Characteristics of urbanization in Britain

The characteristics of urbanization in Britain are rapid urbanization, high urbanization rate, unbalanced development of cities, more immigrants in urban population and serious urban environmental pollution.

1, rapid urbanization and high urbanization rate.

It took Britain less than 80 years to realize urbanization, and the urbanization rate is among the best in the world. 185 1 census shows that the urban population in Britain has accounted for 5 1% of the national population, while that in France is 25.2%, that in the United States is 13%, and that in Russia where serfdom is practiced is only 7%. By 186 1, the proportion of urban population in Britain has reached 62.3%, that in France is 28.9%, and that in the United States is only 19.8%.

In fact, the speed and rate of urbanization in Britain are closely related to its economic structure and social background. Britain was the first country to start the industrial revolution. Industry has an overwhelming advantage in the national economy. Factories that have sprung up like mushrooms after rain need a lot of labor. At the same time, the industrial revolution has also promoted the improvement of agricultural labor productivity, making a large number of farmers leave the land, leaving the countryside and entering the cities, which has effectively promoted the process of urbanization.

2. The development of cities is uneven.

The rise and fall of cities and the development of regions are closely related to emerging industries. In the process of urbanization in Britain, the manufacturing and mining cities that were most affected by the industrial revolution developed the fastest, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield. Cities with textile industry as the pillar have played a pioneering role in the process of urbanization, among which Berry, Preston and oldham are the most representative cities.

At the same time, some traditional old towns in Britain developed slowly because of alienation from the industrial revolution, and some old industrial towns were almost at a standstill. For example, the population of Norich, York and Exeter ranked second, third and sixth in the country at the beginning of17th century, and fell to eighth, seventeenth and fifteenth respectively at 180 1. It can be seen that emerging industries create emerging cities, and those industries and cities that are not integrated with the industrial revolution decline.

There are more foreign immigrants in the urban population.

After the outbreak of the first industrial revolution, the number of immigrants in Britain increased gradually, because it could provide more employment opportunities. The immigrants absorbed by big cities in Britain are mainly Irish. In 1930s, the population of Manchester15 was Irish, and that of Glasgow's population of 200,000 was 35,500 Irish.

By 1860, when urbanization was moving to a higher level, businessmen and high-tech personnel from other countries began to flood into Britain, such as Germans, Greeks, Swiss, French and Jews from all over the world, and concentrated on emigrating to big cities, especially London.

4. Urban environmental pollution is serious.

The industrial revolution has promoted the emergence of new industrial cities and the large population gathering, but it has also brought about a sharp deterioration of the urban environment. By 1830, large industrial cities in England have no safe drinking water supply because the rivers in these areas are seriously polluted. The Thames is the most typical one. Because industrial sewage is directly discharged into the river without treatment, the original clear and pleasant mother river has become a stinking sewage river.

The significance of urbanization:

1, the city is the center of the region, and the urbanization process can promote the regional social and economic development and improve the regional industrial structure.

2. Urbanization and industrialization interact with each other. Without urbanization, industrial production efficiency will be reduced; Without industrialization, urbanization will lose the impetus of economic development.

3. The progress of science and technology and informatization makes modern big cities become the main scientific and technological innovation bases and information exchange centers.

4. The process of urbanization can widely promote the development of rural areas, and urban culture is constantly spreading and infiltrating into rural areas, affecting rural production and lifestyle.

In the process of urbanization, cities can absorb a large number of rural surplus population and create more employment opportunities. In a word, the process of urbanization is conducive to the mutual promotion between urban and rural areas and narrowing the gap between urban and rural development. The improvement of regional socio-economic level will in turn promote the development of cities.