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| |Urbanization is the process by which a large number of people over time |
| |become concentrated in cities. However, cities, as permanent settlements |
| |where heterogeneous groups of people live, have existed since time |
| |immemorial. The existence of cities is extensively interrelated to the |
| |expansion of an efficient agricultural system and technology that makes |
| |possible surplus products beyond the immediate requirements of survival. This|
| |condition, together with the existence of complex social organization and |
| |favorable geographical environment, plays a critical role in the continued |
| |existence of cities. Yet due to, among other things, inadequate technology |
| |and agricultural and transportation systems, premodern cities were relatively|
| |undersized and few in number compared to modern cities. Hence, the true |
| |development of urbanization is a recent phenomenon. Just 200 years ago, the |
| |number of people living in urban areas throughout the world was under 4 |
| |percent. Currently, that number is 47 percent; soon it will hit the 50 |
| |percent mark. By the year 2025, demographers predict that two thirds of the |
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