Pros and Cons of Urbanization
October 2, 2012
Pro
Urbanization
“Urbanization is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial one. It is a long term process” (Datta 1). Urbanization is an ongoing process that affects the entire world. The advantages of urbanization outweigh the disadvantages significantly. Some of the good effects include discovery of more innovative and efficient ways of producing merchandise and an increase in technology, which in turn broadens job opportunities. It brings economic growth and focuses it more on services and technology rather than agriculture. While agriculture is seasonal, a job at a tannery, for example, is yearlong and more dependable because of that. Urbanization also breaks social and cultural barriers. People of many religions, cultures, and groups live and work together in cities, which produces harmony, and understanding between people of different ethnic backgrounds. More land has been preserved than has been consumed and open space has been noticeably increased, specifically due to the decrease in farmland that has occurred because of improved productivity.
Although the benefits of urbanization are great, the price that mankind was forced to pay for the emergence of urbanization significantly outweighed the rewards that accompanied it. For example, in India, when the British were trying to industrialize and urbanize the country, Indians from all over had to deal with poverty, starvation, and over population. “Likewise, small village shopkeepers were forced out of business by the larger shopkeepers who arrived in the village after the tannery opened” (Hoosain 7). The big companies that came to small villages ran the family owned village shops out of business, which eliminated the families’ income. When jobs open up, people tend to move to areas with more opportunity and overpopulate those areas. That makes it extremely hard for law enforcement to do their job
Pro
Urbanization
“Urbanization is an index of transformation from traditional rural economies to modern industrial one. It is a long term process” (Datta 1). Urbanization is an ongoing process that affects the entire world. The advantages of urbanization outweigh the disadvantages significantly. Some of the good effects include discovery of more innovative and efficient ways of producing merchandise and an increase in technology, which in turn broadens job opportunities. It brings economic growth and focuses it more on services and technology rather than agriculture. While agriculture is seasonal, a job at a tannery, for example, is yearlong and more dependable because of that. Urbanization also breaks social and cultural barriers. People of many religions, cultures, and groups live and work together in cities, which produces harmony, and understanding between people of different ethnic backgrounds. More land has been preserved than has been consumed and open space has been noticeably increased, specifically due to the decrease in farmland that has occurred because of improved productivity.
Although the benefits of urbanization are great, the price that mankind was forced to pay for the emergence of urbanization significantly outweighed the rewards that accompanied it. For example, in India, when the British were trying to industrialize and urbanize the country, Indians from all over had to deal with poverty, starvation, and over population. “Likewise, small village shopkeepers were forced out of business by the larger shopkeepers who arrived in the village after the tannery opened” (Hoosain 7). The big companies that came to small villages ran the family owned village shops out of business, which eliminated the families’ income. When jobs open up, people tend to move to areas with more opportunity and overpopulate those areas. That makes it extremely hard for law enforcement to do their job
Cited: Daheer, Aj. "Indian Take: India 's Role in the Industrial Revolution.” Np., 21 Nov. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. Datta, Pranati. "Urbanisation in India." Info Stat. N.p., 21 June 2006. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. Faridi, Rashid. "Rashid 's Blog." Rashid 's Blog. N.p., 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. Hoosain, EMAUDDIN. "A Teacher 's Guide to the Edition of Nectar in a Sieve." Penguin Putnam, Inc., 28 Sept. 1996. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve: A Novel. New York, Penguin Books USA, Inc., 1982. Print.