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Despite the common features of urbanization as a global process, it has its own characteristics in different countries and regions1. The USA and Canada are among the most urbanized countries in the world2. The USA and Canada underwent an urban transition over 100–105 years3. Specific characteristics of urbanization processes in the USA and Canada4. Widespread megalopolises — extensive urbanized areas of strip-like configuration5. In recent years, in the USA and Canada, with the gradual decline of the central parts of cities on one hand, and suburban areas on the other (particularly caused by rising fuel prices), a process of repopulation from the suburbs back to the cities has begun6. In many cities in the USA and Canada, there has arisen a need to start implementing regeneration projects, i.e., the redevelopment of brownfields7. American cities rarely make it to the rankings of the most comfortable cities — they are mostly built on the principle of “a city for cars” rather than for people
This content has been automatically translated from Ukrainian.
Despite the common features of urbanization as a global process, it has its own characteristics in different countries and regions
This is reflected in
- different levels and rates of urbanization processes
- the specifics of their spatial distribution
1. The USA and Canada are among the most urbanized countries in the world
In the USA, nearly 83% and in Canada 81.7% of the population live an urban lifestyle.
The growth rate of the number and share of urban residents — 0.96% and 0.95% annually — is high.
2. The USA and Canada underwent an urban transition over 100–105 years
(from 1890 to the mid-1990s), increasing the share of the urban population almost twofold — from about 40% to 75%.
Intensive urbanization was associated with industrialization — the development of industry, the construction of new large industrial enterprises, which created a demand for a significant amount of labor and pushed workers to move to cities from rural areas or less developed regions.
3. Specific characteristics of urbanization processes in the USA and Canada
— the migration since the late 1960s of the population from cities (primarily affluent white representatives) to the suburbs, as a result of rising incomes, increased car ownership, etc.
This led to the spread of mass suburbanization — the development of suburbs and the formation of low-rise residential areas, whose residents commute daily to and from the city for work.
In “one-story America”, 2/3 of American households live.
Suburbanization has led to an increase in the number of urban agglomerations and their populations; in the population statistics of the USA, such agglomerations are referred to as metropolitan areas, and the country's population is divided not into urban and rural but into metropolitan and non-metropolitan.
4. Widespread megalopolises — extensive urbanized areas of strip-like configuration
Megalopolises are not areas of continuous urban development — they occupy only about 1/10 of the territory, while the rest of the space is occupied by cottages, fields, forests, transport routes, water bodies, and vacant lands.
Typically, megalopolises stretch along the most important transport highways and multi-highways, serving as economic axes
“BosWash” (Boston-Washington), “ChiPitts” (Chicago-Pittsburgh), “SanSan” (San Francisco-San Diego) — nearly half of the urban population of the USA lives here.
BosWash and ChiPitts have effectively become international — located within both the USA and Canada.
5. In recent years, in the USA and Canada, with the gradual decline of the central parts of cities on one hand, and suburban areas on the other (particularly caused by rising fuel prices), a process of repopulation from the suburbs back to the cities has begun
This is accompanied by gentrification — the process of changing the class structure of the population in the city center.
6. In many cities in the USA and Canada, there has arisen a need to start implementing regeneration projects, i.e., the redevelopment of brownfields
(brownfields, former industrial areas that have now changed their purpose)
In these areas, new construction and modernization of industrial heritage sites are taking place, aimed at ensuring mixed-use, combining housing, offices, and leisure spaces.
7. American cities rarely make it to the rankings of the most comfortable cities — they are mostly built on the principle of “a city for cars” rather than for people
In contrast, Canadian cities regularly rank among the top ten most comfortable cities in the world — primarily Vancouver + to a lesser extent, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal — which is why Canadian cities often serve as pioneers of advanced urban planning practices.
Thus, the overview of urbanization processes in the USA and Canada provides a deep understanding of how various factors influence urban dynamics and how each country can use these examples to achieve more effective sustainable urban development.
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