Trends in Contemporary Global Urban Growth and its Link to the Global Economy - Essay Example

Trends in Contemporary Global Urban Growth and its Link to the Global Economy of the of Submission Abstract When a rural or natural piece of land develops into an urban area, the process is called urbanisation. The process involves a lot of dynamics: rural-urban migration, industrialisation and population growth. These are just but some of the trends associated with urbanisation. The resultant urban centres are cities or towns with distinct characteristics that sets them apart from other parts of the country (Goldfield, 2007). When the urban centre is at last formed, it continues to grow, just like any other sections of the society. But the growth pattern and direction is also of a distinct nature (Hayden, 2004). This pattern of growth can also be referred to as urban growth trends. These trends vary from one society to the other. But they have some basic similarities. Even today, urban societies continue to exhibit some form of growth. This is what is referred to as contemporary urban growth. Urbanisation is tied in some ways to the economy (Walter, 2003). As people move from rural to urban areas and new technologies continue to be developed, there are major influences to the economy. This paper will attempt to look at the main trends associated with contemporary global urban growth and how this is linked to the global economy. The paper will be subdivided into several sections. The first section will deal with the main trends that are associated with contemporary urban growth. The second section will look at how these trends are associated to the global economy. Introduction More and more people continue to abandon life in villages and farms to move to the cities. This is especially so in the developing third world societies where urbanisation is a relatively new phenomenon (Kahn, 2006). This is what brings about urbanisation in the first place. The rapid rise of cities around the world, regardless of when they were formed, can be attributed to rural- urban migration. These are like Chicago which developed in the nineteenth century. Shanghai in china, which came to be in the twentieth century, can also be attributed to this form of migration (McDonald, 2007). The twentieth century saw unprecedented levels of urbanisation around the globe. The reasons why people move to the cities are varied, from one society to the other. They go to look for jobs, enjoy the city amenities amongst other reasons. It is evident that once an urban centre is formed, it continues to grow going through several stages in the process (Kahn, 2006). The growth is stimulated by several factors like industrialisation and more immigration. It also takes many forms like growth of factories and development of urban buildings. What is most important is that there are several trends that can be associated with this urban growth. The growth of urban centres has profound effects to the economy. This is because, as stipulated earlier in this paper, these two phenomena are joined to each other. The relationship between the two can take several forms (Goldfield, 2007). As the urban centre grows, the economy can grow at the same rate. The economy can also grow at a higher or lower rate than that of urban growth. It can also remain stagnant as the urban growth takes place. But what is important is that the two growths are related. This paper will look at the growth trends of urban centres in today's society and how they affect the economy. The paper will take a global look when handling these two mechanisms. Objectives of the Study The study is guided by one broad objective, that of looking at the trends in contemporary urban growth. It also has some specific objectives which are set out below: Outlining the main trends in contemporary global urban growth Finding out whether the trends above can be linked to the global economy If a link exists, this paper will attempt to look at this link and how it specifically occurs Main Trends in Contemporary Urban Growth Urban growth is a global phenomenon. It is true that urbanisation preceded globalisation (Walter, 2003). But it can also be said that urbanisation is one of globalisation mechanisms. Every modern society has some level of urbanisation taking place. In fact, urbanisation is one of the aspects of modernisation. As it is a global and modern society's phenomenon, it is important then to look at some of the trends that are associated with it. Different societies exhibit different trends as far as urban growth is concerned. But there are some main ones that occur in almost, if not all, urbanisations. One trend associated with urban growth is migration (McDonald, 2007). This is a global aspect of urban growth that can be seen in almost every society today. The migration takes many forms. The most common type of migration is rural- urban migration. Almost every urban centre can trace its origin to this form of migration. This is especially the case in most emerging urban centres in the developing countries today. It is a fact that most of the population in the developing or so-called third world countries is rural based. But this is changing gradually. Many people now in these third world economies are moving from the rural areas to the urban centres. This is not restricted only to the third worlds, though it is more visible today there. Even the developed worlds experience this form of migration, as long as there is a portion of the population that is rural based (Walter, 2003). The reasons why many people move from the rural areas to urban centres are diverse. Majority of them are abandoning farming to working in the industries. This is because the world today is faced with a declining demand in agricultural products and increased demand for industrial or manufactured products (Kahn, 206). As a result of this, majority of the rural population that hitherto relied on agricultural products for upkeep find themselves without a source of income. They have to look for other means of survival and the only option is to look for job in the industries. Now, most of the industries are located in the urban centres. The people thus move to these urban centres to look for employment in those factories. Another reason for this form of migration might be search for better social amenities (Hayden, 2004). This is especially the motivation of those rural-urban immigrants in contemporary developed worlds. Most of the good things in life; entertainment, health facilities, education facilities and recreational facilities are located mainly in the urban centres. To enjoy these amenities, it is only prudent to live where one can easily access them. And since they are located in the city, people move there. Another form of migration is urban-urban migration (Goldfield, 2007). This is whereby people move from one urban centre to another. This is common in those societies that are already urbanised. Again, the reasons for this migration vary. A person might move from one city to the other if the one he used to live in has developed some negative aspects that he could not cope with. This might include the closure of the factory he used to work in, insecurity or infrastructure gone bad. He might also migrate to another city he was transferred. There is also urban-rural migration in these societies. This is whereby people move from the urban centre back to the rural areas (Walter, 2003). But this form is not common. Its effects to the city population is normally counter-acted and surpassed by the other two forms of migration. Whichever form that the migration takes, it has the same impact to the urban centre. It leads to increased urban population (McDonald, 2007). This brings us to the other trend in global growth of contemporary urban centres; there is increase in population. Population growth is a global phenomenon associated with urban growth. This growth is brought about by many factors (Kahn, 2006). One of them is the rural-urban and urban-urban migration. These processes mean that there are increased people in the urban centre. Another source of population growth is breeding (Hayden, 2004). When people come to the city, they intermarry and start families. Children are born in these families. The families do not move back to the rural areas. This means that the children born in the city add to its population. This population growth can lead to another trend associated with urban growth today. This is over-population (Kahn, 2006). This is whereby the number of people living in the city surpasses the number that was initially intended to live there. When an urban centre is in its formative stages, the planners of the time structure the city with a fixed number of people in their mind (Walter, 2003). The structures are in form of the roads built, hospitals, schools and residential houses. The surge in population surpasses the targeted number with time. This is when the urban centre is said to be overpopulated. There is congestion and over use of certain facilities like roads and schools. This is a problem today in almost every urban centre. Urban growth leads to a skewed composition of the society's population (Kahn, 2006). The urban society is mainly made up of more young people than the old and the children. This is because majority of the people who migrate from the rural to urban area are young people looking for employment. The children and old people are left back in the village. This is common in the newly emerging cities of the third world countries (Goldfield, 2007). The old people move back to the village after retirement. The net effect of this is that the urban population is disproportionately made up of more young people than old. The population is also mostly men (McDonald, 2007). This is because large portions of the people who migrate to the city from the rural areas are men. The women are left behind to look after the family and the farm. Again, this is common to the newly formed cities. Urban growth is synonymous to industrialisation. Many factories in the society are to be found in the urban centres (Hayden, 2004). As the urban centre grows so does the industries. The presence of factories can be attributed to many factors. Initially, the urban centres might have developed around factories as people came to work in them. In the coming years, it became easier to set up factories in the urban centres because of the presence of labour and market. At the end of the day, many factories came to be concentrated in the urban centres more than in the rural areas. This is to be found in every urban centre today. As long as it remains, factories continue opening shop there. The growth of the urban centre and the industries support one another. There is technological advancement associated with urban growth almost everywhere in the world (McDonald, 2007). This is because as industries continue to be opened, they improve on their operations leading to new discoveries. There is also investment in research from private individuals and governments. These researches lead to the discovery of new technologies. The initial motivation to invest in research can stem from several factors. As the society grows and urbanises, there arises new needs in the society that were not there in the rural based society. These needs have to be addressed for the society to continue existing. These needs cannot be addressed the old way because they are new (Kahn, 2006). The only logical reason is to look for new ways of addressing them. This can only be achieved through research. The needs might be increased demand calling for increased production, the need for mobility and to house increased population. Need to increase production leads to innovations of new production techniques (Walter, 2003). Need for mobility leads to improvement in road infrastructure and automobile production. The need for housing leads to the building of high rise residential places. A trend associated with urban growth is the emergence of a new social class (Goldfield, 2007). Initially, the society was rural based and not stratified. With the emergence of urban centres and industrialisation, the society is stratified. Several classes emerge. There is the working class at the bottom of the ladder. Then follows the middle class and the high class at the top of the ladder. The high class owns the factories while the working class toil in them. The middle class works in the factories but are highly remunerated than the working class. This may be because of the fact that they are qualified. The above scenario takes place in the emerging cities of the third world countries. What happens when urban centre grows in the developed world is somehow different. The stratification of the society has been there since urbanisation started. What happens as the urban centre grows is that there is an upsurge of the middle class (Hayden, 2004). For instance in the year 2008, the middle class in America and Europe comprised more than 50% of the society. There is improved infrastructure as the urban centre grows (McDonald, 2007). More and better roads are built to support the growing population. This is just one aspect of the improvement of the transport infrastructure. Others include the building of airports as the need to move from one country to the other rises. There is provision of electricity to the city residents. This is for the factories and also for the people to use. The health sector improves as more effective drugs are discovered to fight with diseases. There is also improvement in the quality of education as people add to the existing body of knowledge through research and discoveries. Another trend in the global growth of urban centres is the emergence of a universal society (Hayden, 2004). People from different backgrounds come to the city and co-exist together. The effect of this is that their cultures are merged to come up with another culture that is totally new. There is increased mobility between countries. This leads to the merging of cultures from different countries to come up with one universal culture. This leads to the formation of one global society. This is globalisation. Thus, globalisation is a trend of growth of urban centres. There are negative attributes of growth of urban centres. This includes rise of crime, loss of cultural identities and class conflict. But perhaps the most important attribute of urban growth is to the environment. There is increased pollution of environment from factory wastes and loss of land's natural covers to house the urban centres. This leads to global warming (Goldfield, 2007). Links between Contemporary Urban Growth and the Global Economy The growth in urban centres has effects to the global economy. These effects are both negative and positive. They affect both the local and global economy. This is because due to urbanisation, the local and global economies have been merged (Walter, 2003). A change in the local economy is reflected on the global economy and vice versa. The first link between urban growth and global economy is increase in productivity (McDonald, 2007). As the urban centres grow, there is improved technology. This technology leads to improved production. More goods and services can be produced than ever before. The availability of labour as people migrate from the rural areas to urban areas further brings down the costs of production. Reduced costs of production mean that the industries can now produce more goods and services using the same amount of capital and raw materials. This is an effect that is reflected on the global economy. We have seen that urbanisation leads to industrialisation. This creates jobs to more people in the society. What this means is that the spending power of the people is increased with the increase in income (Goldfield, 2007). This is because the amount of disposable income available to the people is increased. They are now able to buy more products than they could before. Many can even afford to take international vacations. The power to spend is a very important factor when it comes to the global economy. It leads to the growth of the economy. Growth of urban centres means growth of market for the goods produced (Hayden, 2004). When people start earning, they can afford to buy goods and services found in the economy. This increased ability to buy raises the demand for the products. The rise in demand means that the producers can now sell more. This is what is meant by availability of a large market. Growth of urban centres also leads to increased population here. Rise in population translates into a large market for the producers (Kahn, 2006). This is because many people are available to consume the goods and services. This is an expanded market which is positive for the growth of the global economy. Urbanisation leads to mobility of people between different countries. This means that products can also be moved across borders. Local producers can now access the international market (McDonald, 2007). This is another facet of expanded market. Urbanisation also leads to the integration of the local market to the international one (McDonald, 2007). There is movement of goods and services across borders as countries develop needs for products from other nations. The other nations also develop a demand for the products of this country. This leads to export and import trade. As a result, there is the development of a world and international market. The economy moves from been locally based and enters the global economy. International trade leads to specialisation as far as production is concerned (Kahn, 2006). Countries specialise and concentrate on the production of the goods and services that are cheap and easier to them. They export these and import what they do not produce but needs. This has led to the division of the world society into those producing raw materials and those producing processed goods. The increase in the level of health and knowledge of the population due to urbanisation means that goods and services can now be produced cheaply and at high quality. This affects the global economy positively. The pollution of the environment can affect the global economy negatively. This is because it can lead to diseases and hence reduction in demand and quality of products. It can also lead to raised costs of production as the companies are penalised for pollution (Walter, 2003). Conclusion The growth of urban centres is a global phenomenon. New cities continue to emerge while the existing ones grow. As this takes place, there is a profound effect on the world's economy. The economy is affected both positively and negatively. A balance should be struck between the two. An urbanisation carried out in a planned and systematic manner is more beneficial than a sporadic one (Walter, 2003). Growth of urban centres also takes different trends around the world. It is important to know the trends that a particular urbanisation process is taking. This is good for planning. References Goldfield, L. (2007). Managing urban growth. Boston: McGraw Books. Hayden, K. (2004). Population growth and urbanisation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kahn, S. (2006). The relationship between urbanisation and politics. California: Brookings Publishers. McDonald, Q. (2007). Environmental impact of urban growth. Texas: McFarland &Brothers. Walter, T. (2003). Urbanisation and the global economy. Houston: Apprentice Book House. Read More