Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.

The Maya civilization (/ ˈ m aɪ ə /) was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its logosyllabic script—the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya civilization developed in the area that today comprises …

Gordon McGranahan, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition), 2015. Confusing Urban Population Growth and Urbanization. Urbanization is often treated as equivalent to urban population growth. Thus the Wikipedia definition of urbanization at the time of writing this (18 January 2013) states that: “Urbanization refers to the increasing …

Dec 18, 2013 · Most of today’s top causes, including climate change, gay liberation, and abortion, will all be relegated to little more than footnotes in Wikipedia, and Wikipedia itself will have lost the encyclopedia wars to an upstart company all because Jimmy Wales was taken hostage and beheaded by warring factions in the Middle East over a controversial ...