When did the city sprout?
First, the world has entered the urban age in an all-round way
5,5 years ago, agricultural trade began to spread and small towns sprang up; By around 1 AD, the world's first big city with a population of over 1 million was born in Rome. In 12, due to the development of smelting technology, the formation speed of European and Asian cities began to accelerate.
the data about urbanization level didn't appear until about 18. It is estimated that the world population was about 96 million in 18, of which about 217 million (24%) lived in cities with a population of more than 2,, and about 2% lived in cities with a population of 1,. In 185, the population of the world increased by about 3%, the proportion of cities with a population of more than 2, increased by 132%, and the proportion of big cities increased by 76%. During 19-195, the population growth rate of big cities reached 254%. At the same time, urbanization has shown great differences in various regions of the world.
European countries, especially Britain, have the earliest urbanization process and the most extensive development. From 176 to 1851, the urban population of Britain exceeded 5% of the total population in 9 years, while the urban population only accounted for 6.5% of the total population in the world at that time. By 1921, its urbanization level had reached 77.2%. The United States is the country with the highest degree of urbanization in the world today. After declaring independence in 1776, the United States experienced the industrial revolution in the 19th century and the post-industrial revolution in the 2th century, and its urbanization level increased from 5% in 179 to over 9% now. Although Japan's urbanization process is more than a hundred years later than that of some western countries, due to its rapid urban economic development, it took only a few decades to reach the urbanization level of western developed countries: in 192, Japan's urban population only accounted for 18% of the total population, but by 1955 its urban population proportion rose to 58%, and by 2 its urban population proportion was 79%. Among the countries in Oceania, New Zealand and Australia have the largest total population, which basically reflects the urbanization situation in the region. In 1994, the urban population of the two countries accounted for 8% of the total population.
compared with urbanization in developed countries, developing countries started late and have a short history. Since most developing countries were once colonies, the industrial revolution in the 176s had little influence on them. According to some data, from 18 to 193, the urban population of developing countries only increased from 3 million to 135 million, while the rural population increased from 67 million to 1.167 billion. Since 195, the process of urbanization in developing countries has been accelerating. During the 35 years from 195 to 1985, the proportion of urban population also increased from 17.3% to 31.7%.
The Report on World Urban Development in the 21st Century issued by the International Conference on Urban Future in the 21st Century held in Berlin in July, 2 pointed out that the world's urban area only accounts for 2% of the land area, but it is inhabited by about half of the earth's population, consuming 65% of the global domestic water consumption, 76% of the total industrial wood consumption and 78% of the global carbon dioxide emissions. Looking forward to the general trend of world urban development in the 21st century, from 2 to 225, the world urban population will soar from 2.4 billion in l995 to 5 billion, accounting for 47% to 61% of the world total population. It is estimated that by 215, there will be 358 megacities with a population of over one million and 27 megacities with a population of over ten million in the world.
nowadays, the momentum of urbanization growth in developing countries is increasing, sustained and rapid, while most developed countries have reached a high degree of urbanization. Futurists predict that by 215, three-quarters of the world's population will be concentrated in cities, and the era of super cities will come soon. In another 5 years, all mankind will live in super cities except a small number of "civil servants who work at home".
So, what are the landmark events in the historical process of urbanization in the world?
(1) In 192, the United States entered the urban age
(2) In 26, China entered the urban age
(3) In 27, the world entered the urban age
(1) In 192, the United States entered the urban age
The process of urbanization in the United States experienced three stages of occurrence, development and maturity. According to American demographic data, in 179, the urban population only accounted for 5% of the total population; 11% in 184; 2% in 186; In 192, it was 51%, and America became an urbanized country. In 194, the metropolitan population accounted for 47.6% of the total population, and the United States became a metropolitan country; By 199, the urban population of the United States accounted for 75% of the total population, and the population of large metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million accounted for 53.4% of the total population. The United States became a country dominated by large metropolitan areas.
(2) In 26, China entered the urban era
Although the urbanization level of China had just reached 42.99% by the end of 25; However, since the China government announced that the agricultural tax will be abolished from 26, the national finance will come from cities or urban industries from now on. China city has decisively become the social and economic center of the country in the new century, will bear all the glory and dreams of the peaceful rise of China in the new century, and will also become the main carrier of all social policies and their results. If the date is determined by the change of the national financial source, the urban era of China has arrived ahead of schedule in 26.
(3) In 27, the world entered the urban age
By 27, 5% of the world's population will live in cities, and the world officially entered the urban age. In the world of trade and financial liberalization, cities are the centers of innovation, investment, communication, production and consumption. The essence of the whole country and even the world is gathered here, where talents, capital, technology and ideas collide and exchange frequently, and business activities, information exchange and knowledge innovation are extremely active. Centralized economic resources, developed social networks and convenient living conditions have created the dominant position of cities in the economy. Intense internal and external competition has bred a strong sense of competition and business spirit in the city.
promoting urbanization in the general trend of economic globalization will promote economic and social development, let more people benefit from this historical process, and alleviate the major economic and social problems in the contemporary world, so that all countries can enjoy all kinds of knowledge related to economic development and provide benefits for all mankind in the accelerated flow of goods, services and other production factors. Below, through the basic process of urban development in the United States, we will give some enlightenment to the urban development of other countries in the world.
The United States is one of the countries with the highest degree of urbanization in the world, and its urbanization motivation is various. On the one hand, the urbanization of the United States began with the beginning of industrialization and adapted to the needs of industrial development. The workers in the factory are one of the main residents of the city, and their existence makes the business prosperous, accompanied by the rise of urban culture. On the other hand, the high development of industrialization has brought about the revolution of agricultural production technology, which makes the demand for labor force in agricultural production smaller and smaller, and the surplus labor force is increasingly attracted by cities and migrates to cities in large numbers. With the economic mode dominated by industry and commerce finally replacing the small producer economic mode dominated by agriculture in the early days of the founding of the United States, urban life gradually replaced rural life and became the dominant lifestyle of Americans.
At the same time, the United States is an immigrant country, and the population growth depends not only on the natural population growth, but also on a large number of immigrants. However, with the process of industrialization, more and more new immigrants are attracted by the myth of industrial civilization, and come to the United States to work as industrial hired labor, which naturally becomes a part of urban residents, and they have made tremendous contributions to the development of the city. The influx of immigrants has created and provided huge value of products and services for the United States. In the past 2 years, the United States has gained a total income of about 6 billion dollars per year from the influx of professionals. The influx of immigrants has saved the United States a huge amount of education and training fees. In recent years, the influx of talents has saved the United States $1.8 billion in education funds every year. The influx of immigrants also provided some special professionals for the United States, which made the cultures of various countries melt into American society and accelerated the development of the United States.
Second, the world is experiencing an urban revolution
About 5 years ago BC, with the improvement of agricultural productivity, a few Neolithic villages developed small market towns and cities. This change is called "the first urban revolution of mankind". The earliest cities in the world appeared in today's Iraq, along the banks of the Young Faraday River and the Tigris River. According to modern city standards, the city at that time was very small, but compared with the previous human settlements, it was very large. Adams R．M． recorded in his book Evolution of Cities that around 1 BC, due to the use of iron, social traffic was greatly improved, production developed rapidly, and the increase of urban population began to accelerate slowly. A few centuries ago, Athens in Europe gradually developed into an independent city-state. By the 2nd century, Rome had millions of residents and became the center of Rome, a country across Asia, Africa and Europe.
With the beginning of the industrial revolution in Europe in the 18th century, the rise and development of industrialization and the rapid acceleration of urbanization, this change is called "the second urban revolution of mankind". In the 2nd century AD, there were only 3, people in London. With the development of the industrial revolution, its population soared to 1 million. In 17, less than 2% of British residents lived in cities. By 19, most British people had become city dwellers. The development of agriculture and transportation, the discovery of the new continent and the opening of new trade routes, and most importantly, the improvement of productivity, all laid the foundation for the development of urbanization in this period. In 18, the urban population in the world accounted for only 3% of the total population. In 19, it rose to 13.6%.
Today, the knowledge-based economy in the 21st century has also given birth to a large-scale urban revolution in the world, which is called "the third urban revolution of mankind". The reason for the outbreak is that the city we live in is the product of the industrial age, and there is a serious "urban disease". Today, human beings have enjoyed a very rich material life, and what they urgently need to change is the current situation of life. This strong demand, combined with the arrival of the knowledge economy era, will inevitably lead to an urban revolution. Existing cities must be upgraded, and a new generation of cities will emerge all over the world.
under the background of globalization, the international division of labor and cooperation has deepened, and the orientation of regional economy has become polarized towards technology brands and cost. The development values based on knowledge and talents as the core are being recognized more and more widely around the world, and the focus of comprehensive competition between countries and regions has gradually shifted from traditional industries to various emerging knowledge-intensive industries. At the same time, developing countries use their own cost advantages to gain advantages in talent and capital-intensive industries, which accelerates the withdrawal of developed countries from these markets.
in the face of global economic transformation and industrial adjustment, cities, as the focus of national competitive strength, bear the brunt. In the era of global competition, cities are also the leader of national development and the cornerstone of global competition, and the international competition between cities is both direct and fierce. Development and economic integration lead to the centralized gathering and decentralized gathering of economic activities, which makes all cities in the world face the opportunity of rising and the danger of decline at the same time. An urban revolutionary storm that shakes the hearts of the world is erupting silently and violently.
what is an urban revolution? Urban revolution means that in the process of urban development, the development direction and mode of the city have undergone fundamental and significant changes, which has greatly impacted the traditional concept of urban development, urban construction and construction management methods. This is a historic event in the road of urban development and a new milestone in urban development.
what is the content of urban revolution? According to the needs of social development and the needs of the times, a large number of new cities will be produced in the future, which are suitable for the world, the times and the cultural characteristics of various places, and each city is truly cosmopolitan and unique.
so, in the process of the global outbreak of the great urban revolution, what essentials must be grasped?
(1) Cities have evolved into scarce commodities
(2) Cities have become the main body of national competition
(3) Cities determine the wealth of a country
(1) Cities have evolved into scarce commodities
In the past five years, the real real estate prices in Britain, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain have increased by an average of 8% to 12% annually, and Boston in the United States. What is the reason behind the real estate boom? The answer is that cities have become a scarce commodity.
It is a universal phenomenon that the more attractive a city is, the faster its housing prices will rise, whether from new york to Boston, from Beijing to Shanghai, or from London to Sydney. Take the United States as an example. The overall house price in the whole country has increased by 51% since 1995. The house price in Boston has soared by 11% from 1996 to the end of 23. Even after the September 11th terrorist attacks in new york, the house price in that year still rose by 11%.
On the surface, people buy houses, but in essence, they buy cities. Because there are only a few attractive cities in the country, their attraction has greatly increased and they have become the leader of the national and even global real estate market. Many suburban markets in China failed because they deviated from the city center, which undoubtedly called consumers to buy houses in rural areas. If you don't understand the reason, building a house just for the sake of the house is doomed to failure. Only when the house is built on the carrier of the city will it succeed.
(2) Cities become the main body of national competition
In the past industrial era, national competition was the competition of enterprises. Enterprises in one country produced products and then sold them to another country. If there were more enterprises in this country, more products were produced and more goods were sold to other countries, this country would be rich.
In the current urban era, the enterprise strategy has undergone fundamental changes, and the traditional peer-to-peer trade mode between countries has been gradually abandoned under the globalization of the global economy. Today's enterprises have become "citizens of the world", and they don't belong to any country. Where there is a market, enterprises are going there.
Now, a country should understand that only a city is its own, and if a city wants to develop, it must attract a large number of global fast-moving economic cells-enterprises. When all cities do this, fierce urban competition will be inevitable. Therefore, in the 21st century, enterprises become stateless "world citizens", and the main body of national competition is no longer enterprises, but cities.
(3) Cities determine the wealth of a country
The most important motivation for a country's economic development is the market growth caused by the increase in foreign trade and domestic demand. The faster the market growth, the more people will participate in the trading of goods and services, and with the increasing income of people, it will feed back the continuous expansion of the market. Therefore, we should reflect on the policies widely adopted by many countries today to promote economic growth. <