What is urbanization?

Urbanization refers to the process by which an increasing percentage of a population moves from rural areas to live in cities and urban environments. This phenomenon is often driven by various factors such as economic opportunities, improved living standards, and access to services like education and healthcare, which are typically more concentrated in urban settings.

The definition encompasses both the movement of people to urban areas and the subsequent growth of these areas compared to rural locales. As more individuals migrate to cities, urban areas expand both in terms of population density and physical size, contributing significantly to economic, social, and cultural change.

In contrast, other options do not accurately capture the essence of urbanization. For example, the transformation from rural to urban living is a part of the process but does not fully explain the broader trend of increasing urban population percentages. The growth of rural populations would suggest an opposite trend to urbanization, while the decline of urban areas indicates urban depopulation rather than the increasing concentration of populations in urban spaces.