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Why Does Urbanization Occur? Essay

Decent Essays

Urbanisation is the process which has led to an increasing proportion of a country's population living within urban areas. It is impossible to say exactly when the process began, but in Britain it was around the time of the industrial revolution. Many people moved from rural to urban areas in search of regular employment. The MEDC's around the world are all urbanised now, with annual growth rates of urbanisation still increasing, but sustainably. LEDC's however are still rapidly urbanising. In this essay I am going to look at all the factors that cause urbanisation and evaluate why it is occurring.

The economic reasons behind urbanisation are mainly decided by industry. Industry is generally located in urban areas. Any industry needs …show more content…

In general any main government base is in an urban area (usually the capital city). This works best for any government because this is where most things are going on in the country. The government has a major impact on what is going on around the country. In MEDC's 75% of the population lives in urban areas. It seems best for any government to see what is going on in the country and be close to its people.

Similarly in LEDC's the government in charge would find it much easier to operate in a country if it was right in the main part where food and resources would be more readily available. Also the government would be able to see what was going on in the country and would find it easier to collect taxes and improve the country. The fact that the government is located in urban areas contributes to the migration factors because many people would move for the services and jobs that a government provides.

Environmental factors don't affect those living in MEDC's so much because they are generally rich enough to get hold of water, energy and food even if it isn't close because they can usually arrange a means of transport.

However in LEDC's environmental factors are extremely important, people are sometimes forced to leave rural areas because of the poverty that is often faced. Also droughts are quite common which can leave a family with no food or water. Putting this into consideration, people often migrate.

Socially, there are many

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