Introduction subsaharan africa hereafter africa is urbanizing quickly, with cities and towns growing at an annual rate of close to four percent over the last 20 years. This paper focuses primarily on urbanization, the causes and ways forward. On the contrary, europe, whose urbanization process is several centuries old, is urbanized to an impressive degree. This rapid city growth in subsaharan africa reflects trends across all developing nations. This chapter examines africas urbanization and the challenges and opportunities it presents, with emphasis on what it will take to make african cities efficient, sustainable, and inclusive. This is closely related to industrialization, modernization and rationalization, a type of sociological process. Urbanization and growth go hand in hand, and no one can deny that urbanization is essential for socioeconomic transformation, wealth generation, prosperity and development. Approximately half of the people around the world live in urban areas. Africas urbanization is manifest in the growth of its megacities. Accommodating this many more urban dwellers efficiently and equitably. Pdf africa, a continent exceptionally rich in biodiversity, is rapidly. The property needs in south africa are evolving as more and more people move into urban areas. Poverty was at first held to be a key driver of migration.
Africas urban population has been growing at a very high rate i. In south africa in 2001 the level of urbanisation was 56%, giving a 4. A descriptive and econometric analysis paul bairoch and gary goertz first received january 1985. The conservation planning and practice will increasingly need to account for direct and indirect impacts of the continents urbanization. Challenges and opportunities for conservation article pdf available in environmental research letters 15002 december 2017 with 11,164 reads how we measure reads.
The paper aims at analysing and projecting urbanization trends using united nations, world urbanization prospects data, 2007 revision. Urbanization is the way the population shift from rural to urban areas, the gradual increase in the proportion of people. Urbanization defines the share of urban population from the total population of a country. Urbanization, greater economic growth and rising living historically have gonestandards hand in hand and are central facts of our modern world because urban areas account for a large percentage of gdp in most countries. The figure was below 20 percent in ethiopia, malawi, uganda, burkina faso, rwanda and burundi. Africa, a continent exceptionally rich in biodiversity, is rapidly urbanizing. Urbanization and growth edited by michael spence, patricia clarke annez, and robert m. The speed of urbanization in subsaharan africa between. Africas urbanization is manifest in the growth of its megacities as well as that of its smaller towns and cities. This presentation will examine the relationship between urbanization and migration in the. Quality of life for africas city dwellers will, however, directly depend on the quality of urban governance. Bamako, may 2, 2017 according to the new world bank report, africas cities. Africa and asia are two continents with extremely low levels of urbanization, a bit behind when compared to others. You can also visit the subsaharan african peoples page, or search for trips or projects among ssa peoples that you and your church can participate in.
In 2018, over 66 percent of south africas total population lived in urban areas and cities. It also looks into the factors that various urban researchers indicate were the causes of urbanization and theories developed to explain the urbanization process. Download the report urbanization is transforming the world. Dedicated to the development of the urbanization, four mainstream urbanization theories and their respective pros and cons have been discussed. The causes or urbanization include the promise of prosperity and jobs. The causes of urban growth vary from one to the other. The influx of migrants into cities may in part be a response to the ending of. Outline preliminary remarks on the measurement of urbanization and trends about urbanization urbanization and economic development usually go hand in hand but some developing countries face strong challenges. Unesco eolss sample chapters the role of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries in human nutrition vol. This study sets out to explore urban population growth and urbanization in subsaharan africa with the intent to better understand the processes. Effects of urbanization on economic growth and human.
By the mid2030s, half are expected to live in cities and towns, with the proportion peaking at 56% around 2050. Urbanization in africa is happening rapidly and with it comes a myriad of both benefits and problems. To read further about the urbanization of subsaharan africa, check out this article and accompanying media on the rise of africas cities. These combine to be equivalent to about two thirds of the urban population in 2010, and are about the same magnitude as the overall increase in population predicted for the 20102050 period. Firstly, the researcher pays attention to urban growth and also discusses its causes. The causes and consequences of urbanization in poorer countries edward l. In 1950, 14% of africans lived in urban areas compared with 40% today. Vernon henderson, adam storeygard, and uwe deichmann 1.
The urbanization of most of africa is moving fast forward, especially south of the sahara. The relationship between urbanization and development is a vital policy concern, especially in africa and asia. Opening doors to the world, bamakos 2 million inhabitants do not have access to the housing, services, and jobs they need. And the least developed countries are also those which are least urbanized. Impact of rapid urbanisation of south african cities on. Keywords africa, land, new cities, satellite cities, urban restructuring received may 2016.
Since 1950, the number of urban agglomerations in west africa increased from 152 to almost 2 000, and today towns and cities are home to 41% of the regions total population. The speed of urbanization around the world united nations. The process of urbanization in africa from the origins to. Urbanisation can spur development but under current conditions, it is more likely to compound africas structural challenges. The trend toward urbanization is a worldwide phenomena. This paper describes the situation from the beginning of the. Pdf during the past three decades, there has been rapid urbanization in. Runaway urbanization and a growing youth bulge, with most young people lacking meaningful job prospects, is a time bomb. Yet there is little uptodate data available for analysis and the formulation of development policy at the. Urbanization is the shift from a rural to an urban society, bringing a large concentration of people into towns and cities. Development and aid agencies must adopt their strategies to the new realities and the japan international cooperation agency jica monday began a threeday seminar in the senegal capital of dakar to examine both the challenges but also the opportunities of urbanization in africa.
Africa, but also projecting into the future to see what it holds, and more importantly identifying what measures to avert undesirable effects of urbanization. For example, urbanization drives economic sustainability but at the same time, it presents the challenge of overpopulation. Most of africas urban population resides in cities of 500,000 people or less, but the urban share of larger cities has been growing for the last thirty years and continues. Although the rhythm of urbanization in africa is the highest in the world, the continent is still. By 2025, there will be 100 african cities with more than one million inhabitants, according to mckinsey. Opportunities and challenges of urbanization dec policy research talk september 25, 2017. Urbanization is defined as the population within urban areas increasing. During the past three decades, there has been rapid urbanization in africa due primarily to development strategies that emphasized urban growth at the expense of agricultural and rural development. Factors of urbanisation in the nineteenth century developed countries. African urbanization trends and prospects bocquier.
Urbanization levels in africa are still relatively low by global standardswith low population densities and levels of agglomeration. The origins and pace of africas urban transition lse. Less than one person in three in subsaharan africa was an urban dweller. According to the 2017 drivers of migration and urbanization in africa report by the united nations, more than half of the global population now lives in urban areas. Direct causes of migration, such as unemployment, are products of underlying economic challenges. With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. The paper begins by providing some background on overall demographic trends with regard to migration and urbanization, and points to some of the difficulties with. The study is intended to provide the bureaus office of sustainable development afrsd with a useful analysis of urbanrural linkages and with guidance in addressing the environmental dimensions of current development challenges related to african. Urbanisation and the future of south african property. Urbanization in subsaharan africa center for strategic. Slave trade of the 16th to 19th century deprived africa of valuable manpower that would have been channeled towards the development of the continent.
Urbanization in africa part 1 introduction to african. A third order polynomial is used to model urbanrural growth difference from 1950 to 2005 country by country. Some peculiar but interesting dramatic turnaround in the pattern of urban development in africa is also examined. Pdf urbanization and urban growth in africa researchgate. Urbanization in africa presents opportunities, challenges. Iii the impact of urbanization on rural land use christopher bryant encyclopedia of life support systems eolss we differentiate between push and pull factors, highlighting the experience of different. This concentration causes interactions and engenders spillovers of. By 2050, almost regardless of government policies, its urban population will have tripled. In 1950, most of the worlds largest cities were in rich. Cities and their inhabitants are increasingly shaping west africas economic, political and social landscape. The chief cause of global urbanization is the new economic opportunities it brings to people and.
Its urban population of 335 million now exceeds the. Circumstances are different in south africa compared to the pattern characteristic of the rest of subsaharan africa potts, 1995. The interdisciplinary study of urbanization deserves emphasis because the research conducted in these different directions over the course of the past twentyfive years has been very uneven. According to several research papers and reports, africas urbanization was, in contrast. The world bank and the african center for economic transformation acet are jointly hosting a conference titled urbanization in africa. This report on urbanization in africa recommends keeping step with the rapid growth in the population of african cities by investing in infrastructure, which is not always the case today. This process usually occurs when a nation is still developing. This figure is projected to increase to 75 percent by 2050, at a growing rate of 65 million urban dwellers annually. For more indepth analysis on urbanization in the african context as well as the importance of planning, infrastructure, and finance for africas growing cities, make sure you check out. We must not confuse the concepts of urbanization and modernization, although to distinguish the difference between the two can be a delicate matter. R0 abstract historically, urban growth required enough development to grow and transport significant agricultural surpluses or a government effective enough to build an empire. Trends, promises and challenges from june 1 to 2, 2015 in accra, ghana the share of africans living in urban areas is projected to grow from 36 percent in 2010 to 50 percent by 2030.