Defining Urban,

Urbanization and

Urbanism

By: May Ann L. Maningding

MPA

Dr. Josefina B. Bitonio

Professor

Urban

URB= (City) + AN =(Denotes Place)Pertaining to a large city. An urban area might

be defined as an area with a large amount of

people residing in it, an area that has been

significantly developed, or an area where the

distance between buildings is very small.

Urban is used in contrast to rural, which

generally indicates a low-population, often

agricultural-based area.

An Urban Area is a human settlement with

high population density and infrastructure

of built environment. Urban areas are

created through Urbanization and are

categorized by urban morphology as cities,

towns, conurbations, or suburbs.

In Urbanism, the term contrast to rural

areas such as villages and hamlets and in

urban sociology or urban anthropology it

contrast with natural environment.

Urban settlements have been

defined on the basis of:

Cultural Definition- Urban Culture

Political Definition- Administrative Functions

Economic Definition- percentage of people

in non agricultural populations

Demographic Definition- size of the

Population

Cultural Definition

-A city is a state of mind, a body of customs and

traditions

2 types of communities• “gesellschaft” (urban)- larger scale “Societal”or formal

role relationships

• “gemeischaft”(rural)- more intimate scale “community”or

primary relationships

Political Definition

- A national Government may define its urban areas in

terms of functions.

Often those residing in the capital of a country or

province are designated as urban

In Kenya and Thailand, all incorporated places are

urban, regardless of size

In Canada, Until 1971all incorporated places were

automatically urban

Economic Definition

A country has sometimes been described as

urban if less than half of its workers are

engaged in agriculture

“Urban” = “non – agricultural”

Demographic Definition

- Demographically, a place is defined as being

urban because a certain number of people live

in it, certain density of people live in it, or both

UrbanizationUrbanization is a process whereby populations move from

rural to urban area, enabling cities and towns to grow. It can also be

termed as the progressive increase of the number of people living in

towns and cities. It is highly influenced by the notion that cities and

towns have achieved better economic, political, and social mileages

compared to the rural areas.

Accordingly, urbanization is very common in developing and

developed worlds as more and more people have the tendency of

moving closer to towns and cities to acquire “privileged” social and

economic services as well as benefits. These include social and

economic advantages such as better education, health care,

sanitation, housing, business opportunities, and transportation.

Urbanization Transformation of a society from a rural to an urban

one.

Urban population - Persons living in cities or towns of 2,500 or more residents.

Urbanized area - One or more places and the adjacent densely populated surrounding area that together have a minimum population of 50,000.

Mega-cities - Cities with 10 million residents or more.

Traits of Urbanization

Urbanization is an Index of Transformation

It is concentration of population

Quantification of Urbanization is difficult

It is a long term process

It is a finite process

Agrarian to Industrial society

Exciting new Opportunities for Investors

Causes of Urbanization

Urbanization occurs naturally from

individual & corporate efforts to reduce time

and expense in commuting in transportation

while improving job opportunities, education,

housing, and transportation

Urbanization permits individuals and

families to take advantage of the opportunities

of proximity, diversity, and market place

competition

Causes of Urbanization

Better services, Job Opportunity

A greater variety of entertainment &

Better quality of Education

Reasons for Migration

- People were losing their jobs on the farms

during the industrialization to machines

• Job opportunities

• Improved facilities

• Better education

• Transportation faster access to

medical help

Demographically

-Urbanization is an increase in population

concentration (Numbers and density)

Organizationally

- It is an alteration in structure and patterns

of organization

Benefits of Urbanization

Improvement In Economy

Growth of Commercial

Activities

Social and Cultural Integration

Efficient Services

Resources Utilization

UrbanismUrbanism is the study of the characteristic ways of

interaction of inhabitants of towns and cities (urban

areas) with the built environment. It is a direct

component of disciplines such as urban

planning (the physical design and management of

urban structures) and urban sociology (the study of

urban life and culture). However, in some contexts

internationally Urbanism is synonymous with Urban

Planning, and the ”Urbanist” refers to an Urban

Planner.

Urbanism

• City way of Life

• Socio cultural consequences of living in urban places

the human side of urbanization

• Social patterns and behavior associated with living

cities

o Emphasis on: Competition, achievement,

specialization, superficiality, anonymity,

independence, are tangential relationships

o Compared with: a simpler and less competitive

idealized rural past

New Urbanism

New Urbanism is an Urban

design movement which promotes

environmentally friendly habits by

creating walkable neighbourhoods containing

a wide range of housing and job types. It

arose in the United States in the early 1980s,

and has gradually influenced many aspects

of real estate development, Urban Planning,

and municipal land Use strategies.

New Urbanism

New Urbanism is strongly influenced by urban

design practices that were prominent until the rise of

the automobile prior to World War II; it

encompasses ten basic principles such as traditional

neighbourhood design (TND) and transit- oriented

Development(TOD). These ideas can all be circled

back to two concepts: building a sense of

community and the development of ecological

practices.

Housing and Slums

• Acute shortage of housing in urban areas and

much of the available accommodation is

quantitatively of sub standard variety

• With large scale migration for urban areas, many

find that the only option that they have is

substandard housing, overcrowding, lack of

electrification, ventilation, roads, and drinking water

facilities

Over crowding

• Overcrowding encourages deviant

behaviour, spreads diseases, and creates

conditions to mental illness, alcohol and

riots

• One effect of dense urban living is people’s

apathy and indifference

Power shortage

• Power supply has remained insufficient in majority

of Urban Area

• The use of electrical gadgets has increase in cities,

and establishments of new industries and the

expansion of the old ones has also increased

dependence of electricity

Pollution• Towns and cities are major polluters of the

environment, Several cities discharge 40 to 6

percent of their entire sewage and industrial

effluents untreated into the nearby rivers

• Urban industries pollutes the atmospheres with

smoke and toxic causes from the chimneys

• All these Increases the chances of diseases

among the people living in the urban centres

Other Problems:

Environmental Problems

Educational Problems

Malnutrition

Poverty

Unemployment

Rural rebound

• where people are getting sick of

cities and moving back to Rural

Areas

Possible Solution

• Make the economy of rural areas

fully viable by undertaking massive

rural development program

Possible Solution

• Surplus rural manpower should be

absorbed in rural areas themselves

to reduce rural to urban migration.

Possible Solution

Urban Planning and Management

City Development Strategy

Systematic development of urban centers

and creation of job opportunities

Regional planning with city planning

Encouraging industries to move to backward

area

Municipalities to find own financial resources

Adopting Pragmatic Housing Policy

Other Possible Solutions

References: https//prezi.com by Jerdy Mercene, June 25,2017

www.yahoo.com

www.google.com

Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development

Project

John J. Palen – 1997, Tonnies 1957,Wirth 1938

Being Urban: Urban Dictionary and Meriam Dictionary

www.youtube.com Khai Loon October 16, 2016

www.slideshare.net