Urbanization - uh This is a historical process of increasing the role of cities and urban lifestyle in the development of society, associated with the spatial concentration of activities in relatively few cities and urbanized areas.

It is caused by deep structural changes in the economy and social sphere and is usually associated with the concentration of the population in large centers.

The increasing role of cities in the life of society has accompanied man throughout his entire history, but only in the 19th century did a noticeable concentration of the population in cities begin. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it intensified even more, but the scale of urbanization especially increased after the Second World War. Since the 50s, the process has acquired new qualitative features (the emergence of new forms of settlement, agglomeration, suburbanization, etc.)

The process of suburbanization is multifaceted. It includes a variety of problems and aspects of urban development: social, economic, demographic, ethical, environmental, etc.

Urbanization- the process is global, i.e. covering the entire globe or affecting all continents and countries to one degree or another modern world, but its content may vary in countries with different social conditions economic development. Urbanization as a global socio-economic process has a number of common (universal) features. Among them are:

1) urban population growth;

2) increasing its concentration in large cities and agglomerations;

3) continuous expansion of urban areas;

4) a sharp increase in economic consequences in economic activity within urbanized areas.

The process of modern urbanization is characterized by a significant increase in the role of social factors: mobility, increased contacts between urban and rural populations and the spread of the lifestyle of city dwellers in rural areas.

Environmental consequences of urbanization .

The expansion of the scale and intensification of activity, the increase in the volume and variety of natural material involved in it in the conditions of the spontaneous nature of urbanization turned out to be fraught with many negative consequences for humanity. The most distinct and diverse environmental consequences manifested themselves within urbanized areas.

They need to be considered from two sides: the consequences within urbanized areas and the influence of urbanized areas on surrounding areas. Accumulating factual material may indicate that urbanization is responsible for negative environmental consequences. However, already now, in assessing the environmental situation in cities, some traditional ideas are being revised. In particular, urbanization does not necessarily lead to the destruction of the natural environment, especially if this process is managed wisely. It was believed that it was necessary to combat the high concentration of the population and bring about its dispersal, but the experience of suburbanization has shown that by reducing the level of “pressure” on the environment in individual areas by dispersing the population, we come to a fairly strong change in the environment over vast territories.

Cities and urban agglomerations are concentrated different kinds human activities and various forms of socio-economic activity. They focus on the anthropogenic impact on the environment. Therefore, the likelihood of various environmental problems appearing here is much greater than in non-urbanization areas. The scientific and technological revolution, having greatly increased the anthropogenic impact on nature, at the same time presents certain opportunities for eliminating and preventing the environmental consequences of the modern “technocratic” world, especially in urbanized areas.

Particular attention should be paid to the impact of urbanization on human ecology. Urbanization contributes to the emergence of environmental factors that affect human health: various forms of genetic, biological, psychological fatigue, which leads to a decrease in adaptive properties, the spread of chronic pathology, and premature aging. Even more dangers lurk in new elements associated with scientific and technological progress. The evolutionary and historical unpreparedness of the human organization to interact with new, previously unknown phenomena of the natural and artificial (anthropogenic) environment is revealed.

In general terms, the emerging city influences the human population in a number of ways, which is reflected in both the biological and psychological characteristics of human populations.

These include:

1) the nature of the food supply of people in the city and the influence of a specific diet on growth processes and the level of physical development of the population;

2) a change in the nature of marital ties and the resulting change in the genetic structure of urban populations (mixing);

3) sharp tension in the medical and geographical situation and destabilization of the epidemiological situation;

4) a change in psychological stereotypes as a result of changes in visually recorded forms of the surrounding world: nature, animals, people.

Modern cities, Odum notes, are unique hot spots in terms of energy consumption, since a hectare of urban territory consumes 1000 times more energy than rural areas. Life support for a city population of 1 million. people area 260 sq. km. requires agricultural area of ​​approximately 8,000 sq. m. for food production alone. km. This is one of the factors causing environmental problems in cities.

Among other factors, the main attention is paid to changes in the composition of air, water, soil, the scale of change of which depends on the functioning of transport and other types of economic activity. The highest concentration of pollutants is observed in cities compared to rural areas. Air pollution depends on the population of the city. Energy consumption and energy production (TES) determines the amount of carbon monoxide emissions, as well as sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Other negative factors caused by the functioning of cities include industrial and domestic wastewater, for example, the area of ​​the Bolshoi Liman storage pond is comparable to the area of ​​the city of Volzhsky.

Changing the atmospheric circulation regime: wind direction, reducing its speed (up to 40%); the temperature of roads and roofs of houses is 2-3 times hotter; flooding of urban areas; their saturation with heavy metals. This list can be continued for a long time.

Urbanization is a process that characterizes the social and economic aspects of the development of a state and changes in the structure of its population. It manifests itself in the growth in the number of cities, an increase in the share of the urban population, and the active spread of the urban style.

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The concept of urbanization in various disciplines (geography, history, social science)

Depending on the discipline, the concept of urbanization and urbanized cities/countries may differ slightly. For example, the above definition is most often included in the Life Safety course.

The meaning of the word urbanization does not change in science, however, if you try to define the concepts associated with this term in history or social science, then urbanization is a more global process of transition from a traditional (agrarian) type of society to a more developed industrial (industrial) and then post-industrial (information) type. The modern stage of urbanization is especially characterized by the transition from an industrial to an information type of society.

The word “urbanization” itself comes from the Latin “urbs” (city) and appeared in the 19th century, although ancient Greek philosophers began to study the trends and features of the joint life of people.

Causes

The main reasons for urbanization are the increase and improvement of production and recreation, their mutual penetration into each other, the development international relations and intensification of the agricultural sector. In simple words To understand the reasons why the process of urbanization begins, you need to answer the question - why do people from villages and villages move to cities? The main answers received could be as follows:

• improvement of lifestyle;
• developed education system;
• personal self-realization;
• higher level of service provision;
  other.

All these factors of urbanization relate to social aspects.

Also significant reasons include the growth of commercial and trade relations, globalization of the industrial sphere, labor migration, etc.

Types, forms, types of urbanization

When considering the types of urbanization, forms and types of urbanization, we should dwell on some basic concepts.

Geo-urbanization is the process of transforming natural landscapes into artificial ones, caused by human intervention. These processes are studied within the framework of a separate science of geourbanism.

The second concept that needs to be considered is suburbanization. Suburbanization is a process of “secondary” urbanization and expansion of agglomerations, which is characterized by dynamic development in last years, especially in the context of growing computerization of all sectors of human life. Urbanization and suburbanization are directly related, since only when a critical concentration of urban residents is reached does the process of outflow to nearby areas begin.

Before considering the next concept, it should be noted that recently a process has begun that is the opposite of urbanization, which is called ruralization. It is also caused by an increase in the level of computerization of the population, which leads to improved living conditions in rural areas and improved health of the population.

Based on such a criterion as the rate of urbanization of the population, it is necessary to highlight hyperurbanization, which leads to the emergence of a false or, as it is also called, slum variety. Urbanization of this type of population is characterized by rapid population growth without a sufficient number of jobs, which, in turn, leads to increased unemployment.

Process/stages, history of urbanization, stages

The concept of urbanization appeared in ancient world. Palestine, Mesopotamia and Egypt were the first states to be formed from cities. The features of urbanization of those times were determined by the degree of development of society, existing knowledge of geography, agriculture and other natural sciences. Specific examples of how urbanization took place in antiquity are visible in the history of Athens, Rome, Constantinople and other cities. In order to understand the reasons for the increase in the number of urban residents and when the first prerequisites for the migration of residents to the city arose, we should briefly consider history.

The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful states in world history

In the 4th-5th centuries, during the decline of the Roman Empire, signs and manifestations of the opposite process are noticeable - urbanized areas are shrinking, there is an outflow of artisans to agriculture, which is called deurbanization (or ruralization).

In the Middle Ages, during the period of feudalism, the importance of craft and trade centers increased significantly, which means that the urbanization of cities resumed. However, with the establishment of absolute monarchy in large parts of Western Europe, the rights and privileges of cities were greatly limited, and urbanized settlements became little different from others.

Urbanization on a global scale can be presented in the form of several stages, each of which is characterized by certain features and time period.

The following stages of urbanization are distinguished:

1. local;
2. planetary;
3. global.

The first stage lasted about 150 years from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, and was geographically concentrated in the countries of North America and Western Europe. For example, in England in the 19th century, 50% of citizens lived in the city, and already at the beginning of the 20th century - 75%. This is several times more than in the previous, 18th century. Great Britain, due to its possession of huge territorial colonies, was the most urbanized country at that time.

Scientists attribute a period of 50 years (1900-1950) to the second stage, which significantly influenced the degree of movement of people to cities throughout the entire globe. At this time, active industrial development and improvement of production took place, imperialism was established, and the processes of migration of capital and labor deepened. Taken together, the urban population increased by half a billion people over 50 years, indicating that this is one of the most active periods in the development of society, when the urbanization rate reached a significant level.

The third stage, which began after 1950, continues to this day. Its main prerequisites were the scientific and technological revolution, which significantly increased the level of industrial development, and the growing service sector. At the moment, the characteristic of urbanization is one of the fundamental factors of world globalization.

Urban landscape of Tokyo

The science of urbanism studies in detail the process of urbanization, stages of urbanization, types of urbanization, new meanings of the word “urbanization” and, in particular, the path of urbanization of various states.

Urbanization theory identifies several areas of research, according to which urbanization is not actually a linear process. In the 60s, based on studying the dynamics of urbanization in the USA and Western Europe stages of urbanization according to Gibbs were identified. According to this concept, the most dynamic are stages 3 and 4, characterized by a maximum increase in the share of the urban population. At the fifth stage, which already corresponds to the post-industrial type of society, urban growth stops and the share of the urban population may even decrease due to the slowdown in the influx of new citizens.

Examples of the most urbanized countries, the example of the cities of Moscow and Vladimir

Today, urban trends are acquiring catastrophic proportions in terms of the concentration of people living in cities. When the level of urban residents reaches 70-75% of the total population, the urbanization coefficient drops quite sharply due to changes in the structure of employment - the majority of able-bodied citizens are looking for work in the non-productive and lower-paid service sector. This is the average data. However, there are now examples of their exceeding. Super-urbanized countries where this figure is more than 80% include the USA, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Canada, Israel and others.

Considering the path of urbanization of Russia or any other country, one can highlight the specific features of this process that affect the history of the state as a whole and its place in the world economy.

Until the 90s, the USSR was a classically urbanized country with positive dynamics - the urban population increased, and the rural population decreased. However, over the next 20 years, the number of cities in the Russian Federation decreased by 10%, and there were 3.5% fewer urban residents, which corresponds to the process of suburbanization. The presence of suburbanization trends in Russia is especially noticeable in the example of cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Typical morning in Moscow

To assess the dynamics of the influx/outflow of citizens, data is provided on the size and structure of the population of two cities - Moscow and Vladimir.

Moscow		Vladimir
Year	Number	Year	Number
2010	11 503 501	2010	345 373
2011	11 776 764	2011	346 177
2012	11 856 578	2012	345 907
2013	11 979 529	2013	347 930
2014	12 108 257	2014	350 087
2015	12 197 596	2015	352 681
2016	12 330 126	2016	354 827
2017	12 380 664	2017	356 168

Characteristic features, features of the urbanization process

Main features:

1. population reproduction is increasing;
2. the ratio of urban and rural populations changes in favor of an increase in urban residents;
3. development of urban infrastructure;
4. complication of city functions;
5. the emergence of structure in settlement (megacities and urban agglomeration).

Despite the fact that the resettlement of residents from villages to cities is a global process, in each individual state it can take place differently, taking into account national characteristics.

Advantages and disadvantages of urbanization in an ecological context

The benefits of urbanization include the opportunity for citizens to receive better education and medical care, and improve their quality of life. It has a beneficial effect on the growth of labor productivity and the ability to solve some social problems.

Moscow landfill

However, the negative consequences of rapid urban overpopulation are also present. These include constantly increasing rates of air pollution, water pollution, accumulation of household waste, the formation of landfills, etc. All of this together negatively affects the overall state of the environment. In order to minimize the negative consequences of urban growth, the state is taking measures to curb the urbanization process.

Conclusion

Urbanization in the narrow sense is an increase in the share of the urban population due to the migration of able-bodied citizens from agricultural regions to cities. Urbanization is a natural process that requires government control. The science of urbanism deals with a detailed study of its processes, concepts, stages and patterns.

Urbanization is a complex process of increasing the proportion of the urban population and spreading urban lifestyles. Until now, the main indicator of urbanization remains the share of the urban population, although, for a number of reasons, this indicator cannot be considered universal. This is due to the fact that in different countries The status of a city (urban settlement) is determined in different ways. As an example, it can be noted that in China a city must have at least 10 thousand inhabitants, in Russia and Belarus - at least 6 thousand inhabitants, and in the Scandinavian countries 400 people are usually enough for this. In addition, along with quantitative ones, in a number of countries there are also qualitative criteria for city status (population density within a given settlement, the share of people employed in the non-agricultural sector, and a number of others). However, until now another, more objective, indicator has not been developed, as a result of which it is the share of the urban population that reflects the level of urbanization.

The twentieth century is often called the century of urbanization. This is due to the fact that at the beginning only 10% of the world's population lived in cities; by the middle of the century this figure had risen to 30%, and currently stands at approximately 47% (2003). Thus, our planet now remains predominantly “rural”, mainly due to developing countries.

In a large set of reasons for urbanization, the following can be identified as the main ones:

· Development of industrial production, which is mainly concentrated in cities.

Excess labor force in rural areas, which in countries with different levels economic development has different reasons. In countries with developed economies, this is due to a high level of mechanization of agricultural production. As a result, this sector of the economy employs, as a rule, no more than 5% of the economically active population. The economically active population is understood as that part of it that is currently engaged in material and non-material production. IN developing countries the surplus of labor in rural areas (agrarian overpopulation) is due to high birth rates and natural increase.

· In most cases (and often from the point of view of people), living conditions are more favorable in urban settlements compared to rural ones.

The sources of urbanization are:

Natural population growth in urban areas; migration from rural to urban settlements; transformation of rural settlements into urban ones.

Depending on the number of inhabitants, cities are divided as follows:

Small - up to 20 thousand people;

Medium - from 20 to 100 thousand people;

Large - from 100 to 250 thousand people;

Large - from 250 to 500 thousand people;

The largest - more than 500 thousand people.

In the group of the largest, millionaire cities are distinguished, i.e. those that have 1 million or more inhabitants. At the beginning of the 20th century. There were only 10 such cities, and now there are more than 400. When cities merge, agglomerations, conurbations and megacities (megalopolises) arise. An agglomeration is a cluster of cities with one clearly defined center (in terms of size and functions performed). In a conurbation there are two or more such centers. Megacities are areas of continuous urban development (a cluster of agglomerations, conurbations and other urban settlements), stretching for tens and hundreds of kilometers. To make the right choice of furniture made from valuable wood, you need to decide on the specific purpose and conditions of use of the future furniture, and then go to the nearest shopping mall and take a closer look at the model you like.

In the 1970s The concept of “megacities” appeared, introduced by the UN, which means agglomerations (conurbations) with a population of 10 million or more people. To date, there are about 25 such formations. It is difficult to name their exact number, like most indicators characterizing the population, due to the fact that most of them are evaluative nature and therefore often varies significantly between different statistical sources. Based on UN data, Tokyo is currently the largest metropolitan area (approximately 31 million people), followed by New York-Philadelphia (about 30 million people) and Mexico City (about 21 million people). They also include Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in South America, Los Angeles and Chicago-Milwaukee in North America, Seoul, Jakarta, Delhi, Manila and Shanghai in Asia, Paris and London in Europe, Cairo in Africa and a number of others. In the CIS countries, only Moscow (12 million people) is classified as a “megacity”.

The largest metropolitan areas in the world are Tokaido on the east coast of Honshu in Japan from Tokyo to Osaka (about 60% of the country's population and 2/3 of its industrial production); in the USA: Boswat (Boston - Washington (with a population of about 50 million people), San San (San Francisco - San Diego (about 20 million people).

The process of urbanization in economically developed countries is largely completed, but in developing countries, due to the above reasons, it is currently proceeding very intensively. At the same time, it has actually lost the traditional features of rural-urban migration, in which the rural population initially moved to small and medium-sized cities, where it is easier to adapt to urban living conditions. Nowadays, migration flows from rural settlements in developing countries are mainly directed to large and major cities, where it is easier to find work. This, along with the process of adaptation to the conditions of urban life, creates many other problems, since not everyone manages to find a job. In most cases, this is what becomes the source of problems such as crime, drug addiction, prostitution, etc. These problems arise against the backdrop of traditional ones associated with a lack of housing, food supply, energy and water supply, sewerage, medical care, etc. Their presence is confirmed by the fact that, according to the UN, in many large and major cities of developing countries, up to 40%, and sometimes more, of the population lives in slums. What “living conditions in slums” are can be illustrated by the example of Calcutta, where in slums the population density reaches 400,000 people/km².

Urbanization rates vary significantly across regions and countries of the world and are generally higher where developed countries predominate. Among the parts of the world, America, Europe and Australia with Oceania currently have approximately the same indicators (at 75%) in terms of urbanization levels. At the same time, in Asia and Africa they are approximately 38%. Among the countries of the world, Singapore, Monaco, Kuwait, Nauru and Guadeloupe have the absolute urbanization rate (100%). Of the others, according to this indicator, mainly developed countries stand out, as already noted, in particular Belgium (97%), Iceland (94%), Andorra (92%), Great Britain (90%), Luxembourg (88%). ), Germany (86%), Sweden (84%), etc. Along with developed countries, a number of developing countries also have a high level of urbanization. Basically, these are the leading oil-producing states (Bahrain - 87%; Saudi Arabia- 83%; UAE - 78%; Iraq - 68%; Iran - 66%, etc.), and most countries in South America (Uruguay - 93%; Argentina - 89%; Venezuela and Chile - 87%; Brazil - 81%, etc.). As for this region, the current situation with urbanization has historical roots here associated with the colonization of the mainland. They are due to the fact that representatives of the first wave of colonization, mainly the Spaniards and Portuguese, quickly divided South America into large private land holdings (latifundia). In this regard, the colonists who arrived later were forced to “settle” mainly in port cities. The Republic of Belarus is a highly urbanized country. Currently, 71% of its population lives in cities.

The urbanization process is due to:

• transforming rural settlements into urban ones;
• formation of wide suburban areas;
• migration from rural areas (provinces) to urban ones.

The phenomenon of transformation of natural natural landscapes in artificial ones under the influence of development are denoted by the concept “ urbanization of nature" The process of co- or co-evolution of artificial and natural development factors is called geourbanization, it is studied by geourban studies.

Urbanization is closely connected with many political processes in the state (and often with the actual emergence of this institution). For example, R. Adams considers the presence of cities an indispensable feature of a state. Grinin and Korotaev point out the close relationship between urbanization and the evolution of statehood. Thus, the first phase of urbanization was observed in the IV - early. III millennium BC e. and was associated with the formation of early states. The emergence of the first developed state (in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC in Egypt) had a noticeable impact on the dynamics of urbanization: in the 13th century. BC e. The world's urban population exceeded 1 million for the first time. Urbanization explosion of the XIX-XX centuries. and mega-urbanization (that is, the growth of the population of super-large cities in the total world population) in the field political development correlate with the widespread spread of mature statehood.

Suburbanization

Suburbanization is the process of growth and development of the suburban area of ​​large cities. As a result, urban agglomerations are formed. With suburbanization, the population growth rate of suburbs is higher compared to agglomeration centers.

Growing prosperity allows people to build “rural type” houses in the suburbs, avoiding such “delights” of big cities as noise, air pollution, lack of greenery, etc. However, the population of the suburbs is in no way becoming rural; almost everyone continues to work in the city . Suburbanization is impossible without mass motorization, since in the suburbs there is practically no infrastructure (shops, schools, etc.), and most importantly, places where labor is employed.

In the process of computerization of the economy in the last decade, the effect of separating the place of work (nominal) from the place of execution of labor tasks has appeared: a person at a computer can perform work for a company on the other side of the globe. The transport problem, which slows down the process of suburbanization, is thus weakened (for some types of work it becomes unimportant where in the world the performer is located), and the concept of a “global village” arises: everyone (or rather, information and communication types of figures) will sooner or later move into eco-friendly suburbs and urban growth will stop.

Close to the concept of suburbanization is the concept urbanization(from English Rural- rural, lat. urbanus- urban) - the spread of urban forms and living conditions to rural settlements, an integral part of the process of urbanization in its broad sense. Urbanization may be accompanied by the migration of the urban population to rural settlements and the transfer of forms of economic activity characteristic of cities to rural areas. In Russia, since the beginning of the 21st century, this phenomenon has been observed mainly in the Moscow region. In many formally rural populated areas industrial enterprises and warehouses are being built, moving out of Moscow, the vast majority of the population leads an urban lifestyle, the population is increasing due to immigrants from Moscow and other regions.

False urbanization

In connection with the population explosion in developing countries, primarily Latin America and Southeast Asia, the concept arose false urbanization. It represents rapid growth in the urban population, not accompanied by sufficient growth in the number of jobs. The difference from true urbanization is that there is no development of urban functions that characterize the global process of urbanization. There is a “pushing out” of the rural population from overpopulated agricultural areas into cities. The share of the urban population is much higher than the share of the economically active urban population employed in production and non-production sectors. The rural population arriving in the cities swells the army of unemployed, and the lack of housing causes the emergence of undeveloped urban outskirts with unsanitary living conditions.

Urbanization in Russia

Food production technology requires people to live in villages, not cities, which is why at the beginning of the 20th century, 87% of the Russian population lived in villages. But with the advent of tractors and machines, labor productivity increased and the need for subsistence farming decreased. In 1887, there were 16 cities in Russia with a population of more than 50,000 people; in 1989, there were 1001 cities in the RSFSR; 70% of the population lived in 170 cities. As of 2010, the percentage of the urban population was 73.7% (high level of urbanization)

The science

The discipline of geourbanism, which is new to the 21st century, studies urbanization processes.

see also

Notes

Links

• Yu. Pivovarov. Urbanization of Russia in the 20th century: ideas and reality
• City and village in European Russia: a hundred years of change. OGI, Moscow, 2001

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Synonyms

See what “Urbanization” is in other dictionaries:- (from Latin urbanus urban), the process of increasing the number of urban settlements, characteristic especially of the 20th century. Urbanization powerful environmental factor, accompanied by the transformation of landscape, land, water resources, mass production... ... Ecological dictionary

- (French urbanisation, from Latin urba nus urban, urbs city), historical. the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society, which covers socio-professional, demographic. population structure, its way of life, culture, location... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

See what “Urbanization” is in other dictionaries:- (French urbanisation, English, urbanization, from Latin urbanus urban, urbs city), historical. the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society, which includes changes in the location of the city. strength, primarily in the resettlement of us, its social... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

The process of urban growth - an increase in the share of the urban population, as well as the emergence of increasingly complex networks and systems of cities. Common features U.: 1 rapid growth of urban population; 2 concentration of population and households in large cities... ... Geographical encyclopedia

- [fr. urbanization Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

URBANIZATION, urbanization, many. no, female (from lat. urbanus urban) (socio.). The concentration of economic and cultural life in large urban centers, characteristic of the capitalist system. Urbanization of the country. Dictionary Ushakova... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Concentration Dictionary of Russian synonyms. urbanization noun, number of synonyms: 2 hyperurbanization (1) ... Synonym dictionary

urbanization- and, f. urbanization f. lat. urbanus urban. 1. The concentration of economic and cultural life in large urban centers, characteristic of the capitalist social system. BAS 1. 2. Giving something l. features, characteristics, characteristic... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

The growth of cities, especially large ones, an increase in the share of urban residents, the concentration of population and economic life in large cities. Dictionary of business terms. Akademik.ru. 2001... Dictionary of business terms

- (from the Latin urbanus urban), the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society. The prerequisites for urbanization are the growth of industry in cities, the development of their cultural and political functions, and the deepening of the territorial division of labor. For urbanization... ... Modern encyclopedia

Concept and consequences of urbanization

1. Urbanization.

2. Ecological problems associated with urban growth.

3. Air pollution in cities.

4. Use of improved and alternative fuels.

5. Alternative modes of transport.

6. Water pollution in cities.

7. The impact of urbanization on animals.

Conclusion.

Bibliography

1. Urbanization

Urbanization(French urbanisation, from Latin urbanus - urban, urbs - city) is a historical process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society, which covers the socio-professional, demographic structure of the population, its way of life, culture, distribution of productive forces, resettlement, etc. d. Urbanization has a huge impact on the development of various socio-economic formations and states; the main achievements of civilization are associated with cities.

In 3 - 1 thousand BC. e. Cities appeared in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria, India, Asia Minor, China; Athens, Rome, and Carthage played a huge role in the Greco-Roman world. The intensification of the urbanization process in the 19th century caused an increase in the concentration of population in cities, which turned out to be possible thanks to the growth of industry, the development of means of transport and communications, medicine, etc.

On modern stage urbanization, there is a tendency towards increasing population concentration in large cities. A special place in this process is occupied by the growth of millionaire cities.

The urbanization process has 2 sides, or “phases”. In the first “phase”, the economic and cultural potential of society is accumulated in large urban centers, which creates conditions for the formation of higher achievements and examples of material and spiritual activity. In the second “phase”, these achievements are mastered by other, non-central cities, and rural settlements, which, in turn, gives a new impetus to building the capacity of the main centers.

The process of urbanization is spontaneous. In large cities, the problems of unemployment and crime become especially acute, slum areas are emerging, etc.

The process of urbanization in developing countries plays an important role. For all its complexity and pain, it contributes to the formation modern economy, overcoming backwardness and diversity, national consolidation, development of the socio-political structure of society.

Urbanization and “urban relations” stimulate cultural processes and play a huge role in the formation of personality in society. In the era scientific and technological revolution, with the increasing role of various social information, the urban lifestyle becomes the most important part of urban culture. A large selection of social contacts, the development of communication processes in a busy urban environment contribute to the socio-cultural rapprochement of different social strata and groups of society, expanding horizons, increasing the level of awareness, education, general culture, etc. Urban culture becomes the basis for overcoming significant differences between city and countryside.

One of the most important signs of an urban lifestyle is a person’s desire to constantly update information and contacts in areas professional activity, culture, personal communication, etc.

A special role in expanding the scope of urbanization and urban culture is played by means of transport, communication and mass communication (print, radio, television), which introduce residents of peripheral areas, small urban and rural settlements to the values ​​of big cities and change their cultural orientation. Various types of migration to areas of large urban centers are increasing, and the process of population concentration in agglomerations is intensifying. Nature becomes part of urban culture, urbanization harmonizes the interaction of social and natural processes themselves.

2. Environmental problems associated with urban growth

1. Increase in population density.

2. In large cities, insolation (the amount of solar energy) is reduced by 15%.

3. The amount of precipitation increases.

4. The amount of fog increases (by 30% in summer and 100% in winter).

5. The incidence of infectious diseases is increasing.

6. The incidence of cancer is increasing.

7. Accumulation of solid waste.

8. Air pollution in cities.

9. Water pollution in cities.

10. Reduction in the number of animals and plants.

3. Air pollution in cities

The problem of atmospheric cleanliness is not new. It arose along with the advent of industry and transport powered by coal and then oil. For almost two centuries, air smoke was local in nature. The smoke and soot of relatively rare factory, factory and locomotive chimneys were almost completely dispersed over a large space. However, the rapid and widespread growth of industry and transport in the twentieth century led to such an increase in the volume and toxicity of emissions that can no longer be “dissolved” in the atmosphere until they are harmless to natural environment and human concentrations.

Large cities are centers of industry in which road transport is widely used. And as you know, both industry and cars emit gases into the city’s atmosphere that sharply worsen the environmental situation.

The main reasons for the difficult environmental situation in cities associated with the operation of motor vehicles are:

· lack of proper control at enterprises over compliance with state standards on toxicity and opacity of exhaust gases Vehicle;

· production of leaded motor gasolines that do not allow the elimination of emissions of lead compounds and the use of catalytic converters;

· weak control over the quality of products sold motor fuel;

· insufficient attention paid to the transition of vehicles to less toxic fuels;

· entry into the territory of cities for heavy vehicles;

lack of sufficient regulatory framework, low effect economic mechanism environmental management in transport.

In Moscow, where about 9 million people live, 2.7 million cars were registered in 2001. Over the course of a year, more than 2 million tons of pollutants are emitted into the air of the capital. chemical substances, 205 kg for each Muscovite. In 1999, 90% of these emissions came from road transport. Now in the city it is prohibited to use leaded gasoline (contains tetraethyl lead as an anti-knock additive: 0.41 - 0.82 g/l), which creates particularly harmful emissions (lead compounds), an environmental certificate is being introduced for each car, and exhaust gas neutralizers.

In 1995, in 150 Russian cities, hazardous automobile emissions prevailed over industrial emissions. Motor transport annually emitted 16.6 million tons of pollutants into the atmosphere - this is 40% of all hazardous emissions in the country. In 1994, environmental damage to Russia from the impact of the transport and road complex amounted to $4.8 billion. In 1997, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation reported that 50 million Russians lived in conditions of ten times the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances in the air, half of which came from vehicles.

In many countries, requirements for vehicle exhaust gases are being tightened. Over the past 20 years, European standards for carbon oxides have been reduced by 20 times, and for hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides - by 17 times.

Work is underway to reduce the amount of fuel burned in car engines, convert cars to gas and alcohol in order to reduce harmful emissions, and create electric vehicles that operate without exhaust gases. However, charging the batteries of such cars requires spending electrical energy, obtained at thermal or nuclear power plants with corresponding environmental pollution.

In 2000, the global vehicle fleet reached approximately 1 billion units, of which 83-85% were passenger cars, and 15-17% were trucks and buses. Of the total number of passenger cars, approximately 40% are concentrated in the USA, 10% in Japan and 20% in four European countries: Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain. For every 1000 inhabitants in 2001, on average there were: in the USA - 534 cars, in France - 454, in the UK - 322, in Russia - 167 cars.

If you put all the cars in the world today bumper to bumper, they would make a ribbon of 4 million km, which could wrap the globe around the equator 100 times.

Atmospheric pollution is responsible for up to 30% of common diseases in the population of industrial centers. If we exclude carbon dioxide CO 2 from consideration, then in our country in 1994 30% of emissions into the atmosphere were sulfur dioxide, 10% - nitrogen oxides, 25% - dust. Dust- this is a complex mixture of particles, many of them are toxic (including arsenic, mercury, lead, copper and other harmful metals), causing allergies, weakened immunity, and respiratory diseases. Worldwide dust emissions are estimated at 175 million tons per year. Solid and liquid particles suspended in the air are called aerosols. They are perceived as smoke (aerosol with solid particles), fog (aerosol with liquid particles), haze or haze. The main sources of artificial aerosol air pollution are thermal power plants that consume coal with high ash content, processing plants, metallurgical and cement plants, industrial dumps, and blasting operations.

In 1991, the World Health Organization estimated that 70% of the world's urban residents were breathing air that was harmful to health due to high level smog, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants. Smog is a thick fog resulting from emissions of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, hydrocarbons and other substances into the atmosphere that react under the influence of sunlight(photochemical smog). Its occurrence is facilitated by certain meteorological conditions: lack of wind and rain, as well as temperature inversion. During smog, people's well-being worsens, the number of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases increases sharply, and influenza epidemics occur.