Urbanization and Economic Development

oncerns about urbanization and economic developthe question of how the causality works. Economic de_ ment go hand in hand, for a number of reasons. velopment makes it possible for people to produce more. Beyond the question of whether urbanization is a cause Why should this possibility lead to urbanization? Can or a consequence of development, it is the backdrop for our understanding of the links between development development in almost all nations. Rapid urbanization and urbanization be carried to the point of quantificaposes complex management problems in housing, transtion? What are the main implications of a better underport, land use, the environment, energy, public services, standing of urbanization? and finance. These problems are responsible in part for In seeking answers to these questions in this chapter interest in whether overurbanization has occurred and it is recognized that the explanation of urbanization is whether more active policies are needed to control and largely an explanation of economic activity. Cities would direct urbanization. To deal adequately with urbanizanot grow unless there were productive things for people tion issues, an understanding is needed of why the proto do in them. cess takes place and what determines its rate, its geoIn the past hundred years enormous growth of cities graphic pattern, and the characteristics of people in occurred in the Western world as people took the fruits cities. of development in the form of products, other than food That there is a close relation between urbanization and fiber, that could be produced more economically in and economic development is evident from experience cities than in the countryside. Rapid urbanization in in most countries that have undergone development. It developing countries today is in some part a result of a also seems clear that urbanization is not a primary cause similar wish to take the fruits of development in the of economic development. form of goods and services suited to urban production. In a very long view of history the role of cities in But more than in the past, urbanization appears to be promoting economic development-through being cenrelated to international specialization that is freed from ters of the learning and interactions that lead to ingreat dependence on domestic demand. People are pronovation-would be a concern. In recent history, as ducing goods in the cities of the developing world and communications have been revolutionized, economic trading them in international markets for all manner of development has come more to consist in applying other goods, including food. The links between the comideas, no matter where they originate. position of domestic consumption and urbanization It seems reasonable that some, and perhaps most, have been greatly weakened. Actually, the links were urbanization is the result of economic development pronever exclusive, and they have become progressively less cesses. But accepting a general line of causality from so throughout the world with the increasing importance economic development to urbanization does not answer of international trade to all economies. Domestic and international demands for urban and