The growth of the West Legon Boulevard and its effect on the provision of services.

Essay by truffles911 January 2006

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Introduction

Urbanization is the expansion of a city or metropolitan area, namely the proportion of total population or area in urban localities or areas (cities and towns), or the increase of this proportion over time.

"The largest single step in the ascent of man is the change from nomad to village Agriculture"

Settlements are the basis on which any form of village, town, city or mega polis are built on. In about 8000 BC, at the end of the last ice age, the world's population consisted of small bands of hunters and collectors living mainly in sub-tropical lands and at a subsistence level. Due to their migratory patterns nomads could only support themselves if the whole community was involved in the search for food. Later, two major technological changes turned the nomads into sedentary farmers. The first was the domestication of livestock (sheep, goats, and cattle). And the second was the cultivation of cereals like wheat, rice and maize.

Slow improvements in early farming gradually led to surpluses and enabled an increasing proportion of the community to specialize in non-farming tasks. As time passed, these communities expanded beyond their origins into kingdoms and empires even stretching over oceans to other continents (colonies), and still through the journey of human life into countries.

Recently increase in population has caused a strain on housing; people are now moving away from the CBDs to the less busy outskirts of towns. This has caused the formation of suburban or residential areas (e.g. Airport). To make up for this more land is needed and this is realized in the creation of settlements in formerly undeveloped areas. Settlements vary in size from the smallest (single buildings) to the largest (conurbations).

As the population of settlements increase, available services must also increase to provide for the population.