This text was adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee. Preface

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 
  US cities grew rapidly during the nineteenth century because of industrialization and immigration.
  
• 
  The United States is now a heavily urbanized society, whereas it was largely a rural society just a century ago.
  
• 
  Urbanization poses special challenges for poor nations, which are ill equipped to address the many problems associated with urbanization.
  

FOR YOUR REVIEW

1. 
   Write an essay in which you discuss the advantages and disadvantages of urbanization.
   
2. 
   If you had your preference, would you want to live in a large city, small city or town, or rural area? Explain your answer.
   

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[2] Gibson, C. (1998). Population of the 100 largest cities and other urban places in the United States: 1790–1990. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.

[3] Feldberg, M. (1980). The turbulent era: Riot and disorder in Jacksonian America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

[4] Barkan, S. E., & Snowden, L. L. (2008). Collective violence. Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan.

[5] Steffens, L. (1904). The shame of the cities. New York, NY: McClure, Phillips.

[6] Riis, J. (1890). How the other half lives: Studies among the tenements of New York. New York. NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

[7] Population Reference Bureau. (2012). Human population: Urbanization. Retrieved fromhttp://www.prb.org/Educators/TeachersGuides/HumanPopulation/Urbanization.aspx.

[8] United Nations Population Fund. (2011). The State of World Population 2011. Retrieved from http://foweb.unfpa.org/SWP2011/reports/EN-SWOP2011-FINAL.pdf.

[9] United Nations Population Fund. (2007). Linking population, poverty, and development. Urbanization: A majority in cities. Retrieved fromhttp://www.unfpa.org/pds/urbanization.htm.

[10] United Nations Population Fund. (2007). Linking population, poverty, and development. Urbanization: A majority in cities. Retrieved fromhttp://www.unfpa.org/pds/urbanization.htm.

[11] Kotkin, J. (2011). A leg up: World’s largest cities no longer homes of upward mobility. Retrieved January 29, 2012, from http://www.newgeography.com/content/002051-a-leg-up-worlds-largest-cities-no-longer-homes-upward-mobility.

[12] Kotkin, J. (2011). A leg up: World’s largest cities no longer homes of upward mobility. Retrieved January 29, 2012, from http://www.newgeography.com/content/002051-a-leg-up-worlds-largest-cities-no-longer-homes-upward-mobility.