Current State of Affairs

POSITIVE

• City life increases tolerance because people from diverse backgrounds (e.g., different tribal and religious traditions in the third world, immigrants from across the globe in the Western world) play and work together cooperatively
• High-density living allows large populations to leave the countryside far from urban centres free for agriculture, recreation, and nature
• Economies of scale allow major cultural events to occur (e.g., concerts, sports events) and cities are perceived to be more “hip” and generally have more entertainment available (sports, shopping, museums, concerts, bars, etc.)
• Economies of scale allow the construction of environmentally-friendly mass transit
  

NEGATIVE

• Transportation to and from urban centres by commuters from sprawling suburbs creates pollution, wastes gasoline, and raises accident rates
• Cities which grow quickly face problems providing the necessary infrastructure (e.g, roads, parking, housing, sewers, water, electricity, policing) and need more tax revenues (in the West) or foreign aid (in the 3rd World) to respond to these needs
• Land around cities is gobbled up by low-density single-family “monster houses” on small plots of land

 

INTERESTING

• People in urban areas have fewer children.
• The Internet, the system of highways and delivery services, and other technologies are allowing people to be self-employed or work in offices far from urban centres (e.g., call centres in Saskatchewan farm communities).
• It is far more expensive to live in a city because of high housing and transportation costs.
• Half the world's megacities, with multimillion populations, are located near potential magnitude 7.5 earthquakes

Blasts from the Past

• There has been a world-wide trend towards urbanization since the Industrial Revolution, but particularly, in the last half of the 20th century, i.e., the growth in both the number of cities and the size of the population within established cities
  
• Rural areas have suffered a corresponding depopulation, partially because of modern farming practices which allow far fewer farmers to grow more food
  
• The population of villages and small cities has changed in composition, with a disproportionate number of young people and breadwinners moving to the city, often leaving only women, children and the aged behind
  core areas of cities were abandoned in the mid-20th century as the affluent moved to suburbs leaving the poor behind in neighbourhoods which became ghettoised, but this trend has been increasing reversed in the late 20th century with the rise of condos and up-scale townhouse in hip neighbourhoods downtown

Future World

Scholars like Joel Kotkin and Richard Florida differ on whether cities are being revitalized or not. Increasing the quality of city life is a challenge being addressed in different ways in different places. Kotkin contends that technology will allow people to move away from cities that provide poor and expensive housing. Richard Florida believes that people will attract creative people looking for an exciting urban lifestyle.
Do you think that future cities will attract people or will population actually decentralize?

Environmentalists wonder if cities can be forces for good by promoting mass transit and the use of bicycles or are doomed to choke in smog. Governments must create regulations which will discourage the use of cars and stop improving and building new highways. Governments must fund alternatives. These measures are unpopular with the public, making them difficult to implement. New technological innovations may or may not offer solutions.
What is required to induce people to stop using cars within cities?

Affordable and appealing housing needs to be built in urban areas to prevent sprawl with soul-destroying and environmentally disastrous long commutes. Developers build the kind of housing in demand where the most profits can be made. Municipal governments must create regulations, which will create the type of housing desired, but this can make them unpopular with the public and with powerful interests It is difficult to change traditions and bring in systemic change. Some contest that urban sprawl is a problem.
How can affordable and appealing housing be built in urban areas?

Overview

What is the future of urbanization, i.e., will megalopolises continue to grow or will people increasingly flee the city in the 21st century?

What will be the quality of life offered in cities of the future?

Who will live in the countryside?

1. Start by reading about the past, present and future by following the above links to Blasts from the Past, Current State of Affairs, and Future World.
   
   
2. You can then explore
   External Links for Urbanization
   
   http://www.metropolismag.com/html/
   http://www.globalchange.com/ppt/corporaterealestate6/
   http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/sbe981/sbe981.htm
   http://www.greenspiration.org
   http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/reynolds-aspen.htm
   http://josephcoates.com/pdf_files/211_Urban_Development.pdf
   http://www.newurbliving.com/assets/articles/krierlecture.asp
   http://www.rppi.org/opeds/123199.html
   http://publish.uwo.ca/~mcdaniel/futcommap/FutCit.html
   Provides a detailed timeline for urbanization trends as well as many links to examples of social change in cities today as well as models for future cities.
   http://www.wri.org/press/wr96-nr.html
   Provides many statistics on current reality re urbanization as well as future trends
   http://www-cger.nies.go.jp/geo1/fig/fig4_4.htm
   Shows easy graphic depiction of differing rural vs urban trends by continent/region (1970 - 2050)
   
   
3. Finally, Participate in Pre-NEXUS Discussions.

Refine your ideas and clarify your perceptions via discussions with your peers. You can access and participate in discussions via the NEXUS.eBoard.com conference site (student password = nexus).

* At NEXUS, you and your peers will further refine and publish your ideas.