Name - APURVA MAHADIK

Roll no - 18057
GENESIS OF URBANIZATION

Today, more than half of all people in the world live in an urban area. But as
recently as 100 years ago, only two out of 10 people lived in a city. And before that it
was even less. In the earliest days of human history, humans were hunter gatherers,
often moving from place to place in search of food. But about 10,000 years ago, our
ancestors began to learn the secrets of selective breeding and early agricultural
techniques. For the first time, people could raise food rather than search for it. And this
led to the development of semi-permanent villages for the first time in history.

The villages had to relocate every few years as the soil became depleted. It was
only with the advent of techniques like irrigation and soil tilling about 5000 years ago,
that people could rely on a steady and long-term supply of food, making permanent
settlements possible. And with the food surpluses that these techniques produced, it was
no longer necessary for everyone to farm. This allowed the development of other
specialized trades and by extension cities. With cities now producing surplus food as
well as tools, crafts and other goods, there was now the possibility of commerce and
interaction over longer distances. And his trade flourished, so did technologies that
facilitated it like carts, ships, roads, and ports. Of course, these things required even
more labour to build and maintain, some more people were drawn from the countryside
to the cities as more jobs and opportunities became available.

Some cities in 2000 BC had population densities nearly twice as high as that of
Shanghai or Calcutta. One reason for this was that transportation was not widely
available, so everything had to be within walking distance, including the few sources
of clean water that existed then, and the land area of the city was further restricted by
the need for walls to defend against attacks on the Roman Empire was able to develop
infrastructure to overcome these limitations. But other than that, modern cities as we
know them didn't really get their start until the Industrial Revolution, when new
technology deployed on a mass scale allowed cities to expand and integrate further
establishing police, fire and sanitation departments, as well as road networks and later
electricity distribution.

Our global population is currently more than 7 billion and is predicted to top
out around 10 billion. Most of this growth will occur in the urban areas of the world's
poorest countries. First, the world will need to seek ways to provide adequate food,
sanitation and education for all people. And second, growth will need to happen in a
way that does not damage the land that provides us with the goods and services that
support the human population and food production might move to vertical farms and
skyscrapers, rooftop gardens, or vacant lots and city centres. While power will
increasingly come from multiple sources of renewable energy. Instead of single-family
homes, more residences will be built vertically. We may see buildings that contain
everything that people need for their daily life, as well as smaller self-sufficient cities
focused on local and sustainable production. The future of cities is diverse, malleable
 and creative, no longer built around a single industry, but reflecting an increasingly
connected and global world.

Global urbanization map showing the percentage of urbanization and the biggest global population
centres per country in 2018, based on UN estimates.

Evolution of urbanization from caves to villages.

1. Cave Dwellers: Beginning of urbanization, resorting to caves for collective
performances/ ceremonies and community living (Lewis Mumford) Tribal to Village:
(Neolithic age): The Neolithic Age, which means New Stone Age, was the last and third
part of the Stone Age. In India, it spanned from around 7,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C. The
Neolithic Age is mainly characterized by the development of settled agriculture and the
use of tools and weapons made of polished stones. (Neolithic Age) By product of
agricultural production-River valley civilizations like Nile, Euphrates, Tigris, Indus.
Emerging urban areas and their rural hinterlands were parts of an interlaced whole
essential to the sustenance of human and animal life which in turn promoted Agriculture
(Lewis Mumford). Production of hard grains ability to store as insurance against
starvation and trade.

2. FEUDAL SOCIETY: Feudal society is a military hierarchy in which a ruler or lord

offers mounted fighters a fief (medieval beneficial), a unit of land to control in exchange
for a military service. The individual who accepted this land became a vassal and the
man who granted the land become known as his liege or his lord. Agricultural surplus-
Trade –Prosperity and poverty-Rivalry-consequence external invasions of different
cultural stock-customs, Religions, life styles, morals and ethics.
Urbanization in different civilizations Indus valley civilization
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus
Valley Civilization, making them the first urban centre in the region. The quality of
municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning and efficient
municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene, or, alternatively,
accessibility to the means of religious ritual.

ATHENS: Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been
continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens
became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural
achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of Western civilization.
Ancient city of Athens Ancient Rome In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman
civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the
collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the
Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire until the fall of the western
empire.
 Impacts of Unplanned Urbanization and Settlements on
Environment

Urbanization is the physical growth of rural or natural land into urban areas because of
population immigration to an existing urban area. Urbanization is defined by the United
Nations as “a movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating
to urban migration.” It incorporates changes in density and administrative services along with
physical facilities, technology, society, settlements and other facets.

Unplanned urbanization and settlements are the conditions resulted by the improper planning,
which leaves adverse effects on the health, sanitation, security, housing and other such aspects
of life, marked with uncontrolled migration. While planned urbanization invites positive
change in the multidimensional society, unplanned urbanization is rightly viewed as a negative
trend that brings about dire consequences affecting every face of the society.

Before going through the impacts of unplanned urbanization and settlements, it is imperative
to discuss the causes of urbanization or in a simple dialect, movement of people from rural to
urban areas. People move into cities chiefly to seek economic opportunities. Cities are known
to be the places where money, services and wealth are centralized. Cities are where fortunes
are made and where social mobility is possible. In addition, businesses, which generate jobs
and capital, are usually located in urban areas. Hence, people living in a small farm in
countryside wish to take their chance moving to the city and try to make enough money to send
back home to their struggling families. Moreover, there are better basic services as well as other
specialist services that are not found in rural areas. Health is another major factor: there are
doctors and hospitals with improved services that can cater for people’s health needs. Similarly,
other factors include a greater variety of entertainment (restaurants, movie theatres, parks, etc.)
and a better quality of education.

Nobody can refute the benefits provided by urbanization to the commoners in this 21st century.
In fact, a country’s development largely depends on the rate of urbanization in that particular
country. However, unplanned urbanization and unsystematic settlements in urban areas brings
about a heap of problems. Various areas such as environment, economy, health and social
aspect are severely impacted by unplanned urbanization. The following part of the essay
discusses on detail on the impacts brought about by it on environment.

Urban sprawl creates a number of negative environmental outcomes that are strongly related
to global change issues. For more than 100 years, it has been known that two adjacent cities
are generally warmer than surrounding areas 91 to 6°C). This region of city warmth, known as
urban hear island, can influence the concentration of air pollution. This results into reduces soil
moisture and intensification of carbon dioxide emission. Similarly, the number of vehicles and
industries increase owing to the rapid unplanned urbanization. On the one hand, they cause air
pollution with the emission of toxic chemicals and harmful gases and accelerate the use of non-
renewable resources like petrol, coal, etc. on the other hand. Moreover, sulphur and nitrogen
oxides emitted from burning of fossil fuels in power plants, and from exhausts of motor
vehicles, when oxidized into and acids and dissolved into atmospheric water, causes acid rain.
This phenomenon severely affects the natural vegetation in the environment.
The rapid growth of cities strains their capacity to provide services such as energy, education,
health care, transportation, sanitation and physical security. Consequently, unhealthy
settlement is created. It acts as a complement, and deteriorates the purity of various factors of
environment such as air, water and land.

The growing population and advancing civilization in towns and cities force human beings to
clear large tracts of natural vegetation to develop agricultural lands, residential areas and
industrial establishments. As a result, the agricultural soil inevitable loses it fertility over a
period. Similarly, deforestation is another formidable threat to the people’s quality of life and
the natural environment created by unplanned urbanization and settlements. Due to over
population in city areas, requirement of timber, fuel, paper, wood, etc. increases. People clear
large areas of forests for agriculture, housing, factories, roads and railway tracks. Its aftermath
will be uncertain rainfall pattern and loss of biodiversity due to the fragmentation of the habitats
of wild plants and animals resulting into disturbed environmental balance and the possible
occurrences of natural fiascos in the long term.

Another impact of unplanned urbanization and settlements is seen on water, a vital necessity
for the sustenance of human life. A rapid increase in population and expansion in agriculture
and industry in city areas increase the demand for water manifold. To meet the requirements
of huge population, surface water is over drawn, resulting in drying up of nearby wet lands. A
crystal-clear example of it is the water shortage the Kathmanduties are facing as a result of
unplanned urbanizations and unhealthy settlements. Besides, unsystematically urbanized and
industrialized centres are the areas of acute water pollution. Sewage and industrial effluents are
discharged into nearby water sources in enormous quantities causing water pollution.

Moreover, industrialized urban life and congestion even leads to noise pollution whose further
impacts are deafness or loss in hearing capacity to some extent. And the main reason for the
cities becoming areas of massive sprawl and serious environmental problems due to
unmanaged urbanization and settlements as afore-mentioned is because governments have less
revenue to spend on the basic upkeep of cities and the provision of services contrary to the
rapid increase in urbanization. Also, because the rural areas lack basic amenities or do not have
them properly developed, people there prefer migrating to cities. Their actions not only fulfil
their whims but also invite unplanned urbanization and settlements, a curse for the modern
world.

A proper planning for urbanization is a useful tool for the solution of the problems emerged
from the unmanaged urbanization and settlements. The principal way to mitigate the impacts
of urbanization on environment it the formulation of a proportionate development plan with a
view to develop each region of the country. This approach will utilize the available resources
to the optimum level in each region. Furthermore, rural areas should be facilitated with basic
amenities such as roads, electricity, communication, health services and education to
discourage mass migration. Business, industry, construction works and sector services should
be developed in remote areas to generate employment opportunities. However, the basic part
is that people themselves should realize their responsibilities, carry out urbanization and
industrialization systematically, and carry out urbanization and industrialization systematically
based on pre-plans and without breaching official rules and regulations.
Urbanisation during and after industrial revolution.
Industrialization has historically led to urbanization by creating economic growth and job
opportunities that draw people to cities. Urbanization typically begins when a factory or
multiple factories are established within a region, thus creating a high demand for factory
labour. Other businesses such as building manufacturers, retailers, and service providers then
follow the factories to meet the product demands of the workers. This creates even more jobs
and demands for housing, thus establishing an urban area.

In the modern era, manufacturing facilities like factories are often replaced by technology-
industry hubs. These technological hubs draw workers from other areas in the same way
factories used to, contributing to urbanization. Throughout the history of human civilization,
urbanization patterns have been the strongest near large bodies of water.

Urbanisation after industrial revolution-

As industrialization creates economic growth, the demand for improved education and public
works agencies that are characteristic of urban areas increases. This demand occurs because
businesses looking for new technology to increase productivity require an educated
workforce, and pleasant living conditions attract skilled workers to the area.
Once an area is industrialized, the process of urbanization continues for a much longer period
of time as the area goes through several phases of economic and social reform. This concept is
best illustrated by comparing a city such as Bangkok, located in a lesser-developed country,
with an American city such as Los Angeles and a European city such as Berlin. Each city has
a progressively higher level of social, environmental and economic prosperity achieved
through increased education, government intervention, and social reform.
New modern cities.
1. Shanghai, China – 1990 and 2010

Huge difference between these two images, you

might be tempted to think that the top one was
taken sometime in the middle of the 20th
century. You’d be wrong. That image is from
1990. Shanghai is a stunning example of
urbanization.

2. Dubai – 1990, 2003, 2007

These two photographs depict the same street in

Dubai, progressing from a few lone buildings in the
desert to the jam-packed city. As a matter of fact,
that most recent photo was taken in 2007. The
street has undoubtedly changed after urbanization.

3. Panama City, Panama – 1930 and 2009

Panama City is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world, and these two photographs
show a sharp contrast between two eras. The city sprouts from a quiet village into one of the
fastest-growing urban areas in Central America.
 4. London, England – 1970s and 2006

London has gained a number of high-

profile, flashy modern buildings in the
years that have passed since the 1970s.
These four images depicting the banks of
the Thames then and now.

5. Tokyo, Japan – 1960s and 2010

The rapid rise of Tokyo is certainly

evident when comparing two images of
Tokyo Tower, one taken soon after the
tower was built in 1958 and the other
captured in 2010. Once nestled into a
landscape of traditional Japanese
buildings and trees, the tower remains
an eye-catching landmark, but its
surroundings couldn’t be more
different.
Types of cities based on resources

Pre-Classical and Classical

The pre-Classical and Classical periods saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans,
though many tended to develop organically. Designed cities were characteristic of
the Minoan, Mesopotamian, Harrapan, and Egyptian civilisations of the third millennium BC
(see Urban planning in ancient Egypt).
Distinct characteristics of urban planning from remains of the cities
of Harappa, Lothal, Dholavira, and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley Civilisation (in
modern-day north-western India and Pakistan) lead archaeologists to interpret them as the
earliest known examples of deliberately planned and managed cities. The streets of many of
these early cities were paved and laid out at right angles in a grid pattern, with a hierarchy of
streets from major boulevards to residential alleys. Archaeological evidence suggests that
many Harrapan houses were laid out to protect from noise and to enhance residential privacy;
many also had their own water wells, probably both for sanitary and for ritual purposes. These
ancient cities were unique in that they often had drainage systems, seemingly tied to a well-
developed ideal of urban sanitation. Cities laid out on the grid plan could have been an
outgrowth of agriculture based on rectangular fields.
Many Central American civilisations also planned their cities,
including sewage systems and running water.
In Mexico, Tenochtitlan, built on an island in Lake Texcoco in the
present-day Mexico City in central Mexico, served as the capital of
the Aztec empire. At its height, Tenochtitlan was one of the largest
cities in the world, with over 200,000 inhabitants.

Medieval

After the gradual disintegration and fall of the West-Roman empire in the 5th century and the
devastation by the invasions of Huns, Germanic peoples, Byzantines, Moors, Magyars, and
Normans in the next five centuries, little remained of urban culture in western and central
Europe. In the 10th and 11th centuries, though, there appears to have been a general
improvement in the political stability and economy. This made it possible for trade and craft to
grow and for the monetary economy and urban culture to revive. Initially, urban culture
recovered particularly in existing settlements, often in remnants of Roman towns and cities,
but later on, ever more towns were created anew. Meanwhile, the population of western Europe
increased rapidly and the utilised agricultural area grew with it. The agricultural areas of
existing villages were extended and new villages and towns were created in uncultivated areas
as cores for new reclamations.
Urban development in the early Middle Ages, characteristically focused on a fortress, a
fortified abbey, or a (sometimes abandoned) Roman nucleus, occurred "like the annular rings
of a tree",whether in an extended village or the centre of a larger city. Since the new centre was
often on high, defensible ground, the city plan took on an organic character, following the
irregularities of elevation contours like the shapes that result from agricultural terracing.

Neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture, revival of Classical architecture during the 18th and early 19th
centuries. The movement concerned itself with the logic of entire Classical volumes, unlike
Classical revivalism (see Greek Revival), which tended to reuse Classical parts.
Neoclassical architecture is characterized by grandeur of scale, simplicity of geometric forms,
Greek—especially Doric (see order)—or Roman detail, dramatic use of columns, and a
preference for blank walls. The new taste for antique simplicity represented a general reaction
to the excesses of the Rococo style. Neoclassicism thrived in the United States and Europe,
with examples occurring in almost every major city. Russia’s Catherine II transformed St.
Petersburg into an unparalleled collection of Neoclassical buildings as advanced as any
contemporary French and English work. By 1800 nearly all new British architecture reflected
the Neoclassical spirit (see Robert Adam; John Soane).
I. URBANIZATION IN INDIA BEFORE INDEPENDENCE

Post-independence, India faced high rates of poverty, unemployment, and a stagnant

economy. The mixed economy system was adopted, resulting in the growth of
the Public sector in India crippling down the development of Indian economy leading
to what is popularly known as Hindu rate of growth.
India, the leading country in South Asia has shown an unprecedented increase in the
urban population in the last few decades and its urban population has increased. The
British had a negative impact on the Indian urban morphology as the pre-British cities
were on decline as they were hardly interested in the traditional industries of India.
In the late 19th century, Britain had become the most highly urbanized nation of the
world. European migrants were dominant as for example in the U.S.A., Australia, Asia,
Africa there was tendency for cities to develop the Britisher had newly come in India,
established the new empire as they knew man so they had new demand in India.

The main causes of urbanization are –

▪ Expansion in government services, as a result of the Second World War
▪ Migration of people during the partition of India
▪ The Industrial Revolution
▪ Eleventh five-year plan that aimed at urbanisation for the economic
development of India
▪ Economic opportunities are just one reason people move into cities
▪ Infrastructure facilities in the urban areas
▪ Growth of private sector after 1990
 ▪ Growth of employment in cities is attracting people from rural areas as well as
smaller cities to large towns. According to McKinney India's urban population
will grow from 340 million in 2008 to 590 million in 2030

II. URBANIZATION IN INDIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE

Rapid rise in urban population, in India, is leading to many problems like increasing
slums, decrease in standard of living in urban areas, also causing environmental
damage.
The process of urbanization in the post-Independence period witnessed a new phase. In
this period this process was characterized with rapid urbanization which was dominated
with the mushrooming of one lakh and million plus cities.
Some of the positive effects resulting from rural to urban migration occur in the agrarian
communities from which migrants came. Family members left at home, usually the
elderly and young, are eased out of financial pressures as their relatives work to provide
higher standards of living for their dependents.
They accepted an extraordinary maneuver to build up the city. There were many type
cities would be buildup by the patronage of Britisher in the colonial period like Hill
Town, Railway Station Town, Court Town, Industrial Commercial Town, Cantonment
Town, Port Town and Administrative or Presidency Town etc.

Major changes witnessed after urbanization are –

▪ The influx of refugees and their settlement in the urban areas of northern part
of the country
▪ The establishment of new planned administrative centers like Chandigarh and
Bhubaneshwar
▪ The construction of new industrial cities and new industrial townships near
major cities
▪ The rapid growth of one-lakh and million cities
▪ The stagnation and in some cases the decline of small towns
▪ The proliferation of slums and squatter settlements in the big cities and the
emergence of urban-rural fringe

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