Urbanization (Essay Sample)

Urbanization Introduction Urbanization is strongly correlated with capitalism because the rapid growth of cities has been driven by economic interests and goals. Cities have expanded exponentially because they have businesses that thrive on selling products and services to customers. The increasingly consumerist economy is driving the development and growth of urban centers. Additionally, it is also leading to problems such as environmental degradation, crime, congestion, income disparities, and others. Theories of Urbanization Urbanization can be termed as a rapid and historical phenomenon as human social structures transformed on a global level. In other words, rural culture started to be replaced by a growing urban culture. Historically, the settlement of hunter-gathering societies into villages started the process of urbanization. The village culture was defined in terms of common bloodlines, strong relationships, and community behavior. In contrast, the urban culture involves competition, competition, and distant bloodlines. Urbanization as a phenomenon continues to grow and intensify as cities are transforming into multiple sizes that were impossible a century ago. The world population is set to increase as a consequence of urbanization. Harvey (1989) argues that urbanization is characterized by public-private partnerships that concentrate on investment and economic development. In other words, urbanization through such partnerships is concentrating only on some areas while ignoring the root problems present in urban areas. Moreover, urban areas are characterized as being innovative because they need consumer attractions and entertainment to help run the consumer led economy of the world. Harvey (1989) believes that urban areas are oriented towards consumerism with the result that all policies for development and regeneration of urban areas concentrate on this important principle. Entrepreneurial stance is the dominant feature of urbanization as macroeconomic processes are used for the development and growth of cities. Urban change and economic development are now the leading forces that have shaped and enhanced the growth of cities. Swyngedouw (2000) analyzes urbanization from the Marxist perspective with the argument that urban areas are pioneers of capitalism. Moreover, the urban areas are now filled with the contradictions inherent in capitalism. The social, political, and economic problems of cities are the natural byproduct of capitalism. Socioeconomic disparities have led to urban areas being divided on the basis of money, power, race, ethnicity, and other distinctions with the result that they lead to conflicts between groups. Urbanization has also contributed towards environmental degradation, social tensions, and competition. The urban area represents the model of capitalism that reinforces and maintains disparities in society for the benefit of the powerful and dominant groups. Swyngedouw (2000) finds that capitalism seeks to exploit the workers by giving them bare minimum needed to survive while extracting the majority profits from them. In this context, the urban area has become a hotbed of challenges and problems with the result that it leads to multiple forms of social, economic, and political problems for the members. Urbanization has become a rapid phenomenon with the result that cities have become sprawling metropolises. They have been increasing at exponential rates without any planning or management of the underlying issues. The result is that urban areas are now centers of multiple problems. Historic Transformation of Cities in United States Cities in the United States began to transform in the late-twentieth century as money, services, wealth, and opportunities were centralized. The result was waves of immigrants from inside and outside the country that sought to seek their fortune and improve their social position. Businesses have proliferated in cities because they provide jobs and exchange capital. Foreign money flows through trade, tourism, ports, and banking systems into cities (Hugo, 2017). The rapid growth in American cities has led to them offering divergent variety of services including specialist service not found in rural areas. These services require more workers with the result that there are increased and varied job opportunities. Public-private partnerships have led to development of infrastructure that promotes consumerism and entertainment. This is because the huge economies of the urban areas create a demand for products and services for citizens that must be fulfilled through the use of such strategies (Hugo, 2017). Simultaneously, the Marxist perspective can be used to study the problems found in urban areas. American cities, despite the economic growth, continue to be plagued by crime, pollution, ghettos, congestion, and other problems. These are due to the goals of capitalism which is to create benefits for few while maintaining the status quo for others. Urbanization in the United States has been driven by waves of immigration that seek to settle in such areas so that they can improve their economic positions (Hugo, 2017). Changing Form of Atlanta Atlanta in the 1950s and 1960s tried to provide a façade of development and urban renewal based on equity and justice. This is because the issue of segregation was being fiercely challenged and contested by politicians, courts, and other stakeholders (Kruse, 2005). Segregation deprived blacks of the rights to have equal access to public areas like buses, schools, restaurants, parks, and other places. They had their separate public places while whites had their own spaces. In contrast, Atlanta sought to focus on eliminating the barriers to desegregation (Kruse, 2005). The result was apparently that the city had managed to remove all barriers towards integration and assimilation of all races. The reality was that it was upper-class whites who benefited because they managed to develop their own private spaces. Working class whites revolted against the n...