What Is the Difference Between Urbanization and Urbanism, Essay Example

Human settlements have an undeniable influence on the lives of individuals within and outside the settlements. The movement of people from one place to another has its impact on the livelihoods of the hosts and the foreigners alike. The effect could either register s social or economic. The influence of settlements can be classifies as urbanization and urbanism. Urbanization describes a situation where citizens change from agricultural to industrial type of occupation. By so doing, residence characteristics change from rural to urban. Due to the migration from rural areas to urban areas, urbanization can also describe the rate at which people move from to the cities.

Urbanism on the other hand defines the way people live and conduct themselves in the cities. Thus, for urbanism to occur there need not be any form of permanent migration to the cities or formation of cities. In the modern world, it is not possible for one to avoid urbanism whether or not he lives in the village. Urbanism has a way of finding people thought the food we eat, clothes we wear, the stories we share, music and other forms of social activities.

Urbanization involves a physical movement of people to cities as well change in the physical appearance of the land through emergence of industrial building and facilities. The occupations of the individuals change due to the change in the environment. Urbanism is a process that is not reversible. The change in social values arising from the influence of city life is permanent. Once the ideas are absorbed, there no way society can revert to the old state of mind and conduct. However, urbanization is a reversible process. The reasons which contributed to urbanizations are rectifiable thus motivating people to return to the rural areas and start a living there.

Urbanization is a personal or group choice. An individual or a group of individuals can decide to move into the city to search for work and reside there. Most of the individuals will still reside in the rural areas. If the entire village moves to the city, the opportunity cost will be too high. However, urbanism is a force that affects the whole population without discrimination. The influence is either absorbed or detested, but its impact has already been felt.

Urbanization has a direct effect on the economy of the people. The movement of people into the cities can either have a positive or negative effect. Positively, the earning capacity of the newly employed individuals improves the living standards of the households. Similarly, the increased production owing to the labor amplifies the GDP of a country. However, incase there is no employment, the opportunity cost is immense since idle resources are left in the rural areas. Such a scenario is common in developing countries where over-urbanization is coupled with under-industrialization.

The influences of urbanization are experienced in the proximity of the city or urban area involved. The increased congestion, increased pollution and other effects are only experienced within the town in question. However, urbanism stretches everywhere. The influences of an overseas city could have impact on a local location. This occurs due to the mobility of individuals on the global arena. The ability of individuals to travel from cities to rural areas spread on the global scale contributes to urbanism.