Urbanization During the Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution in 19th century, which led to the mass production of goods, resulted in decreased costs of these manufactured goods and improved living conditions for the people, due to the affordable consumer goods. When the living conditions of the people began to improve and there was also a huge requirement of people for various jobs at the factories, there started a mass migration of people, from the rural areas to the cities. This mass migration of people to the cities, is what is referred to as urbanization during the industrial revolution. How this urbanization affected the society, lets try to understand.

Effects of Urbanization During the Industrial Revolution

Harmful to the Environment
To work in factories during the industrial revolution, lots of migrants shifted to the cities. They began to live along with the natural citizens of the city, leading to lots of air and water pollution, caused by the tremendous rise in population.

Class Divide
New social classes emerged due to urbanization during the industrial revolution. The entrepreneurs as well as the business people gained enormous wealth due to industrialization. This led to a class divide, where the workers in the factories became the have-nots and the factory owners, with their huge wealth became the haves.

Low Standard of Living
Because of the large scale immigration during industrial revolution, people who had shifted to the cities, found it very difficult to adjust in the depersonalized city environment. Most of the people were used to staying and working on their own farms, where basic necessities of life, such as water and food, were easily accessible. In the cities, however, due to the unprecedented growth in population, even something as simple as water needs of the people were not met, due to the growing population. Urbanization during the industrial revolution, put a lot of pressure on the economic as well as the governmental systems, which could not handle this rise in population, thus, inconveniencing the people in the process.

Change in Family Structure
Urbanization and industrialization caused a lot of changes in the family structures as well. Men began to work in factories and their wages were comparatively higher than those of women. Children were seen as a source of low cost labor. Due to industrialization, men received the status of a "bread winner" of the family, while middle class women were encouraged to stay at home to look after the children. Reade more on child labor.

Catalyst for Socialist Revolution
Due to urbanization, people who followed different cultures and traditions came together to live in the cities. With time, these cultural values which defined these people, became to fade. The people started feeling a need to associate themselves with something they could identify themselves with. It was this need of people working in factories, which was taken advantage of by the trade unions. Due to the industrialization, people were working in low paying, long hours jobs, and their entire being was at the mercy of the factory owners. Impersonalized city environment, combined with this dehumanizing working atmosphere and the well apparent class divide, were all in a way responsible for the socialist revolutions, all around the world.

Urbanization during the industrial revolution, though had many ill effects on the lives of the people who lived or shifted to cities during that period, yet it had many positive outcomes too. It was due to this large scale immigration of people to the cities that forced the governments to device such policies, that would take care of the people. Governments initiative to take interest in the development works, modernization of the infrastructure opening of schools, providing proper sanitation, health and water facilities, can be all attributed to the large scale urbanization that took place during the industrial revolution.