Analysis of urbanization trend and its impacts on pabna municipality

Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural areas to urban areas, the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas, and the ways in which each society adapts to this change. The urban population of Bangladesh was only 6.27 million in 1974 but grew to over 39 million in 2011. The urbanization level has jumped from 8.78 percent to 27.66 percent in this period. The long run exponential growth rate of urban population over the period 1974-2011 has been 5.18 per cent, as against only 1.36 per cent of the rural population. From the statistics, it is easily understood, the level of urbanization in Bangladesh in the recent years has been increased rapidly. The study focuses on the trend of urban growth in Pabnamunicipality from the year 2001 to 2051. The urbanization level of Pabnamunicipality has also been calculated. The urban growth in Pabnamunicipality was 1.2 in 2001, was 2.19 in 2011 and projected urban growth has been calculated as 2.44 for the year 2051. In the study, incremental increase method is used for population projection. Urbanization level has been found as 23.69 for the year 2051. Ward wise urban growth has also been calculated in the study. From the calculation, the highest urban growth rate has been found as 6.86 in ward no 8. The study also focuses on the impacts of high urban growth rate on Pabnamunicipality. The major problems for rapid urban growth have been identified as traffic congestion, urban density, pressure on service facilities, centralization of resources etc.