Urbanization and Sustainability: Comparison of the Processes in “BIC” Countries

Abstract

Abstract:The urbanized world has brought social, economic, and environmental sustainability into challenged surroundings in rapidly rising countries, thereby requiring the exploration of their intertwined relationships. This study regarded Brazil, India, and China as "BIC" countries to be the representative study areas for our investigation of sustainability in the context of rapid urbanization. In general, our work was synthesized into a comparison framework in four aspects: rural-urban relation, industrial development, city development, and urban landscape pattern. We determined that rural-urban dichotomy exists in all study areas, with India and China having a high degree. China was identified as a manufacturing-based country in the past half-century, whereas Brazil and India have the service sector as their primary industry. The distribution of large cities follows a regional pattern, with Brazil being northeast-focused, China being southeast-focused, and India being comparatively balanced. The Amazon forest in the north brings great challenges to Brazil with respect to the conservation of its biodiversity and eco-environment. India and China have encountered tremendous urban expansion or sprawl in the past several decades. The sustainability issues in social, economic, and environmental aspects for Brazil, India, and China were summarized in the context of rapid urbanization to provide references for other countries.

The Urban Sustainability Index in Urban Aglomeration

“…Related to the environment, the urban growth negatively affects the environment. This conclusion is in line with the results of research the impact of mining development and urban infrastructure on environmental ecosystems (Xu , et al, 2016), the impact of urban growth on biodiversity (Zeng , et al, 2016), (Coles, et al, 2010), (McCarthy, et al, 2010),the impact of urban growth on the climate change (Ahmad & Choi, 2010),the social equity and environmental conditions have been marginalizedby the rapid economic development (Fan & Qi, 2010), the satisfication with neightborhood attribtes decreases with increasing urbanization (Oleyar, et al, 2008), (Jiang & Hardee, 2009),and (Zheng, et al, 2010). The phenomena of negative impact of the urban growth on the environment generally occurs because it only promotes the short-term interests of the economy.…”

The Rapid Urban Growth Triad: A New Conceptual Framework for Examining the Urban Transition in Developing Countries

“…With the current growth of cities already outstripping the capacity of many local governments to supply necessary services and infrastructure, and with projections noting that nearly all population growth over the next 30 years will occur in cities of the global south, planning and managing the urban transition is arguably one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century [9,32]. However, in order to offer effective strategies and sustainable solutions, researchers and policymakers must be aware of the facts and avoid falling victim to common misconceptions.…”

The Development of New Approaches of Public Policy in the Field of Spatial Development Based on the Classification of Modern Urbanization Processes of Russia Resource Regions

“…In the 1990s public economic policy had no clearly defined economic spatial priorities. Key government measures were directed to mitigation of social inequality of regions and were implemented by budget policy tools through allocation additional financial subsidies to 2 In Fig. 1.2 regions from the state budget.…”

“…The dynamic approach considers them as the process of forming urban settlements, staticas the current state of cities development [1]. Within the period 1994 to 2014 the size of the world urban population increased from 2,3 to 3,9 billion people amounting to over 50% of the population due to new fast developing countries and territories [2], [3].…”