essay urban community

Introductory essay

Written by the educators who created Ecofying Cities, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material.

Right now, our economy operates as Paul Hawken said, "by stealing the future, selling it in the present and calling it GDP." And if we have another eight billion or seven billion people, living on a planet where their cities also steal the future, we're going to run out of future really fast. But if we think differently, I think that, in fact, we can have cities that are not only zero emissions, but have unlimited possibilities as well. Alex Steffen

The urgency of urban planning today

Within a few decades' time, we can expect the planet to become more crowded, resources more precious, and innovative urban planners increasingly important. By midcentury, the global population will likely top nine billion, and more than half will live in cities. What will these cities look like? Will we have the resources to power them and comfortably provide for their residents? Will global urbanization harmonize with efforts to curb climate change and secure a sustainable future, or are these forces hurtling towards a head-on collision?

The TED speakers featured in Ecofying Cities underscore the urgency, but also suggest that some optimism's in order as they outline the issues and offer imaginative solutions.

There's no single reason for or response to the complex environmental, economic and social challenges that are part of our future in cities. They call for multiple approaches, originating from different sources — individuals, communities, governments, businesses — and deployed at different levels — in the home, the neighborhood, the city, region, nation and across the globe — to respond to the challenges at hand. As Alex Steffen reminds the urban planners, architects, designers, elected leaders and others involved in the effort, "All those cities are opportunities."

Urbanism and the environment: A brief history

For centuries, successful city-building has required careful attention to the environmental consequences of urban development. Without this, as Jared Diamond demonstrated in Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed , a city inevitably ended up fouling its nest, thus entering a spiral of epidemics, economic hardship, decline and, ultimately, oblivion. Civilizations evolved different ways of dealing with environmental considerations — some with more success than others. For example, thanks to elaborate aqueducts and sewer systems, the Romans were able to build and sustain for centuries large cities that featured a reliable public water supply and state-of-the-art public health conditions.

In other civilizations, however, residents simply abandoned cities when they could no longer rely on their environment to supply the resources they needed. Often this was a direct result of their own activities: for example, deforestation and the attendant erosion of fertile soil, epidemics due to contaminated water and, with the advent of coal-fired industrialization, air pollution.

Urban planning got its start as a profession largely dedicated to averting different types of crises arising from urban growth and providing conditions for public health. This was particularly true in the many 19th century European and North American cities transformed by industrialization and unprecedented rates of population growth. Rapidly deteriorating air and water quality made it necessary to introduce regulations to protect the health of the residents of these cities.

The planners' first-generation improvements included sewers, water treatment and distribution, and improved air quality through building codes and increased urban green space. It's especially remarkable today to think that these interventions were adopted in response to observable health consequences, but without knowledge of the contamination mechanisms at work: germ theory didn't arrive on the scene until Louis Pasteur published his work in the 1860s. From the late 19th century onward Pasteur's findings bolstered the case for even more urban sanitation improvements, particularly those designed to improve water quality.

Starting in the 1950s, however, planners no longer narrowly targeted immediate health effects on urban residents as their chief environmental concern. Their work also absorbed and reflected Western society's deeper understanding of, and respect for, natural processes and growing awareness of the long-term environmental impacts of cities from the local to the planetary scale.

Rachel Carson is often credited as the first to popularize environmentalism. Published in 1962, her landmark book Silent Spring sounded a warning call about how pesticides endanger birds and entire ecological systems. Soon after, air pollution became a rallying point for environmentalists, as did the loss of large tracks of rural and natural land to accelerated, sprawling development. Today, sustainable development and smart growth, which largely overlap and address multiple environmental considerations, enjoy wide currency; most urban planning is now based on these principles.

Today, as we reckon with population growth, advancing rates of urbanization, and widespread recognition of climate change, we know that the cities of the future share a common destiny. The choices we make about how we build, inhabit and maintain these cities will have global and long-term effects.

Sustainable development: Two schools of thought

In modern urban planning, there are two general categories of sustainable development. The first doesn't challenge the present dynamics of the city, allowing them to remain largely low-density and automobile-oriented, but still makes them the object of measures aimed to reduce their environmental load (for example, green construction practices). Ian McHarg spearheaded this approach as a way to develop urban areas in harmony with natural systems; the planning principles he formulated gave special care to the preservation of water and green space. His lasting influence is visible in many of the more enlightened suburban developments of recent decades which respect the integrity of natural systems. Today, the Landscape Urbanism movement promotes these same ideas.

A second school of urban development focuses on increasing urban density and reducing reliance on the automobile. This approach advocates transit-oriented and mixed-use development along pedestrian-friendly "complete streets." On a regional scale, it aims to reduce sprawl by creating a network of higher-density multifunctional centers interconnected by public transit. Today, it's common for plans with a metropolitan scope to follow this approach.

Studying the city: About these materials

Cities are arguably the most complex human creation (with the possible exception of language) so it's not surprising that we study them at multiple scales and from diverse perspectives. We can approach cities through a narrow focus on an individual building or a neighborhood, expand the investigation to consider a metropolitan region in its entirety, or study the global system of cities and its interconnections. What's more, we can think about cities as built environments, social networks, modified ecologies, economic systems and political entities. Aware of the multiple ways that we engage with cities, the Romans had two words to refer to them: urbs referred to the physical city with its wall and buildings, and civitas , the city as a collection of residents.

Ecofying Cities explores urban areas at different scales. In some cases, the TED speaker focuses on a neighborhood project, like The High Line in Manhattan; others describe city-wide transformation, as in Curitiba, Brazil, or a regional or national initiative like China's plan for a network of eco-cities to house its growing urban population. Likewise, the talks explore cities from different disciplinary perspectives including urban planning, urban design, transportation planning, architecture, community organization and environmental science. What unites them all? A commitment to sustainability and a belief that sustainability is more about creating positive effects rather than reducing negative impacts.

The message emanating from Ecofying Cities is one of complexity, optimism and uncertainty. We can't be sure that the changes these speakers suggest will be enough to help us balance supply and demand in the sustainability equation. But we can expect that their ideas and efforts will improve the built environment — as well as quality of life — in cities, thereby providing hopeful perspectives for a sustainable future.

Let´s begin with writer and futurist Alex Steffen´s TEDTalk "The Sharable Future of Cities" for a look at the interplay between increasing urban density and energy consumption.

Alex Steffen

The shareable future of cities, relevant talks.

Ellen Dunham-Jones

Retrofitting suburbia.

Jaime Lerner

A song of the city.

James Howard Kunstler

The ghastly tragedy of the suburbs.

Majora Carter

Greening the ghetto.

Michael Pawlyn

Using nature's genius in architecture.

Robert Hammond

Building a park in the sky.

William McDonough

Cradle to cradle design.

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102 Urbanization Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Urbanization is a growing trend around the world, with more and more people moving from rural areas to cities in search of better opportunities and a higher standard of living. As this trend continues, it is important to understand the various effects and implications of urbanization on society, the economy, and the environment.

To help you explore this topic further, here are 102 urbanization essay topic ideas and examples:

• The impact of urbanization on economic growth
• Urbanization and poverty alleviation
• The role of urban planning in sustainable urbanization
• Urbanization and income inequality
• Urbanization and social mobility
• Urbanization and public health
• Urbanization and crime rates
• The effects of urbanization on rural communities
• Urbanization and food security
• Urbanization and transportation infrastructure
• The challenges of urbanization in developing countries
• Urbanization and access to education
• Urbanization and gender equality
• Urbanization and cultural diversity
• The impact of urbanization on natural resources
• Urbanization and water scarcity
• Urbanization and air pollution
• Urbanization and climate change
• The role of technology in urbanization
• Urbanization and housing affordability
• Urbanization and gentrification
• Urbanization and social cohesion
• Urbanization and community development
• The effects of urbanization on wildlife habitats
• Urbanization and mental health
• Urbanization and public spaces
• Urbanization and urban sprawl
• The impact of urbanization on traditional industries
• Urbanization and job creation
• Urbanization and entrepreneurship
• Urbanization and access to healthcare
• Urbanization and aging populations
• Urbanization and disaster resilience
• Urbanization and energy consumption
• Urbanization and waste management
• The role of government in managing urbanization
• Urbanization and social services
• Urbanization and urban poverty
• Urbanization and informal settlements
• Urbanization and urban agriculture
• Urbanization and smart cities
• Urbanization and digital divide
• Urbanization and public transportation
• Urbanization and urban renewal
• The effects of urbanization on wildlife conservation
• Urbanization and cultural preservation
• Urbanization and urban green spaces
• Urbanization and community engagement
• Urbanization and disaster preparedness
• Urbanization and urban water management
• Urbanization and urban heat islands
• Urbanization and urban biodiversity
• Urbanization and urban governance
• Urbanization and urban poverty reduction
• Urbanization and urban planning policies
• Urbanization and urban infrastructure development
• Urbanization and urban land use planning
• Urbanization and urban transportation planning
• Urbanization and urban waste management
• Urbanization and urban environmental management
• Urbanization and urban housing policies
• Urbanization and urban social services
• Urbanization and urban public health policies
• Urbanization and urban education policies
• Urbanization and urban economic development
• Urbanization and urban social cohesion
• Urbanization and urban community development
• Urbanization and urban disaster resilience
• Urbanization and urban energy management
• Urbanization and urban sanitation
• Urbanization and urban air pollution
• Urbanization and urban noise pollution
• Urbanization and urban traffic congestion
• Urbanization and urban parks
• Urbanization and urban recreational facilities
• Urbanization and urban cultural facilities
• Urbanization and urban public transportation
• Urbanization and urban cycling infrastructure
• Urbanization and urban pedestrian infrastructure
• Urbanization and urban public spaces
• Urbanization and urban community centers
• Urbanization and urban libraries
• Urbanization and urban sports facilities
• Urbanization and urban arts facilities
• Urbanization and urban entertainment facilities
• Urbanization and urban shopping facilities
• Urbanization and urban dining facilities
• Urbanization and urban nightlife
• Urbanization and urban festivals
• Urbanization and urban events
• Urbanization and urban tourism
• Urbanization and urban hospitality
• Urbanization and urban recreation
• Urbanization and urban leisure
• Urbanization and urban wellness
• Urbanization and urban fitness
• Urbanization and urban health
• Urbanization and urban safety
• Urbanization and urban security
• Urbanization and urban emergency services

These essay topics provide a wide range of ideas for exploring the complex and multifaceted phenomenon of urbanization. Whether you are interested in the social, economic, environmental, or cultural aspects of urbanization, there is a topic here for you to delve into and analyze. By studying and understanding the various effects and implications of urbanization, we can better prepare for the future and work towards creating more sustainable and livable cities for all.

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• Open access
• Published: 02 January 2020

Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?

• Md Abdul Kuddus 1 , 2 , 4 ,
• Elizabeth Tynan 3 &
• Emma McBryde 1 , 2  

Public Health Reviews volume  41 , Article number:  1 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Urbanization has long been associated with human development and progress, but recent studies have shown that urban settings can also lead to significant inequalities and health problems. This paper is concerned with the adverse impact of urbanization on both developed and developing nations and both wealthy and poor populations within those nations, addressing issues associated with public health problems in urban areas. The discussion in this paper will be of interest to policy makers. The paper advocates policies that improve the socio-economic conditions of the urban poor and promote their better health. Further, this discussion encourages wealthy people and nations to become better informed about the challenges that may arise when urbanization occurs in their regions without the required social supports and infrastructure.

Urbanization refers to the mass movement of populations from rural to urban settings and the consequent physical changes to urban settings. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that more than half the world’s population (4.2 billion people) now live in urban area and by 2041, this figure will increase to 6 billion people [ 1 ].

Cities are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies. They are the heart of technological development and economic growth of many nations, while at the same time serving as a breeding ground for poverty, inequality, environmental hazards, and communicable diseases [ 2 ]. When large numbers of people congregate in cities, many problems result, particularly for the poor. For example, many rural migrants who settle in an urban slum area bring their families and their domesticated animals—both pets and livestock—with them. This influx of humans and animals leads to vulnerability of all migrants to circulating communicable diseases and the potential to establish an urban transmission cycle. Further, most urban poor live in slums that are unregulated, have congested conditions, are overcrowded, are positioned near open sewers, and restricted to geographically dangerous areas such as hillsides, riverbanks, and water basins subject to landslides, flooding, or industrial hazards. All of these factors lead to the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, pollution, poor nutrition, road traffic, and so on [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The problems faced by the poor spill over to other city dwellers. As the trend to urbanization continues, this spillover effect increases and takes on a global dimension as more and more of the world’s populations are affected [ 3 ].

Some of the major health problems resulting from urbanization include poor nutrition, pollution-related health conditions and communicable diseases, poor sanitation and housing conditions, and related health conditions. These have direct impacts on individual quality of life, while straining public health systems and resources [ 6 ].

Urbanization has a major negative impact on the nutritional health of poor populations. Because they have limited financial resources and the cost of food is higher in cities, the urban poor lack nutritious diets and this leads to illness, which contributes to loss of appetite and poor absorption of nutrients among those affected. Furthermore, environmental contamination also contributes to undernutrition; street food is often prepared in unhygienic conditions, leading to outbreaks of food-borne illnesses (e.g., botulism, salmonellosis, and shigellosis) [ 6 ]. Urban dwellers also suffer from overnutrition and obesity, a growing global public health problem. Obesity and other lifestyle conditions contribute to chronic diseases (such as cancers, diabetes, and heart diseases). Although obesity is most common among the wealthy, international agencies have noted the emergence of increased weight among the middle class and poor in recent years [ 7 ].

Populations in poor nations that suffer from protein-energy malnutrition [ 8 ] have increased susceptibility to infection [ 9 ] through the impact of micronutrient deficiency on immune system development and function [ 10 ]. Around 168 million children under 5 are estimated to be malnourished and 76% of these children live in Asia [ 11 ]. At the same time, the World Health Organization is concerned that there is an emerging pandemic of obesity in poor countries that leads to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, and stroke [ 12 ].

Obesity is caused by increased caloric intake and decreased physical activity [ 13 ], something historically associated with wealth. However, people in urbanized areas of developing countries are also now vulnerable to obesity due to lack of physical space, continually sitting in workplaces, and excessive energy intake and low energy expenditure. In these areas, infrastructure is often lacking, including sufficient space for recreational activities. Further, in developing countries, as in developed countries, large employers frequently place head offices in urban capitals and work is increasingly sedentary in nature [ 14 ]. Another culprit associated with the risk of developing obesity is the change in food intake that has led to the so-called nutrition transition (increased the consumption of animal-source foods, sugar, fats and oils, refined grains, and processed foods) in urban areas. For instance, in China, dietary patterns have changed concomitantly with urbanization in the past 30 years, leading to increased obesity [ 15 ]. In 2003, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 300 million adults were affected, the majority in developed and highly urbanized countries [ 16 ]. Since then, the prevalence of obesity has increased. For example, in Australia, around 28% of adults were obese in 2014–2015 [ 17 ].

Pollution is another major contributor to poor health in urban environments. For instance, the World Health Organization estimated that 6.5 million people died (11.6% of all global deaths) as a consequence of indoor and outdoor air pollution and nearly 90% of air-pollution-related deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries [ 18 ]. Poor nutrition and pollution both contribute to a third major challenge for urban populations: communicable diseases. The poor live in congested conditions, near open sewers and stagnant water, and are therefore constantly exposed to unhealthy waste [ 6 ]. Inadequate sanitation can lead to the transmission of helminths and other intestinal parasites. Pollution (e.g., from CO 2 emission) from congested urban areas contributes to localized and global climate change and direct health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer for both the rich and the poor.

In addition to human-to-human transmission, animals and insects serve as efficient vectors for diseases within urban settings and do not discriminate between the rich and poor. The prevalence and impact of communicable diseases in urban settings, such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria, cholera, dengue, and others, is well established and of global concern.

National and international researchers and policy makers have explored various strategies to address such problems, yet the problems remain. For example, research on solutions for megacities has been ongoing since the early 1990s [ 19 , 20 ]. These studies have concluded that pollution, unreliable electricity, and non-functioning infrastructure are priority initiatives; nevertheless, air pollution, quality of water in cities, congestion, disaster management issues, and infrastructure are not being systematically addressed [ 19 , 20 ].

The impact of inner city transportation on health, such as road traffic, is emerging as a serious problem. Statistics show that a minimum of 10 people die every day on the railways in the city of Mumbai, India [ 21 ]. Vietnam is another example of a country that has seen a remarkable increase in road traffic accidents [ 22 ]. Improvements to the country’s infrastructure have not been able to meet the increasing growth of vehicular and human traffic on the street. Vietnam reportedly has a population of 95 million and more than 18 million motorbikes on its roads. A deliberate policy is needed to reduce accidents [ 21 ].

Although urbanization has become an irreversible phenomenon, some have argued that to resolve the problems of the city, we must tackle the root causes of the problem, such as improving the socio-economic situation of the urban poor.

Until the conditions in rural areas improve, populations will continue to migrate to urban settings. Given the challenges that rural development poses, the root causes are unlikely to be addressed in the near future. Therefore, governments and development agencies should concentrate on adapting to the challenges of urbanization, while seeking to reduce unplanned urbanization.

Some examples of policies and practices that should be considered include (i) policies that consider whole-of-life journeys, incorporating accessible employment, community participation, mobility/migration and social transition, to break generational poverty cycles; (ii) policies addressing urban environmental issues, such as planned urban space and taxes on the use of vehicles to reduce use or to encourage vehicles that use less fuel as well as encourage bicycle use, walking, and other forms of human transportation; (iii) greater cooperative planning between rural and urban regions to improve food security (e.g., subsidies for farmers providing locally produced, unprocessed and low cost food to urban centers); (iv) social protection and universal health coverage to reduce wealth disparity among urban dwellers; including introduction of programs and services for health, for example by establishing primary healthcare clinics accessible and affordable for all including those living in urban slums [ 23 ].

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable

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Ahmed F, Zareen M, Khan MR, Banu CP, Haq MN, Jackson AA. Dietary pattern, nutrient intake and growth of adolescent school girls in urban Bangladesh. Public health nutrition. 1998;1(2):83-92.

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Bleich SN, Cutler D, Murray C, Adams A. Why is the developed world obese? Annual review of public health. 2008;29(1):273-95.

Arundell L, Sudholz B, Teychenne M, Salmon J, Hayward B, Healy G, et al. The impact of activity based working (ABW) on workplace activity, eating behaviours, productivity, and satisfaction. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2018;15(5):1005.

Zhang J, Wang D, Eldridge A, Huang F, Ouyang Y, Wang H, et al. Urban–rural disparities in energy intake and contribution of fat and animal source foods in Chinese children aged 4–17 years. Nutrients. 2017;9(5):526.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor for his/her thoughtful comments and efforts towards improving the manuscript.

This work was conducted as a part of a PhD programme of the first authors and funded by the College of Medicine and Dentistry at the James Cook University, Australia (JCU-QLD-933347).

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MAK planned the study, analyzed, and prepared the manuscript. ET and EM helped in the preparation of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Kuddus, M.A., Tynan, E. & McBryde, E. Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor?. Public Health Rev 41 , 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-019-0116-0

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• Introduction

Definitions of the city and urban cultures

• The ritual city
• The administrative city
• The mercantile city
• The industrial city
• The mass-communications city
• The colonial city
• The neocolonial city
• Cities and cultures

urban culture

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• Smithsonian Learning Lab - Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography
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urban culture , any of the behavioral patterns of the various types of cities and urban areas, both past and present.

Research on urban cultures naturally focuses on their defining institution, the city, and the lifeways, or cultural forms, that grow up within cities. Urban scholarship has steadily progressed toward a conception of cities and urban cultures that is free of ethnocentrism, with broad cross-cultural and historical validity.

Well into the 20th century conceptions of the city often proceeded as if there were only one authentic or typical form. From his research on the city in Europe’s Middle Ages, Henri Pirenne , for example, argued in Medieval Cities (1925) that two characteristics were fundamental to the development of an urban culture: a bourgeoisie , or middle class , that depends on trade for both wealth and political autonomy from nonurban feudal power holders; and a communal organization of the urban citizenry that creates the municipal integration necessary to free the city from control by local feudal lords or religious authorities. Although it has often been taken as a general definition of the city and urban culture (whence the commonsense notion that cities must fulfill commercial functions), Pirenne’s formulation was deficient because only the European medieval city and its burgher culture were taken as typical of the “true” city.

Max Weber in The City (1921) provided another definition of the city, similar to Pirenne’s, when he contrasted “Occidental” with “Oriental” urbanism. According to Weber, five attributes define an urban community: it must possess (1) a fortification, (2) a market, (3) a law code and court system of its own, (4) an association of urban citizenry creating a sense of municipal corporateness, and (5) sufficient political autonomy for urban citizens to choose the city’s governors. Weber believed that Oriental cities rarely achieved these essential characteristics because familial, tribal, or sectarian identities prevented urban residents from forming a unified urban citizenry able to resist state control. Even with regard to the Occident Weber’s definition would exclude almost all premodern cities, for the urban autonomy he required existed only in northern Europe and Italy and, even there, for very short periods of time at the end of the Middle Ages. The result was an overly limited conception of urban cultures, from which it was extremely difficult to generate a cross-culturally valid understanding.

In the 1940s Robert Redfield , strongly influenced by Louis Wirth and other members of the Chicago school of urban ecology , conceived of the urban as invariably impersonal, heterogeneous , secular , and disorganizing. In the folk-urban model, as set forth in his article “ The Folk Society,” Redfield contrasted this image of city life with an image of the folk community , which he characterized as small, sacred, highly personalistic, and homogeneous . He presumed that as individuals moved from folk community to city or as an entire society moved toward a more urbanized culture, there would be a breakdown in cultural traditions. Urbanizing individuals and societies would suffer from cultural disorganization and would have higher incidences of social pathologies like divorce, alcoholism, crime , and loneliness.

Redfield’s conception of the city depended on the urban research carried on by sociologists in American industrial cities, predominantly Chicago. He ethnocentrically assumed that their findings could be generalized to all urban cultures. Subsequent research indicated that this conception was in many respects wrong even for American industrial cities. In spite of being generally ethnocentric and specifically inadequate for American cities, this conception still holds sway over much popular thinking, which conceives of cities, in all cultures and all times, as centres of bohemianism, social experimentation, dissent, anomie, crime, and similar conditions—whether for good or bad—created by social breakdown.

Gideon Sjoberg ( The Preindustrial City, Past and Present , 1960), in the next step toward a cross-culturally valid understanding of cities, challenged this conception of urban culture as ethnocentric and historically narrow. He divided the world’s urban centres into two types, the preindustrial city and the industrial city, which he distinguished on the basis of differences in the society’s technological level. Preindustrial cities, according to Sjoberg, are to be found in societies without sophisticated machine technology, where human and animal labour form the basis for economic production. Industrial cities predominate in the modernized nations of western Europe and America where energy sources from fossil fuels and atomic power phenomenally expand economic productivity. For Sjoberg, preindustrial urban culture differed markedly from its industrial counterpart: the preindustrial city’s neighbourhoods were strongly integrated by personalistic ties of ethnicity and sectarian allegiance; it maintained strong family connections, and social disorganization was little in evidence; churches or other sacred institutions dominated the skyline as well as the cultural beliefs of the urban place; and the major urban function was imperial administration rather than industrial production.

Although Sjoberg’s conception of a preindustrial urban type was a major improvement over previous urban definitions, it too suffered from overgeneralization. Sjoberg collapsed urban cultures of strikingly different sorts into a single undifferentiated preindustrial city type—for example, the cities of ancient empires were conflated with present-day urban places in the Third World . Past urban cultures that did not readily fit the Sjoberg conception, such as the autocephalous (self-governing) cities of early modern Europe, were disposed of as temporary and unusual variants of his preindustrial type rather than important varieties of urban culture.

In “ The Cultural Role of Cities,” Robert Redfield and Milton Singer tried to improve on all previous conceptions of the city, including the one Redfield had himself used in his folk-urban model, by emphasizing the variable cultural roles played by cities in societies. Redfield and Singer delineated two cultural roles for cities that all urban places perform, although with varying degrees of intensity and elaboration. Cities whose predominant cultural role is the construction and codification of the society’s traditions perform “orthogenetic” functions. In such urban cultures, cadres of literati rationalize a “Great Tradition” of culture for the society at large. The cultural message emanating from Delhi, Paris, Washington, D.C., and other capitals of classic empires or modern nation-states functions to elaborate and safeguard cultural tradition. By contrast, cities whose primary cultural role is “heterogenetic,” as Redfield and Singer defined it, are centres of technical and economic change, and they function to create and introduce new ideas, cosmologies, and social practices into the society. In cities like London, Marseille, or New York , the intelligentsia challenge old methods, question established traditions, and help make such cities innovative cultural centres.

Continuing Redfield and Singer’s concern for the cultural role of cities within their societies, Paul Wheatley in The Pivot of the Four Quarters (1971) has taken the earliest form of urban culture to be a ceremonial or cult centre that organized and dominated a surrounding rural region through its sacred practices and authority . According to Wheatley, only later did economic prominence and political power get added to this original urban cultural role. Wheatley, following Redfield and Singer, established that any conception of an urban culture had to be grounded in the cultural role of cities in their societies; research must specifically address how the urban cultural role organizes beliefs and practices in the wider culture beyond the urban precincts, and, consequently, how this urban cultural role necessitates certain lifeways and social groupings (cultural forms) in the city.

Beginning in the 1970s, David Harvey ( Social Justice and the City , 1973), Manuel Castells ( The Urban Question , 1977), and other scholars influenced by Marxism caused a major shift in the conception of urban cultural roles. Although they mainly worked on cities in advanced capitalist cultures, their approach had wide relevance. Rather than looking outward from the city to the urban culture as a whole, the new scholarship conceived the city as a terminus for cultural roles emanating from the wider culture or even the world system. Harvey, for example, linked major changes in American urban lifeways to the urban culture of advanced capitalism: for him, the growth of suburbia developed out of capitalism’s promotion of new patterns of consumption in the interests of profit. Castells saw the city as an arena for social conflicts ultimately emanating from the class divisions within capitalist society.

This Marxist scholarship did not contradict the earlier emphasis on the city as the source of cultural roles so much as complement it. Studying the cultural roles of cities must include not only the cultural beliefs and practices that emanate from cities but also the cultural forms that develop within the city as a result of the impact of the urban culture on it. In this way scholarship can bring forward a cross-culturally and historically valid conception of cities, their cultural forms, and the urban cultures in which they are set.

Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects Essay

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Introduction

The movement of people from rural areas to urban areas has been a concern focused on by many studies. According to the United Nations report, almost 50% of the total world population lives in urban areas, and the figure is expected to increase by 10% by the year 2030. This is an indication of the massive movement of people from rural areas to big cities. Rural to urban migration is higher in developing countries as compared to the developed nations. In Nigeria, a developing country, the population in cities is projected to rise from 1.9 billion to 3.9 billion between 2009 and 2030 (Ajaero & Onokala, 2013). This paper explains the causes and the impacts of migration of population from rural areas to large cities. Although the reasons for rural-urban migration vary from one country to another, the causes and effects are similar.

The factors responsible for the movement of people from rural areas to large cities are characterized by either a push or a pull. People are mostly pulled to the areas with positive characteristics and pushed from those with undesirable conditions. Rural to urban migration usually occurs as people look for perceived or actual opportunities that are missing in rural settings but present in large cities. Additionally, the migration takes place as people living in rural areas escape the hostile or unfavorable living conditions. Most urban centers have the majority of wealth, economic activities, and different services as compared to rural areas (Okhankhuele & Opafunso, 2013). On the other hand, rural areas have continuously experienced neglect and degraded environment. Most of the government policies favor the development of urban areas by deliberately and constantly creating more employment and academic opportunities, healthcare facilities, transport systems, among other infrastructural amenities in the urban areas than rural parts (Ali, Shafi, Rehman, & Jadoon, 2015). As a result, the imbalance of quality of life and development between the two areas occurs, consequently increasing the rural to urban migration.

People may decide to migrate from rural to urban areas due to disrupted economy, for instance, as a result of natural disasters like floods, drought, earthquakes, soil infertility, and misfortunes such as war family/community disputes among others. According to Isaac and Raqib (2013), most of the rural-urban migration in Ghana is due to the search for employment opportunities, which are normally concentrated in the major cities. Most of the Ghanians attribute such as migration to economic purposes. The migrants, most of whom are men, are frustrated by the limited resources for livelihood in rural areas, and the scarcity compels them to look for greener pastures in large cities so that they can get enough to take care of their families. Other migrants cite harsh environmental factors as reasons for their movement from rural areas to cities. Farming, the major economic activity in most rural areas, is adversely affected by the harsh environmental conditions such as infertile soil and inadequate rain for farming. Besides, farming faces other challenges such as limited lands, high fertilizer costs, and low crop prices. All such factors negatively affect agricultural production and profitability. As a result, the youth have continued to lose interest in farming and perceive the agricultural lifestyle as a low-status career. Therefore, they move to large cities to look for seemingly more promising jobs.

Rural to urban migration affects the conditions of the rural areas as well as those in large cities where the migrants settle after moving from their original homes. First, the population of the countryside reduces significantly, and as a result, the agricultural production and development in the regions are adversely affected (Bimerew, 2015). As the youthful move to cities to look for better livelihood, the fascinating social life in the rural areas is replaced by a gloomy condition. The youthful people have energy and vitality, and their movement leaves behind weak, aging parents and young children to carry out farming activities. As a result, the agricultural output reduces, consequently leading to decreased country’s gross domestic product as well as minimal rural income, development funds, and standard of living (Jahan, 2012).

The rural development stagnates, and the areas lack vital social amenities. For instance, the Nigerian rural areas do not have social facilities like proper roads for motor vehicle transport, industries, pipe-borne water, and electricity, as well as well-paying jobs due to increased movement of people to cities. These inadequacies have seen the Nigerian rural areas undergo a vicious poverty cycle. The majority of the educated and strong people desert rural areas, leaving behind the illiterate population in the countryside who are unable to fight poverty effectively. As a result, the standards of living in rural and large cities differ significantly, the latter being better places to live in.

The movement of people from rural regions to major cities has various consequences on the basic facilities in urban areas. Cities become overcrowded, congested, and experience high food costs, a strain on social services, as well as aggravating air and water-borne diseases. The unplanned expansion of cities also leads to the inadequate supply of social amenities such as housing, transport infrastructures, electricity, and water, as well as sewerage system issues (Isaac & Raqib, 2013). The increase in the squatter settlement in cities is perhaps the most remarkable impact of rural-urban migration. The huge increase in city population as a result of the movement has made it difficult for the urban authorities to keep records of the details of the people living in the areas properly.

Attributable to the absence of proper records, the control of some criminal activities such as robbery, theft, murder, among others, becomes a complicated affair in some of the large cities (Okhankhuele & Opafunso, 2013). Besides, the farmers surrounding the expanding cities are displaced as a result of the unplanned growth of the urban areas. Consequently, the agricultural production continues to decline and the displaced people may resort to relocating to urban areas, where job opportunities are already limited, in search of better livelihood. The majority of the people who move from urban to rural areas get jobs in informal sectors, which eventually become congested, resulting in reduced productivity and minimal opportunities for eradicating poverty. Most of the new workers in the cities tend to start up their businesses for employment, and this has made self-employment in urban areas account for 71%, 63%, 61%, and 59% of the entire informal employment in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Latin America, and Asia respectively.

Although the migration of people is a global phenomenon, more rural populations in the developing countries move to cities as compared to the developed nations. The migration is triggered by factors that push these people away from rural areas or opportunities and amenities in the urban regions that are not present in the countryside. Although this shift of population leads to increased self-employment in the cities, other negative impacts such as congestion, increased unemployment levels, poor drainage systems, and crime among others are caused by the scenario in urban areas. Additionally, rural areas experience low agricultural output, stagnated development, and a huge aging/weak population.

Ajaero, C. K., & Onokala, P. C. (2013). The effects of rural-urban migration on rural communities of southeastern Nigeria. International Journal of Population Research , 2 (13) , 1-11.

Ali, H., Shafi, M., Rehman, M., & Jadoon, M. (2015). Causes and effects of rural-urban migration in rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Pakistan. Arts and Social Sciences Journal, 6 (5), 1-6.

Bimerew, H. (2015). Rural-urban migration and its consequence on urban living: The case in Hawassa city Southern Ethiopia. Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research , 15 (4), 60-75.

Isaac, A., & Raqib, A. S. (2013). Rural-urban migration and rural community development: A case of Kpongu community of Upper West Region of Ghana. African Journal of History and Culture , 5 (4), 72.

Jahan, M. (2012). Impact of rural urban migration on physical and social environment: The case of Dhaka city. International Journal of Development and Sustainability , 1 (2), 186-194.

Okhankhuele, O. T., & Opafunso, O. Z. (2013). Causes and consequences of rural-urban migration Nigeria: A Case study of Ogun Waterside local government area of Ogun State, Nigeria. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 16 (1), 185-194.

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IvyPanda. (2020, November 8). Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rural-urban-migration-its-causes-and-effects/

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IvyPanda . 2020. "Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects." November 8, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rural-urban-migration-its-causes-and-effects/.

1. IvyPanda . "Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects." November 8, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rural-urban-migration-its-causes-and-effects/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects." November 8, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/rural-urban-migration-its-causes-and-effects/.

Essay on Urbanization for Students and Children

500 words essay on urbanization.

Urbanization refers to the movement of the population from rural areas to urban areas. It is essentially the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. Furthermore, urbanization is quite a popular trend in the contemporary world. Moreover, people mostly undertake urbanization due to more work opportunities and a better standard of living. According to the expert prediction, by 2050, 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world will be urbanized.

Causes of Urbanization

First of all, political causes play a big role in urbanization. Many people get forced to leave rural areas for urban areas due to political unrest. Therefore, many families go to urban areas in search of food, shelter, and employment .

Another important cause of urbanization is an economic cause. Furthermore, poverty is a widespread phenomenon in rural areas. Moreover, farmers are finding it very hard to earn enough money and make a living. Consequently, rural people move to urban areas in search of better job opportunities.

Education is a strong cause of urbanization. Urban areas offer opportunities for seeking high-quality education. Moreover, urbanization offers opportunities for studying at universities and technical colleges. Such handsome education opportunities attract many young people in rural areas to move to urban areas.

Environmental degradation also plays a part in contributing to urbanization. Deforestation destroys the natural habitat of many farming families. Furthermore, mining and industrial expansion also harm the natural habitat of farming families.

The social cause is another notable reason for urbanization. Many young rural people migrate to urban areas in order to seek a better lifestyle. Moreover, many young people want to escape the conservative culture of rural areas. Most noteworthy, urban areas offer a more easy-going liberal lifestyle. Furthermore, cities have clubs to attract youth.

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Benefits of Urbanization

First of all, urban areas are much more efficient in providing resources than rural areas. Important and basic amenities like housing, clean water, and electricity are easily available in urban areas.

People in urban areas find it quite easy to access to various important services. Most noteworthy, these services are high-quality education, expert health care, convenient transportation, entertainment, etc. Furthermore, some or all of the services are unavailable in rural areas.

Urban areas offer better employment opportunities. Furthermore, these employment opportunities are the result of industrialization and commercialization.

Urban areas play a critical role as creators and disseminators of knowledge. This is because of the highly connected urbanized world. Most noteworthy, the geographical proximity of people in urban areas helps in the propagation of ideas.

Urban areas enjoy the benefits of technological development. Furthermore, many types of technologies get implemented in urban areas. Moreover, urban people quickly get in touch with the latest technology. In contrast, many rural individuals remain ignorant of many types of technologies.

To sum it up, urbanization is a process which is on a continuous rise. Furthermore, urbanization ensures the transformation of rural culture into urban culture. Moreover, the government must be vigilant to the rapidly increasing urbanization. A fully urbanized world looks like the ultimate destiny of our world.

FAQs on Urbanization

Q1 State any two causes for urbanization?

A1 Any two causes for urbanization are high-quality education and good job opportunities in urban areas.

Q2 Why urban areas offer better employment opportunities?

A2 Urban areas offer better employment opportunities due to high industrialization and commercialization.

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3 Big Ideas to Achieve Sustainable Cities and Communities

Kampung Pelangi (Rainbow village) in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. © Ruby Mangunsong/World Bank

No two cities are the same. What does your city mean to you?

For Razi , an 18-year-old waiter in Kuala Lumpur, and millions of other aspirational youth in Malaysia, cities are where their dreams for joining the middle class can come true.

For Liao Xianmei , a 45-year-old migrant worker in Chongqing, China, and Fatma and Peter , a Tanzanian couple who moved from their rural home to Dar es Salaam, cities are where they can build a better future for their families. 

And for the world’s 65.6 million forcibly displaced people, finding a city of refuge means a chance to regain strength and dignity.

Today, over four billion people around the world – more than 50% of the global population – live in cities. In East Asia and the Pacific alone, for example, cities house 1.2 billion people – almost rivaling the population of India. 

And that number is still fast growing, most rapidly in Asia and Africa, as individuals and families continue migrating to urban areas to seek better livelihoods.

Rapid urbanization: Unprecedented challenges

Being such huge magnets for talent and investment, it is no wonder that cities have become the world’s major growth engine, generating more than 80% of the global GDP, while helping hundreds of millions lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

However, Widening income gaps, worsening pollution, and aging buildings and bridges are all telltale signs that today’s cities are struggling to keep up with city dwellers’ growing dreams for a sustainable, prosperous future. 

“We are mostly fishermen and few of us have other skills, so when we have an oil spill or plastics in the water, we lose money,” said Stephen Aji, chief of a fishing community located in one of the largest slums in Lagos, Nigeria.

Climate change further complicates the urbanization challenge.

The New Urban Agenda

All is not lost.

But what happens next is up to us.

The good news is that, as the stakes of urbanization are growing higher, so is the global commitment to making urbanization right. 

In October 2016, at the once-in-20-year  Habitat III  conference, countries around the world endorsed the historic  New Urban Agenda , which sets a new global standard for sustainable urban development and guides global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the era of climate change.

Next week, early February 2018, national and city leaders will convene again at the  Ninth Session of the World Urban Forum  (WUF9) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to move forward with more in-depth discussions around the theme Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda.

The World Bank: Working to build sustainable cities and communities

World Bank-supported operations and technical assistance contribute to the  Sustainable Development Goal No. 11  and the implementation of the New Urban Agenda to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable for all.

Only 3% of this amount is available through official development assistance (ODA). This means that cities must strengthen municipal finance, while finding new ways to scale up urban infrastructure finance.

Examples include:

• In East Africa, the World Bank has an operational portfolio of almost $1 billion in urban projects focused on improving financial and institutional performance in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. 
• In Casablanca, Morocco, a EUR 172 million World Bank loan aims to improve the city’s investment capacity by improving the municipality’s revenue management systems, and attracting private investment in municipal infrastructure and services through public-private partnerships.
• Johannesburg and Medellin are among the cities that have sought World Bank support to expand their sources of revenue to encompass a wider array of “value capture” and land-based financing tools, thereby leveraging private capital in greater amount and increasing the social, economic, and fiscal return on cities’ public investment.
• The World Bank’s City Creditworthiness Initiative (CCI) aims to strengthen the financial performance of local governments, and prepare them to tap domestic / regional capital markets without a sovereign guarantee. The CCI has trained over 600 municipal officials from 240 cities in 25 countries.

Thick and persistent divisions between places doing well and those that are not are exacerbating inequalities and human suffering, fueling discontent and disrupting development. There is urgent need to stimulate sustainable, inclusive economic growth in these lagging lands and urban spaces.

This is where territorial development comes in. It helps us understand cities not only as individual entities, but also the connectivity between them that allows faster economic growth and links people to better jobs.

• The World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Cities: Expanding Opportunities for the Urban Poor report encourages cities in the region to ensure inclusive, equitable urban growth through a multi-dimensional approach to planning, incorporating aspects of economic, spatial, and social inclusion to foster economic growth and reduce poverty.
• The Africa’s Cities: Opening Doors to the World report notes that improving conditions for people and businesses in African cities by aggressively investing in infrastructure and reforming land markets is key to accelerating economic growth, adding jobs, and improving city competitiveness.
• In Kenya, areas of the north of the country have mostly been excluded from the benefits of rising living standards. The World Bank is launching the North & Northeastern Development Initiative (NEDI) , a multi-sectoral program consisting of projects in transport, water, energy, agriculture, livelihoods, and social protection to connect the region to national and global markets.
• In Colombia, the national government has put forward a series of institutional and policy changes to promote the peace building process. With the support of the World Bank , these efforts focus on strengthening institutions for land management and territorial planning, as well as improving subnational financial management and investment prioritization.

Building resilience to natural disasters and climate change

As cities grow, so does their exposure and vulnerability to natural disasters. 

In recent years, the World Bank has worked in more than 7,000 cities and towns across 130 countries, investing over $4 billion during fiscal year 2017 in disaster risk management, and committing over $50 billion through more than 900 projects with climate-related activities.

The World Bank has also facilitated global partnerships to support countries in their urban resilience work:

• Through the City Resilience Program (CRP), supported by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), the Swiss Economic Secretariat (SECO), and other partners, the World Bank is helping cities around the world raise the finance they need to build resilience to climate change and disaster risks, connecting investors with bankable projects, and keeping millions of people safer and stronger. From Panama City, Panama and Porto Alegre, Brazil to Accra, Ghana and Can Tho, Vietnam, CRP has engaged over 30 cities across the world on developing investment programs that could be financed with a range of financial instruments.
• At the Paris One Planet Summit , CRP announced a new partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy to provide technical and financial assistance to 150 cities over the next three years.
• Urban resilience goes hand in hand with environmental sustainability. The World Bank’s Global Platform for Sustainable Cities (GPSC) works with mayors in developing countries to transform cities into inclusive and resilient hubs of growth, as part of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s Sustainable Cities program that is active in 27 cities and 11 countries, and will leverage $1.5 billion over five years.
• The World Bank Group provides support as a knowledge partner to the Urban 20 (U20) initiative, in which cities share their experiences and develop collective messages to enrich the G20 debates on the global issues of climate action, sustainable development, and their socio-economic ramifications.

Stay connected to receive updates from the World Bank at the  World Urban Forum :

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The Importance of Urban Design for Your Community

March 16, 2020  by  John Owen Category:  Guest Author ,  Design

All images used in this blog post have been provided courtesy of MAKERS . 

Urban design is the shaping of a community’s physical form in a way that considers a multiplicity of objectives and interests through an inclusive, public decision-making process. Combining the practices of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture, urban design addresses the functional and aesthetic qualities of the physical environment at a range of scales, from the individual streetscape, park, or block to the larger community, city, or region.

Although often thought of as being limited to intense urban settings, urban design tools and methods have been successfully used in suburban and rural communities and has even provided solutions to address environmental management challenges. Such tools have proven invaluable in implementing Washington State’s Growth Management Act in many ways, such as integrating land use and transportation infrastructure, focusing an intense mix of uses in urban center and transit hubs, providing housing opportunities, achieving compatibility between existing and new development, incorporating protected natural systems (e.g., stream corridors) into the urban fabric, and enhancing the livability of a wide variety of old and new communities.

What Is Urban Design?

Urban design, as defined by the late University of Washington Professor Meyer Wolfe, is the “manipulation of the physical environment” in a way that:

• Addresses the way people perceive and behave in their surroundings,
• Considers the implications of form-giving actions (including the environmental and ecological consequences) at a range of scales (sometimes from the individual to the regional),
• Pursues multiple objectives for multiple clients (including affected members of the public), and
• Is conducted through an explicit decision-making process that offers the public the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way, identifies goals and objectives, analyzes existing conditions, explores alternate concepts and solutions, evaluates options with respect to project goals and public values, selects the preferred alternative or combines preferred elements into a synthesized concept, and includes an implementation strategy.

This is a powerful definition because:

• It carries a set of implicit values that all applicable urban design activities should pursue.
• It provides a useful checklist for designers, planners, engineers, and other practitioners to use such that they are addressing urban design’s inherent values (as noted above).
• It describes a rational participatory process and provides a clear methodology for applying urban design concepts.

Key Components of an Effective Approach

The following are four key components of an effective approach to urban design.

Urban design pursues multiple objectives for multiple clients

A critical, defining aspect of urban design that separates it from single-client master planning is that urban design is directed toward accomplishing a variety of objectives for all populations in a community. This sometimes involves balancing different interests, but a real benefit is that urban design can provide solutions that address more than one problem. For example, in rezoning a neighborhood to accommodate a variety of infill housing types, design guidelines can help ensure that the new structures “fit” with their neighbors. 

The image above is a design for a proposed lid over the SR 520 Roanoke interchange in Seattle. This design helped satisfy multiple objectives, including addressing concerns of adjoining neighborhoods and reconnecting portions of Seattle’s historic Olmsted Boulevard and its open space network. Although local transportation was the project’s focus, the urban design elements were necessary to build a consensus among agencies and local residents.

Urban design addresses the sensory environment

Urban design addresses how people perceive and use their environment. People care about the look, feel, and livability of their communities, and urban design tools are a planner’s most effective tools to address this need. To accomplish this, urban designers must be well-versed in the way human perception and behavior is affected by their physical surroundings, which also involves understanding cultural behaviors and preferences, economic factors, and functional activities associated with the physical environment.

For example, the Olympia Downtown strategy , which is shown in the image below, focused on a number of actions to reinforce the design character of the downtown’s six subdistricts, thereby increasing its visual and functional diversity. The strategy also included a number of key elements to deal with economic development, sustainability, and social equity that were supported by the design elements.

Urban design considers the implications of form-giving actions in a range of scales

A successful urban design project typically addresses conditions within the project boundaries but also the recommendations effects on the larger surroundings. At the same time, such efforts should examine how the proposed actions relate back to the experiences of the individual. Urban design is often thought of addressing only urban design features, such as a park, street, or town center, but urban design tools are also effective in addressing regional, landscape-scale objectives.  

The Delridge Triangle Plan is a good example of this approach. As image below demonstrates, the designers considers the local socio-economic context and related opportunities (i.e., the parks walkability gap, county equity score, and locations of several unused public right-of-way) in the redevelopment of the project site. Looking at the community context helped the neighborhood argue for additional city resources.

As Ian McHarg demonstrated decades ago, urban design methods have proven useful in addressing regional issues, as demonstrated in this downloadable graphic from A Regional Open Space Strategy for Puget Sound .

Urban design uses an explicit, public decision-making process

Broad and focused engagement techniques are critical in most public planning efforts and urban design brings with it a number of tools to help people participate meaningfully in the design process. This includes visual preference surveys in which participants evaluate different building types, park features, or environmental measures to identify which might fit best within their community. People also seem to respond well to hands-on exercises that allow them to identify the type and location of desired improvements. Children and youth also can add their thoughts through such exercises, and many urban design issues can be evaluated using web-based tools.

Urban design offers a wide variety of public engagement tools that allow for meaningful participation, and an urban designer can play an important role in the city/community building process in at least two ways:

• As a problem-solving supporter of a larger comprehensive planning or infrastructure development effort; and
• As a leader or manager of a complex, multi-disciplined professional team working on a complex project.

Urban design solutions have been key in implementing growth management activities and humanizing large infrastructure projects, as the image below demonstrates. 

At the same time, because urban design integrates other disciplines — including transportation, land use, environmental protection, housing, etc. — it is a logical discipline around which to approach, for example, a downtown or community plan, a transit-oriented development effort, or a large-scale redevelopment strategy.

Looking back at the definition of urban design has led me to the conclusion that, whether practiced by architects, landscape architects, or planners, it plays an important role in the broader spectrum of design and planning activities, and it can be a good career choice for those individuals who want to address some of our communities’ most critical challenges.

For a more detailed explanation, please read my paper, URBAN DESIGN: A Definition, Approach and Conceptual Framework .

MRSC is a private nonprofit organization serving local governments in Washington State. Eligible government agencies in Washington State may use our free, one-on-one Ask MRSC service to get answers to legal, policy, or financial questions.

About John Owen

John is a partner at MAKERS architecture and urban design. His work is focused on urban design, and he has become increasingly involved in regional and statewide issues planning, with projects ranging from helping the state prepare a new WAC for the Shoreline Management Act to working with the Puget Sound Regional Council in the development of regional environmental management and urban design strategies.

John writes for MRSC as a guest author. The views expressed in guest author columns represent the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MRSC.

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• Methodology
• Appendix: Additional tables and maps

Three key demographic forces have reshaped the overall U.S. population in recent years: growing racial and ethnic diversity, increasing immigration and rising numbers of older adults. But these trends are playing out differently in the nation’s rural, urban and suburban communities, touching some more than others.

Likewise, recent U.S. population growth also has been uneven. Urban counties have grown at roughly the overall national rate of 13% since 2000. Suburban and small metropolitan areas have grown more briskly. Rural counties have lagged, and half of them have fewer residents now than they did in 2000.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data, since 2000, U.S. urban and suburban populations have grown at least as much as they did over the prior decade. But the total rural population has grown less than it did in the 1990s, when rising numbers fed hope of a modest “ rural rebound .” As a result, a somewhat smaller share of Americans now live in rural counties (14% vs. 16% in 2000).

More recently, the Census Bureau’s population estimates for 2017 show a one-year uptick in the nation’s rural population, though not enough to make up for previous declines. Analysis by demographer Kenneth M. Johnson attributed the increase to gains in rural communities on the edge of metropolitan areas , while more remote counties continued to lose population.

This chapter compares three different types of communities among the nation’s counties, based on a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) classification system. The analysis covers 3,130 of the nation’s 3,142 counties and county equivalents such as parishes and independent cities. See Methodology for more detail.

Urban core counties: These 68 counties – for example, Miami-Dade County, Milwaukee County and San Diego County – are located in the 53 U.S. metropolitan areas with at least a million people. In the NCHS classification system they are called “large central metro” counties, and about three-in-ten Americans (31%) live in them. These counties are sometimes referred to simply as “urban” or “cities” in this report.

Suburban and small metro counties: These 1,093 counties – sometimes called “suburbs” in this report – include those outside the core cities of the largest metro areas, as well as the entirety of other metropolitan areas. This group includes “large fringe metro,” “medium metro” and “small metro” counties in the NCHS classification system. About half of Americans (55%) live in suburban counties and smaller metropolitan areas, among them New Haven County, Connecticut, DeKalb County (near Atlanta), and Boise County, Idaho.

Rural: These 1,969 counties are located in non-metropolitan areas. Only 14% of Americans live in them. These communities, with a median population size of 16,535, include counties or county equivalents such as Evangeline Parish, Louisiana; Navajo County, Arizona; and Elk County, Pennsylvania.

The flow of people in and out of different types of U.S. counties is affecting their size and composition. Since 2000, more people left rural counties for urban, suburban or small metro counties than moved in from those areas. Because there were not enough new immigrants to offset those departures, rural counties as a group grew only because they had more births than deaths.

At the national level, non-Hispanic whites make up the majority of the population, but a key demographic shift is underway: Whites are a shrinking share of the population and expected to be less than half by midcentury as other groups grow more rapidly. Whites have become a minority of the population in most urban counties since 2000, while remaining the majority in 90% of suburban and small metro counties and 89% of rural ones.

Another key demographic trend, the rise in immigration in recent decades, has raised the foreign-born share of the U.S. population overall and has increased the share in each type of county, although to varying degrees. Immigrants, along with their children and grandchildren, have accounted for the majority of U.S. population growth since 1965. But immigrants are more concentrated in cities and suburbs than in rural areas. On the flip side, the majority of rural counties now have fewer U.S.-born residents than in 2000, a key factor in their dwindling populations.

A third major population driver – the aging of the giant Baby Boom generation – also has varying impacts on different county types. Rural areas have a higher share of adults who are ages 65 and older than urban or suburban counties. But suburban counties have experienced the sharpest increases in the number of older adults since 2000.

The analysis in this chapter relies mainly on Census Bureau data. Current numbers for county characteristics come from the American Community Survey (ACS) combined data for 2012-2016, the latest available. Current numbers for natural increase/decrease and migration flows come from population estimates for 2014, the most comparable year to the ACS data because it is the midpoint of the combined ACS data used in this chapter. See Methodology  for more detail.

Suburbs growing more rapidly than rural or urban areas

About 46 million Americans live in the nation’s rural counties, 175 million in its suburbs and small metros and about 98 million in its urban core counties.

As a group, the population in rural counties grew 3% since 2000, less than their 8% growth in the 1990s. Urban county population rose 13% since 2000 and the population in suburban and small metro counties went up 16%, growth rates somewhat higher than in the 1990s. 2  The share of U.S. residents who live in rural counties declined in the 1990s and since 2000, but rose in suburban counties during both periods and held steady in urban counties.

Although the rural population as a whole has grown since 2000, the majority of populations in individual rural counties have not. Since the turn of the century, the population declined in 52% of rural counties – 1,024 of 1,969. Among the hardest hit counties were those where the economy is based on farming, about a fifth of rural counties.

Growth factors vary for cities, suburbs and rural areas

There are four main drivers of population gain or loss at the county level: births, deaths, new immigrants coming from abroad or leaving, and people moving to or from other U.S. counties (including immigrants already living in the U.S.). The census numbers show that these factors are affecting cities, suburbs and rural communities differently.

Urban areas gained 1.6 million net new migrants since 2000, with a surplus of immigrants more than offsetting a loss of people who moved out to suburbs or rural areas. As a group, urban counties had 9.8 million more births than deaths, further bolstering their populations.

Suburban and small metro counties have grown since 2000 because of gains in all the drivers of population change. They gained 11.7 million new residents by drawing former residents of U.S. urban and rural areas, as well as immigrants from abroad. On top of that, they had 12.1 million more births than deaths.

It was a different picture for rural counties, however, where move-outs since 2000 exceeded move-ins. As a group, they had a net loss of 380,000 people who moved out. The loss would have been larger – more than 950,000 people – had it not been partly offset by about 600,000 new immigrants. The total population of rural counties grew only through natural increase – that is, they had 1.2 million more births than deaths.

Rural population loss largest in Midwest

Patterns of births, deaths, migration and immigration vary greatly among regions, and generally illustrate the long-term trend of Americans favoring the Sunbelt states of the South and West over Northeastern or Midwestern states. These regional differences persist within each county type.

Among rural counties, a majority in the Northeast and Midwest lost population since 2000, while a majority in the South and especially the West gained population. One factor behind the regional difference is that rural counties in the Northeast and Midwest were more likely than other rural areas to have more deaths than births. These counties also were more likely to have experienced a net loss of migrants – more people moving out than moving in.

The population trends of rural counties are linked to their economic profiles. 3 As a group, the nation’s 391 rural farming counties – heavily concentrated in the Great Plains – have lost total population since 2000, while rural counties with other types of economies gained population.

The total population of rural counties with recreation-based and government-based economies grew more since 2000 than the populations of other rural county types. One reason recreation-based counties grew was that they had a net gain of new residents who moved from other U.S counties, the only rural county type to have a gain in net domestic migration. An analysis by the Population Reference Bureau found that rural recreation-based counties were especially likely to have growing numbers of residents 65 and older, while rural farming-based counties were losing residents in that age group.

Among urban areas, the Midwest had the largest share of population-losing counties since 2000: 42% of urban counties in this region, including the ones that encompass Chicago (Cook County, Illinois), Detroit (Wayne County, Michigan), and Cleveland (Cuyahoga County, Ohio), lost population.

Among suburban and small metro counties, about a quarter of the ones in the Northeast and Midwest lost population since 2000, a higher share than in other regions. A majority of Northeast and Midwest suburban counties had a net gain of migrants, but that was mainly due to immigration. A majority had a net loss of residents to urban or rural U.S. counties during this period.

Older adults are a higher share of the population in rural areas than in urban and suburban counties

A key demographic trend shaping the makeup of local populations, as well as the nation as a whole, is the rising number of older Americans. The Baby Boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964, began turning 65 in 2011, and all will have reached that age by 2030.

While the population is aging in all three county types, this is happening more rapidly in U.S. suburban and small metro counties. The 65-and-older population grew 39% in the suburbs since 2000, compared with 26% in urban and 22% in rural counties.

Nationally and in each county type, the older adult population grew more sharply since 2000 than any other age group – young children, school-age children, young adults or middle-aged adults. In rural areas, the population younger than 18 declined during this period. As a result, in each county type, adults ages 65 and older now make up a larger share of the total population than in 2000.

As a group, rural counties skew older than suburban and urban counties: 18% of rural residents are 65 or older vs. 15% in suburban and small metro counties and 13% in cities.

Rural counties also have a smaller share of young adults than urban or suburban populations.

Urban and suburban counties are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse at a much faster pace than rural counties

The nation is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, but these changes have been more muted in rural counties compared with urban and suburban ones. The white share of the population fell 8 percentage points since 2000 in the suburbs, 7 points in the urban core and only 3 points in rural counties.

Overall, the U.S. population remains majority white, but not so in urban areas as a group. Among urban residents, 44% are white, compared with 68% in suburban and small metro counties and 79% in rural counties. In fact, whites have become the minority in most urban counties (53% of them are majority nonwhite) since 2000; only about one-in-ten suburban (10%) and rural (11%) counties are majority nonwhite.

While the share of the non-Hispanic whites has declined, the number of whites grew in the nation overall – and in suburban counties as a whole – since 2000. But the white population did not grow as sharply as other groups did, leading to a decline in the white share of the total U.S. and suburban populations.

In urban counties, the decline in the share of the white population was due both to a decrease in the number of whites and an increase in the size of other populations, chiefly Hispanics.

In rural counties, the white population also decreased and other groups also increased in size, but the impact was more modest on the white share of the population because whites are so large a proportion of rural residents.

Immigrants are a rising share of the population in each county type

The foreign-born population is not evenly distributed across county types; immigrants tend to be concentrated in big metropolitan areas . In fact, about half live in urban counties, where they make up a higher share of the total than in suburban or rural counties.

The immigrant share of the population grew since 2000 in the nation as a whole and in each county type. Immigrants were responsible for a larger share of overall growth in rural (37%) and urban (38%) counties than in suburban (26%) ones.

Although rural counties as a group have more U.S.-born residents than in 2000, the majority of individual rural counties have fewer U.S.-born residents than in 2000. There is a large overlap between rural counties that have fewer U.S.-born residents than in 2000 and those that have fewer total residents than in 2000. In the vast majority of rural counties that lost population – 1,011 out of 1,025 – the number of U.S.-born residents declined, and there were not enough new immigrants to offset the loss.

There are gaps in poverty, education and employment across county types

In addition to the three major demographic shifts that are reshaping urban, suburban and rural counties in the U.S. – the aging of the population, changing racial and ethnic makeup and the influx of new immigrants – there are significant differences in other important metrics across community types. These relate to the economic well-being of their residents.

Poverty has increased more sharply in suburbs than in urban or rural counties

Overall, the poverty rate is somewhat higher in rural (18%) and urban (17%) counties than in suburban ones (14%). Poverty rates have risen in all three county types since 2000.

The number of people living in poverty also has risen across community types, but the size of the poor population rose more sharply in suburban counties than in urban or rural ones.

About half the U.S. poor population (49%) lives in suburban and small metro counties, while 34% live in cities and 17% in rural areas.

But looking at the share of counties where at least a fifth of the population is poor – a measure known as concentrated poverty – rural areas are at the top. About three-in-ten rural counties (31%) have concentrated poverty, compared with 19% of cities and 15% of suburbs. The number of counties with concentrated poverty grew for all three county types since 2000.

Growing share of residents of all county types have college degrees

Growing shares of residents ages 25 and older have graduated from college in all types of U.S. communities since 2000, though growth since 2000 was not as sharp as during the 1990s. Rural communities lag in the share of the population with a college degree.

Today, 35% of urban residents and 31% in the suburbs have a bachelor’s degree or more education, compared with 19% in rural counties. Rural areas also trail urban and suburban areas in their share of residents with postgraduate degrees.

In urban and suburban counties overall, college graduates outnumber residents with a high school diploma and no further education, but in the total rural population there are more high school graduates than college graduates. The share of residents who did not graduate from high school has dwindled in all three county types.

Rural counties lost prime-age workers, while urban and suburban areas gained them

Rural counties also trail other types of communities, especially urban counties, on key measures of employment of prime-age workers – those 25 to 54 years old. For example, 71% of rural residents of prime working age are employed, compared with 77% in both urban and suburban counties.

The number of employed adults in this age group (as well as the total number of prime working-age residents, employed or not) rose in urban areas as well as in suburban and small metro areas since 2000, but declined in rural counties overall. Rural counties now are home to a smaller share of the nation’s prime-age workers than in 2000.

The growth in the prime-age working population was particularly sharp in urban areas. As a result, urban counties now are home to a larger share of the nation’s prime-age workers than in 2000.

In suburban areas, which also saw an increase in the number of prime-age workers since 2000, the picture looks somewhat less rosy when analyzed through another lens – the experience of individual counties. Although the number of these workers grew for suburban counties as a group, a majority of suburban counties (59%) have fewer of them than in 2000. Among rural counties, 88% lost prime-age workers since 2000. Only 29% of urban counties did.

Another measure of economic health – average earnings per worker – is highest in urban counties and lowest in rural ones. These average earnings are lower now than in 2000 for all county types, reflecting lingering effects of the 2007-2009 recession, though average earnings in rural areas declined the least. (This more recent measure is based on a five-year average centered on 2014, reflecting earnings for the prior year. The 2000 figure reflects 1999 earnings.)

• Growth in the 1990s was measured over a 10-year period, and growth since 2000 was measured over 14 years, using a dataset covering 2012-2016. ↩
• This analysis relies on a U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service typology that classifies counties based on six non-overlapping categories of economic dependence: farming, mining, manufacturing, federal/state government, recreation and nonspecialized. ↩

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--> 02/21/2012 All three core areas rely significantly on transit. Muscovites use the Metro at about the same rate as New Yorkers use the subway, taking about 200 trips each year. Tokyo citizens use their two Metro systems at nearly 1.5 times the rate used in Moscow. But there are important differences. Moscow officials indicate that approximately two-thirds of Moscow's employment is in the central area. This is a much higher figure than in the world’s two largest central business districts -- Tokyo's Yamanote Loop and Manhattan -- each with quarter or less of their metropolitan employment. Both New York City and Tokyo's 23 wards have extensive freeway lengths in their cores, which help to make their traffic congestion more tolerable. Moscow's arterial street pattern was clearly designed with the assumption that the dominant travel pattern would be into the core. Major streets either radiate from the core, or form circles or partial circles at varying distances from it. In New York City and Tokyo's  23 wards there are radial arterials, but,the major streets generally form a grid, which is more conducive to the cross-town traffic and the more random trip patterns that have emerged in the automobile age. Moscow has become much, more reliant on cars,  following the examples of metropolitan areas across Europe. The old outer circular road, which encloses nearly all of the central municipality, was long ago upgraded to the MKAD, a 10 lane freeway as long as Washington's I-495 Capital Beltway (65 miles or 110 kilometers). The MKAD has become a primary commercial corridor, with large shopping centers and three nearby IKEAs. It is not surprising, therefore, that traffic congestion and air pollution became serious problems in Moscow. The road system that had been adequate when only the rich had cars was no longer sufficient. The "cookie-cutter" apartment blocks, which had served Iron Curtain poverty, had become obsolete. The continued densification of an already very dense core city led to an of intensification of traffic congestion and air pollution. Transit-oriented Moscow was not working, nor could "walkability" make much difference. In such a large urban area, it is inevitable that average travel distances, especially to work, will be long. Geographically large employment markets are the very foundation of major metropolitan areas. If too many jobs are concentrated in one area, then the traffic becomes unbearable, as many become able to afford cars and use them. Traffic congestion was poised to make Moscow dysfunctional. The leadership of both the Russian Federation and the city of Moscow chose an unusual path, in light of currently fashionable urban planning dogma. Rather than making promises they could not keep about how higher densities or more transit could make the unworkable city more livable, they chose the practical, though in urban planning circles, the "politically incorrect" solution:  deconcentrating the city and its traffic. Last year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed that Moscow be expanded to a land area 2.3 times as large. Local officials and parliament were quickly brought on board. The expanded land area is nearly double that of New York's suburban Nassau County, and is largely rural (Note 2). Virtually all of the expansion will be south of the MKAD. The plan is to create a much larger, automobile-oriented municipality, with large portions of the Russian government to be moved to the expanded area. Employment will be decentralized, given the hardening of the transport arterials that makes the monocentric employment pattern unsustainable. Early plans call for commercial construction more than four times that of Chicago's loop. At the same time, the leadership does not intend to abandon the older, transit-oriented part of the municipality. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has voiced plans to , adding that there will be the opportunity to build underground parking facilities as refurbishments proceed. Moscow appears to be preparing to offer its citizens both an automobile-oriented lifestyle and a transit-oriented one. The reduced commercial traffic should also make central Moscow a more attractive environment for tourists, who spend too much time traveling between their hotels and historic sites, such as the Kremlin and St. Basil's. As Moscow expands, the national leadership also wants the Russian family to expand. Russia has been losing population for more than 20 years. Since 1989, the population of the Russian Federation has dropped by 4.5 million residents. When the increase of 3.0 million in the Moscow area is considered, the rest of the nation has lost approximately 7.5 million since 1989. Between the 2002 and the 2010 censuses, Russia lost 2.2 million people and dropped into a population of 142.9 million. Russia's population losses are pervasive. Out of the 83 federal regions, 66 lost population during the last census. Continued population losses could significantly impair national economic growth. The projected smaller number of working age residents will produce less income, while a growing elderly population will need more financial support. This is not just a Russian problem, but Russia is the first of the world's largest nations to face the issue while undergoing a significant population loss. The government is planning strong measures to counter the demographic decline, increase the birth rate, and create a home ownership-based "Russian Dream". Families having three or more children will be across the nation., including plots of up to nearly one-third of an acre ( ).  Many of these houses could be built in Moscow's new automobile- oriented two-thirds, as well as in the extensive suburbs on the other three sides of the core municipality. While population decline is the rule across the Russian Federation, the Moscow urban area has experienced strong growth. Between 2002 and 2010, the Moscow urban area grew from 14.6 million to 16.1 million residents (Note 3). This 1.3 percent annual rate of increase  exceeds the recently the recently announced growth in Canada (1.2 percent). This rate of increase exceeds that of all but 8 of the 51 major metropolitan areas (Note 4) in the United States between 2000 and 2010. While the core district grew 6 percent  and added 41,000 residents, growth was strongest outside the core, which accommodated 97 percent of the new residents (See Table). Moscow's outer districts grew by nearly 1.1 million residents, an 11 percent increase, and its suburbs continued to expand, adding 400,000 residents, an increase of 10  percent. These areas have much lower densities than the city, with many single-family houses. Table Moscow Urban Area Population 2002 2010 Change % Change Share of Growth Inner Moscow 701,000 743,000 41,000 5.9% 2.7% Outer Moscow 9,681,000 10,772,000 1,090,000 11.3% 70.3% Suburban 4,198,000 4,617,000 420,000 10.0% 27.0% Total 14,581,000 16,132,000 1,551,000 10.6% 100.0% Note: Suburban population includes the total population of each district and city that is at least partially in the urban area. Moscow, like other international urban areas , is decentralizing, despite considerable barriers. The expansion will lead to even more decentralization, which is likely to lead to less time "stuck in traffic" and more comfortable lifestyles. Let's hope that Russia's urban development policies, along with its plans to restore population growth, will lead to higher household incomes and much improved economic performance. Wendell Cox is a Visiting Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris and the author of “ War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life ” Note 1: The 23 ward (ku) area of Tokyo is the geography of the former city of Tokyo, which was abolished in the 1940s. There is considerable confusion about the geography of Tokyo. For example, the 23 ward area is a part of the prefecture of Tokyo, which is also called the Tokyo Metropolis, which has led some analysts to think of it as the Tokyo metropolitan area (labor market area). In fact, the Tokyo metropolitan area, variously defined, includes, at a minimum the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama with some municipalities in Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The metropolitan area contains nearly three times the population of the "Tokyo Metropolis." Note 2: The expansion area (556 square miles or 1,440 square kilometers) has a current population of 250,000. Note 3: Includes all residents in suburban districts with at least part of their population in the urban area. Note 4: Urban area data not yet available. Photo: St. Basil's Cathedral (all photos by author) Login to post comments Evolving Urban Form: Development Profiles of World Urban Areas Transportation Comment viewing options Road in city area. The roads and ways of the city areas are very clumsy and many accidents are happening due to the short road. But you need to maintain the driving properly otherwise you may face accident. So now the government decided to expand the road which may put the positive effect on automobile sector. I think it is a helpful service for the society people. If you have a BMW car and you have faced any problem then better to repair it at BMW Repair Spring, TX for the best service. Transit & transportation Transit and transportation services are quite impressive in most of the urban cities; therefore people were getting better benefits from suitable transportation service. Urban cities like Moscow, Washington, New York and Tokyo; we have found high margin of transportation system that helps to build a better communication network in these cities. I hope through the help of modern transportation system we are able to bring revolutionary change in automobile industries; in this above article we have also found the same concepts to develop transportation system. Mercedes repair in Torrance Moscow is bursting Noblesse Moscow is bursting Noblesse at the seams. The core city covers more than 420 square miles (1,090 kilometers), and has a population of approximately 11.5 million people. With 27,300 residents per square mile (10,500 per square kilometer), Moscow is one percent more dense than the bleach anime watch city of New York, though Moscow covers 30 percent more land. The 23 ward area of Tokyo (see Note) is at least a third more dense, though Moscow's land area is at least half again as large as Tokyo. All three core areas rely Belgravia Villas is a new Belgravia Villas is a new and upcoming cluster housing located in the Ang Mo Kio area, nested right in the Ang Mo Kio landed area. It is within a short drive to Little India, Orchard and city area. With expected completion in mid 2016, it comprises of 118 units in total with 100 units of terrace and 18 units of Semi-D. belgravia villas Russians seeing the light while Western elites are bickering? What an extremely interesting analysis - well done, Wendell. It is also extremely interesting that the Russian leadership is reasonably pragmatic about urban form, in contrast to the "planners" of the post-rational West. An acquaintance recently sent me an article from "The New Yorker", re Moscow's traffic problems. The article "abstract" is HERE (but access to the full article requires subscription) http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gessen One classic quote worth taking from it, is: "People will endure all manner of humiliation to keep driving". I do find it odd that the "New Yorker" article author says nothing at all about the rail transit system Moscow had, on which everyone was obliged to travel, under Communism. It can't surely have vaporised into thin air? Moscow is a classic illustration of just how outmoded rails are, and how important "automobility" is, when the auto supplants rails so rapidly than even when everybody did travel on rails up to a certain date, and the road network dates to that era, when nobody was allowed to own a car; an article written just 2 decades later does not even mention the rail transit system, other than to criticise the mayor for "failing to invest in a transit system".......!!!!!!!! This is also a give-away of "The New Yorker's" inability to shake off the modern PC ideology on rails vs cars. Subscribe to NG Articles Get new posts by email:, connect with us:. 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Content: Urban Vs Rural Comparison chart. Basis for Comparison Urban Rural Meaning A settlement where the population is very high and has the features of a built environment, is known as urban. An area located in the outskirts, is known as rural. Includes Cities and towns Villages and hamlet Life Fast and complicated Simple and relaxed Environment Greater isolation from nature. Direct contact with nature. Associated with Non-agricultural work, i.e. trade, commerce or provision of services. Agriculture and livestock. Population size Densely populated Sparsely populated Development Planned settlement exists in urban areas, that are developed according to the process of urbanization and industrialization. Developed randomly, based on availability of natural vegetation and fauna in the area. Social mobility Highly intensive Less intensive Division of labor Always present at the time of job allotment. No such division. Definition of Urban The term urban simply refers to the region or area which is densely populated and possess the characteristics of the man-made surroundings. The people residing in such area, are engaged in trade, commerce or services. In this settlement, there is high scale industrialisation that results in better employment opportunities. The Urban settlement is not confined to the cities only, but towns and suburbs (suburban areas) are also included in it. There are many advantages of life in urban areas like easy access to various amenities, better transportation facilities, entertainment and education options, health facilities. Although it suffers certain drawbacks like pollution, caused due to large scale industrialisation and means of transportation like buses, trains, cars and so on, leading to increasing in health problems in the people living in that area. Definition of Rural We define the term ‘rural’ as a region located on the outskirts. It refers to a small settlement, which is outside the boundaries of a city, commercial or industrial area. It may include, countryside areas, villages or hamlets, where there are natural vegetation and open spaces. There is a low density of population in such area. The primary source of income of the residents is agriculture and animal husbandry. Cottage Industries also form a chief source of income here. In India, a town whose population is below 15000 is considered as rural, as per the planning commission. Gram Panchayat is responsible for looking after such areas. Further, there is no municipal board, in the villages and maximum percentage of the male population are engaged in agriculture and related activities. Key Differences Between Urban and Rural The fundamental differences between urban and rural are discussed in the following points: A settlement where the population is very high and has the features of a built environment (an environment that provides basic facilities for human activity), is known as urban. Rural is the geographical region located in the outer parts of the cities or towns. The life in urban areas is fast and complicated, whereas rural life is simple and relaxed. The Urban settlement includes cities and towns. On the other hand, the rural settlement includes villages and hamlets. There is greater isolation from nature in urban areas, due to the existence of the built environment. Conversely, rural areas are in direct contact with nature, as natural elements influence them. Urban people are engaged in non-agricultural work, i.e. trade, commerce or service industry. In contrast, the primary occupation of rural people is agriculture and animal husbandry. Population wise, urban areas are densely populated, which is based on the urbanisation, i.e. the higher the urbanisation, the higher is the population. On the contrary, the rural population is sparse, which has an inverse relationship with agriculturism. Urban areas are developed in a planned and systematic way, according to the process of urbanisation and industrialisation. Development in rural areas is seldom, based on the availability of natural vegetation and fauna in the region. When it comes to social mobilisation, urban people are highly intensive as they change their occupation or residence frequently in search of better opportunities. However, in rural areas occupational or territorial mobility of the people is relatively less intensive. Division of labour and specialisation is always present in the urban settlement at the time of job allotment. As opposed to rural areas, there is no division of labour. So, with the given discussion, it is easily understood that these two human settlements are very different, regarding the density of human structures and the residents of that area. The standard of living in urban areas is higher in comparison to the rural areas. At present, the maximum part of the total population resides in urban areas, as well as the total land area occupied by the urban region is greater than the rural areas. You Might Also Like: Rajendra Koduru says July 2, 2017 at 7:34 pm Well compared, employment and income sources are very less in rural areas which is leading to migrate to urban Anthony Bulus says October 11, 2023 at 7:08 pm Very helpful to us student September 13, 2017 at 9:12 pm Good brief description of content. Very useful for students. summer says December 25, 2017 at 3:02 pm True ……………………………………. 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Good luck Iywonna says November 9, 2023 at 7:16 pm Thank you for the helpful comparison. Winnie Bamala says November 27, 2023 at 8:15 pm Well explained 👏 Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Reimagining Design with Nature: ecological urbanism in Moscow Reflective Essay Published: 10 September 2019 Volume 1 , pages 233–247, ( 2019 ) Cite this article Brian Mark Evans   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1420-1682 1   988 Accesses 2 Citations Explore all metrics The twenty-first century is the era when populations of cities will exceed rural communities for the first time in human history. The population growth of cities in many countries, including those in transition from planned to market economies, is putting considerable strain on ecological and natural resources. This paper examines four central issues: (a) the challenges and opportunities presented through working in jurisdictions where there are no official or established methods in place to guide regional, ecological and landscape planning and design; (b) the experience of the author’s practice—Gillespies LLP—in addressing these challenges using techniques and methods inspired by McHarg in Design with Nature in the Russian Federation in the first decade of the twenty-first century; (c) the augmentation of methods derived from Design with Nature in reference to innovations in technology since its publication and the contribution that the art of landscape painters can make to landscape analysis and interpretation; and (d) the application of this experience to the international competition and colloquium for the expansion of Moscow. The text concludes with a comment on how the application of this learning and methodological development to landscape and ecological planning and design was judged to be a central tenant of the winning design. Finally, a concluding section reflects on lessons learned and conclusions drawn. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Access this article Subscribe and save. Get 10 units per month Download Article/Chapter or eBook 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter Cancel anytime Price includes VAT (Russian Federation) Instant access to the full article PDF. Rent this article via DeepDyve Institutional subscriptions Similar content being viewed by others The politics of designing with nature: reflections from New Orleans and Dhaka Acknowledgements The landscape team from Gillespies Glasgow Studio (Steve Nelson, Graeme Pert, Joanne Walker, Rory Wilson and Chris Swan) led by the author and all our collaborators in the Capital Cities Planning Group. Author information Authors and affiliations. Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, G3 6BY, UK Brian Mark Evans You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Brian Mark Evans . Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions About this article Evans, B.M. Reimagining Design with Nature: ecological urbanism in Moscow. Socio Ecol Pract Res 1 , 233–247 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-019-00031-5 Download citation Received : 17 March 2019 Accepted : 13 August 2019 Published : 10 September 2019 Issue Date : October 2019 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-019-00031-5 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Design With Nature Find a journal Publish with us Track your research 2024 Urban Bird Treaty-funded Projects through NFWF's Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Program This year the Service’s  Urban Bird Treaty Program  is funding five community-based conservation projects through its participation in the  National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program . Every year, the NFWF Five Star program seeks to develop community stewardship of local natural resources in cities across the country to preserve these resources for future generations and enhance habitat for local wildlife by providing measurable and meaningful conservation and educational outcomes. Partners in these NFWF-Urban Bird Treaty Program projects are creating opportunities for people in diverse and underserved communities to engage in a wide range of activities-–to help make their urban areas healthier places for birds and people. For the 2024 grant funding cycle, the Service’s Migratory Bird Program contributed funds supporting projects in Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico, Arizona and Connecticut. Below are summaries of these five projects:  City of Battle Creek: Restoring Battle Creek’s Natural Areas for a Healthier Kalamazoo River This project will restore 12 acres of degraded natural areas along the Kalamazoo River in Battle Creek, Michigan, by planting a diverse, young forest with a focus on benefitting priority bird species. The project will recover the original main channel of the Kalamazoo River that was relocated in the 1960s and restore the slopes and forest edges that have been disturbed by people and left vulnerable to invasive species invasive species An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars. Learn more about invasive species . The project will engage 150 community volunteers, an undergraduate student, and 500 K-12 youth in tree planting and bird monitoring, and establish a long-term bird population monitoring site. Partners will provide educational events and opportunities for 20 K-12 teachers to set up STEM, volunteer, service learning and community science programs. This project is building a climate resilient urban forest, a healthier Kalamazoo River, and a community more connected to its local riverine and forest habitats and birdlife. In addition, A Manager’s Guide to Restoring Degraded Urban Areas for Priority Bird Habitat will be published by FMB & Forester. Partners include Natural Capital Forestry, LLC, Kalamazoo River Watershed Council, American Bird Conservancy, Kellogg Biological Station Bird Sanctuary, MI Tree Farm Committee, Leila Arboretum Society, Battle Creek Public Schools Michigan Youth Challenge Academy, Sustainable BC Committee, BC Employees, Kellanova Go, Green Team, City of Springfield. Audubon Society of Western PA:  Advancing Chimney Swift Conservation in Pittsburgh This project will advance chimney swift conservation through habitat creation and restoration, research, monitoring, and the development of a framework for conserving chimney swifts in western Pennsylvania. The project will include data collection and analysis of 150 swift towers to identify characteristics of towers associated with nesting activity, restore 2.5 acres of habitat by installing bird-friendly demonstration gardens, and construct 2 new swift nesting towers. In addition, 490 community members will be engaged in educational programs, including swift nights out, and 50 volunteers and one paid intern will support bird monitoring, habitat restoration, and co-leading bird trips. The conservation framework and educational materials, including a video on tower construction will help to inform chimney swift conservation across the eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. Partners include St. Vincent College, Three Rivers Birding Club, Allegheny County Parks, Versailles Borough, Tri-COG Land Bank, Wild Excellence Films, and the Jordan Foundation. NYC Bird Alliance: Engaging diverse communities in bird conservation through habitat restoration, collision monitoring, and birding in New York City This New York City project will engage local community members and youth interns in restoring 3.5 acres of wetland and meadow habitats and monitoring for biodiversity in Van Cortlandt Park to benefit migrating and nesting birds. These activities support city and state plans for stormwater management, natural resource enhancement, and public engagement in the Harlem River watershed. The project will support 360 community science volunteers over three migratory seasons to undertake bird collision monitoring that will generate the data needed to guide bird-friendly retrofits, Lights Out efforts, and reduce bird collisions with glass, which kill up to 230,000 birds each year in New York City. An afterschool birding club with 25 public elementary school students, 21 free bird outings reaching 200 people, and two bilingual bird outings will foster a connection with nature and an interest in birding and wildlife conservation among diverse communities in the Bronx and throughout New York City. Partners include Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Crotona Park, Latino Outdoors, Van Cortlandt Park Nature Group, Ampark Neighborhood School - PS 344, and American Bird Conservancy. National Audubon Society, Inc .:   Conserving Urban Birds in the Southwest This project creates meaningful engagement opportunities for community members in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona, along two major rivers, the Rio Grande and the Salt. Partners will create opportunities for diverse urban audiences to participate in educational programs and habitat restoration projects, attend two bird festivals, and participate in one "new birding leader" workshop in both states. All events are designed in partnership with local organizations with the intention to educate new, diverse audiences about urban birds and inspire meaningful actions that benefit birds, other wildlife, and people in urban areas. To strengthen existing partnerships and foster new ones, activities will be centered at the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge visitor center in Albuquerque and at the Rio Salado Audubon Center in Phoenix. Partners include Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, Bird Alliance of Central New Mexico, Friends of the Valle de Oro Friends group, Ancestral Lands Youth Corps, Rio Reimagined, USFWS Arizona Ecological Office, Phoenix area Audubon Chapters, Arizona Bird Conservation Initiative. New Haven Ecology Project:   Rippling Outward: Growing the Education & Restoration Impact of the New Haven Harbor Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership in Connecticut  This project will restore and bring best management practices to at least 26 acres of schoolyard habitats, urban greenspaces, city parks, riparian riparian Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas. Learn more about riparian zones, and urban neighborhoods across the City of New Haven, Connecticut. The project begins with 29 urban oasis sites at schoolyards and greenspaces, and ripples outward by expanding current areas of habitat restoration, removing invasive species, improving habitat along riparian corridors and city parks, and increasing the tree canopy in neighborhoods. Partners will also create 18 paid internships, engage more than 865 students in outdoor education, provide training and resources to 63 local teachers, and engage more than 900 adults and young people as stewards. Partners include the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge, New Haven Urban Resources Initiative, New Haven Public Schools, and Community Placemaking Engagement Network. In addition to the 2024 Urban Bird Treaty Program's funding, other National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Five Star partners contributed funding to support these projects, including funds from Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Bank of America. Recreational Activities Related stories. Latest Stories 256 IMAGES An Urban Community Modern Urban Life Essay Example Urban essay (1) Essay On A Community Essay on Urbanisation ️ Urban essay. Sociology: Sociology and Urban Change Urban Essay COMMENTS What Unites and Divides Urban, Suburban and Rural Communities 1. Demographic and economic trends in urban, suburban and rural communities; 2. Urban, suburban and rural residents' views on key social and political issues; 3. How people in urban, suburban and rural communities see each other - and say others see them; 4. Views of problems facing urban, suburban and rural communities; 5. TED: Ideas change everything Written by the educators who created Ecofying Cities, a brief look at the key facts, tough questions and big ideas in their field. Begin this TED Study with a fascinating read that gives context and clarity to the material. Right now, our economy operates as Paul Hawken said, "by stealing the future, selling it in the present and calling it GDP." Problems that face urban, suburban and rural communities in America Concern over racism is roughly comparable in urban and rural communities - 21% of urban residents and 17% of rural residents say this is a major problem. A slightly smaller share (13%) say this is a major problem in the suburbs. The condition of roads, bridges and other infrastructure is a major problem for 36% of urban, 27% of suburban and ... 102 Urbanization Essay Topic Ideas & Examples To help you explore this topic further, here are 102 urbanization essay topic ideas and examples: The impact of urbanization on economic growth. Urbanization and poverty alleviation. The role of urban planning in sustainable urbanization. Urbanization and income inequality. Urbanization and social mobility. Urbanization and public health. Evaluating what makes a U.S. community urban, suburban or rural Background. In a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, a quarter of Americans said they live in an urban community, while 43% said they live in a suburban area and three-in-ten said they live in a rural area. While doing background research for this study, we wanted to know if there were any objective measures — like government classifications ... PDF AP English Language and Composition Carefully read the six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Write an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources and develops your position on the extent to which rewilding initiatives are worthwhile for urban communities to p ursue. Source A (infographic from Fastnacht ) Urbanization: a problem for the rich and the poor? Urbanization refers to the mass movement of populations from rural to urban settings and the consequent physical changes to urban settings. In 2019, the United Nations estimated that more than half the world's population (4.2 billion people) now live in urban area and by 2041, this figure will increase to 6 billion people [].Cities are known to play multifaceted functions in all societies. Urban Development Overview The World Bank's work in urban development aims to build sustainable cities and communities through an urbanization process that is green, inclusive, competitive, and resilient, contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No.11, to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, as well as to the World Bank's goals to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. Urban culture Beginning in the 1970s, David Harvey (Social Justice and the City, 1973), Manuel Castells (The Urban Question, 1977), and other scholars influenced by Marxism caused a major shift in the conception of urban cultural roles. Although they mainly worked on cities in advanced capitalist cultures, their approach had wide relevance. Rather than looking outward from the city to the urban culture as a ... Urban Life vs. Rural Life Urban Life vs. Rural Life. Living in cities or the countryside gives different experiences. These are changed by things like how people live, buildings and community activities. Life in the city is famous for its quick-moving lifestyle, modern setup and different ways people live together. Living in the countryside is marked by a slow speed ... Rural-Urban Migration, Its Causes and Effects Essay Rural to urban migration is higher in developing countries as compared to the developed nations. In Nigeria, a developing country, the population in cities is projected to rise from 1.9 billion to 3.9 billion between 2009 and 2030 (Ajaero & Onokala, 2013). This paper explains the causes and the impacts of migration of population from rural ... Essay on Urbanization for Students and Children 500 Words Essay on Urbanization. Urbanization refers to the movement of the population from rural areas to urban areas. It is essentially the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas. Furthermore, urbanization is quite a popular trend in the contemporary world. Moreover, people mostly undertake urbanization due to more ... Essay About Urban Problems Essay About Urban Problems. 910 Words4 Pages. Urban problems, urban solutions. Currently half of the world's population live in cities. According to the World Health Organization, this will increase to 70 percent of the population in 2050. This urbanization is rapid and, especially in non-western cities, largely unplanned. 3 Big Ideas to Achieve Sustainable Cities and Communities In October 2016, at the once-in-20-year Habitat III conference, countries around the world endorsed the historic New Urban Agenda, which sets a new global standard for sustainable urban development and guides global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the era of climate change.. Next week, early February 2018, national and city leaders will convene again at the Ninth ... MRSC Urban design addresses the sensory environment. Urban design addresses how people perceive and use their environment. People care about the look, feel, and livability of their communities, and urban design tools are a planner's most effective tools to address this need. To accomplish this, urban designers must be well-versed in the way human ... Living In An Urban Community Urban communities are well developed areas where there is a large density of people living. Often an urban area is the region around a city and primarily consists of commercial buildings, houses, motorways, bridges, and railroads. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2010 there was 249,253,271 people living in urban areas, which is ... 1. Demographic and economic trends in urban, suburban and rural communities Rural communities lag in the share of the population with a college degree. Today, 35% of urban residents and 31% in the suburbs have a bachelor's degree or more education, compared with 19% in rural counties. Rural areas also trail urban and suburban areas in their share of residents with postgraduate degrees. Urban Life Essay Examples Urban Life Essays. Urban Life vs. Rural Life. Living in cities or the countryside gives different experiences. These are changed by things like how people live, buildings and community activities. Life in the city is famous for its quick-moving lifestyle, modern setup and different ways people live together. ... The Evolving Urban Form: Moscow's Auto-Oriented Expansion While population decline is the rule across the Russian Federation, the Moscow urban area has experienced strong growth. Between 2002 and 2010, the Moscow urban area grew from 14.6 million to 16.1 million residents (Note 3). This 1.3 percent annual rate of increase exceeds the recently the recently announced growth in Canada (1.2 percent). Full article: Urban sprawl and its impact on sustainable urban 2.1. Study area. The study was conducted in the Morogoro urban municipality, which is the main district within the Morogoro Region, also known informally as "Mji kasoro bahari" which translates as "city short of an ocean/port" (URT Citation 2009) in Figure 1.The Morogoro urban municipality's current vision is to have a community of people with highest standard of living and a ... Difference Between Urban and Rural (with Comparison Chart) Comparison Chart. A settlement where the population is very high and has the features of a built environment, is known as urban. An area located in the outskirts, is known as rural. Greater isolation from nature. Direct contact with nature. Non-agricultural work, i.e. trade, commerce or provision of services. Full article: Urban Governance in Russia: The Case of Moscow This essay aims to examine the politics of urban governance by a non-democratic regime in contemporary Russia, using the case study of the housing renovation programme in the city of Moscow, initiated in February 2017. ... Footnote 28 Such connections linked the city administration to the community of urban experts behind the Moscow Urban Forum ... Reimagining Design with Nature: ecological urbanism in Moscow The twenty-first century is the era when populations of cities will exceed rural communities for the first time in human history. The population growth of cities in many countries, including those in transition from planned to market economies, is putting considerable strain on ecological and natural resources. This paper examines four central issues: (a) the challenges and opportunities ... NACD Announces Urban and Community Conservation Grants for 35 "The Urban and Community Conservation grants generate innovative ideas for conservation and are an integral part of our efforts to get conservation on the ground and reach historically underserved communities," said Kim LaFleur, NACD President. "The practices employed serve as a model for future conservation efforts." Urban Green Community Garden Grant Program Urban Green Community Garden Grant Program (UGCG) UGCG grants can fund 50% of projects focused on creating, enhancing or restoring an urban green space or community garden. Funding can be used to purchase gardening supplies, tools, plants and minimal associated structures. Since 2007, $2.5 million has been provided to eligible cities and towns ... 2024 Urban Bird Treaty-funded Projects through NFWF's Five Star and This year the Service's Urban Bird Treaty Program is funding five community-based conservation projects through its participation in the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration Grant Program.. Every year, the NFWF Five Star program seeks to develop community stewardship of local natural resources in cities across the country to preserve these ... DEEP Announces New Open Space and Urban Green Grant Round UGCG grants can fund 50% of projects focused on creating, enhancing, or restoring urban green spaces. Funding can be used for green infrastructure, native plantings, community gardens or walking paths, etc. Since 2007, $2.5 million in state funding has been provided to eligible municipalities to reinvigorate urban open spaces. essay homework paper phd project resume review speech study