Urbanization is the shift from rural to urban living with large populations concentrating in cities. Currently over 3.3 billion people live in urban areas, expected to grow to 5 billion by 2030, with most growth in Asia and Africa. In 1800 only 2% of the world's population was urban, but by 1950 it was 40% and is predicted to reach 60% by 2030. Urbanization was boosted by the Industrial Revolution in Europe and USA in the 18th-19th centuries and spread to Asia in the 20th century and Africa in the late 20th century. Australia is the most urbanized country currently.

2.  Urbanization is the shift from a rural to an urban
society, bringing a large concentration of people
into towns and cities.This process usually occurs
when a nation is still developing. Leads to a general
increase in the population and industralization .

3.  Currently more than 3.3 billion people live in towns
and cities , the number is expected to grow to 5
billion by 2030. Over 80 percent of this growth will
accrue to Asia and Africa ,
 In 1800 only about 2 percent of the world's
population lived in urban areas. In only 200 years,
the world's urban population has grown from 2
percent to nearly 50 percent of all people.
 The population of Chicago increased from 15
people to about 20 million, within a span of 78
years.

4.  Mumbai is the most populous city in India , and the
fourth most populous city in the world , with a total
metropolitan area population of approximately
20.5 million.
 Among all the States and Union territories, the
NationalCapitalTerritory of Delhi is most
urbanized with 93 percent urban population .

6.  The beginning of urbanization can be traced back
to Renaissance times in 16th century.
 Turkish assaults resulted in movement of Christians
from the east to western European
countries. As a result, trade grew and European
cities along the coasts developed greatly.

7.  A further boost for urbanization was created with
the arrival of the “Industrial Revolution”.
Populations of cities in Europe and USA started to
increase significantly in the 18th and 19th
centuries. However, urbanization started inAsia
only in the first half of the 20th century and in the
second half of the 20th century in Africa, when the
countries obtained independence from colonial
rule.

8.  Today as compared to Asian and African countries,
countries such as USA and UK have a higher
urbanization level. Economic forces helped to
locate factories and workers in cities. In USA 5% of
the population lived in cities in 1800. By 1920 50%
of the population lived in cities. In comparison only
17.8% of population ofThird world societies lived in
cities in 1950. But by 2000, the percentage had
increased to 40%. By 2030, the percentage is
predicted to increase to 60%.
 Australia is the most urbanized country in the
world. Both the rate and level of urbanization in
Australia are high.

9.  Urbanization in India was mainly caused after
independence, due to adoption of mixed system of
economy by the country which gave rise to the
development of private sector.
 Population residing in urban areas in India,
according to 1901 census, was 11.4%.This count
increased to 28.53% in 2001, and crossing 30% as
per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%.

11.  Industrialization: Major cause of urbanization. It
has expanded the employment opportunities.
Rural people have migrated to cities on account of
better employment opportunities.
 Social factors: Social factors such as better
standard of living, better educational facilities
induce people to migrate to cities.
 Employment opportunities : In rural sector
people depend mainly on agriculture for their
livelihood , but Indian agriculture depends on
monsoon. Due to drought people move to cities.

12. IMPACT ON BUSINESS
Positive Impacts
 Increase in market .
 Profits of the business will increase.
 Business can benefit from the infrastructure.
Negative Impacts
 Small scale industries will lose market.
 Agricultural will take a back seat

13. IMPACTS ON SOCIETY
Positive Impacts
 Employment opportunities will increase
 Standard of living increases
 Easier access to healthcare, education ,
entertainment.
 MoreTransport facilities .
 Social Integration

14. Negative Impacts
 Change in consumption patterns will lead to
various health complications.
 Loss of tradition and culture.
 Crime rate increases
 Increase in the price of land.

15. IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENT
Positive Impacts
 The same output can be produced using fewer
resources so urbanization reduces the ecological
footprint.
 Urbanization allows more people to have access to
environment-friendly facilities and services at
affordable prices.
 Urbanization drives innovation, including green
technologies.

16. Negative Impacts
 Causes various kinds of pollution like land, air and
water pollution.
 Deforestation
 Habitat Loss
 More stress on resources
 Will lead to scarcity of resources

17.  Urbanization can have a critical role in future
development scenarios . Urbanization can be
critical for economic growth , for reduction of
poverty , for stabilization of population growth and
for long term sustainability .
 The challenge is not to control the rate of
urbanization but to achieve a pace and pattern of
urban development that is beneficial .