The last two hundred years or so have seen a revolutionary shift in the location of the world's population and in the relative importance of city and countryside. In 1800 only an estimated 3 per cent of total world population lived in aglommerations o...
The last two hundred years or so have seen a revolutionary shift in the location of the world's population and in the relative importance of city and countryside. In 1800 only an estimated 3 per cent of total world population lived in aglommerations of 5000 people or more, which is probably the most reasonable general definition of an urban place. Today, this proportion has grown to about 40 per cent and the transition to a fully urbanised world―that is one as urbanised in terms of population distribution as the United States or Britain today―is proceeding so rapidly that it could be completed within less than a century, given the continuation of present demographic trends.