Urbanization and megacities



 A megacity is a large city with more than 10 million inhabitants. Through history the rural areas have been the most populated. However, for the first time,  in 2006 more people were living in cities than on the country sides. The book "Worldwide" presents statistics studying the percentage of world population living in urban areas. The growth of the urban areas is rising steadily and constantly as the cities has become the obvious destination for people escaping a poorer life, now searching for a better.

 According to statistics the growth of the urban population in 1800 was estimated to be 2 %. In 1950, 150 years later the percentage had increased up to 30 %. This rise was so large and distinctive because of the tremendous change in society in this period. The industrial revolution with the development of factories and industry as well as an extreme rise in population, led the people from the rural areas to the cities.  In 2000 the urban population growth rated 47 %. They expect the rate to keep increasing in the future. The rate is estimated to be 52 % in 2015 and 60% in 2030. The consequences of rapid population growth are many. Social, economic and environmental changes are inevitable resulting ethnic infiltration and cultural diversity. Some of the global challenges connected to the urban population growth will be overcrowding and lack of resources.  It will probably lead to a non sustainable development and we will ruin the environment for future generations instead of preserving it.

Mexican slum

According the executive Director of City Majors Society, the world's population will grow from 2.86 billion in 2000 to 4.89 billion by 2030. High-income countries will account for only 28 million out of the expected increase of 2.12 billion. This means that the majority of people probably will end up in the poorer cities where the conditions are challenging and hard. The proliferation of slums has never been so huge ever. Which parts of the world have the highest urban and rural population? Statistics in "Worldwide" show that North America in 1995 had an urban population of 231 million and a rural population of 67 million. By 2015 the urban population is rated to be 301 million and the rural population 59 million.  From 1995-2015 South America will experience an urban population increase of 157 million and a rural population decrease of 6 million. The urban population in Europe will increase with 14 million in contrast to the rural population who will decrease with 21 million. Africa and Asia however are the only two out of our five continents that will experience an increase of both the urban and rural population. The urban with 790 million, the rural with 131 million. The reason for this is not clear to me.  Africa and Asia are the two largest continents as well as the two most populated. The constant and extreme growth in population must be the main factor behind.

The worlds rapid urbanization is a reality. Frequently cities become new megacities. This brings both hope and insecurity. Insecurity because of the peril of overpopulation, pollution, poverty and lack of resources. The constantly increasing demand for energy that is impossible to fulfill will set our modernized and materialized world back millions of steps. Some people fear that all this will result in a collapse of the megacities. But there exists hope as well. Hope that urbanization can potentially improve the world's standard of living. Some theorists are actually convinced the migration to cities may in fact save our planet. But whether it will destroy or improve our planet is dependent on how the urbanization is managed and controlled.

The ten largest megacities in 2010:

1. Tokyo (Japan): 36.7 million
2. Delhi (India): 22.2 million
3. Sao Paulo (Brazil): 20.3 million
4. Mumbai (India): 20.0 million
5. Mexico City (Mexico): 19.5 million
6. New York City (USA): 19.4 million
7. Shanghai (China): 16.6 million
8. Calcutta (India): 15.6 million
9. Dhaka (Bangladesh): 14.6 million
10. Karachi (Pakistan): 13.1 million