Skip to main content

Urbanization: A Way of Living

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Global Population in Transition

Abstract

The exceptional population growth of the last century was accompanied by the concentration of people in large urban centres nurtured by internal migration from rural to urban areas. For the first time in recorded history, most people now live in urban areas (Fig. 6.1).

It is thus that through the greater part of Europe the commerce and manufacture of cities, instead of being the effect, have been the cause and occasion of the improvement and cultivation of the country.

Adam Smith (1776)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    It is curious that the Gini coefficients for high income countries such as the United States (US) are not included in the World Bank’s data base, when the US Gini coefficient is available from the US Census Bureau and the OECD.

References

  • Abad, R. G. (1991). Squatting and scavenging in Smokey Mountain. Philippine Studies, 39, 263–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Auer, C. (1990). Health status of children living in a squatter area in Manila, Philippines, with particular emphasis on intestinal parasitoses. South East Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, 21(2), 289–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berman, M. (1982). All that is solid melts into the air. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhagat, R. M. (2014). Urban migration trends, challenges and opportunities in India. World Migration Report 2015. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balchin, P. N., Isaac, D., & Chen, J. (2000). Urban economics: A global perspective. Houndsville: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, D. F., & Kelejian, H. H. (1973). An econometric model of the flight to the suburbs. Journal of Political Economy, 81(3), 566–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, S. (2013). Women’s decision-making in rural and urban households in Nicaragua: The influence of income and ideology. Environment & Urbanization, 25(1), 81–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Central Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS). (2015). Many women prefer urban environment. Retrieved March 24, 2017, from www.cbs.nl.

  • Davis, K., & Golden, H. H. (1954). Urbanization and the development of pre-industrial areas. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 3(1), 6–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duranton, G. (2009). Are cities engines of growth and prosperity for developing countries? In M. Spence, P. C. Annez, & R. M. Buckley (Eds.), Urbanization and growth (pp. 67–113). Washington DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2015). The urban housing crunch costs the U. S. economy about $1.6 trillion a year. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from www.city.lab.com.

  • Follain, J. R., & Malpezzi, S. (1981). The flight to the suburbs: insights gained from an analysis of central-city vs suburban housing costs. Journal of Urban Economics, 9, 381–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganaie, A. A. (2015). Kuznets inverted U hypothesis of income inequality: looking inside the available economic literature. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development, 9, 138–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hara, T. (2015). A shrinking society—Post demographic transition in Japan. Tokyo: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasarda, J. D., & Janowitz, M. (1974). Community attachment in mass society. American Sociological Review, 39(3), 328–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasarda, J. D., & Crenshaw, E. M. (1991). Third world urbanization: Dimensions, theories, and determinants. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 467–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuznets, S. (1955). Economic growth and income inequality. American Economic Review, 45(1), 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martins, J. M., Yusuf, F., Brooks, G., & Swanson, D. A. (2017). Demographics and market segmentation: China and India. In D. A. Swanson (Ed.), The Frontiers of applied demography. Springer International Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1951). Selected works (Vol. I & II). Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noss, A. (2014). Household income: 2013. United States Census Bureau: American Community Survey Briefs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (Undated). OECD Income Distribution Database. Retrieved March 22, 2017, from www.oecd.org.

  • Ozden, K., & Enwere, C. (2012). Urbanization and its political challenges in developing countries. Eurasian Journal of Business and Economics, 5(10), 99–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, R. E. (1925). The city: Suggestions for the investigation of human behaviour in the urban environment. In R. E. Park, E. W. Burgess, & R. D. McKenzie (Eds.), The city (pp. 1–46). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, R. E. (1936). Human ecology. American Journal of Sociology, 42(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Picketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century (A. Goldhammer Trans.). Cambridge MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, M. (2002). Excavating Lefebvre: The right to the city and its urban politics of the inhabitants. GeoJournal, 58, 99–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quigley, J. M. (2009). Urbanization, agglomeration, and economic development. In M. Spence, P. C. Annez, & R. M. Buckley (Eds.), Urbanization and growth (pp. 115–128). Washington DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (1991). The global city—New York, London and Tokyo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sassen, S. (2005). The global city: Introducing the concept. Brown Journal of World Affairs, 11(2), 27–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoultz, L. (1972). Urbanization and political change in Latin America. Midwest Journal of Political Science, 16(3): 367–387).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmel, G. (2000). The metropolis and mental life. In G. Bridge & S. Watson (Eds.), The Blackwell city reader (pp. 11–19). Oxford & Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from www.blackwellpublisshing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/sample_chapter/0631225137/Bridge.pdf.

  • Smith, A. (1970 [1776]). The wealth of nations. Harmondsworth: Pelican Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tacoli, C., & Satterthwaite, D. (2013). Gender and urban change. Environment & Urbanization, 25(1), 3–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todaro, M. P. (1969). A model of labour migration and urban unemployment in less developed countries. American Economic Review, 59(1), 138–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonnies, F. (2002). Community and society—Gemeinschaft und gesellschaft (C. P. Loomis Trans.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (UN). (2012). World urban prospects: The 2011 revision—Highlights. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (UN). (2014a). World urbanization prospects: The 2014 revision. New York. File 2: Percentage of population at mid-year residing in urban areas by major area, region and country, 1950–2050. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from www.esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.hmt.

  • United Nations (UN). (2014b). World urbanization prospects: The 2014 revision – Highlights. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (UN). (2014c). World urbanization prospects: The 2014 revision. New York. File 3: Urban population at mid-year by major area, region and country, 1950–2050. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from www.esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.hmt.

  • United Nations (UN). (2014d). World urbanization prospects: The 2014 revision. New York. File 11a: The largest 30 urban agglomerations ranked by population size at each point in time, 1950–2030. Retrieved March 5, 2017, from www.esa.un.org/unpd/wup/index.hmt.

  • United Nations (UN). (2017). World population prospects, The 2017 revision. Volume I: Comprehensive tables. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNH). (2003). Slums of the World: The face of urban poverty in the new millennium. Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNH). (2013). State of women in cities 2012–2013—Gender and the prosperity of cities. Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNH). (2016). Urbanization and development—Emerging futures. Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1958). The city (D. Martindale & G. Neuwirth Trans. and Ed.). Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirth, L. (1938). Urbanism as a way of life. American Journal of Sociology, 44(1), 1–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (WB). (2005). World development report 2006. Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (WB). (2010). World development report 2010. Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (WB). (2011). World development report 2012. Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (WB). (2016a). Gini index. Retrieved March 5, 2017, www.data.worldbank.org.

  • World Bank (WB). (2016b). Global monitoring report 2015/2016—Development goals in an era of demographic change. Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (WHO). (2011). Global health ageing. Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jo M. Martins .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Martins, J.M., Guo, F., Swanson, D.A. (2018). Urbanization: A Way of Living. In: Global Population in Transition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77362-9_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77362-9_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-77361-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-77362-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics