacing manpower – machines do a
good job – result rural unemployment – better yields
leads to higher profits – desire to migrate to urban
areas in search of improved standard of living
• Industrial Development: Industrial development started
in Europe – spread to globally – birth of cities around
industries – demand for unskilled and skilled manpower
went up – attracted the rural poor and unemployed to
avail the opportunity for economic growth
• Development of Infrastructure: Better medical,
educational and financial facilities – competition among
them leads to better services – administrative and
entertainment avenues increased – attracted people to
urban areas – wide disparity between rural and urban
areas in respect of facilities available in Africa and Asia –
Hence massive migration – in Europe not much of
disparity – hence comparatively lower migration
• Transport and Communication: Better transport and
communication facilities meant better growth in business –
led to sprawling urban areas – people moved to improve
their financial status – Global connectivity another factor
that made urban areas much more attractive – Broadband
internet and mobile network, intercity rails, national
highways, international and domestic airports serve as
sources of attraction for ambitious people desiring better
standard of living
• Educational and Job Opportunities: Cities like Oxford and
Cambridge attract people from all over the globe for their
quality of education – Indian cities like Pune and Bengaluru
attract people for educational facilities and job markets –
ancillary businesses also flourish in such places
• Trade and Commerce: Cities like Sydney,
Mumbai, London, Shanghai etc serve as trade
and commercial hubs – MNCs, Banks, Ports
are present to support business activities
 Problems of Urbanization
• Urbanization causes decrease in per capita
income – promotes urban violence – political
instability, crime and aggressive behaviour – it
perpetuates poverty
• Major issue is the social problem of the
beraking of the traditional family structure
• This has led to the weakening of morals and
values of the younger generation leading to
increase in crime rate
• Major problems caused by urbanization can be
segregated into (i) Physical/problems or
Infrastructural/Environmental problems; (ii) Social or
Behavioural Problems
1. Pollution: Soil, water, air and noise pollution – adverse
effect on health and longevity – cancer related deaths
high in city centres as per US study – temperatures high
in cities due to density of population and pollution –
dust in cities leads to condensation of raindrops – hence
more cloud cover and thich fog found in urban areas
2. Unemployment: Limited skilled labour available in
developing countries – industries do not get the desired
workforce – shortage of skilled labour results in
operational problem for high tech machinery –
employment opportunities not sufficient to meet demand
for job from the working population – leads to educated
unemployment or under employment, which means work
below one’s capability – Major cities like Mumbai,
Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata account for more than 50
percent of India’s educated unemployed – situation is
becoming worse with migration increasing day-by-day
3. Overcrowding and Slums: Density of population very
high in cities – overcrowding has led to housing problem –
has given rise to slums – rental cost and cost of houses
has gone up due to the demand-supply gap – Delhi has
population density of 9340 persons per sq km (2001
census) – unhygienic environment and poor sanitation
facilities – illegal land deals – crimes and criminals – slums
occupied generally by unskilled and unorganized
workforce and unemployed people – Delhi has slum
population of 30%, Mumbai had 25% - Half of Mumbai’s
population lives in slums
• Urban Sprawl: Overcrowding and lack of
space in urban areas – city grows in size and
sprawls over larger areas – people move away
from heart of city – move into suburbs to own
a house – here they experience more fresh air,
open space – cost of house is much cheaper –
pollution level is much less – Expansion of
rapidly growing cities is important problem for
urbanization
5. Infrastructure Problems
(i) With urbanization, unemployment comes with the
problem of homelessness:
Migrant unskilled labourers end up living on roads – High
rental and expensive housing beyond the reach of the poor
– 1.39% of urban population (2001 census) is homeless –
on an average 6 people live in one household – 35% urban
population live in single room accommodation – one third
city residents do not have separate kitchens, toilet, water,
electricity supply – 20% houses in cities made with poor
quality material – they are temporary structures
(ii) Drinking Water and Sewarage Problems:
Scarcity of drinking water – water comes for
very little time – long queues – demand for
water leads to daily fights – 50% sewage and
industrial effluents get discharged into river –
human excreta pollute the rivers whose water
is used for drinking purposes – water heavily
contaminated
(iii) Traffic Problems: As cities grow in size traffic
problems aggravate – offices and business
establishment at the core of the city and people
reside on the outskirts – causes heavy traffic jams –
Suburbs are recently developed in Chennai, Puine
and Ahmedabad – commercial establishments at
city centre with narrow streets – makes traffic
problems worse – lack of parking space, hawkers,
animals roaming freely, poor public transportation
complicate the problems
6. Social and Behavioural Problems:
(i) Fragile Relationships: Independent, detached and
small families – highly stressed survival in urban
areas – ties and relationships become first casualty
– lack of time – difficult to invest time in relatives
and friends – increased materialism – expensive to
look after elderly relatives – children do not learn
to coexist – single child norm – people learn to be
formal, impersonal and disinterested in others
(ii lead to an increase in delinquency -) Delinquency: Weakened
bonds with family, friends and relatives – Loosening of parental
authority – absence of advice – children look out for bigger and
better things without a moral backing
(iii) Tension and Prejudice: Variations in people in urban areas give
rise to segregation of people by race, religious practices, ethnic
heritage, as well as economic and social status – segregation
causes tension and prejudices among social groups
(iv) Crimes: Unemployment – gulf between haves and haven’ts –
pick-pocketing, chain snatching, robbery, vehicle thefts – frauds –
cybercrimes – high frustration leads to domestic violence against
women and children
7. Pollution and Environmental Degradation:
Increasing population in urban areas – People start
capturing all the land under forests and hill slopes –
start reclaiming land from sea – environmental
degradation with deforestation for several purposes
without thinking about the repercussions – adverse
effect on climate and weather – results in global
warming, less or excessive rainfall – environmental
degradation directly affects human life, makes it
more difficult to sustain and survive.