Urbanization Trends, Climate Change, and Environmental Sustainability

The movement of people from rural to urban areas is known as urbanization, and it is the most significant social transformation of modern time. In both developed and developing nations, the urbanization process is quite prominent. Only 15% of the world's population resided in cities in the nineteenth century. The situation changed dramatically in the twentieth century, as the rate of urban population growth increased significantly in the 1950s. Sixty years later, half of the world's population is projected to reside in cities. Moreover, by 2050, 64% of developing countries and 86% of industrialized countries are expected to be urbanized. People are moving toward urbanization by several social, economic, and environmental factors. Other elements that encouraged urbanization were industrialization, job opportunities, population growth, social concerns, and modernization. Uncontrolled urbanization has caused many irreversible effects on the global biosphere, including environmental degradation, land insecurity, slum growth, water and sanitation issues, increased air pollution, land insecurity, etc. However, within appropriate limits, has several beneficial consequences, including technical and infrastructure improvements, high-quality educational and medical facilities, more significant transportation and communication, and better living standards. This chapter emphasizes the urbanization pattern and impact of urbanization on climate and environment.