Phases of urbanization

Contemporary urbanization is believed to be in the third phase of urbanization, as urbanization in the global south (mainly Africa, Asia, Latin America) surpasses the urbanization rates of other regions. Yet, unlike the first phase of urbanization, the second and third phases are primarily characterized by the concentration of people in cities, and driven by a diversity of factors that go beyond simple ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. Today, we live on an ‘urban planet’ and over 50% of the global population now lives in cities of varied sizes.

Consequently, our discussion of urbanization and its underlying drivers beyond simple ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors will continue in the next steps by focusing on the links between urbanization and global environmental and climate change. In particular, we will discuss the following questions in the next step:

• How are urbanization and climate change linked?
• What is urban adaptation?
• Where can we find successfully adapted cities?
• And how is climate adaptation related to sustainable urban development?