Week 15: Urbanization

Growing up, I moved a few times so I had an opportunity to experience living in urban, rural, and suburban areas. This gave me a chance to see the differences between living in those three types of places, and the pros and cons of each. Sociologists believe that urbanization has been occurring and continues today in society. This is a shift where people move away from rural areas to live in cities, consequentially also resulting in an increase in suburban populations. I did notice when I lived in a rural town in Maryland that, just as the textbook suggested, most young people were desperate to leave, unless they felt compelled for some reason to stay. This meant that many of these younger people were leaving their town to go to college, find a job closer to the city, and start a family there. This contributes to the declining population in rural areas as there are not enough young people staying to raise families and maintain the population. I can understand why so many younger people wanted to move to cities since there are more opportunities, better jobs, and just more things to do in general. I have known some people living in the city, however, who wish they could move to a more rural area with more open spaces and a slow placed way of life. Often though, these people choose to stay in the city, or move to a suburb as a sort of compromise. In many ways, a suburb can offer the best of both worlds; there are more parks and less congestion, but with easy access to a nearby city. According to the textbook, there has been a shift from cities to suburbs in the past few decades which could be in part due to the higher cost of living in a city as opposed to just outside of it. I have lived in a suburb most of my life and I find that it tends to be the best option for families who are trying to save money on housing while still enjoying the benefits of living near a major city.