Urbanization
Urbanization is the societal trend where the proportion of people living in cities increases while the proportion of people living in the country side diminishes. Urban refers to the geographic territory within or close to a city.
The governments of the world define urban in different ways, but it is safe to assume that between 2-5,000 inhabitants in a city is the minimum required to call a geographic territory urban. Some urban areas such as Tokyo, New York, Mexico City, Shanghai, and Lima range from 35 million down to 7 million people living in those cities.
A few factors have to be in place in order for urban growth to occur. These theoretical approaches help in understanding urban development.
Agricultural surplus theory claims that as farming skills increase, a surplus of basic foodstuffs exist. The surplus freed certain people from having to produce their own food and let them develop other occupations.
Central place theory claims that farmers needed a central place to trade or sell their surplus and cities developed in those central places.
Trading theory claims that the surplus was not as important as the specialists who knew how to create it and do other occupations. This theory centers around the need of a transportation route. Once settlers move in, a city will flourish or fail depending on its ability to continue to draw in people seeking opportunities.
Rural refers to the geographic territory in the less populated regions of a society.
If you grew up in the United States, you can find out all types of recent information about your home town (rural or urban) by going to the U.S. Census Community Facts website. Search your hometown or the town you live in now to find out statistical information.
Sociologists who study the cities often use a concept called population density, to study the demographics of an area. Population density is the number of people per square mile or square kilometer.
According to New Geography, here are the 2012 estimates of the most populated world cities according to their population density.
| Urban Area | Population Estimate | Land Area (sq. miles) | Density (people per. sq. mile) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo, Japan | 37,126,000 | 3,300 | 11,300 |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 26,063,000 | 1,075 | 24,200 |
| Seoul-Incheon, South Korea | 22,547,000 | 835 | 27,000 |
| Delhi, India | 22,242,000 | 750 | 29,700 |
| Manila, Philippines | 21,951,000 | 550 | 39,900 |
| Shanghai, China | 20,860,000 | 1,350 | 15,500 |
| New York City, United States | 20,464,000 | 4,495 | 4600 |
