Many factors contribute to urbanization, they can be categorized as push and pull factors and have been responsible

for the growth of urban areas worldwide since mankind moved from being subsistence farmers to producing surpluses and developing machines.

These factors can be conveniently grouped under two headings: Push & Pull factors. Push factors are any of the factors which cause people to be pushed from the area where they currently living into some other area .This means that some activity which pushes people out of the rural areas and into the urban areas is a push factor. Pull factors are those which attract people in the direction of the area.

Push & Pull Factors:

PUSH
declining rural services population growth Decreasing farm size unemployment underemployment low commodity prices rising rural debt Force migration Employment income Health and education Standard of living

PULL

Bright lights entertainment security

Common push and pull factors are described on this page below: (Source-"Contemporary Issues in Geography" Peter Plant)

Push Factors:

Population growth: When the population of an area rises to a level which causes people's standards of living to decline, they will search for a place where they believe the standard of living will be higher. Australians have recently seen examples of this form of migration with the boat people who are attempting to move into Australia. Movement of this type is not always popular at the recieving end! Often this resulting migration pushes the refugees/migrants to urban environments.

Decreasing farm size: In many parts of the world farms are often divided on the death of a parent. This eventually means that the farm size becomes so small that the property is not viable and the farmers are forced to sell up and move or to go into debt and then ultimately sell up and move. After the sale of the land the now landless people are attracted to the cities in search of employment. The land can be purchased by developers who can cash in on a developing economy of the country.

Unemployment/Underemployment: As urbanization has excellerated there has developed a shortage of land and ample population. The result of this is that the rural population are either unemployed or underemployed. Employment in these areas is often unpaid in the sense that we understand in Australia; underemployment may mean a lower living standard for all the people living in the area. This produces pressure on the population, particularly the young, who have less ties and fewer commitments to move out of the area.

Rising Rural debt: Facing with the need to produce more, many farmers are forced to go into debt by buying more productive seed, buying more land or purchasing more modern equipment. Whatever the need, if the farmer has a bad year and is unable to service his debt, in many cases he has no alternative but to sell up and move. This then becomes another push factor.

Low Commodity prices: The unfortunate consequence of increased production is that the prices tend to fall. Farmers are in the position of being price takers, in other words, they have to take the price that is being offered at the time because their product is perishable and cannot be held until prices go up. this can result in the farmer barely meeting costs or ending up losing money. This is another push factor.

Forced Migration: The most common reason for forced migration is war and development. Developing countries are creating huge hydroelectric schemes that need valley's to be flooded (Three Gorges Dam in China) and the wars in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Iraq have pushed population to cities to escape possible death.

Declining Rural Services: As population moves to the cities and the proportional balance changes, more services are moving into the city. Rural populations must then travel to the city for the service or go without it.

Pull Factors:

Employment: In developing countries rapid development is occurring in the cities. People in the rural areas seeing this change and development imagine that there is plenty of employment opportunities in the city. Rural population move to the city for job security.

Income: Many people in rural areas receive little cash income as much of what they work for is paid in kind. This reduces people's opportunity to purchase goods. In the cities, wages although not high, are usually paid in cash. This has become a major pull factor for young people keen to break away from the rural misery.

Health and Education: Because of the larger number of people in the cities, the greater number of functions available and the extra wealth, cities offer a great range of both health and education facilities. Many parents in rural areas believe that the only way their children improve their standard of living is through gaining education and a better paying job. Although this does not ensure a job as there is an ever increasing number of unemployed educated city dwellers in developing cities.

Standard of Living: Cities are seen as offering a higher standard of living than that offered by rural areas. This may be a mere case of perception for people at the lower end of the socio-economic scale in the cities. However, most people think they will be the lucky ones and therefore a higher standard of living becomes another pull factor.

Bright Lights: Since the most likely to move are the young, these people are the most likely to be attracted by the many activities of the city. Discos, movies, concerts, clubs, sporting events are seen as commonplace in the city and are often rare in rural areas. False images seen on TV and Movies provide more incentive to move.

ADVANTAGES OF URBAN SPRAWL Employment Factors As UCLA economics professor Matthew Kahn points out, companies have been able to locate away from central business districts (CBDs), better known as "downtowns," due to the proliferation of urban sprawl. This, according to Kahn, has benefited employers by allowing them to escape the relatively high real estate prices in the CBD. Like with most sprawl debates, detractors cite the same fact as negative, lamenting the decline of many American downtowns. A particular benefit detailed by Kahn is the ability for firms to build huge campuses in suburban locations that allow different company divisions to interact in the same space.

Lower Consumer Prices Kahn points out that discount retailers have a difficult time locating in dense areas of cities due to restrictive zoning regulations. He notes that stores such as Walmart can more easily locate in sprawling areas. Kahn reports that Walmart has a limited presence in dense American places, such as the New York metro area and the Pacific Northwest. Stores, such as Walmart, though, can offer prices that are up to 25 percent lower than regular supermarkets, according to Kahn. Kahn also explains that central city residents often drive to more sprawling locations to shop at stores like Walmart. Like any other business, the Walmarts of the world, contends Kahn, benefit from the lower land costs on the urban periphery.

Transportation Whereas critics of urban sprawl demonize it for producing traffic congestion, proponents disagree. USC professors Peter Gordon and Harry W. Richardson claim that when comparing private automobile use to collective transportation, such as public transit systems, the former wins out. In fact, contrary to popular belief, Gordon and Richardson note that the higher densities needed to support large-scale public transportation actually produce higher levels of traffic congestion than less dense, sprawling areas. Kahn adds support to the notion that sprawl provides transportation benefits. He claims that while suburban commuters have longer commutes in miles than their urban counterparts, they move at a faster rate. Kahn reports that commuters in sprawling cities move 9.5 mph faster on the way to work than people who live in compact cities.

REFERENCE
http://www.gwsc.vic.edu.au/staff/~jrd/10geog/yr10geog/urbp&p.htm http://www.joe.org/joe/2002december/a6.php http://www.ehow.com/list_6137689_urban-sprawl-advantages.html