Cities and Urbanization in a Global Perspective

1. 9/13/2012 1 Cities and Urbanization in a Global Perspective Annegret D. Staiger

2. 9/13/2012 2 Introduction Placing cities historically and globally

3. 9/13/2012 3 Topics of Discussion 1) Kingsley Davis’ (1965) Theory of Urbanization 2) Cities in the year 2000 (links on website)

4. 9/13/2012 4 1) Kingsley Davis’ (1965) Theory of Urbanization First cities 5,500 yrs ago Rapid growth of urbanization in last 100 yrs only Prediction: by 1990, 50% of world population will be urban Index of urbanization used: urban if 100.000 people or more in a city

5. 9/13/2012 5 a) Definition of Urbanization “Proportion of country’s population in urban settlements” Urban population vs population growth Urban spill-over (sprawl) makes definition of urban more difficult

6. 9/13/2012 6 b) Degree of urbanization in whole societies Urbanized societies arose in NW Europe, not the Tigris/Euphrates Obstacles for growth: Low agricultural productivity Feudal social system With industrialization, urbanization takes off The later the country became industrialized, the faster the pace of industrializationThe later the country became industrialized, the faster the pace of industrialization

7. 9/13/2012 7 S-Curve of Urbanization Example UK 1811-1851 S curve flattens when urbanization reaches 50%, and bottoms out at 75% The S-curve graphically

8. 9/13/2012 8 Where do the Urbanites come from? A) proportion in cities larger because rural towns grow larger and become cities? B) excess of births over deaths in city in contrast to country? C) people move from country to city? Does only happen very slightly Excess of births over daeths in cities is not the case: rather the opposite, cities are unhealthful places to live, deathrate is higher, and the cost of children becomes more expensive, the birthrate is lower Bingo: it is the rural urban migration Does only happen very slightly Excess of births over daeths in cities is not the case: rather the opposite, cities are unhealthful places to live, deathrate is higher, and the cost of children becomes more expensive, the birthrate is lower Bingo: it is the rural urban migration

9. 9/13/2012 9 Rural-Urban Migration Why? Agricultural modernization uses more land/capita Requires more capital Makes it less accessible for rural folks Urbanized societies show shift from agricultural to non-agricultural employment

10. 9/13/2012 10 At the end of the S-Curve The proportion of rural population is too small to provide enough people to cities to sustain a steady degree of urbanization End of urbanization does not mean the end of city growth: Example Japan: decreasing urbanization but cities grow by 50%

11. 9/13/2012 11 Does Urbanization in Underdeveloped Nations Mirror the Experience of Industrialized Nations? No: cities there grow much faster 1940s-50s: More than 4% average annual gain in developing nations Compared to 2% average annual gain in industrialized nations’ heyday of urbanization Cause is not urban-rural migration but instead Natural population growth in country as a whole Developing country cities have improved mortality rates and only slightly lower fertility No decline in rural population, as occurred in developed countries Problem: the rapidly growing population in countryside has been absorbed to a good extent by cities, leaving country side to be farmed more productively, and cities are taking care of some of the problems associated with fast-growing population Rapid growing population requires the same amount of land to feed more people than before Developing country cities have improved mortality rates and only slightly lower fertility No decline in rural population, as occurred in developed countries Problem: the rapidly growing population in countryside has been absorbed to a good extent by cities, leaving country side to be farmed more productively, and cities are taking care of some of the problems associated with fast-growing population Rapid growing population requires the same amount of land to feed more people than before Developing country cities have improved mortality rates and only slightly lower fertility No decline in rural population, as occurred in developed countries Problem: the rapidly growing population in countryside has been absorbed to a good extent by cities, leaving country side to be farmed more productively, and cities are taking care of some of the problems associated with fast-growing population Rapid growing population requires the same amount of land to feed more people than before

12. 9/13/2012 12 Graphic Changes se