Urbanization

Urbanization is defined as the process of human movement and centralization towards and into cities and urban areas, with the associated industrialization, urban sprawl and lifestyle that brings.

Urbanization affects economic relations and social structure throughout the world. It contributes to the globalization trend, with increased cross-border trade and cross-cultural ties bringing the world closer together. At the same time, urbanization creates opportunities and challenges, not least regarding sustainability.Urbanization represents many of the major environmental problems facing the world, however, and urban areas tend to be environmentally as well as socially unsustainable.

Expanding urbanization changes the social fabric and economic relations in both urban and rural areas – and within the rural agricultural community that Yara serves with its fertilizer products and agronomic knowledge. The population shift from rural to urban areas not only affects agricultural activity and food production, it also tends to create new consumption patterns that further affect agricultural production and food demand.

Urbanization affects human health in several ways, from dietary patterns to the physical environment. The concentration of people in urban areas, with a multitude of economic activity including industrial production and extensive transportation, contributes to air pollution, which is a major health hazard. Increased urbanization offers challenges and opportunities to provide products and knowledge that help improve agricultural productivity and the nutritional value of food products. Other products and knowledge reduce harmful emissions and other pollutants to air and water. The growth of urban areas combined with stricter policies and regulations aimed at stemming local pollution as well as global warming offer new business channels for an industrial companies worldwide.