Effects of urbanization: At world level, after China, the fastest urbanization is happening in India.
There are two major effects of urbanization. They are:

(A) Positive effects of urbanization and
(B) Negative effects of urbanization

(A) Positive effects of urbanization:

1. Increase in infrastructural facilities:

• Due to urbanization, infrastructural facilities like education, health, banking, transportation, communication, insurance, electricity, etc. keep on increasing in the urban areas.
• Development and maintenance of these facilities create more employment opportunities. When people get employment their purchasing power for goods and services increases. This increases demand for goods and services which in turn leads to setting up more industries.
• Thus, the cycle of setting up of more industries
• Creation of more employment opportunities
• Rise in income and rise in purchasing power
• Rise in purchasing power necessitating the setup of new industries. This cycle keeps going on.

2. Reduction in poverty:

Poverty and unemployment are mutually related. Due to urbanization, industry and service sector creates large scale employment in cities which reduces poverty.
Moreover, rural poor and unemployed who come to urban areas get employment according to their capabilities and skills. This also helps in reducing poverty.

3. Cultural development:

Cities have well-developed educational facilities that too for various discipline. People take benefit of these facilities and gain overall development which in turn helps in establishing a rich cultured society.

Libraries with modern amenities, book stalls and various cultural programmes that take place in cities enrich people culturally.

4. Ultra-modern health services:

Rise in urban population demands more and better health-care facilities. Today, we can see number of multispecialty hospitals flourishing in cities like Ahmedabad where ultra-modern treatment is available for every disease at one place.

Along with private hospitals, government and local self-government institutions also set-up hospitals for the benefit of the poor and the middle class. Better health facilities create a positive impact on the health and the productivity of people.

5. Social effects – modern thinking:

Cities have better education, cultural development and modern means of communication. As a result, the thinking of urban population is modern compared to villages.
Migrants from villages quickly adapt themselves to the modern world by having a decent and polite approach.

6. High standard of living:

Urbanization increases the income of people. This combined with the growth and development of modern infrastructural facilities makes the standard of living of people higher as compared to those living in rural areas.

(B) Negative effects of urbanization:

1. Income inequalities: Urbanization creates income inequalities. In urban areas, on one hand’there are intellects who are very highly educated, entrepreneurs and business magnates whose income levels are very high. While on the other hand, there are poor labourers who are illiterates, who do not have any expertise and who do not know anything except physical labour and hence have very low incomes.
Thus, one can witness very large income inequalities in urban areas.

2. Social inequalities:

The rich and the educated class of the urban areas have modern thinking while the uneducated poor class has frank and age-old thinking. Hence, such poor get exploited in urban areas. This creates social inequalities.

Problems of slum-dwelling:

Labour class people coming to cities from villages have lower incomes and hence cannot afford to buy pucca house. As a result, they forcibly live in hutments and dirty slums.

3. Problem of law and order:

Uncontrolled urbanization leads to population explosion in urban areas. The per capita vehicle in cities is high and it rises continuously.

In case when migrants are not able to get proper employment and earn enough income they move to theft, dacoity, etc.

It becomes extremely difficult for the limited police personnel to control the city properly. The day to day law and order situation looks weak and inefficient. -» In situations like riots and natural calamities, it becomes a very challenging task for them to look after the safety and security of such a large urban population.

5. Question of infrastructural facilities:

There is shortage of transportation, health, roads, shortage of pure drinking water and other such infrastructural facilities. This results in problems of water borne diseases, sanitation, shortage of electricity due to the failure of the local administration system, etc.

6. Problems of environmental pollution:

• Urbanization is the result of industrialization. Uncontrolled growth in industries increases pollution to manifolds.
• This also results in dirt and filth which eventually leads to various diseases. For example, more than 50% of poor population suffers from skin and respiratory diseases in big developed cities.