Challenges of Urbanization

What Are Some Challenges of Urbanization?

Vocabulary you will encounter in the reading...

Urbanization- the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more and more people begin moving from the country to live and work in cities

Informal Sector/Underground Economy-jobs which are not regulated or taxed by the government;

            i.e. a person who shines shoes on the street corner, or who goes office to office selling homemade food

Infrastructure-the basic equipment and structures (such as sewage systems, electrical grids, phone 

lines, roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

Sustainable Development-Developing a country’s economy without using up or polluting all the resources that future generations will need to meet their own needs 

Push and Pull Factors-reasons that force people to leave their homes (push) or attract them to move to another place (pull).

As you Read:

Consider how rapid change can cause problems for national, state and city governments.

Rapid urban growth brings challenges to city governments around the world as they struggle to provide housing, services, infrastructure, and jobs, as well as curb pollution and overcrowding.  Governments have limited amounts of money to spend on basic upkeep and services.  As a result, cities experience challenges such as environmental problems and poverty.

As an example, let’s look at Mexico City, one of the world’s largest urban centers.  Today’s Mexico City is the result of years of rural-to-urban migration by people looking for better economic opportunities.  The first influx of these economic migrants coincided with rapid industrialization in the late nineteenth century.  The pull forces of industrial jobs located in the urban center and the push forces of rural land policies which favored the wealthy, drew people to Mexico City. The rural poor moved to the city as land was purchased around them by wealthy landowners.  Similar factors continue to bring economic migrants to Mexico City today, seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

Multiple Choice

What push factors led to the urbanization of Mexico City?

• drought and famine

• pursuit of better economic opportunities

• rural land policies that favored the wealthy

Multiple Choice

What pull factors led to the urbanization of Mexico City?

• industrial jobs located in the city

• plagues and other illnesses

• better land quality in the city

Economic migrants move to the cities expecting to find jobs.  Unfortunately, unemployment in crowded cities is common.  Some migrants find temporary jobs or work in the informal sector--“underground economies” that are not taxed or regulated by the government.

People in overpopulated cities often do not have access to health care and education.  Lack of infrastructure-housing, electrical grids, sewer facilities, and roads-to support the growing population leads to the development of shantytowns.

The influx of people to Mexico City puts enormous pressures on the natural environment.  Underground water aquifers are being depleted due to high demand, causing the city to sink into the spaces where water used to collect underground.  Inadequate sewer facilities leads to polluted land and water.  Full of rubbish, landfills have been closed.  Unregulated by the government, shantytowns are built in environmentally sensitive areas such as on hill sides where they are in danger of natural disasters like mudslides.

Open Ended

What challenges has rural-to-urban migration created for the

government of Mexico City?

Multiple Choice

What is the population trend of Mexico City?

• Increasing

• Decreasing

Multiple Choice

What is the difference in the city’s 1960 population and its projected 2020 population?

• 25 million people

• 18 million people

• Five million people