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Human Geoscience pp 261–282Cite as

Urbanization: Concept, Mechanism, and Global Implications

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Part of the book series: Advances in Geological Science ((AGS))

Abstract

Urbanization has two types of impacts: positive and negative. On the one hand, urbanization brings positive impacts to society as it helps improve the social and economic aspects of people’s lives. On the other hand, urbanization brings negative social and ecological impacts, both locally and globally. This chapter discusses the concept of urbanization in the context of human geoscience, including its history, mechanism, and trend in the modern world. It presents an overview of the negative ecological and social impacts associated with urbanization, such as urban heat island, air pollution, flooding, health, urban poverty, crimes and violence, and traffic congestion. This chapter also discusses the inclusion of urbanization to the global sustainable development agenda, as well as the importance of geospatial technologies, such as geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, for urban monitoring towards sustainable urban development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Yuji Murayama

  2. National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Ronald C. Estoque

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  1. Yuji Murayama
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  2. Ronald C. Estoque
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Correspondence to Yuji Murayama .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo, Japan

    Yukio Himiyama

  2. Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kenji Satake

  3. Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Taikan Oki

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Murayama, Y., Estoque, R.C. (2020). Urbanization: Concept, Mechanism, and Global Implications. In: Himiyama, Y., Satake, K., Oki, T. (eds) Human Geoscience. Advances in Geological Science. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9224-6_19

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