Urbanization in the United States

Urbanization in the United States

Urbanization is the relocation of rural areas to and around cities, often driven by economic factors and highly associated with physical, cultural, and emotional changes. According to (Kopardekar 2019; Kumar 2017), urbanization is a universal and inevitable process by which urban centers emerge. Trading sporting, religious activities, and industrialization are key factors for urbanization where industrialization is core. A study conducted by the United Nations revealed that 55% of the total world population lives in urban areas, with a third of them living in urban slams (ourworldindata, 2018). Metropolitan nature has led to the erosion of cultural practices and beliefs. According to (Bounoua et-al 2018), 80% of the United States’ population lives in urban-dwelling, placing it among the world’s most urbanized countries. This paper explores theories, sociologist’s arguments, and the sociological aspect of urbanization.

Urbanization as a social issue

Urbanization has several dire social effects associated with high competition for scarce resources. The migration from rural to urban settlement is driven by the economic standards and poverty levels in a rural setting. Urban centers are uneven opportunities characterized by high living standards and the high population, standing at more than half of the earth’s population.

Housing is a major challenge among urban residents, with one in every three urban residents living in urban slums households. According to (ourworldindata, 2018), slum households consist of a group of people who are living under the same roof which has inadequate access to some of the following basic amenities: access to clean water, more improved sanitation, more land for occupation, and more durable houses which could withstand extreme weather conditions. The slums develop majorly associated with industrial areas and are established by industry employees from rural areas.

High population is among the top-ranking social challenges facing urbanization. According to (Kumar 2017), there is an observable trend that for the first time in history, more people are living in urban areas compared to those living in rural communities; this proportion increases the problems associated with congested streets. (Kumar 2017) characterize industrialized urban centers as uneven distribution areas, with a high rate of unemployment or under-payment increasing the odds of crime.

Urbanization is greatly associated with the loss of cultural beliefs and transactions, placing cities central in constructing social identities. According to (Kumar 2017), rural area communities were originally organized around family, Village, and local agriculture-based economy and cultures. In the present, communities are determined largely by the business exchange in urban environments shaping a new society based on traditional pillars’ economic transactions.

Sociological theories on urbanization

To understand the origin and evolution of urbanization, sociologists developed several theories to illustrate the growth and cost suffered from urbanization. A review of the classical school thought theory, capitalism, and the critical cosmopolitan theory is performed. The cosmopolitan social theory is beneficial in understanding urban problems (Millington, 2016).

Capitalism Theory

Karl Marx and Friedrich argued that tribal societies shaped by deep traditions inhabited pre-capitalist societies through the classical school of thought. They maintained that urbanization was central to the development of capitalism, and it is only by the emergence of capitalist cities the exploited would realize their true potential. Karl Marx believed that the society was made of two social classes; the ‘haves’ (the bourgeoisie) who are the minority and own the means of production, the ‘have not’ (proletariats) who produce the goods. Sociologist Karl Marx condemned the exploitation of the employees by the employer, a common trend with capitalists. The proletariats (employees) spend many hours working but are paid poorly.

Cosmopolitan Social theory

The critical cosmopolitan theory advocates that human beings should or ought to be members of one community. The cosmopolitan theory proponents described the community based on moral, economic, political, and cultural boundaries. According to (Millington, 2016) sociologists sorted to urbanize the planet, eventually globalizing the urban bound to common practices. The efforts by the cosmopolitan theory to bond people to one community established a global community, globalization.

Sociologist’s Arguments on the Urbanization of the US

Sociologist Karl Marx condemns the shallow perception of urbanization as a shortcut for the capitalistic environment. Marx condemned lower-class people from their agricultural lands to serve the purpose of the ‘haves’ in creating the wealth as laborers in industries that he referred to as ‘primitive accumulation.’ According to (Millington, 2016) sociologists advocate for a harmonious existence between urbanization and capitalism by not focusing only on one growth of large populations but a balance of basic needs. Urbanization is a powerful engine of geographical unevenness, realizing the global power relations and inequalities.

Urbanization is the concept by which people migrate to greater opportunities from their low opportunity rural areas to improve their social status. As portrayed by Karl Marx in the capitalist theory, the high-class dwellers are in a persistent measure, hindering low classing from rising. Urbanization and industrialization are intertwined concepts with mutual relationships, eventually raising globalization. High population, housing problems, and erosion of culture are the core challenges facing urbanization. Social inequality is a product of empowerment of capitalist societies driven by individual success, leaving a huge gap between the two established social classes.

References

Bounoua, L., Nigro, J., Thome, K., Zhang, P., Fathi, N., & Lachir, A. (2018). A method for mapping future urbanization in the United States. Urban Science, 2(2), 40.

Kumar, A. (2017). Urbanization. The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 1-9.

https://ourworldindata.org/urbanization

Kopardekar, G. (2019). Unraveling ‘Smart’ Urbanization: Understanding Theories and the Concept. Journal of Governance & Public Policy, 9(1), 48-126.

Millington, G. (2016). The cosmopolitan contradictions of planetary urbanization. The British journal of sociology, 67(3), 476-496.

e Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social eory.EditedbyBryanS.Turner.

DOI: 10.1002/9781118430873.est0554

e Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social eory.EditedbyBryanS.Turner.

DOI: 10.1002/9781118430873.est0554

e Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social eory.EditedbyBryanS.Turner.

DOI: 10.1002/9781118430873.est0554

e Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social eory.EditedbyBryanS.Turner.

DOI: 10.1002/9781118430873.est0554